USDA Blog

Cross posted from the White House blog: Today, the White House Rural Council released a new report titled Jobs and Economic Security for Rural America (pdf). This is a product of what we have been working on since President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the first White House Rural...

Cross posted from the White House Rural Champions of Change website: P.J. Haynie serves on USDA's Plant Variety Protection Act Board and on the Agricultural Advisory Council for Virginia's first congressional district.

Today, Secretary Vilsack announced that, during the month of July, USDA employees donated more than 270,000 pounds of canned goods and fresh produce to feed families across the country as part of the Feds Feed Families food drive! That means USDA employees have worked together to donate more than...

My name is Thunder. Not too many months ago, I was homeless and waiting for someone to take me home from the Houston Beagle Rescue in Houston, Texas. Then, a nice lady from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Detector Dog Training Center (NDDTC) in Newnan, Georgia came to visit...

America’s farmers are among our nation’s first and finest conservationists. And at USDA, we support their work to protect natural landscapes by improving water and air quality, and preserving wildlife habitat, forests and soil. This work is also helps drive economic growth and creates jobs –...

When the USDA first made the dataset from the USDA National Farmers Market Directory available to web and application designers last year, we weren’t sure what was going to happen. We just knew local food lovers, farmers market lovers, and data lovers were waiting for it. The results have been...

If you are looking for inexpensive, fun and healthy recreational activities in the great outdoors, then look no further than our national forests and grasslands.

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...

Matzah, the traditional flatbread eaten by Jewish people to commemorate Passover, decorated six circular tables, along with bitter herbs (maror), “mortar” for bricks (haroset), and green leafy vegetables (carpas). Around the tables, USDA employees, Administration officials, and a host of guests from...