USDA

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By James Miller, Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services

Earlier today I announced, on behalf of Secretary Tom Vilsack, an opportunity for landowners to enroll environmentally sensitive land into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).  CRP is administered by the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation.

America's farmers and ranchers play an important role in improving our environment, and for nearly 25 years, CRP has helped this nation build sound conservation practices that preserve the soil, clean our water, and restore habitat for wildlife. Today’s announcement will help us create a greener and healthier America, and I encourage all interested farmers and ranchers to contact their local FSA office to learn more how to take advantage of this opportunity.

CRP is a voluntary program that assists farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers to use their environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits.  This is the first time in four years that a general sign-up enrollment period has been announced.

The important points are:

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- This is a 10 year commitment (in some cases 15 years)
- We are seeking applicants who own environmentally sensitive land that benefits:

           -Wildlife habitat

           -Water quality

           -Erosion Reduction

           -Enduring benefits

           -Air quality

- Producers who enroll are expected to plant long-term resource conserving covers.

- In exchange for enrolling, FSA will provide rental payments, cost share and technical assistance on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation.

- CRP payments are made in arrears,  which means the first payment for land accepted under this enrollment period will be made in October 2011.

- The sign up period is from Aug. 2nd until Friday, Aug. 27th.

The best way to find out everything you need to know about CRP is to visit one of our 2200 county offices across the Nation.  To find out where your closest office is, or to find out more information about CRP click here.

By Lisa Pino, Deputy Administrator for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

The Latino community faces dual challenges when it comes to nutrition since hunger and obesity can often co-exist. Hispanics in the U.S. have higher rates of both food insecurity and obesity. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service is addressing the challenges through its 15 nutrition assistance programs, many of which include nutrition education.

To help combat these rising problems in the Latino community, I spent a week meeting with Hispanic community leaders at the national conventions of the League of the United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).

I talked about the need for access to nutritious food, more participation in FNS’ nutrition assistance programs and nutrition education coupled with increased physical activity.

I addressed community activists from all over the country at the NCLR nutrition town hall, “Childhood Obesity: A Call To Action,” in San Antonio, Texas. The session was well attended and I received a lot of feedback afterwards. I made some great contacts with local anti-hunger advocates. They asked questions about access to programs and how FNS decides which foods are eligible for purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

I then traveled to Albuquerque, N.M., to speak at the LULAC workshop “Health, Nutrition and Physical Activity.”  I was able to make great contacts with individuals working with both the Hispanic and Native American populations in the Southwest.

During my week-long trip, I had the opportunity to reach even more Latinos by giving interviews to local Spanish media, including a San Antonio Univision Television affiliate and an Albuquerque Univision radio station — reaching hundreds of thousands Spanish-speaking households in one week.

My television interview in Spanish is available on this link: http://www.univision.com/content/videoplayer.jhtml?cid=2471127

Lisa Pino, Deputy Administrator for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, spent a week meeting with Hispanic community leaders at the national conventions of the League of the United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) to talk about the need for access to nutritious food, more participation in FNS’ nutrition assistance programs and nutrition education coupled with increased physical activity.

Submitted by: Colleen Callahan, Illinois State Director, USDA Rural Development

Question:  Why do you go to a hospital?

A: To visit someone who is sick
B. To get a diagnostic test
C. To see a specialist
D. To have surgery
E. To meet your trainer for your workout
F. All of the above

The answer is F, IF you live in Illinois near the Hillsboro Area Hospital!  Did the “E” choice confuse you?  Probably.  But try telling that to the teenager who walked in the door as I was walking out!  Dressed in her workout clothes and headed to the fitness center, she clearly had a different mindset than I had when I was that age.  I remarked to Rex Brown, the hospital administrator, that the only time I went to the hospital when I was in high school was when I, or someone I knew, was sick. But Rex believes it’s a place you should go for wellness, NOT just “sickness.”  He also said that while he was growing up, he never saw an adult “working out.”  And as I thought about it, I realized I had the same “non-experience.”  Living on a farm and in a farming community, the exercise we got was through our labor! 

Today the Hillsboro Area Hospital is a destination for adult physical fitness, alongside the routines of their children and grandchildren.  The Aquatic Center finds preschoolers doing water activities in one part of the pool, while 70-somethings do water aerobics in another.  Rex points out that the setting sends a message that exercise is a lifetime requirement…not just for or during a certain point in life. 

