USDA Blog

A groundbreaking ceremony took place earlier this month in the Town Bank section of Lower Township, Cape May County, New Jersey, to kick off the first phase of a water main project. USDA Rural Development officials joined Lower Township Municipal Utility Authority, Senator Bob Menendez, state and...

Earlier this week I was privileged to co-host a historic meeting here at USDA. I was joined by Jodi Gillette, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Michael Black, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to discuss ways USDA and BIA can work together to better serve the...

I spent yesterday in St. Louis, talking about the importance of trade and smart trade deals to America’s rebounding economy. Within 500 miles of St. Louis, farmers are producing more than three quarters of the nation’s corn and soybean crops, injecting $75 billion into the global economy, supporting...

Oxon Hill Elementary School’s motto for its annual health extravaganza is, “Spring forward with good health.” The motto was put into practice last week at the Maryland school’s health fair, where community organizations, activities and food samples came together to contribute to good health and well...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) blog. Check back each week as we showcase the stories and news from the agency’s rich science and research portfolio. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of joining U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack...

A few years ago, Iris Estes’ shyness served her well. After all, it didn’t matter to her because she didn’t have to give speeches or talk to groups. Then Estes landed a job on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Central Arizona as a customer relations specialist. That was the easy part. Her new...

The escalation in prices for energy from fossil fuel has set the stage for the domestic production of renewable energy as a national priority. Not only can the production of renewable energy reduce fossil fuel dependence, but it has the potential to create quality American jobs, combat global...

This morning I had the opportunity to start my day in Big Sky Country where I was invited by Senator Jon Tester to participate in the Small Business Opportunity Workshop hosted at Montana State University. We have a full house here having reached capacity at 150 attendees with another 80 RSVPs still...

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog: About a year ago Beverly Jackey, the community nutritionist for the Food Bank of Delaware, came up with a unique way of teaching kids to eat healthy. Jackey believed that children are more willing to try nutritious new foods when they are involved in preparing...

After a rather interesting C-130 tactical landing to avoid enemy fire, my first sight of Iraq was at night. My first thought was how far I was from home, but a gaze upward revealed familiar stars and constellations. I felt relieved knowing that I was still indeed on planet Earth--even after...