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To best support families and businesses across rural America, USDA is continuously adapting our approach to how we do business. That means, tapping new resources and working with partners to leverage existing ones to help us match our strategy with ongoing regional challenges and ever-changing conditions. An example of that can be seen in a report issued last week by the Forest Service that showed significant restoration progress in forests across the nation. As fires have become more intense and more expensive to fight in recent years, wildfire fighting efforts have taken funding away from restoration, watershed and wildlife programs, limiting the Forest Service's ability to work on known fire prevention and mitigation methods. The report showed that, despite increasing budgetary strain and with the help of partners, the Forest Service was able to achieve a 9% increase in the pace and scale of forest restoration since 2011. But there's still more work to be done. Read more about the report. We were also pleased to celebrate Veterans Day by honoring our nation’s veterans with a series of stories that bring to light their continued service to our country as farmers, ranchers, small business owners, USDA employees and more. We also looked at some of the many ways USDA offers support to military veterans and their families. From microloan programs to support returning veterans, to home repairs, to health services, to our newly launched www.usda.gov/newfarmers resource, USDA is there to serve those who served for all of us. You can read the stories here on the USDA Blog, including a special message from Secretary Vilsack to rural veterans. Be sure to stay tuned the rest of this month as we continue to highlight our partners and USDA’s work to strengthen rural communities and improve the quality of life for all Americans.
NRCS is working with farmers and ranchers to create and enhance habitat for monarchs.
Representatives of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission and Forest Service meet regularly to collaborate on a wide range of issues, including wildlife management, law enforcement, and youth education.
Coveys of quail once again populate the 4,000-acre research station north of Tallahassee, FL.
How Sacrifice and Sense of Duty Drive Our Veterans After serving our country so honorably, many of our veterans feel a sense of duty to continue to give back to the land they love and have fought so hard to protect. Make a Difference and Vote During FSA County Committee Elections This is a great time of the year for the Farm Service Agency (FSA), not just because of another successful American harvest, but also because of the opportunity for agricultural communities throughout the country to vote for officials to represent them on FSA County Committees. Veteran Turns Backyard Hobby into Successful Agribusiness Agriculture is an inherently risky business. Some risks are everyday business risks; some risks are brought on by natural disasters. Producers need to regularly manage for financial, marketing, production, human resource and legal risks. Using Agroforestry to Help Pollinators Help You Today, farms in the U.S. are larger and have less nearby habitat to support bees than in the past, yet the need for pollinators in rural landscapes has never been greater. Collaboration is the Name of the Game in the Northwoods When you are faced with a big problem, it helps to have all your friends working together. There’s a great example of this philosophy playing out in the Northwoods of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan between the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, an organization that supports the hunting, gathering, and fishing treaty rights of 11 member Ojibwe tribes and the U.S. Forest Service. NRCS Partners with Farmers, Ranchers to Aid Monarch Butterflies No matter where you grew up, you are likely familiar with monarch butterflies. When Ivory Smith of Poplarville, Mississippi separated from the Army after ten years of service – including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan – he attended a USDA-sponsored workshop held through our partner, the National Center for Appropriate Technology. Rural Veterans, Thank You for Your Service America’s veterans embody the values that stand at the heart of rural America: hard work, a love of their country, and a sense of duty and sacrifice to give back to the land that has done so much for us all. Restoring Longleaf Forests Helps Bobwhite, Other Species Rebound at Florida Research Station Once a plantation and popular hunting spot, the Tall Timbers Plantation Research Station and Land Conservancy in Tallahassee, Florida, is home to healthy longleaf forests that are filled with a variety of wildlife, including the Northern bobwhite, a type of quail. USDA Programs Help Ease Transition to Farming, One Vet at a Time Located three miles east of Vale, South Dakota, on Cox Farms, Cox Sweet Corn is produced by veteran Kyle Cox, who left the Army after 12 years to return to the family farm. A Commitment to Scientific Integrity USDA is one of the world’s leading scientific research institutions for agriculture, food and nutrition. We also have the largest forestry research resource in the world. Bringing More Farmers Markets to Service Members As we take time this week to honor America’s veterans, we are also thinking about how we can improve the health and welfare of military communities across the country. That’s why we are so proud to release the first-ever Guide for Farmers Markets on Military Installations. Organic Sound and Sensible Resources: Why Go Organic and Where to Start Last week, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s National Organic Program (NOP) announced new resources resulting from our Sound and Sensible Initiative, which is aimed at making organic certification more accessible, affordable, and attainable. Volunteers Put Down Roots to Keep Kenai Peninsula Stream Banks Healthy The river banks of the Upper Kenai and Russian Rivers in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula are known to attract some of the most avid fishermen. In the last couple decades, they have also lured a growing number of citizen volunteers who are equally passionate about an environmental stewardship mission to protect them.
Bringing back butterflies, releasing bison and getting ready for Thanksgiving.
