Amy Sents, a junior Animal Science major at Kansas State University, spent the summer as a USDA intern working in the Office of the White House Liaison. She joined about 100 other interns from around the country, as well as young people from Washington working with the D.C. Summer Youth Employment Program. Everyone had the opportunity last Friday to meet with Secretary Vilsack; Amy shares her experience this morning: Read more »

Across the country, USDA is providing billions of dollars in project funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or the “Recovery Act”). By going to the USDA Recovery site, you can visit your state blog to read about some of these projects, and the ways in which they’re helping communities.

But we want to hear stories from you as well. On the USDA Recovery page, you can Tell Your Story — what’s working in your community? What isn’t? How have the Recovery efforts impacted your life?

USDA filmmaker David Black traveled this spring to Afghanistan, where he produced a 17-minute film on the efforts of USDA agriculture advisors working in Afghanistan as part of intergovernmental Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

While he was away, he kept a personal journal about his experiences on the ground in Afghanistan. This excerpt is from April 28, 2009: Read more »

Secretary Vilsack has been busy touring the country with other members of the Obama cabinet as part of the Rural Tour — but yesterday, he traveled to Philadelphia to give a few words in an urban setting as well. Read more »

The same year astronauts set foot on the moon, USDA launched its own massive project to benefit the American people — the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Read more »

Secretary Vilsack spoke this morning at the Future Farmers of America State Presidents’ meeting. He had the opportunity to meet with FFA’s national and state leaders, and took a few minutes to congratulate them on their election to leadership posts in an organization of more than 500,000 active members. Read more »