But what if you do have a medical need?  For that, you enter the same hospital door.  You just turn to the right, instead of the left.  So where does USDA Rural Development come in? I visited Rex and the Hillsboro Area Hospital because we helped meet that need through a Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant.  How will that investment be used?  To teach Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) courses to area high school students.

The Hillsboro Area Hospital serves the area in and around Montgomery County.  Administrator Brown doesn’t just manage employees and the hospital’s money.  He is an employee himself who cares not only about the staff and the “bottom line,” but also the future of the community, its residents and their health…now and in the future.  Thank you, Rex, for your foresight and for the opportunity for USDA Rural Development to help make your vision possible.

USDA is currently soliciting comments on the Telemedicine program.  To find out more, or to participate, click here.

During her visit to Hillsboro Area Hospital, Illinois Rural Development State Director Callahan learned about some of the new roles rural hospitals can play in their communities. The hospital was a recipient of a Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant to provide healthcare courses for high school students.

Written by Kayla Harless, People’s Garden Intern

Today, Dr. Karen Rane presented a workshop in the People’s Garden about diseases of the flower garden. As a plant pathologist and diagnostician, she provided us with lots of fascinating insight. Dr. David Clement, a fellow plant pathologist, joined her in instructing the workshop.

There are several factors that contribute to the chances of your flower garden becoming infected. An easy way to remember these three things is the disease triangle. The three points on the triangle, or risk factors, are having a susceptible host, providing a favorable environment for diseases, and the presence of a pathogen.

Fortunately, a lot can be done to avoid having the disease triangle present in your garden. Choosing resistant cultivars is one important step, simply research the different cultivars that are resistant and select those when buying plants. Some species are more susceptible to disease than others. While buying plants, examine them thoroughly to make sure you aren’t bringing home a pathogen. Check not only the leaves, but also the roots to make sure they are white and healthy. If they are stringy and brown, that means trouble. Using drip irrigation, or watering in the early morning so that the plants can have a chance to dry is another advantage, considering most pathogens thrive only in wet environments. Over-fertilizing your plants is something to avoid, for example, if a plant has too much nitrogen, it can become stringy and weak and more susceptible to disease. Additionally, garden clean-up at the end of the season can rid the garden of potentially infected leaves that a pathogen could over-winter in your garden.

Lastly, Dr. Rane brought many samples of flowers and plants that were infected with varying types of diseases: fungi, viruses, bacteria, leaf spots, and root diseases. Most of these can be prevented by practicing the measures discussed earlier, but some are exceptions. For example, powdery mildew lives and thrives on the surface of leaves that are not wet, unlike most. Southern blight is another disease worth mentioning, as it is very resistant to measures to rid it from the garden, and the best way to be rid of it once it has taken root is overhaul and replace the soil.

If you have specific questions about problems in your own flower garden, extension services and land-grant universities often have researchers and laboratories on-hand and can provide lots of specific information about relevant plant problems in your area.

Dr. Karen Rane brought samples of plants with various diseases, here she showed the workshop attendees a Vinca with a bright yellow leaf spot.

Southern Blight, a fatal plant disease in the roots, can be recognized by very small tan spots on the roots that resemble birdseed.

By Richard A. Machek, Florida State Director, USDA Rural Development

I recently returned from a groundbreaking ceremony that was 10 years in the making. Like many of Florida’s rural cities and towns, the City of Marianna has faced years of reduced revenues and a shrinking business district. Looking for ways to revitalize their downtown, Marianna city leaders developed a plan early on, but lacked the funds to make it happen. Finally, after securing $180,000 in state and county funds and a $253,000 USDA Rural Development Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG), Marianna broke ground on a farmers market that will anchor the city’s new downtown park and recreation area.

I have to admit this project is close to my heart… and my stomach. As a sixth generation Floridian whose family has strong ties to agriculture, it’s gratifying to see a renewed interest rural farmers and the bounty they produce. USDA statistics indicate that the demand for locally grown produce will increase from $5 billion in 2002, to $7 billion in 2012. And that’s just what the city of Marianna is counting on.

“I think this park and farmers market will become a community icon,” said a Marianna city official during the groundbreaking ceremony. “I think this new opportunity to offer our goods and produce will be a great benefit to the community,” a representative from the Jackson County Growers Association told a local newspaper.

I think they’re both right. By creating this economic opportunity for local producers, the City of Marianna is generating wealth that will stay in their rural community. In addition to the increasing the flow of shoppers and revenue to the downtown area, local consumers will get the chance to connect with local farmers and begin to understand where their food comes from. There’s even talk of the local school district purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmers market to serve in school cafeterias.  

