USDA Blog

If you are interested in organic farms and food, La Crosse, Wisconsin is the place to be in late February—when the largest organic farming conference in the U.S. takes place there. This year’s Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) organic farming conference ran from Feb. 23...

When the U.S. Forest Service was established in 1905, the common belief was that only men were physically and mentally capable of working outdoors for the agency. In the early 20th century, women were limited primarily to roles as administrative clerks. But in 1913, Hallie M. Daggett was hired as...

Small and mid-size farmers are the backbone of farmers markets, but they often face particular obstacles when trying to sell products in markets like grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, and schools. Through the Transportation and Marketing program at USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)...

Last week was monumental for American farmers. Under the new U.S.-Korea trade agreement, two-thirds of the tariffs imposed on U.S. food and agricultural products exported to South Korea are being eliminated. That includes wheat, corn, soybeans for crushing, whey for feed use, hides and skins, cotton...

Mention to folks that federal agencies work well together and you may receive reactions of disbelief. Sometimes the federal employees, themselves, don’t believe it. But there was a roomful of believers at a recent USDA Rural Roundtable held in Ogden, Iowa. I held more than 40 roundtables across...

It was a snow day in New England, but up in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, in the little town of Hardwick, several people were gathered at the VT Food Venture Center, a local food incubator, to sign USDA Value Added Grant papers for the new businesses they are starting up. The Michaud family of...

Two and a half years ago, I announced a new initiative here at USDA called Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food. It’s the public face of our commitment to help farmers and ranchers of all sizes take advantage of new opportunities, meet the growing demand for local and regional food and succeed in...

Earlier this week we launched the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass, a digital narrative with stories, pictures and video about USDA’s support for local and regional food systems, and interactive map with datasets displaying the various ways and places where the initiative has made an impact.