August 2011

Cross posted from the White House blog:

Today, the White House Rural Council released a new report titled Jobs and Economic Security for Rural America (pdf).  This is a product of what we have been working on since President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the first White House Rural Council on June 9.

I hope that you’ll take a few minutes to read the report because it gives a really good picture of the economic landscape in rural America today. It also shows the commitment and key investments the Obama Administration has already made in rural communities.

Cross posted from the White House Rural Champions of Change website:

P.J. Haynie serves on USDA's Plant Variety Protection Act Board and on the Agricultural Advisory Council for Virginia's first congressional district.

Today, Secretary Vilsack announced that, during the month of July, USDA employees donated more than 270,000 pounds of canned goods and fresh produce to feed families across the country as part of the Feds Feed Families food drive!   That means USDA employees have worked together to donate more than 370,000 pounds of food in just two months.  With more than 1,800 USDA offices throughout the country participating, here are a few examples of how USDA employees are contributing to the Feds Feed Families campaign.

So far this August, a USDA Service Center in Tipton, Iowa, has harvested 165 pounds of beets, 500 pounds of sweet corn, 140 pounds of green beans, 270 pounds of tomatoes, and 30 pounds of zucchini from their People’s Garden to benefit Feds Feed Families.  And that’s in addition to the canned goods that they are collecting! Their hard work was highlighted on the local CBS news affiliate, KCRG-TV, which you can view here.

My name is Thunder.  Not too many months ago, I was homeless and waiting for someone to take me home from the Houston Beagle Rescue in Houston, Texas.  Then, a nice lady from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Detector Dog Training Center (NDDTC) in Newnan, Georgia came to visit.  From that day on, my life changed.

America’s farmers are among our nation’s first and finest conservationists.  And at USDA, we support their work to protect natural landscapes by improving water and air quality, and preserving wildlife habitat, forests and soil.

This work is also helps drive economic growth and creates jobs – particularly in rural communities.

Farmers taking steps to help the environment can improve their bottom line.  And maintaining the health of American landscapes supports an outdoor recreation industry worth $730 billion to our nation’s economy each year – and supports millions of jobs.  Recreational activities on the USDA-managed national forests and grasslands alone contribute $14.5 billion annually to the U.S. economy.

When the USDA first made the dataset from the USDA National Farmers Market Directory available to web and application designers last year, we weren’t sure what was going to happen.  We just knew local food lovers, farmers market lovers, and data lovers were waiting for it.

The results have been amazing. Websites and apps that not only benefit their local communities, but help farmers markets have popped up across the nation.

If you are looking for inexpensive, fun and healthy recreational activities in the great outdoors, then look no further than our national forests and grasslands.

When I visit my local farmers market, I know that every peach, tomato, or strawberry I purchase helps local farmers pay their bills and support their families.  Not only do I enjoy the health benefits and the wonderful flavors from fresh produce but I’m helping local farmers stay in business.

As part of the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station’s Recovery Act program, the Station’s Focused Science Delivery Program has entered into an agreement with the University of Washington’s School of Forest Resources to create leadership and learning opportunities for Native Americans pursuing graduate degrees in the forestry sciences.

On a beautiful summer morning, more than 200 Bridgewater faculty, staff, students and local residents celebrated the completion of a $14 million dollar student housing project on the rural campus of Bridgewater College.

The new “Stone Village” as named by the college for its past President, Mr. Phillip Stone, will be a complex of five, two-story, colonial-designed housing that will be on the cutting edge of energy efficiency and minimize its environmental impact on the rural campus. The housing is registered as a potential Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver project and incorporates such green features as high efficiency HVAC, occupancy sensor lighting, recycled building materials and even the interior paints that were used were all environmentally friendly to improve indoor air quality.