This project is a great example of how the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative can dovetail so effectively into Rural Development projects. The RBEG funds used to support this project will strengthen the rural community surrounding Marianna, promote healthy eating and support sustainable farming. For this rural community, it’s a win-win endeavor.

USDA and Marianna, Florida dignitaries broke ground recently on a farmers market that will anchor the city’s new downtown park and recreation area.

By Amy Maxwell, State Public Affairs Specialist, South Carolina

Three People’s Gardens at USDA Service Centers within South Carolina’s Edisto Watershed are encouraging community involvement and are providing fresh produce to those in need.

Made possible by the hard work and efforts of USDA agencies, local community members and volunteers, the gardens were planted this spring with tomatoes, peppers, okra, corn, cucumbers, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe and sunflowers, all donated to local food banks.

The gardens, located in Orangeburg, Barnwell and Bamberg Counties, illustrate conservation principles by using best management practices that emphasize soil and water conservation. They also emphasize the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables and the true spirit of partnership and community. USDA employees volunteer to maintain the gardens, but local 4-Hers also pitch in.

The People’s Garden Initiative was launched in February 2009 by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who established the first such garden at USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C. There are now more than 400 People’s Gardens nationwide.

These gardens show what can happen when public spaces are used to benefit the community and a dedicated group of USDA employees, volunteers, young adults and local groups unite to make a difference in their communities.

By Katherine Belcher USDA Kentucky Public Information Coordinator

When the Agriculture Department issued a challenge for its employees to establish People’s Gardens at USDA facilities around the world, the staff of the Service Center in West Liberty, Ky., wasted no time in putting one together.

With the perfect location in mind, Barry Allen, County Executive Director for the Farm Service Agency office in West Liberty, asked a landowner who lives next door to the Service Center if USDA could establish a garden on his parcel.  The owner had long used it to raise his own vegetables, but in recent years, due to health issues, he was no longer able to do so. After hearing the concept behind the People’s Garden, the neighbor gladly agreed to let USDA use the property, asking only favor – that he be allowed to enjoy a small portion of the produce.

The staff started with nothing, but little by little– they had enough to start the garden. Most raise gardens at their homes, and when asked to help, they didn’t hesitate to bring in extra seeds, plants and equipment to use at the office. They pooled their assets, money and resources – making it a true team effort.

Nearly every member of the staff has had a hand in the garden – literally and figuratively – from providing the materials, tilling the soil and planting the vegetables to keeping out the weeds, harvesting the produce and delivering it to people who needed it. The garden plot is slightly less than one-quarter of an acre but has produced a tremendous amount of produce, including green beans, okra, zucchini, banana peppers, tomatoes, corn, squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, radishes and green onions.

Each week, USDA staff from several agencies donates the fresh produce to local senior citizens. To date, donations have been made to senior citizen centers in Morgan, Wolfe, Magoffin, Floyd and Johnson counties. All five counties are persistent poverty counties and the seniors in those areas are incredibly thankful for the donations.

“We are providing good, healthy food to one of the most vulnerable parts of society – seniors. That’s the best part, giving (the produce) to the people who are so appreciative of it,” said Allen. “Many senior citizens have people watching over them, but some don’t. Many are on a fixed income and cannot afford to buy fresh produce. And those who can afford to buy it oftentimes cannot get to the store on their own – they need someone to take them."

Kentucky Rural Development staff from the Service Center in Paintsville have donated their time and labor to work in the garden as well. Cheryl Wright recently donated several pounds of vegetables to the senior citizens center in Johnson County in June and July.

Tom Fern, State Director for Rural Development, said he is proud of the work being done in People’s Gardens across the state and commends all the USDA employees who are participating.

“This garden benefits the community, is collaborative and incorporates sustainable practices,” said Fern. “People with access to fresh produce are more likely to have a healthy and nutritious diet, and this garden is providing fresh vegetables to rural residents in need.”

The USDA West Liberty Service Center community garden. 

The USDA West Liberty Service Center community garden. 

 

The USDA West Liberty Service Center community garden. 

Lyda Ward, Director of Johnson County Senior Citizen and Adult Day Care Center,(right) accepting the beans and cucumbers donated by the USDA West Liberty Service Center from their people's garden for the seniors on July 6, 2010.    

Written by Vicki Schurman, USDA Nebraska Public Information Coordinator

President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative came to Nebraska on July 12, when 200 attendees gathered in Grand Island for a listening session.  They were joined by Dave White, Chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and senior representatives of the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and the Interior (DOI).

