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“I’m used to hard work; I served in the Infantry – but agriculture is a different kind of hard work.” — Ivory Smith , founder of SmithPonics
Five Lessons Learned from USDA’s Farmers Market at Night Our own USDA Farmers Market, brought to you by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), celebrated 20 years of offering Washington, DC access to farm-fresh products this year.
The past 12 months made for an eventful year in the world of agricultural statistics. In our efforts to remain true to our mission of providing timely, accurate, and useful statistics, we transformed several of our programs and tackled research to keep up with data needs of a changing agricultural industry. Strengthening education is crucial to the future of agriculture. To ensure that citizens are aware of farming’s impact on the economy and society, school curricula must emphasize the interconnected role of farming, food, and fiber production with environmental quality.
Each year, USDA’s Economic Research Service provides a snapshot of the rural economy in a report entitled Rural America at a Glance.
Preparing for a career involves many steps, plus individual motivation as well as help from those who’ve gone before you. That’s what a group of 60 Harpers Ferry Job Corps students explored recently during a recent training session related to job preparedness for the U.S. Forest Service.
Product labeling is a contract of trust between consumers and producers. This is especially true for the foods we eat and the companies that sell them.
Portland has become one of the top cities in the nation for its food scene—from trendy neighborhood food carts to fine dining to farm-to-table restaurants. It’s also a place where people embrace eating locally-grown food.
If there’s a pinnacle of pride I have in our USDA Rural Development staff, it’s their ability to work with rural communities and our public and private partners to be a positive force for transformation in cities and towns across the country. For my #HighFive to our staff at Headquarters and in field offices across the nation and territories, I want to highlight five projects that have transformed rural communities. Information on economic, demographic, and social developments in rural America, as well as on current and emerging opportunities for farmers is important to policy makers and other stakeholders.
Looking back at 2015 and working lands for wildlife.
More USDA Funding to Restore Sage Grouse Habitat Broadcast Date: Thu, December 10, 2015 The USDA has just released more money to help ranchers restore Sage Grouse habitat. (Gary Crawford, Dan Ashe and Under Sec'y Robert Bonnie)
Broadcast Date: Thu, December 10, 2015 The variety of taste associated with strawberries is wide ranging, depending in part on our own tastes. (Rod Bain and Kim Lewers of USDA's Agricultural Research Service)
Broadcast Date: Wed, December 9, 2015 Aging Christmas tree farmers are worried that no one will take over the growing of those trees in twenty years. (Gary Crawford, Ag. Sec'y Tom Vilsack and Christmas tree growers, Blake Rafeld, Jim Gehlsen and Jay Bustard)
Broadcast Date: Tue, December 8, 2015 Soil health will play a major role in addressing issues related to climate change, according to a United Nations official. (Rod Bain and Dr. Ajay Markanday of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization)
Broadcast Date: Tue, December 8, 2015 Is there still hope for breaking the four year drought in central and southern California? (Gary Crawford and Brad Rippey)
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Visits Green Door Gourmet (Nashville Scene) U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Harden was in Middle Tennessee on Monday to address the 94th annual Tennessee Farm Bureau Convention being held in Franklin.
In Washington, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that Ensyn has received a conditional loan guarantee commitment for $70 million for a 20 million gallon cellulosic biofuels facility to be located in Georgia.
Toward the end of every month, hospitals in California see a curious uptick in admissions for hypoglycemia, the kind of low blood sugar that can affect diabetics. Spotlight Webcast: Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture (Spotlight on Poverty)[VIDEO] In April the White House launched "Rural Impact,” a cross-agency effort to combat poverty and improve upward mobility in rural and tribal places. Vilsack: Climate change deal will improve food supply (USA Today) Unless the warming of the earth is slowed, it will damage the quantity, quality and delivery of food across the world, perhaps generating hunger and conflict, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told USA TODAY in an interview Wednesday. Climate Change Puts Food Security At Risk, USDA Warns (Think Progress) September was the warmest on record for the Imperial Valley, with temperatures climbing over 90 degrees. Climate change could make more 175 million people go hungry – USDA report (The Guardian) Unchecked climate change risks plunging a further 175 million people into hunger and undernourishment worldwide, undermining progress in reducing food insecurity, a US government report warns. Farm Equity Still Strong (Red River Farm Network) In an interview with the Red River Farm Network, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talked about the climate change report he released last week at the climate change conference in Paris. Climate Change Brews Perfect Storm of Food Woes (Scientific American) Climate change is on track to cause a lot of problems for the world's farmers, and the worst hit will be those who are the least able to recover. From Paris: Climate Change Impacts On Global And Local Food (New Orleans Public Radio) In Paris, international climate change negotiations continue. Drafts of the negotiating text are circulating, as the delegates meet in working groups behind closed doors.
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