USDA Blog

The first weekend of the first ever Women in Wildland Fire Boot Camp exceeded the expectations of boot camp organizer, Bequi Livingston. “The first session of our boot camp programs were beyond incredible and certainly one of the highlights of my career. I think that we have certainly developed a...

For over a century, toxic runoff from the Blue Ledge Mine destroyed aquatic life and fisheries in Joe Creek, a tributary to the world-famous Rogue River in Oregon.

In the three months since Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced USDA’s “ Blueprint for Stronger Service,” the Food and Nutrition Service has continued to develop cost-saving and efficient strategies that will save taxpayers money and streamline operations. The “Blueprint for Stronger Service”...

USDA’s Chief Economist Joseph Glauber and his staff advise the Secretary on economic issues but are also charged with producing official USDA supply and demand projections and forecasts. The Office of the Chief Economist’s (OCE’s) monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report...

Most kids cannot wait for school to let out in June. However, for some parents and other caretakers, when school is out for summer, they begin to worry about how they will feed their children a nutritious breakfast or lunch. USDA's Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) fills this summer meal gap for...

Whether you are an avid football fan who can’t wait until kickoff or you’re part of the 40 percent going to a Super Bowl party just for the food, there’s a good chance you will be as close to chicken wings as the television on Sunday. In fact, the National Chicken Council estimates that Americans...

For Texas rancher Dallas Ford and other Gulf Coast landowners, the Gulf of Mexico Initiative means an opportunity to make a positive difference not only on their lands, but also in the inland waters that flow into the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico Initiative (GoMI) is a new program of USDA’s...

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. With spring not that far away, the garden catalogues are starting to fly through the mail, but the “must read” of the...

Last week, USDA Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager made a brief, but impactful visit to Oregon joining USDA Rural Development State Director Vicki Walker to announce program support and celebrate milestones in rural economic development with local communities.

What makes 500 middle and high school kids from area schools near Tallahassee, Fla., happy? Getting outside and embracing the great outdoors during a week-long U.S. Forest Service event known as ‘ More Kids in the Woods.’ During the five-day outdoor event , the kids developed new skills related to...