USDA Nebraska leaders attending included NRCS State Conservationist Steve Chick, Rural Development State Director Maxine Moul and Farm Service Agency Executive Director Dan Steinkruger.

Nebraska residents were given the opportunity to share with members of the Administration what is being done at the local, regional and state levels to connect Nebraskans to the outdoors and to help conserve natural resources.

Prior to the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative listening session, a bus tour visited restored wetlands in the Rainwater Basin complex, including Trumbull Basin and additional sites south of Grand Island.

NRCS Chief White made a major announcement of the funding of five projects totaling $9.8 million that will restore, enhance and protect high-priority wetlands and improve wildlife habitat through the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP).  The financial assistance for the multiyear projects will protect and restore 2,440 acres of wetlands and associated habitats in four states, including Nebraska.

Through WREP, the Rainwater Basin complex in south central Nebraska is receiving $750,000 for work on 240 acres this year.  This project, sponsored by Pheasants Forever, proposes restoring and protecting wetlands in an active agricultural landscape by allowing center pivots to cross wetlands, ensuring wetlands are compatible with the agriculture production in this region.  At the end of three years, 960 acres of wetlands and upland habitats adjacent to, and within, pivot circles will be restored.

A panel of conservation leaders helped guide discussion about collaborative efforts that have protected Nebraska’s natural resources and encouraged Nebraskans to get outside and connect with nature.  Breakout sessions were held to gather ideas on what more can be accomplished by identifying what works, tools for success, challenges, and the federal government’s role.

A youth session concluded the day’s events.

NRCS Chief Dave White announces funding to restore Nebraska wetlands and wildlife habitat.

By Sara Feuerstein, Intern, Foreign Agricultural Service

Following Secretary Vilsack’s initiative, People’s Gardens have cropped up at USDA headquarters, at the White House, in all 50 states, and at Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) posts throughout the world. Secretary Vilsack promotes the gardens, which “help people understand how to use water wisely, choose the right plants for the right site and climate, and create a habitat for wildlife.” Each People's Garden can vary in size and type, but all have a common purpose - to help the environment and the community they are in. Last year USDA donated over 34,000 pounds of produce to local charities from 124 People's Gardens.

The agricultural post in Seoul, South Korea has whole-heartedly embraced the People’s Garden initiative and has launched two major projects. In March, Cub and Girl Scouts and their parents planted seeds in trays at the greenhouse on the Ambassador’s residential grounds. Once the seedlings emerged, they were then planted in the garden by over 160 Korean and American volunteers and their children. A harvest festival will take place this fall.

After a visit by Livia Marques, the director for USDA’s People’s Garden in December 2009, the Office of Agricultural Affairs in Seoul, working together with the National Science Museum, Junior Master Gardener’s Korea, and the Rural Development Administration created a People’s Garden at the National Gwacheon Scientorium. A local Boy Scout troop helped to design and construct the 700 square meter garden with 10 raised bed gardens, with another 10 to be finished in August. Seoul’s largest science museum includes indoor and outdoor exhibitions, a planetarium, an observatory, and a Science Camp Site. Thanks to the efforts of FAS Seoul, the museum also boasts a People’s Garden.

In Tokyo, the Ambassador’s Residence Kitchen Garden was unveiled in July. Inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama’s White House Garden, the garden was created to promote healthy eating.  The first produce from the garden formed the basis for healthy dishes served at the 2010 U.S. Embassy Independence Day celebration. Using the local Japanese cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yuzu, and a variety of herbs from the garden, U.S. Embassy Agricultural Trade Office Chef Consultant Ema Koeda designed a special menu for the event. Chef Koeda’s delicious recipes featured fruits and vegetables from the garden along with other American ingredients, such as California olive oil, cherries, and Alaskan cod, for the approximately 1500 Independence Day reception guests.  The garden-inspired menu and other recipes using American food products can be found at the ATO’s website.

The U.S. Ambassador in Paris requested FAS’s assistance in creating a kitchen garden for his residence. The agricultural office established a partnership with the City of Paris’s Ecole du Breuil, one of the leading horticultural and gardening high schools in France. The students designed and planted the vegetable garden, and DuPont/Pioneer Seed Company made a donation to defray their costs. In accordance with USDA People’s Garden initiative, the garden serves as a center of interest and an excellent teaching platform. Pictures are available on the Embassy’s website.

