USDA Blog

This is the second in a series of three blogs affiliated with USDA’s Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission, which was led by Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse. For years, it’s been my privilege to help bring U.S. fresh fruits and vegetables to the...

Soon after moving into the White House, the First Lady along with local elementary school children planted The Kitchen Garden at the White House, the first garden of its kind on White House grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden during World War II. Weeks earlier, I celebrated the 200th...

The importation of Mexican feeder cattle is a tradition, a way of life and important to the border economy in Mexico and the U.S. The Mexican cattle producer is dependent on the U.S. cattle market, while U.S. feeders and packers need the Mexican feeder cattle for their operations. However, due to...

Gibbon, Nebraska with a population under 2,000 is celebrating the final payment of the first direct loan in Nebraska for a multi-family housing project through USDA Rural Development (the former Farmers Home Administration). Board members of Gibbon Centennial Manor and tenants of the 16 unit complex...

This is the second in a series of three blogs affiliated with USDA’s Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission, which was led by Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse. For years, it’s been my privilege to help bring U.S. fresh fruits and vegetables to the...

America’s forests and all the benefits they provide were cause for celebration at a special reception Wed., March 30 in Washington D.C. as part of America’s recognition of the U.N.’s Year of Forests 2011.

This winter, I had the opportunity to see an energy audit on a family farm near Amherst, Mass. Bruce LaFlamme and his son, Phil, had requested the audit to help them find ways to conserve heat and better insulate their greenhouse, where they grow vegetables year-round, as well as other plants during...

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog: Back in January, we posted a blog about the Chefs Move to Schools initiative, called Chef Helps Special Needs School Children Explore New Foods. The story highlighted the efforts of Morning Star School, Orlando, Fla., and created a windfall of support in the...