rebecca blue

Throughout August, a little-known beetle may emerge from the trees in your community. You might see its long black and white antennae inching out from a dime-shaped hole in your favorite tree. The pest, named the Asian longhorned beetle, kills trees from the inside out. It attacks 13 types of hardwood trees.

The Patuxent Wetlands Park is a lovely setting in Anne Arundel County, Maryland where vibrant tidal wetlands give way to the Patuxent River. It is a place where the community enjoys fishing, boating and nature. It is also the site of one of the 500 purple, prism-shaped traps hanging high in Maryland ash trees this spring and summer. The purple traps help State and Federal officials to uncover signs of the invasive, tree-killing emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle.

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 of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication.  Agriculture plays a key role in the lives of rural women both domestically and abroad and it is important that USDA be at the table when these discussions are taking place.

The central product of the conference is to create Agreed Conclusions on the theme which provides recommendations for action by government, intergovernmental bodies, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders.  These can and should be implemented at the international, national, regional and local levels.  The main themes from this year’s Agreed Conclusions are to recognize and strengthen the role of rural women in agriculture; ensure rural women’s access to production resources, technology, markets and financing; to promote decent and productive employment and income-generating opportunities for rural women; enhance infrastructure and service-delivery that benefits rural women; recognize rural women’s role in natural resource management and climate change adaptation; and create effective institutions and enabling policy environments that promote gender responsive rural development.  The goals are far reaching, but attainable.

I’d like to introduce myself.  I’m Rebecca Blue, and I am the new Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. I’m excited to join the MRP team and to help contribute to the great work that they have been doing.

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to South Dakota and take part in the Value Added Ag Day at the South Dakota State Fair. I participated in a panel discussion with the South Dakota Value Added Agriculture Development Center where we highlighted the partnership that USDA has with the Center, and how this work enhances rural communities by creating rural agribusiness. Panelists included representatives from Hanson County Oilseed Processors, Elkton Locker, and Intraglobal Biologics.  I was blown away by the innovative projects that are being developed and how USDA and the Center were able to help these small and beginning rural businesses succeed. It was great to see how these projects are keeping and creating wealth right here in America, and creating good paying jobs in our rural communities.