To learn more about USDA People’s Gardens or to start your own, visit the People’s Garden website.

The Paris Garden designed by French Student Audrey Gerraerts.

Written by Rayne Pegg, Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service

The Secretary of Agriculture has officially declared August 1-7 2010 as National Farmers Market Week. 

National Farmers Market Week is an opportunity to celebrate the thriving farmers markets in your community.  It’s a time to specifically honor the market vendors who tend the farms, grow the produce, raise the meat, bake the bread and prepare the other fresh local products you find at your farmers market. It’s a time to thank the market managers who organize and run farmers markets smoothly so you can enjoy the goods vendors have to offer.  It’s a time to benefit from the community pride and economic opportunities farmers markets build in towns and cities across the country. 

In addition to the Secretary’s Proclamation,   the USDA has also prepared an audio Public Service Announcements (PSA), available in both English and Spanish that can be downloaded and used on your community radio station, website, or blog  to mark the week.  Please ask your local farmers market manager what other special events are going on to celebrate National Farmers Market Week.

You may be a regular farmers market shopper, relying on farmers markets for your local and fresh produce, meats, cheeses, breads, flowers and other products.  You might have never been to a farmers market but looking for a reason to go. Thousands of the country’s farmers markets are listed on the USDA Farmers Market Directory. Make National Farmers Market Week 2010, August 1-7,  an excuse to find a farmers market new to you.

By Amanda Eamich, Director of Web Communications

The Apps for Healthy Kids polls are open with 95 games and apps waiting for you to test and play. We’re thrilled with your interest thus far with almost 5,000 votes cast in the first week. 

It’s important that kids stay active and keep moving, so why not take 10 to play 10 on your lunch break or when your kids take a rest from play?  There are games and apps for every audience and we want to know which is your favorite. Share the entries you enjoy the most with your social networks and spread the word!

Voting will remain open until noon, August 21, so there’s still time. Join your peers who have answered the call and cast their vote. Winners will be announced this fall and you get to decide which game and app will win a $4,500 Popular Choice Award. 

Written by Jonathan Adelstein, Administrator, Rural Utilities Services

Remote learning, teaching, and service delivery are becoming a way of life, and nowhere is that truer than in rural regions.

Digital networks and new technologies are emerging to bring more cost-effective and high quality telemedical services to rural populations across the country.   The financial distance penalty so often assumed to be part of rural life appears to be receding as our broadband networks are expanding.  With medical record keeping systems moving to digital formats, the opportunity to have records and diagnostic tests “move” with you from doctor to doctor or from doctor to clinic is becoming more commonplace, as is the availability of sophisticated diagnostic procedures and specialized help, again through the broadband networks being built with USDA funding support  in metro and rural regions.

Telemedicine promises lower costs plus expanded services, even though that sounds like an impossible combination.  Digital technologies and broadband networks are making it feasible to bring the medical mainstream into rural regions.  This is the power of telemedicine.

Several federal agencies - the Federal Communications Commission, USDA, The Department of Health and Human Services, and the Veterans Administration among them - have been supporting telemedicine efforts over the years, and we now hope to use social media in order to get some ideas from the public about the power of telemedicine.  This is a “tipping point” in terms of federal investment, medical innovation, organizational interest, and public awareness.  We’re interested in learning from both the people receiving telemedicine-based services, as well as the people working with organizations that establish and use these systems to provide care.   Using our forum site on The Power of Telemedicine we would like to hear from you.

About what?  Your experiences with telemedicine.  How have they been useful to you, or how could they be improved?  What has worked well, and what not so well?  What would you like to see in the way of new telemedicine services?  Mobile applications?  In-home services?  Something else?

We hope to use your input to improve our various programs. A massive effort is underway to smooth the way different agencies invest in telehealth and telemedicine, and the net result should be a better understanding of how programs can maximize the public benefit. The Administration is investing in the networks through the broadband programs administered by USDA and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and it has made large commitments to health information technology, but we need your help to make this work well.  Please join the dialogue.    

Written by Allison Bitzer, The Susquehanna Photographic

At a recent event, USDA Rural Development awarded $99,000 to York, Pennsylvania’s future Shared Kitchen Incubator at market. The project is YorKitchen, a commercial kitchen space that will be available for small culinary and agricultural businesses to prepare and package their goods. The project will offer affordable use of the space and its equipment as a way support local tastes and talents. 

Tom Williams, the Pennsylvania State Director of USDA Rural Development, presented the award. He complimented the project, noting that when opportunity is given to people that have good ideas, they can in turn create revenue and more jobs for the area.

