USDA Blog

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting with new farmers across New York to talk about challenges and opportunities in agriculture. I began my trip with a visit to Eight Mile Creek Farm in Westerlo where the farmer, Pam Schreiber, participates in a variety of USDA programs. Along with her three...

Northern Research Station scientist Laura Kenefic resists the temptation to stick with people she knows at scientific gatherings, and her discipline is paying dividends for northern white-cedar. Attending a forestry conference a decade ago, Kenefic joined a table of strangers that included Jean...

The DC United Soccer Club held its “Fall Kick” a couple weeks ago and I was happy to attend and help them mark the end of the fall season. The “Fall Kick” brought together youth ages 6-12 from across the District and Maryland to RFK stadium making it a perfect event to reach out to the local...

Across the nation, 193 million acres of National Forest land provide incredible benefits to every American – from outdoor recreation opportunities to cleaner air, soil and water that impact folks from all walks of life. And with a simple permit and some planning ahead, a National Forest can also...

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helps farmers and ranchers use conservation to help the environment while improving agricultural operations. But not everyone knows about the variety of programs and services offered through USDA agencies. USDA recently launched an effort to...

Data consumers can now more easily leverage several of the most popular offerings from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS)! To meet the needs of a growing community of data users, including application developers and researchers, ERS has just released seven new APIs (Application Programming...

The following OpEd was posted by Huffington Post this afternoon: No one should go hungry in America, and certainly no child should go hungry, especially at the holidays. We know kids who have access to proper nutrition and develop healthy habits at an early age have a competitive advantage in the...

The National Basketball Association’s Denver Nuggets honored U.S. Forest Service Hotshot crews and first responders throughout the state of Colorado at a recent Fans and Heroes Night in Denver. The U.S. Forest Service participated in activities before, during and after the game with Smokey Bear...

Quienes están listos para una fiesta, no se imaginan enfermos en cama poco después de esta. Pero eso es lo que pudiera ocurrir si la comida en los “buffets” no es manejada y servida con inocuidad. Las bacterias son aguafiestas y el único regalo que traen es una enfermedad transmitida por los...

People dressed for a holiday party don’t picture themselves sick in bed shortly after the festivities, but that’s what could happen if food on party buffets isn’t handled and served safely. Bacteria are party crashers, and the only housewarming gift they bring is foodborne illness. How do bacteria...