USDA Blog

Some people have “heaven on earth.” Have you ever wondered who or what they were talking about? If you were in Wyoming, it might have been Gary and Karen Ricley and their ranch along Slater Flats. When Gary was offered an early retirement from his executive job in the auto industry in 1998, he was...

As construction gets underway, Vian, Oklahoma residents eagerly await the completion of their new regulation size track and fitness facility. This small rural community located in eastern Sequoyah County hopes to encourage fitness and healthy living with the new facility, funded in part by USDA...

Last year for Homeownership Month we visited Rita Fincher to whom we had made a Single Family Housing Direct loan to help purchase a home. I was so impressed with her story last year that I decided I wanted to go back and visit her to see “what difference a year had made in her life with her new...

If you've been following our favorite Social Media Moments of 2011, you can see we had a lot to choose from. Top on our list isn't necessarily a social media moment, but is an important moment in our focus on providing better service through web communication. The redesign of USDA.gov in April 2011...

As we enjoy the holiday season, it is a great time to celebrate all that American agriculture has accomplished, and to look ahead to a productive new year. Our farmers, ranchers and growers make incredible contributions each day to the health and strength of this country. Thanks to their...

When a Kansas State University football player plants his opponent’s face into the turf, the result may be a better-tasting blend of artificial grass. Turf is not a part of the USDA’s MyPlate recommendations, but defensive ends playing in the Wildcats’ stadium can skip their pre-game soy latte and...

U.S. broiler meat exports to Sub-Saharan Africa have increased 24 percent since 2010 and 460 percent since 2001. The U.S. is the largest supplier of China’s turkey meat imports, totaling nearly 90 percent of all imports. Turkey meat imports to China in 2011 will increase 70 percent over 2010.

Here in the Office of Communications at USDA, we work hard every day to get news and information out the digital door and into the hands of our diverse stakeholders. This steady flow of information takes the form of press releases, tweets, photos, videos, blogs and more. With the growing popularity...

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently hosted two examiners from China who were on hand to learn the U.S. system for examining new plant variety applications. AMS’s Plant Variety Protection Office and the American Seed Trade Association invited Yang Yang and Lingo Gao from China’s...

There have been many advances in opening government data for transparency and opportunities for collaboration. One dataset that we’re particularly excited about has immediate practical benefits and opportunities to stimulate business nationwide.