Kevin Schreiber, Director of Economic Development for the City of York, said that the project is based on accessibility and education: the space will be open 24/7, 365 days a year and will be able to accommodate two users at a time.  Further plans include cooking classes for increased revenue, as well as training and educational classes for the economically disadvantaged residents of York. They will learn to cook healthy meals and read nutrition labels. 

Photos Courtesy of Philip Given and Allison Bitzer at The Susquehanna Photographic.

The YorKitchen in York, Pennsylvania, funded in part with USDA Rural Development support.

Kevin Schreiber, Director of Economic Development for the City of York, said the facility will accommodate two users at a time. 

Written by Kelly Edwards Wisconsin USDA Public Information Coordinator

Today too few rural citizens are able to take advantage of the opportunities broadband provides.  With broadband becoming increasingly critical for economic growth and information accessibility needs, rural counties and cities are beginning to take the initiative to develop local and regional broadband networks on their own.

At an event earlier this month in Reedsburg Wis., one such initiative was ignited. USDA Rural Utilities Administrator Jonathan Adelstein and Wisconsin Rural Development State Director Stan Gruszynski announced the awarding of more than $5.2 million in American Recovery Act funds to the Reedsburg Utilities Commission for broadband infrastructure improvements and service expansion. Congressman Ron Kind also attended the event.

“The City of Reedsburg has stepped up to ensure that residents in the area have broadband service that is second to none and this investment will lay the foundation for economic development in the area for years to come,” said Adelstein.

In addition to the USDA funds, over $2.3 million in private investment was provided. The funding will extend an existing municipal fiber-to-the-premise network to the surrounding rural area to provide affordable advanced broadband service to residents and businesses that are currently confined to traditional dial-up, wireless, and satellite services.

“It’s something we can really be proud of,” Dave Mikonowicz, Reedsburg Utility Commission General Manager, said. “It’s a great thing for the whole area.” Mikonowicz anticipated that an additional 310 businesses and more than 2,400 homes will be able to access the utility’s services, and approximately 42 new jobs will be generated. “Ultimately, this thing has economic development written all over it,” he said.

In addition, Administrator Adelstein announced that Wisconsin’s Marquette-Adams Telephone Cooperative, Inc. received Recovery Act funds to extend fiber optic service from the existing Telephone Cooperative service area to unserved and underserved rural areas bordering the cooperative’s current territory.

“Building a broadband infrastructure is critical to creating jobs and economic opportunity in rural areas and with investments in broadband we are fostering innovation and bringing our rural communities into the digital age,” said State Director Gruszynski. 

 

Reedsburg Broadband Funding: Stan Gruszynski, USDA Rural Development State Director;  Kim Cates, Office of U.S. Senator Kohl; Congressman Ron Kind; Utilities Administrator Adelstein; Dave Mikonowicz, Reedsburg Utility Commission General Manager; Mark Meyer, Wisconsin Public Service Commission; Katie Crawley, Office of U.S. Senator Feingold.

By Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Yesterday, I had the amazing opportunity to survey the northern Everglades, a vast watershed of incredible beauty. USDA prides itself on protecting natural resources across our nation and the Fisheating Creek Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) project offers us another opportunity to do just that.

Fisheating Creek is located in Highland County, part of the Northern Everglades Watershed. This watershed flows southeast into Lake Okeechobee, which in turn, flows into the Everglades.

As the helicopter hovered over the Fisheating Creek WRP project, I thought about the commitment and dedication to Florida and its natural resources that the ranch families are making. They are taking proactive steps to be part of the long term solution to wetland restoration and water quality improvement in this critical watershed.  These ranch families have agreed to place permanent easements on five tracts of adjoining land that total almost 26,000 acres. 

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is ready to do its part to help private landowners to restore, protect and enhance wetlands and improve water quality in exchange for retiring eligible land from agriculture.

The five properties owned by the four landowners are part of a landscape that supports more than 19 federally endangered and threatened species, including the crested caracara, bald eagle, Florida panther and the red-cockaded woodpecker.

The willingness of these farm and ranch families to enroll their acreage into WRP makes this project one of the largest contiguous easement acquisitions in the program’s history. Wayne Goodwin, Farmer Manager at Westby Farms highlighted the memories and personal connection that the families have to the land and how this is one way of preserving those connections for generations to come.

USDA has been, and will continue to be, a major player in restoring one of America’s treasures--the Everglades. I feel a sense of deep pride that USDA can make a difference in this historic and unique ecosystem.

