office of the chief scientist

The first full week of May is Public Service Recognition Week—a time to honor the dedicated people who serve our country every day. USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area is home to more than 8,500 public servants, who are some of the best and brightest mind in agriculture science.

At USDA, we harness the power of agricultural science to transform the world. To create a future that is more sustainable, prosperous and equitable for everyone. This requires a diverse scientific workforce that is driving innovation forward. Women voices and perspectives are a crucial part of this work.

It’s World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (November 18-24) — a time to raise global understanding around antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and what is being done to tackle it. This year’s theme is “preventing antimicrobial resistance together” and that is exactly what the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is doing.

Unprecedented floods in Kentucky and Yellowstone, a megadrought in the Southwest, historic wildfires in Alaska—these are some of the many consequences climate change has already wrought onto diverse American communities in 2022, alone. These increasingly common extreme weather events disproportionately affect American rural communities and producers.

Nearly 1 billion people are hungry, and even more are food insecure. Farmers and ranchers around the world are having to adapt to changing climate conditions to continue producing enough food to feed the growing global population, support their own livelihoods and their communities.

At USDA we use a feedback loop of 1) surveillance and monitoring 2) research, and 3) education and outreach to find science-based answers to challenging questions such as those posed by AR.