Report says federal forest restoration work has increased, but still falling behind (Associated Press) The U.S. Forest Service says it has increased the pace and scale of its forest restoration work since 2011, but progress waned this year and the agency risks falling further behind without more resources. Fighting wildfires: Ag secretary says it's all about the money; will Congress buy it? (Oregonian) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday prodded Congress to relieve the U.S. Forest Service of paying for the most devastating wildfires, saying it's the only way to dramatically reduce fire hazards on vast tracts of overgrown federal forests in the West. Runaway wildfires turning Forest Service into ‘fire department,’ chief complains (The Seattle Times) In 2015, a record 52 percent of the U.S. Forest Service budget went to fighting wildfires, up from just 16 percent two decades ago, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If GMOs aren’t the problem with our food system, then what is? (Washington Post) The USDA, says Vilsack, doesn’t focus exclusively on farmers. More-healthful school meals are a priority, as is helping families who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program assistance (SNAP, or food stamps) so they can “incorporate healthier choices in tight family budgets with more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and multiple protein sources.” Cuba, U.S. Studying Closer Agricultural Cooperation (Latin American Herald Tribune) U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met on Thursday with his Cuban counterpart, Gustavo Rodriguez, to discuss closer bilateral cooperation in their sector, Cuba’s official media said. Secretary of Agriculture of the US visits green market in Havana (Cuba Headlines) Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, visited the green market 19 y B, Vedado, along with members of his delegation.
US Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, Thomas Vilsack, arrived in Cuba on Wednesday for a working visit, reported dpa news. The daughter of peanut farmers: an interview with Krysta Harden (The Female Farmer Project) 'Krysta' is Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden, of the United States Department of Agriculture. We have a POTUS, a FLOTUS and SCOTUS so in my mind, she's the FFOTUS; Female Farmer of the United States. She’s a self-described daughter of peanut farmers and rightly proud of her heritage. Farm Groups, USDA Urge Support For TPP (NPR) As Midwest farmers parse the details of the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, farm groups and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are urging Congress to ratify it. USDA to spend $4 million to aid Midwest monarch butterflies (NPR/MPR) The United States Department of Agriculture is launching a new program to encourage farmers to plant habitat for monarch butterflies. NRCS to roll out monarch butterfly conservation initiative (Agri-Pulse) USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will launch a $4 million initiative in 2016 to create and enhance habitat for monarch butterflies on private lands across 10 states. USDA Has Hired 11,000 Veterans (AgWeb) On Nov. 11, 2015, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack let his staff at USDA know a few things about Veterans Day, starting with the fact that USDA has made a concerted effort to hire more than 11,000 veterans to date. USDA allots $8 million to help preserve Ogallala Aquifer (Agri-pulse) USDA plans to invest $8 million in fiscal year 2016 in projects that will help farmers and ranchers served by the drought-depleted Ogallala Aquifer conserve billions of gallons of water annually while strengthening agricultural operations.
The USDA announced Monday that it will invest $8 million in the nation’s largest aquifer—the Ogallala Aquifer. This money will supplement the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative (OAI) in fiscal year 2016 and will be distributed to farmers and ranchers across the eight states the aquifer serves in the High Plains region. $8 million will go to USDA's Ogallala aquifer conservation projects (Farm Futures) USDA is adding $8 million to the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative in Fiscal Year 2016 to help farmers and ranchers conserve billions of gallons of water, the agency announced Monday.
Cuba As A Potential US Ag Export Market Broadcast Date: Thu, November 12, 2015 The Agriculture Secretary's visit to Cuba this week is the latest step in work needed to reestablish that nation as a US ag export customer. (Rod Bain. American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman) Analyzing The TPP Trade Deal Text Broadcast Date: Thu, November 12, 2015 The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal text is out, and analysis is beginning on what the economic impacts will mean for ag trade. (Rod Bain. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Phil Karsting. American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman) Broadcast Date: Thu, November 12, 2015 What are some farm and ranch groups saying about the Trans-Pacific Partnership? (Rod Bain. Chip Bowling of the National Corn Growers Association. Bob McCann of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association) NRCS Announces New Monarch Butterfly Habitat Conservation Effort Broadcast Date: Thu, November 12, 2015 Midwest and Southern Plain states are the target of voluntary conservation programs designed to boost Monarch butterfly habitat. (Rod Bain and Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Jason Weller) Actuality: NRCS Approaches To Monarch Habitat Conservation Broadcast Date: Thu, November 12, 2015 USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Jason Weller offers details of a new Monarch butterfly habitat conservation effort, and how efforts and strategies vary by region and geography. The New Model To Protect Threatened Species And Their Habitats Broadcast Date: Tue, November 10, 2015 Collaborative working lands conservation efforts are proving to be a successful way to prevent listing of threatened species such as the Western Sage Grouse. (Rod Bain. Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Jason Weller. Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Bean.) USDA Will Lead Trade Mission to Sub-Saharan Africa Broadcast Date: Mon, November 9, 2015 The Deputy Agriculture Secretary leads a trade delegation November 17 -20 hoping to expand US ag and food exports in Sub-Saharan Africa. (Rod Bain and Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden) USDA Expands Water Conservation Efforts in Ogallala Aquifer Broadcast Date: Mon, November 9, 2015 USDA is expanding the scope of its water conservation efforts for the Ogallala Aquifer. (Gary Crawford and Sec'y Tom Vilsack)
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