The Fisheating Creek Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) project offers USDA the opportunity to protect the nations natural resources.

Fisheating Creek, located in Highland County, is part of the Northern Everglades Watershed which flows southeast into Lake Okeechobee, which in turn, flows into the Everglades.

By Robert Westover, USDA Forest Service Office of Communcations

Working to implement and respond to the USDA strategic plan, the Forest Service’s National Roadmap for Responding to Climate Change sets priorities for responding to a changing climate. USDA’s strategic plan was announced in mid-June. The plan describes the Department’s major programmatic policies and covers the myriad programs and services that USDA administers. Under the plan, Forest Service field units will be held accountable for showing progress each year.

The national roadmap is part of the overall and ongoing effort by the Forest Service to restore forest and grassland landscapes. One of the measurement criteria of the national roadmap is a scorecard rating system to be used by all national forests and grasslands to gage the success of efforts to mitigate and adapt to a changing climate. The prime components of the scorecard system consist of four categories. They are:

• Organizational Capacity: educating employees on climate change issues
• Partnerships: working with organizations (both public and private) on climate change education
• Mitigation: reducing energy, emissions, water use and other environmental footprints
• Adaptation: monitor impacts of climate change and adjust land management policy accordingly.

The scorecard reinforces the Forest Service’s commitment to make the nation’s forests and grasslands more resilient to climate change. Forests can’t be properly managed unless we have full engagement with partners and communities. The scorecard will assist in striking this balance.

Most importantly, the national roadmap and scorecard rating system will give Forest Service employees a way to bring science and technology into play in order to assess, adapt to and mitigate climate change. It will also make our national forests accountable for engaging with communities and partners in responding to climate change.

To read or download the national roadmap and scorecard rating system go to:  http://www.fs.fed.us/climatechange/climate-update.shtml

By Ron Morton, Assistant State Public Affairs Specialist, Athens, Georgia

In the 1930s, a rural Georgia wetland was drained to help control the spread of malaria. As the land dried, water-loving wildlife like the endangered wood stork had to find a new home or perish. Eventually, the land became dry and tillable and was converted to farmland.

More than 70 years later, property owners James and Sue Adams had a desire to return the land back to its original state and applied for assistance via the Wetlands Reserve Program, administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Today the land is once again covered with water and that’s the kind of home the wood stork and other wildlife find just dandy.

Wood storks are long-legged wading birds with black-tipped wings and tails. These birds, which have a wingspan of 5 feet when fully grown, need wetlands to survive. Their populations reached a low of 2,500 pairs by 1978, causing them to be listed as endangered in 1984.

Last year the Georgia Department of Natural Resources tracked a banded wood stork from Florida to this Georgia wetland and discovered a whole community containing a variety of bird species. This year they found 125 wood stork nests, several hundred cattle egrets, little blue heron, and anhinga.

The Adamses did not restore the wetland specifically for endangered species, but they love that these animals have returned.

“The land might be in my wife’s and my name, but it’s only in trust,” said James Adams. “I have a real responsibility to not harm the land or creatures that live on it. I try to enhance it.”

For more information about NRCS programs in Georgia, visit http://www.ga.nrcs.usda.gov.

Wood storks are long-legged wading birds with black-tipped wings and tails. These birds, which have a wingspan of 5 feet when fully grown, need wetlands to survive. Their populations reached a low of 2,500 pairs by 1978, causing them to be listed as endangered in 1984.

By Michael Jones, Ohio USDA Public Information Coordinator

Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur invited USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Cheryl L. Cook to attend a district sponsored USDA Resource Fair earlier this month. Cook and about 90 business owners, agricultural growers, local community leaders and residents gathered to evaluate available financial and technical assistance resources at multiple events in the Toledo and Huron County area.

Congresswoman Kaptur hosted the event to get critical financial and strategic information to inquiring entrepreneurs in her district. The events were divided into morning and afternoon sessions, with the morning agenda focusing on the particular needs of the agricultural community. The afternoon session targeted the concerns of urban non-profit and cooperative organizations and generated suggestions to improve profitability.

As the congresswoman’s guest speaker, Deputy Under Secretary Cook took the opportunity at both venues to broadly discuss USDA’s economic development policy initiatives, with specific technical program support provided by panel members from Rural Development, Farm Services Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Small Business Administration and the Center for Innovative Food Technology.

Panel discussions and an interactive audience promoted the adoption of innovative, cooperative approaches which could increase area businesses accessibility to funding available from attending federal and state resource organizations.

