(Muse, Oklahoma, Nov. 5, 2019) – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey today announced USDA has invested over $4.2 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Oklahoma. This is one of many funding announcements in the first round of USDA’s ReConnect Pilot Program investments. “Broadband is pivotal for access to services and information, whether…

(Washington, D.C., November 1, 2019) Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the “OneUSDA Internship” opportunity for Summer 2020. As part of the Federal Pathways Program, the OneUSDA Internship Program will provide students a way to explore serving their country through a career in government while gaining work experience in agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and other career fields.   “Our goal at USDA is to recruit the best and retain the…

(Washington, D.C., October 31, 2019) – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture held the first ever Impact Expo with employees to celebrate the impact of its customer-focused IT modernization efforts. This event underlined the connection between modernization, customer experience, and USDA’s overall impact. The Expo featured projects from across the Centers of Excellence, Office of Customer Experience, USDA’s Customer Experience Champions program, Office of the Chief Information Officer, and every USDA mission area…

Eligible Voters to Receive Ballots Week of Nov. 4 WASHINGTON, October 28, 2019 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin mailing ballots on November 4 to eligible farmers and ranchers across the country for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committee elections.“Our county committee members play a key role in our efforts to provide assistance to producers,” said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. “We value the local input of the over 7,000…

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2019 — On November 1, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. EST, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will release selected tables prepared for the upcoming USDA Agricultural Projections to 2029 report. USDA will post online tables containing long-term supply, use, and price projections to 2029 for major U.S. crops and livestock products, and will include supporting U.S. and international macroeconomic assumptions. The short-term projections from the October 11, 2019 World Agricultural…

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2019 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today issued the following statement in support of President Donald J. Trump’s National School Lunch Week Proclamation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) celebrates food service professionals, school leaders, as well as the farmers, ranchers, and producers who grow the delicious, healthful, American-grown foods that kids enjoy every day in school lunches. “At USDA we recognize the importance a healthy lunch has…

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2019 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will issue $16.2 million in grants (PDF, 325 KB) to provide training, outreach, and technical assistance to underserved and veteran farmers and ranchers. This funding is available through the USDA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as the 2501 Program), managed by the USDA Office of Partnerships and…

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue issued the following statements after President Donald J. Trump successfully negotiated an agreement on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): “President Trump’s leadership has led to an agreement that continues to promote domestic ethanol and biodiesel production, supporting our Nation’s farmers and providing greater energy security,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Today’s agreement is the latest in a…

U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary Scott Hutchins announced today that the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has invested $11 million in research that will support specialty crop farmers. “This collaborative public-private research effort will focus on applying innovative solutions to pest management problems that often are otherwise not available to specialty crop farmers,” said Hutchins, who leads USDA’s Research, Education and Economics (REE) mission area. “Practical and economic crop…