USDA’s StrikeForce Initiative Invests $23.5 Billion in Rural Communities, Expands to...
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 15, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the expansion of the Department's StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative into high-poverty counties in Florida, Missouri, Montana, and Ohio. Launched in 2010, more than 1,500 StrikeForce partnerships have already helped USDA support nearly 1...
USDA Announces $8.8 Million Available to Support Food and Agricultural Sciences...
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the availability of more than $8.8 million in competitive funding to support Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ (HSIs) agricultural science education programs. These grants will enhance the ability of these colleges and universities to support underserved students and...
USDA 2016 Agricultural Outlook Forum Plenary Panel Announced
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the members of this year’s Agricultural Outlook Forum Plenary Panel on “Providing Leadership for Present and Future Generations in the Transformation of Agriculture.”...
USDA Awards $46 Million to Boost Energy Efficiency in Vermont
BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 8, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today awarded $46 million in assistance to the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) to support energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements in rural areas across the state....
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Expanded Market Access for...
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2016 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today released the following statement: On Jan. 7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in collaboration with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), reached agreement with South African officials to allow most U.S. exports of poultry, pork and beef and their products...
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Proclaiming Today Bob Stallman Appreciation...
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released the following statement proclaiming today, Jan. 6, 2016, Bob Stallman Appreciation Day. Stallman is retiring as President of the American Farm Bureau Federation after 16 years of service....
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Announces 2015 Wildfires Burned Record Acres, Urges...
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2016 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that in 2015, wildfires burned a record 10,125,149 acres across the United States, surpassing the previous record set in 2006. The Secretary renewed the call for Congress to pass the bi-partisan Wildfire Disaster Funding Act....
HHS and USDA Release New Dietary Guidelines to Encourage Healthy Eating...
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2016 – Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia M. Burwell and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today released updated nutritional guidelines that encourage Americans to adopt a series of science-based recommendations to improve how they eat to reduce obesity and prevent chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes, h...
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Additional Support for Iowa Producers to Improve...
DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 5, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a host of new efforts to help Iowa's farmers and livestock producers conserve water and soil resources and improve nutrient management practices on the state’s 30 million acres of farmland. Vilsack said the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will expand acc...
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Robert Wood Johnson Foundation...
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today released the following statement in response to a new study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation regarding the effects of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The study found that after the new standards were implemented, the nutritional value of foods chosen by students increased b...
