White House Champions of Change for the Future of American Agriculture

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden, on April 16, 2014 at 4:00 PM

In the field of agriculture, we have a very important question to ask ourselves: who will the next generation of farmers and ranchers be?

For more than three decades, the share of farms operated by beginning farmers has been in decline.  Beginning farms and ranches accounted for 22 percent of the nation’s 2 million family farms and ranches in 2012—down from about 35 percent in 1982. Consistent with this trend, the average age of principal farm operators in the United States has risen in that period, from 51 to 58.

Since day one, the Obama Administration has supported opportunities for people who want to work the land and produce food, fuel, and fiber for our country. The Administration continues to make these critical investments because of the great innovation and promise that agriculture holds.

The White House will be hosting a Champions of Change event to celebrate local agriculture leaders who are taking innovative approaches to support American farming and ranching—both now and in the future.  These leaders will be invited to the White House to celebrate their accomplishments and showcase their actions to support the future of agriculture.

Today, we’re asking you to help us identify these standout local leaders by nominating a Champion of Change for the New Generation of American Agriculture by noon on Friday, April 18. These Champions may be:

• Beginning farmers and ranchers using innovative practices and techniques to create productive and sustainable farms and ranches that will feed people at home and abroad long into the future.
• Producers, foresters, small-business owners, and scientists using Farm Bill programs to drive agricultural productivity and economic competitiveness.
• Local leaders that are working to build new opportunities for those who want to work on the land, create innovation in the field of agriculture, support diversity in agriculture, and connect a new generation to their food, fiber, fuel, and agricultural neighbors.

Click on the link below to submit your nomination (be sure to choose “Future of American Agriculture” in the “Theme of Service” field of the nomination form).

Nominate a Champion of Change for the Future of American Agriculture

We look forward to hosting this event at the White House this spring, highlighting the great work of our nation’s agriculture leaders. Thank you for your dedication to American agriculture and the overall wellbeing of our rural communities.

Grand Canyon Geology Lessons on View

NASA Image:

Grand Canyon Geology Lessons on View

The Grand Canyon in northern Arizona is a favorite for astronauts shooting photos from the International Space Station, as well as one of the best-known tourist attractions in the world. The steep walls of the Colorado River canyon and its many side canyons make an intricate landscape that contrasts with the dark green, forested plateau to the north and south.

The Colorado River has done all the erosional work of carving away cubic kilometers of rock in a geologically short period of time. Visible as a darker line snaking along the bottom of the canyon, the river lies at an altitude of 715 meters (2,345 feet), thousands of meters below the North and South Rims. Temperatures are furnace-like on the river banks in the summer. But Grand Canyon Village, the classic outlook point for visitors, enjoys a milder climate at an altitude of 2,100 meters (6,890 feet).

The Grand Canyon has become a geologic icon—a place where you can almost sense the invisible tectonic forces within the Earth. The North and South Rims are part of the Kaibab Plateau, a gentle tectonic swell in the landscape. The uplift of the plateau had two pronounced effects on the landscape that show up in this image. First, in drier parts of the world, forests usually indicate higher places; higher altitudes are cooler and wetter, conditions that allow trees to grow. The other geologic lesson on view is the canyon itself. Geologists now know that a river can cut a canyon only if the Earth surface rises vertically. If such uplift is not rapid, a river can maintain its course by eroding huge quantities of rock and forming a canyon.

This astronaut photograph (ISS039-E-5258) was taken on March 25, 2014 by the Expedition 39 crew, with a Nikon D3S digital camera using a 180 millimeter lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. It has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed.

Celebrate Extension's Centennial by Sharing Your Extension Story!

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Jennifer Martin, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, on April 16, 2014 at 1:00 PM

If you are a 4-H’er, a farmer or backyard gardener who works with your local Extension agent, or a part of a Land Grant University – tell us how Extension has helped, improved or even changed your life using #Ext100Years!

One hundred years ago, Congress passed the Smith-Lever Act, expanding on the federal government’s partnership with the Land-Grant University System to create the Cooperative Extension System. This is 100 years of Extension making a positive impact in the lives of Americans.

Today, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) partners with more than 100 land-grant universities in pursuit of openness, accessibility and service through Cooperative Extension. NIFA’s support of Extension allows these universities to take their science and knowledge to the local level – to the farmers, ranchers, families and consumers who need it most.

This year, NIFA is celebrating 100 years of Extension by acknowledging the people Extension helps the most – YOU! There are countless stories across the country of how this organization has contributed to the success of individual farmers and ranchers, families and youth. I can personally attest to this as Extension has played a role in my life since I joined 4-H in elementary school, worked for Extension during college at Iowa State University and now at NIFA.

Share your Extension story! Using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or your blog, I invite you to help us share the important role Extension plays all across the country. Use the hashtag #Ext100Years and tweet it to us at @usda_nifa. Creativity is encouraged and we’ll share some of our favorites.

The successes of Extension in the past 100 years lay the groundwork for another 100 years of extending knowledge and changing lives.

