agricultural research service

Today is World Food Safety Day, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has launched a sweeping new initiative known as the Salmonella Grand Challenge. The project brings together an elite group of ARS, university and food industry scientists from different specialties to fight Salmonella, a foodborne pathogen that sickens over a million Americans each year, sometimes fatally. The challenge complements the work being done by the Food Safety and Inspection Service to develop a more effective strategy to reduce human Salmonella illness linked to poultry.

The U.S. cotton industry contributes 35% of the cotton exported globally.

Americans love their shrimp. No matter how you eat them, by pounds consumed, the popularity of these delectable little morsels ranks well ahead of salmon and more than doubles that of canned tuna.

We see them every time we purchase fresh fruits and vegetables: price look up (PLU) labels. The little coin-size stickers are stuck to everything from apples, bananas, and cantaloupes to watermelons, yams, and zucchini.

Pitchers are on the mound and warming up for this season’s opening day of baseball. Ninety feet away, batters, armed only with a wooden stick, prepare to face them. Many parts of America’s national pastime have changed over the years, but the two key elements – putting bat to ball – have remained at its core.

Deep fat frying is often cut out when people want to eat healthy. But, for those who enjoy fried foods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has created a healthier oil.

1890 Land-grant Universities (LGUs) are 19 historically black universities established under the Second Morrill Act of 1890. These institutions strengthen research, extension, and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences by building the institutional capacities of the 1890 Institutions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) celebrates engineers and their significant role in agricultural research, land conservation, and the preservation of our forests, lakes, and grasslands during Engineers Week (February 19-25). Engineers and engineering technicians of all disciplines work with farmers, producers, scientists, environmentalists, and field professionals to advance agriculture, enhance the farm-to-table food supply processes, and safeguard our lands and watershed infrastructures.

Did you know about 22% of Americans bought flowers last Valentine’s Day, according to industry statistics? That single-day surge added about $2.3 billion to the U.S. economy.

It may be winter, but it is still possible to access fresh, locally-grown produce. How? With aquaponics. Americans and people living around the world can grow crops year-round in a soilless hydroponic environment regardless of their regions’ climate or season. It also has the added benefit of supplying fresh fish to the local food system.