USDA Blog

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA's rich science and research profile. Emerging bioenergy systems hold the promise of helping to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, increase economic prosperity...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. Most of us accept that some services—such as waste water treatment and emergency response, for example—have an economic...

It was 1918 when Elmer Moje first took crops to market with his father on a horse and wagon in North Tonawanda, New York. Moje, who turns 99 later this month, still takes his crops to the market once or twice a week. “I don’t have the wagon or the horse anymore,” he says with a laugh. “Back then it...

Oakland City, Indiana is the home of Oakland City University, the only General Baptist affiliate university in the nation, with a global campus providing over 40 degrees. An organization of this stature, along with the surrounding community, places a lot of emphasis on faith.

Secretary Vilsack likes to say that because of the scope of its programs, USDA serves Americans every day, every way. A recent experience from a Midwest feeding partner, Milwaukee Hunger Task Force, demonstrates the immense—and also incredibly personal—reach of USDA programs, the importance of our...

USDA’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, Today’s Strategies & Tomorrow’s Opportunities, will be held February 24-25, 2011, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Secretary Tom Vilsack will deliver the Keynote Address. The Distinguished Plenary Panel will be moderated by...

On a cool mid November morning in Dallas, first graders at Stonewall Jackson Elementary rushed through their 20,000 square foot garden to harvest the vegetables they’ve been monitoring with anticipation. On this day, they were getting a chance to taste their bounty, along with prominent local Chef...

A regional initiative in Southwest Iowa originally intended to train farmers on local-food production has evolved into a rural-urban partnership that touches a poverty-stricken community. I joined USDA Rural Development Acting Deputy Under Secretary Doug O’Brien in Oakland, Iowa, recently to meet...

The USDA’s Food Safety Discovery Zone (FSDZ) concluded its 2010 tour season on November 13, 2010 at the National Science Teachers Association Area Conference, in Baltimore, MD. “How can I get this to my school and how much does it cost?” was the main question asked by the 2,617 educators who visited...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA's rich science and research portfolio If there is one thing you can count on during the holidays, it is food – and in large quantities! While you may not be...