Local Combines with American Grown

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Christina Conell, USDA Farm to School Program, on April 16, 2014 at 10:00 AM

Quickly assembling tortilla wraps for hungry students is a hard job. I learned this first hand recently at Stone Spring Elementary in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Mary Lou, Ott and Jean, the cafeteria staff responsible for preparing and serving school meals every day, took control of the kitchen, quickly assembling 300 turkey wraps while I clumsily tried to keep up.

But while I found the prep work to be challenging, I learned that products from USDA, such as the lean turkey in the wraps, make it easier for schools to buy local foods. USDA purchases over $1 billion of food from American farmers for school meal programs every year. Known as USDA Foods, these American grown products include fruits, vegetables, dairy, whole grains, lean meats and poultry.

Because USDA buys these products for thousands of school districts at a time, we’re able to secure very competitive prices and make them available to schools at considerably better prices than what they might otherwise pay. Schools that get items from USDA Foods that would have cost much more on the open market, like low-fat cheese and meats, can use the cost savings to allocate more of their school food budget toward local purchases. The turkey wraps we made that day are a perfect example. We combined USDA Foods lower sodium cheese, turkey, and whole wheat tortillas with local, hydroponic Bibb lettuce from a grower just 10 miles from the school!

After prepping wraps for the elementary school I headed off to lunch at a local high school with Andrea Early, School Nutrition Director at Harrisonburg City Public Schools. I chose a salad, tomato soup, hummus, and a delicious, warm, fluffy roll with just a touch of sweetness. The roll was made from scratch that morning, using a combination of USDA Foods enriched flour and whole-wheat flour from Wade’s Mill, a mill about 50 miles away that has been churning out flour since the 1800’s.

Andrea stressed, “Maximizing my use of USDA Foods allows me to pay a bit more for local products. The products from USDA are a wonderful complement to our local buying.”

She makes it look easy. For more ideas about how schools can use USDA Foods to meet local purchasing goals and how the Department is fostering a healthier next generation, check out USDA Foods: A Resource for Buying Local.

To receive information and updates about USDA’s Farm to School Program, please sign up for our Farm to School E-letter.

A healthy meal choice of Baja Fish Taco Wraps at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia for lunch service on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. The wraps are available through the National School Lunch Program. The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service operating in public, nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. USDA Photo by Bob Nichols.

USDA Export Development Program Helps Boost U.S. Blueberry Exports

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Allison Eckhardt, Foreign Agricultural Service Public Affairs Specialist, on April 16, 2014 at 11:00 AM

Deborah Payne, with the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, talks with potential customers at the Gulfood 2014 trade show in Dubai.

Spring is here and brings with it many fresh healthy foods, including blueberries. Known for their antioxidants, vitamins and fiber, blueberries are a healthy option that is becoming more popular around the world and the U.S. blueberry industry is taking advantage of this demand with the help of the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Market Access Program (MAP).

Through MAP, FAS partners with U.S. agricultural trade associations, cooperatives, state regional trade groups and small businesses to share the costs of overseas marketing and promotional activities that help build commercial export markets for U.S. agricultural products and commodities.

The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) represents over 2,500 growers in 38 states who sell fresh, frozen and processed blueberries. Members export to Canada (their largest market), Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, the Middle East and Mexico.  U.S. agricultural organizations representing producers, and individual small and mid-sized enterprises, benefit from MAP funding provided through nonprofit state and regional trade groups known as STRGs.  The funding, made available through the 2014 Farm Bill, supports marketing and promotional activities such as trade shows, market research, educational seminars and trade missions.

“Our market success begins with a visit to FAS staff in a particular country,” said Thomas Payne, USHBC market development consultant. “They give us a perspective of the market and facilitate valuable introductions with buyers. It’s essential for us to be in a U.S.-themed area so foreign visitors know where to find us.”

Through research, USHBC learned how different countries and regions use blueberries for health benefits. The Middle East is interested in blueberries to treat diabetes; in Asian countries there is a link between blueberries for health and beauty. To reach these markets, USHBC participates in the MAP through the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA), an SRTG, whose members are the 13 western state departments of agriculture.  WUSATA receives MAP funds to support small and mid-sized exporters, helping them explore and expand sales in international markets.

Payne said FAS also helps USHBC overcome trade barriers and navigate the required processes for U.S. blueberries to gain access to certain markets around the world. This is important as USHBC’s long-term goal is to export 15 percent of its blueberries.

“To achieve this we need to succeed in countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. These markets are massive and complex and we’ll need FAS’ continued presence and guidance,” said Payne.

This year, FAS awarded funding directly to more than 60 U.S. agricultural organizations to help open and expand commercial export markets for American products.  USDA will begin accepting applications for 2015 export development program funding on April 17, 2014.   Applicants can apply via the Unified Export Strategy online application system. Information is available at http://www.fas.usda.gov/unified-export-strategy.

USHBC’s success in exporting is an example of how FAS helps promote U.S. agricultural exports, which are currently experiencing the strongest five-year period in our nation’s history.

