USDA Blog

For most children, summertime means school vacation, family trips and beach days, but for many, it also means losing the two free or reduced-price meals provided at school.

Every day, the Department of Agriculture is hard at work to strengthen the rural economy and grow our rural communities. Right now we continue to focus on responding to the drought that’s impacting much of our nation. My thoughts remain with those who are affected, and President Obama and I will...

A building that will stand against natural disaster for the safety of the Corn Creek District, Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, is being partially funded through a grant from USDA Rural Development’s Community Facilities Economic Impact Initiative (EII). While providing a safe haven for the...

Gopher tortoises are fairly elusive creatures. Usually the only sign you see of them is their burrows or ravaged foliage. But recently a Mobile, Ala., tortoise allowed Marshall Colburn, a Soil Conservation Technician with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a rare, up-close-and...

You may start out wanting to talk to Leila Pinchot about a U.S. Forest Service icon, but the great granddaughter of Gifford Pinchot has much more to say about the future of another legend, the American chestnut. One of the seminal figures in world conservation, Gifford Pinchot founded and served as...

Trina N. George, Mississippi State Director for USDA Rural Development and Phyliss Anderson, Chief for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians held a Photo Op on Tuesday, July 17, 2012 in Choctaw, Miss., to commemorate USDA Rural Developments $1 million grant award to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw...

What’s the common link between eastern Oregon rancher Cory Carman, Oklahoma Farm to School Coordinator Chris Kirby, New Mexico Food Policy Council leader Pamela Roy, Muckleshoot Tribal member Valerie Segrest, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and Sue Noble, Director of Wisconsin’s Vernon...

New Mexico is a challenging environment for farmers: the land is dry; soil is hard to come by outside the river valley; temperatures reach the mid-90’s in May and stay there through early October. But farmers, as they’ve been doing for centuries in New Mexico and all across our country, find ways to...

If you are looking for an exciting vacation with beautiful views then consider exploring Forest Service lands in the Northern Rockies for beautiful landscapes, scenic byways, historic trails and diverse wildlife.