Congresswoman Kaptur ended both events by emphasizing the importance of federal agencies, like Rural Development, to strive to customize their programs to meet the needs of the expanding community of potential customers. She also advocated that a commitment be made to streamline the complex regulatory restrictions that make usage of several federal programs prohibitive.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA's rich science and research portfolio.

By Joe Reilly, Associate Administrator, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

I grew up on a small farm near Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, where my family - like many others across the United States - helped provide the food and fiber to build and sustain America. Visiting these types of farm communities today there is a distinctive change on the rural horizon from when I was a child – the presence of wind turbines, solar panels, ethanol plants, and other bioenergy tools and resources.

The fact is agriculture in the United States is changing. The industry is no longer looked upon just to provide food and fiber to America. Agriculture is now fueling America’s future.

There is growing national interest in energy efficiency and alternative energy sources and the agriculture industry is being tapped to provide the answers. With this increasing interest comes a critical need for solid data about how the agriculture sector is already generating and using renewable energy.

In response to this need, the National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) is launching a new, annual survey program to collect and publish renewable energy data. As we prepare to launch this new program in 2012, we are looking to farmers, farm and energy organizations, and other stakeholders to tell us exactly what information they want and need.

If you have thoughts or suggestions, please let us know. Go online and provide your input by August 2.

We’re open to looking at all aspects of renewable energy production and use, including issues such as the costs and benefits, the motivators and obstacles, and the handling and use of energy co-products. If you have an interest in agriculture’s production and use of renewable energy, now’s your time to weigh in and help shape this important new initiative.

80 feet above ARS’s Bushland, Texas, research station, agricultural engineer Byron Neal (right), of ARS, and mechanical engineer Adam Holman, of the Alternative Energy Institute, West Texas A&M University, perform quarterly service on a wind turbine.

Story and Photos by Phil Eggman, USDA Rural Development, Washington State Office

Donating a little bit of time can go a long way to making a big difference for people. Just ask the employees of USDA Rural Development in Washington State who, on July 13, donated two hours of their time at the end of a hectic day to make food packages for the elderly, young mothers, infants and children at the Thurston County Food Bank located in downtown Olympia.

According to Thurston County Food Bank Executive Director Robert Coit, it was opportune that the Rural Development team were packaging food for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which is a USDA program that provides nutritious food "packages" designed specifically for the nutritional  needs of low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants, children up to age six and elderly people 60 and older.

"It's a great program and helps us with our mission to eliminate hunger in Thurston County," Coit said, adding that the food bank serves 10,000 families annually, including 37,000 individuals, half of which are children, around the communities of Lacy, Olympia  and Tumwater.

"This was a great opportunity for us to help out in our local community," said Mario Villanueva, Washington State Director, USDA Rural Development. "Too many Americans live in food deserts and lack access to healthy food.  USDA is a key partner in providing access to healthy food by administering the nation's nutrition programs, funding projects that provide underserved areas with greater access to fresh produce"

"It was great!," said Becki Southworth, Multi-Family Housing Loan Specialist. "I really feel like we were able to help our local community by not only what we do every day through housing, business and community programs, but by taking it up a level and getting out in the community, we were able to help meet another need, provide food to those that need it most.  I am so glad I was able to go and I would love to do it again."

"I had fun and it felt great to know that we helped 210 families in just an hour and a half of work of great teamwork," said Housing Specialist Leslie Schmidt. "It just shows how much you can help the community with just a little bit of our time."

In addition to helping out at the local food bank (an exercise the agency plans to repeat on a regular basis), Rural Development is participating in a summer food drive as part of the 2nd Annual "Feds, Farmers, and Friends Feed Families" (F5) initiative.  The Washington State food drive kicked off July 6 in Olympia and other area offices and will run through July 31.

The food drive makes a big difference. Last summer, federal employees around the country donated more than 1 million pounds of nonperishable goods and daily essentials for those in need.

The new goal for 2010 across the Federal government is 1.2 million pounds of non-perishable items.

"We know the need is great in our area and this was a chance for our agency and federal partners to contribute to a worthwhile cause," said Gayle Hoskison, Olympia Area Director. "And, I agree with our staff - it was a great team effort and felt really good to help out at the food bank.  We added another 'F' to the 'F5' effort - the 6th 'F' stands for Fun!"

Representatives from USDA Rural Development State Office Employees.

Housing Specialist Leslie Schmidt puts together food packages as part of USDA's
Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).