For more information about FAS programs, visit www.fas.usda.gov.

Farm Service Agency - Honored to Serve America's Farmers and Ranchers

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Juan M. Garcia, Farm Service Agency Administrator, on April 15, 2014 at 4:00 PM

Several buildings suffer damage from a severe storm on the Goyings farm in Paulding County, OH on June 29, 2012. USDA photo by Christina Reed.

This post is part of a Microloan Success feature series on the USDA blog. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

For the last few weeks we have shared stories about farmers and ranchers across the country that are benefitting from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Microloan program. The stories highlighted new farmers starting out on their own, producers who follow a proud family tradition of working the land, and even one farmer who, at 92 years young, is finding new ways to keep growing — all with the help of theMicroloan. The program allows beginning, small and mid-sized farmers to access up to $35,000 in loans using a simplified application process with up to seven years to repay.

Microloans are just one of many ways FSA is helping farmers and ranchers. We also offer Disaster Assistance. Producers around the country have suffered through two and a half difficult years with no disaster assistance because these programs were awaiting Congressional action. With the passing of the 2014 Farm Bill, eligible producers can sign up today to get help.

Implementing these programs has been a top priority. Dedicated staff in more than 2,000 FSA offices across the country stand ready to assist eligible producers to sign up for one of four disaster assistance programs.

The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) provide payments to eligible producers for livestock deaths and grazing losses that have occurred since the expiration of the livestock disaster assistance programs in 2011, including calendar years 2012-2014. This long-awaited assistance will aid ranchers in states like South Dakota who suffered the loss of thousands of cattle during Winter Storm Atlas last October.

Enrollment also is open for producers with losses covered by the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP).

Producers should schedule an appointment with their local FSA county office to apply for these programs and to discover other tools and resources offered through FSA to help you meet your goals and grow your operation.

Resources like the Microloan program have proven to be a success for small, beginning and mid-sized farmers. It helps producers pay for initial start-up expenses like hoop houses, essential tools, irrigation, delivery vehicles and annual expenses such as seed, fertilizer, utilities, land rents, marketing and distribution expenses.

By further expanding access to credit to those just starting to put down roots in farming, USDA continues to help grow a new generation of farmers, while ensuring the strength of an American agriculture sector that drives our economy, creates jobs, and provides the most secure and affordable food supply in the world.

USDA Helps Develop Next Generation of Ag Scientists

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Ann Perry, USDA Agricultural Research Service Information Staff, on April 15, 2014 at 3:00 PM

ARS soil scientist Gary Bañuelos (left) with Ph.D. candidate Irvin Arroyo, who already has almost 20 years of scientific work with USDA on his resume, beginning with a scholarship to work at ARS’ San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, now in Parlier, California.

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.

During the month of April we will take a closer look at USDA’s Groundbreaking Research for a Revitalized Rural America, highlighting ways USDA researchers are improving the lives of Americans in ways you might never imagine, such as keeping our educational pipeline filled with the best and brightest future agricultural scientists.

So far, Irvin Arroyo has not strayed too far from the farming world. Growing up, he lived and worked with his parents at a 200-acre vineyard in Madera, California, where he tended the vines and harvested the grapes.

When Arroyo went to college at California State University, Fresno (CSU Fresno), he was given a scholarship to work at USDA’s San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center in Fresno as an intern.  The laboratory, now in Parlier, is part of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The scholarship had been established by CSU Fresno and ARS soil scientist Gary Bañuelos to foster minority student interest in science careers.

Arroyo finished his undergraduate degree in chemistry, and then was hired by Bañuelos as a full-time technician.  As an environmental chemist, he supervised the inorganic chemistry lab, operated and maintained analytical instrumentation, and conducted soil contaminant studies.  He also assisted Bañuelos in field studies of saline soil remediation, food crop biofortification, and the evaluation of seed crops for biofuel production. Working with scientists, local farmers, and growers allowed the technician to expand his real-world understanding about the diverse agricultural issues affecting producers in the San Joaquin Valley.

Arroyo continued his education and completed a master’s degree in chemistry. Now, thanks to support from the California State University Water Resources and Policy Initiative and USDA, Arroyo is in the Ph.D. program in Environmental Systems at the University of California, Merced, where he’s studying soil salinity in the San Joaquin Valley.

His work includes research on groundwater remediation, salinity management, and the use of environmental sensors to boost marginal soil productivity.  This important work might not be possible without USDA-provided support for students at universities that have been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

Arroyo is also continuing his work in the ARS laboratory. And despite having almost 20 years with USDA on his resume, he would like to continue his research—and his work to help farmers protect and improve soil quality in the San Joaquin Valley—with USDA after his doctorate is completed.

Bañuelos continues to enthusiastically support Arroyo’s studies and goals.  “Irvin already enhances the quality of our investigations on developing plant-based systems for poor quality soils and waters,” the ARS researcher says.  “And eventually he will represent the new generation of ARS scientists in USDA.”