USDA Blog

Roads and bridges are vital links that connect communities to their national forests. For residents living near the Bankhead and Talladega National Forests, their drive to the woods is now safer while also protecting natural resources thanks to recent construction projects for two forest bridges...

On July 11, USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board cut the estimate for the 2012 U.S. corn crop by 1.82 billion bushels to “reflect expected impacts of persistent and extreme June and early-July dryness and heat across the central and eastern Corn Belt.” The 12% cut, which left the projected U.S...

Recently, U.S. Senator Tom Harkin got an up-close look at Iowa’s newest community-owned wind turbine. With an American flag snapping in the breeze, he marked the project, the investors and the opportunity for wealth creation via renewable energy in a town of 116 in southwest Iowa.

Arthur “Butch” Blazer, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, paid a visit to the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wis., recently to convene an important roundtable discussion on wood-to-energy concerns in Wisconsin and the Midwest. Among...

Keep the lemonade flowing this Fourth of July! The stars and stripes and fireworks would not be the same without citrus--iced tea with lemon, key lime pie, lemon chiffon cake, fish with lemon, orange sorbet, lemon-garlic chicken and avocado lime salsa. And, as the temperatures rise, kids across...

Why shop at a Farmers Market? Access to fresh, locally grown foods, for starters. That may be one of the best reasons, but there are many more. Farmers markets have fruits and vegetables at the peak of the growing season. This means produce is at its freshest and tastes the best. The food is...

Here at USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), we believe it is important to have a great work-life balance. All of our employees do a tremendous job supporting the agriculture industry and everyone it touches. However, it is just as important that everyone enjoys their time outside of the...

One hundred fifty years ago – just two months after the creation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, a historic measure that created the land-grant university system. Twenty-eight years later, Congress enacted a second Morrill Act to establish African...

Exporting U.S. agricultural commodities to foreign markets is not always a seamless process, and sometimes uncertainty is the rule. However, two companies recently received honors for their ability to overcome international trade barriers with USDA assistance and successfully export their products...

Across the country, the Fourth of July celebration always centers on close friends and family and great food, usually from a barbeque. My family and I will be enjoying sun, sand, and a cookout at the beach this year . As parents, my husband and I take great care near the ocean — carefully explaining...