USDA Blog

Written by Audrey Rowe, USDA Deputy Administrator of Special Nutrition Programs I recently had the honor of speaking at the National Urban League Centennial Conference in Washington DC. The National Urban League is a partner in our efforts to combat obesity and hunger, particularly in African...

Back in 1947, nearly one-third of the labor force worked on farms. In those days if you didn’t have a relative who worked on a farm, you knew someone who did. As time and technology progressed and jobs moved from farms to factories, generations began to lose their connection to agriculture and the...

By Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan On Friday afternoon, I had the opportunity to meet with some inspiring African businesswomen who are visiting the United States for the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum. This unique group of 36...

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. By Tara Weaver-Missick, Branch Chief, with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Summer field sports are under...

By Nancy Conway, USDA Rural Development, Arizona A group was on hand for Arizona Rural Development State Director Alan Stephens announcement that the San Carlos Apache Telecommunications Utility, Inc. (SCATUI) will receive a grant of $5.2 million and a low-interest loan of $5.2 million through the...

By Virginia Manuel, USDA Maine Rural Development State Director USDA Rural Development provided a Rural Business Enterprise Grant to assist the Maine Alternative Agriculture Association (MA 3) to renovate the former Grange Hall in Starks into a modern facility for processing and distributing local...

By Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary I recently spoke at the BIG TEN conference in Minneapolis. The BIG TEN is a USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) sponsored event focused on improving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) performance at the state and local level. Participants are from...

By Brad Fisher, Public Affairs Specialist Right now, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is sharing the agency’s conservation expertise with more than 42,000 scouts at the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. Scout jamborees are always jammed with excitement, but this...