USDA Blog

You may remember when USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last June that People's Garden’s existed in all 50 states, two U.S. territories, and three foreign countries. Since then, People’s Gardens are cropping up at Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) posts throughout the world.

More than 112,000 Rio Grande Valley moms, infants and children depend on the nutritional benefits provided by WIC - the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program Women, Infants and Children. The four counties that make up the Valley (Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy) have done a good job of...

A new report titled Measuring Up: Synchronizing Biodiversity Measurement Systems for Markets and Other Incentive Programs was just released by the Willamette Partnership with funding and support from USDA’s Office of Environmental Markets (OEM). The report analyzes 25 existing biodiversity...

In 2009, 14.7% of U.S. households were insecure, meaning that at some point during the year these households were uncertain of having, or unable to obtain, enough food. In addition to tracking and reporting on hunger in the United States, USDA plays a significant role in helping families acquire...

Recently, a USDA Rural Development project received one of the 2011 Governor’s Awards for Historic Preservation from the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office. The ceremony was held in the state Capitol rotunda and dozens of citizens and legislators from across the state turned out. Michigan...

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. U. S. Forest Service social scientist Lee Cerveny has carved out a special niche in the world of research. While her...

After a long, blizzard-filled winter, Earth Day was celebrated April 29 in Lidgerwood, North Dakota. USDA Rural Development delivered the latest in a number of loans and grants to help offset the cost of a $1.58 million project to provide safe drinking water to the city. Lidgerwood’s leaders first...

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog: On April 26, I had the pleasure of visiting Harold S. Winograd School in Greeley, Colo., to kick off the judging for the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition. As I arrived at the school, I could feel the excitement, enthusiasm, and deep pride...

In 2009, nearly 1 million children simply didn’t get enough to eat in the United States. It’s a startling statistic but one that we can change, and you can help. Today, USDA launched a series of new online tools and volunteer initiatives to increase the number of individuals, organizations, and...

We have seen several stories and concerned comments circulating on blogs regarding USDA’s pilot project to examine ways to enhance quality, timeliness and cost effectiveness of environmental analyses and documents related to biotechnology. We want to separate fact from fiction and ensure that the...