The African ministers of commerce, trade, and agriculture on the trading floor of the Kansas City Board of Trade.

One of the most interesting aspects of my job is meeting interesting people from all parts of the world. Last week I only had to travel as far as Kansas City to meet nearly two dozen African ministers of trade, commerce, and agriculture for a visit to the Kansas City Board of Trade as part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum.

As agriculture plays a key role in African development, governments have a crucial role to play in ensuring a favorable market climate for their farmers and agricultural products. The ministers learned about the Board of Trade’s day-to-day exchange operations, where hard red winter wheat is bought and sold in the futures market. We took a tour of the trading floor to see traders in action and also met with researchers at some of America’s premier land grant universities to learn how they provide farmers and USDA with valuable research and new technologies. Read more »

African ministers and entrepreneurs listen to translation as Under Secretary Jim Miller speaks about investing in the agricultural value chain.

Last week I was in Kansas City to participate in the 9^th African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum. AGOA seeks to strengthen the trade relationship between the United States and Africa by reducing tariffs on thousands of African products and providing technical assistance to boost African exports while stimulating economic growth and investment.  Each year, the AGOA forum alternates between Washington, D.C. and an African country host.  To celebrate AGOA’s tenth year, we decided to do something new, hosting the first half of the forum in Washington, DC and the second portion in Kansas City. Read more »

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. Read more »

I recently returned from Nairobi, where I got a firsthand look at USDA’s food aid programs. Due to volcanic ash in Europe, my arrival was delayed by 36 hours.  I tried to outmaneuver the cloud by taking the scenic route — Washington to Boston to Amsterdam to Paris to Nairobi.  While I enjoyed my multi-airport tour, Mother Nature still got the best of me.  She added further insult by holding my luggage in a city other than Nairobi.

During my time in Africa, I gained an appreciation for the excellent results that the World Food Program (WFP) and private voluntary organizations are producing with resources provided by the U.S. food aid programs.

Senator George McGovern and I visited programs that are helping adults and children with HIV and AIDS. While it was heartbreaking to see so many infants, children, and adults with this disease, U.S. Government programs are providing relief and hope to these children and families. Read more »

Submitted by Kathy Beisner, Delaware USDA Rural Development Public Information Coordinator

Under bright, sunny Delaware skies, USDA Officials including Dave White, Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Cheryl Cook,  and Michael Scuse, Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services joined in a groundbreaking ceremony for America’s latest ‘People’s Garden.’ 

The new garden, in Dover, is located near the USDA State Office and is modeled after similar gardens established around the nation, including one on the grounds of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Jamie L. Whitten Building in Washington, D.C.  

In addition to federal officials, representatives of the State, Cooperative Extension, the Ruth N. Dorsey Relief Shelter, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, and North Dover Elementary School participated in the event this morning.  Among those assisting in planting the garden was teacher Susan Plucenik’s Second Grade Class from North Dover Elementary School.  The garden is the 300th planted across the Nation so far.  To learn more about the People’s Garden click here.

USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Cheryl Cook assists Celebrity Harmon.  Dylan Caldwell gets assistance from USDA Rural Development State Director Jack Tarburton.

At the New Dover, Delaware People’s Garden: (Left to Right)  Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Cheryl L. Cook; Chief Dave White, Natural Resources Conservation Service; and Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse.