USDA Blog

Kansas gardening projects and the USDA People’s Garden initiative were featured items during the Rural Rental Housing Association of Kansas (RRHAK) Annual Meeting. Aimee Omohundro from USDA Rural Development, David Coltrain from Kansas State University Research and Extension, Shari Wilson from the...

President Obama has stressed time and again that the best ideas don't always come from Washington. It is with that spirit that I met this week with a group of agricultural entrepreneurs in Richmond, Virginia to hear their thoughts on the best ways for the federal government to stimulate economic...

Homeownership Month was truly meaningful to one senior citizen in Grenada, Mississippi who received a new home, thanks to USDA Rural Development’s home loan program and to the pro-activity of State Director Trina George. Letha Monger lived with her daughter, Betty Spearman, in a small house that...

Although raging waters had subsided at Deanna Young’s home in Ponca, Ark., a flood of emotions hit her when she found out USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) would pay 100 percent of the cost of protecting her home from falling into Adds Creek.

It is a little known fact that USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) inspects the Meals, Ready-to-Eat, or MREs, that provide nourishment to our soldiers serving overseas in the U.S. Armed Forces. Throughout their tours of duty, MREs serve as both daily nourishment and holiday meal for...

The USDA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have once again joined forces to collaborate with individuals and organizations that feed hungry people, promote sustainable development and provide technical assistance around the world. This is the thirteenth year of the...

Starting a new career, Cody Thibert moved his wife and their three children to a new community. Searching for a home in Valley City, North Dakota, Cody heard about USDA Rural Development through his father’s co-worker. He decided to inquire about the housing programs and found a fit with the...

Since childhood I’ve always wanted to be a veterinarian, which makes my position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) the perfect job for me. I’m Dr. Amy Winter, a Veterinary Medical Officer with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). I’m stationed at the National...

The long battle to mitigate and potentially eliminate cheatgrass, one of the American West’s most menacing invasive weeds, has just taken a positive step forward. U.S. Forest Service research, conducted by ecologist Susan Meyer, has demonstrated in field trials that the fungal pathogen known...

Last week Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager met with Twenty-two Utah business leaders for a White House Business Council roundtable. The meeting was hosted by Zions Bank Corporation and USDA Rural Development. Salt Lake City was one of the 100 communities across the...