USDA

MADISON, Wis. — Once a honey bee gives its heart to a flower patch it is far more faithful than the roving bumble bee. In fact, 76% of honey bees in a recent study revisited the same plot of alfalfa... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Xochitl Torres Small as deputy secretary of the Agriculture Department, a much-anticipated outcome that nevertheless took awhile to come to fruition. As previously reported by The Well News, President Joe Biden... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Agriculture is making $23 million in grant funding available to support processing capacity expansion, on-farm improvements and technical assistance services to producers through the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives. Applications must be submitted electronically through grants.gov... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Agriculture is investing $188 million in the conservation of what the Biden administration has deemed some of the most economically and ecologically significant forestlands in the nation.   The funding will support 34 projects to conserve... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Agriculture is investing up to $450 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to increase the availability of domestic biofuels and provide consumers with additional cleaner fuel options at the pump. The infusion of significant money... Read More

WASHINGTON — The New Democrat Coalition has thrown its support behind recent rule changes adopted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will help provide millions more children with school meals. “Last year, as part of the New Democrat Coalition’s... Read More

WASHINGTON — In February, Biden tapped Xochitl Torres Small, currently USDA undersecretary for rural development, to serve as the agency’s deputy agriculture secretary. As she awaits confirmation, she’s using every tool at her disposal to ensure rural America is getting... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a proposed rule on Monday with new regulatory requirements to better align the voluntary “Product of USA” label claim with consumers’ understanding of what the claim means. The proposed rule allows the... Read More

ARLINGTON, Va. — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urged Congress on Thursday to use the upcoming farm bill reauthorization as an opportunity to encourage America’s farmers to diversify and “create multiple profit centers” in their farming operations. Speaking at the... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $9.5 million to support the scale-up of sustainable bioproduct manufacturing in the United States. The three projects being funded through the department’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture included two university-based... Read More

TUSKEGEE, Ala. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $325 million in 71 projects being undertaken under its Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative. With this latest funding, announced Monday, the department has invested a total $3.1 billion in 141... Read More

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun scattering millions of packets of oral rabies vaccine from helicopters and planes over 13 states from Maine to Alabama. The major aim is to keep raccoons from spreading their strain of... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is taking steps to reduce the economic risks associated with so-called double cropping, or raising two crops on the same land in one year.  Working with its Risk Management Agency, the USDA is... Read More

WASHINGTON — Many Americans desperately seeking baby formula have experienced empty shelves over the last few months. Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture is increasing efforts to restock those shelves, especially for low-income families where the impact of the shortage... Read More

WASHINGTON — More than two dozen members of Congress are urging Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to ensure the funds set aside for rural broadband expansion make it to the most rural of areas. The bipartisan letter urging the department... Read More

WASHINGTON — Russia’s unprovoked military assault on Ukraine is driving up the price American farmers pay for fertilizer. One of the little known facts about American agriculture is that while American farmers feed much of the world, the United States... Read More

WASHINGTON — The USDA recently announced a $1 billion investment in pilot projects to support farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners that choose to implement climate-smart conservation practices. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is positioning the initiative as a way to... Read More

WASHINGTON — A report released by the Office of the Inspector General regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s oversight of civil rights complaints provides 21 recommendations that the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights should take to try... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved $14 million in investments Wednesday to fund 31 research projects dedicated to disease prevention in agricultural livestock.  The funding comes as a part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and... Read More

About 13,511 people, 146 farms and 72 businesses are about to see their daily activities transformed due to a $21 million investment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The money will be used to provide broadband internet service to Madison... Read More

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Biden administration plans to issue a new rule to protect the rights of farmers who raise cows, chickens and hogs against the country's largest meat processors as part of a plan to encourage more competition... Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a recent report which showed that for 88% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants there is a barrier to achieving a healthy diet throughout the month.  “It’s vital that the program helps enable participants... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Department of Agriculture is offering $55.2 million in competitive grants to help foster healthier beef and poultry industries, while also expanding opportunities for small and midsized processors to grow. The funding follows an announcement by the USDA... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Agriculture is funding over $15 million in grant proposals directed at developing and expanding “the use of wood products, strengthening emerging wood energy markets and protecting community forests.” The grants will support 60 individual projects... Read More

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has entered into an interagency agreement with the Forest Service to add up to 600 of its dams to NRCS’s Nationwide DamWatch® system. DamWatch is a web-based application developed... Read More