USDA Blog

Who would have thought when we celebrated the first Earth Day in 1970 that we would still be celebrating it 42 years later? Earth Day is a great time to highlight what the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is doing to benefit the soil, water, air, plants and wildlife for...

Speaking to a room full of happy citizens in Westmoreland County, Rural Utilities Service Administrator Jonathan Adelstein congratulated them on the new sewer extension project that will be a real game changer for their community. “I am proud to mark Earth Day 2012 with this partnership between...

Imagining our communities without trees is hard to fathom. Unfortunately, there is an insect that threatens the trees we love – the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). It’s an invasive insect that feeds on certain species of hardwood trees, eventually killing them. Since its discovery in the United...

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog: Last week USDA released a new farm to school grant program designed to help give children a sense of where their food comes from and increase the availability of local foods in schools. Joined by students at Southern High School in Harwood, MD, as well as...

Since 1912, the beautiful pink and white blossoms of the Tidal Basin’s Japanese cherry trees have been one of our national Capital’s most iconic images. For Washingtonians, cherry blossoms herald the beginning of spring and a reprieve, albeit brief, between frosty winter weather (although this...

The Minnesota Farm Service Agency (FSA) wants to overcome the obstacles faced in reaching minority farmers and ranchers. So they have collaborated with area businesses and non-profit organizations to help meet their goal. “We realize that this will not be a fast process but we are hoping to make...

Anvil Ranch, one hour southwest of Tucson, Ariz. in Altar Valley, is a fourth-generation operation in the heart of cattle country. “Ranching is what we do,” says Joe King, who is the youngest of the four children of owners John and Pat King. All four of the kids ranch, although Joe and his wife...

Rebecca Blue, Acting Deputy Undersecretary for MRP; Janie Hip, Senior Advisor to the Secretary on Tribal Affairs; and Kisha Davis, White House Fellow were excited to represent USDA on the US delegation to the UN for the 56 th Commission on the Status of Women. The theme this year was the empowerment...

Home owner, Clara High Elk, Dupree, SD was thrilled to see the new fixtures installed in her bathroom. Through a USDA Rural Development 504 Rural Housing Repair and Rehabilitation loan and grant, updates were made to the 90 year olds house to make the bathroom handicapped accessible, replace storm...