USDA Rural Development State Director for Missouri Anita J. (Janie) Dunning with food donation to Feds Feed Families.

The Feds Feed Families (FFF) drive is a great opportunity for all of us to give something to those who are less fortunate.  I accepted the challenge and went out Saturday morning and did some shopping and loaded up 285 pounds of food.   It was actually quite fun to think about what someone might like to have but even more importantly the smiles it will put on their faces when they have some food in their tummies. Read more »

Just ask eighty-six year old Rita Fincher in Park Hills, Missouri and she will tell you it is never too late to start a new beginning.

After raising ten children in a mobile home, her current dwelling was literally falling in around her when her children and grand children came to the rescue.  One of the grandsons was in the real estate business and learned of a vacant home that had been foreclosed and owned by a local bank.   With the help of the USDA Rural Development direct home loan program she applied through the Farmington, Missouri office and was determined eligible.  The house was structurally sound but needed lots of tender loving care.  With some financial help from the local bank and USDA Rural Development, her family, church friends, and neighbors made the needed repairs and improvements. Read more »

It is the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) County Committee nomination time and counties across the nation are reaching out in their communities for a diverse group of nominees.  Butler County, Missouri, has seen firsthand the benefits of outreach efforts.

During the 2010 election, a woman and an African-American were elected to serve as members of the committee, making it the first time the county has not had to identify a minority advisor. The current committee is comprised of Jim Hover, chairperson; Isaiah Jones, vice-chairperson and Karen Buttrey, member.  Jones and Buttrey have previous experience on the committee, serving in an advisory capacity.  Jones served as an advisor from 2006 until being elected to the committee in 2010. Buttrey served as an advisor from 2001 to 2007.  Hover was first elected to the committee in 2009. Read more »

Flooding devastation in Missouri put farmland underwater.

On the heels of Secretary Vilsack’s visit to the Midwest last week to inspect Missouri River flood damage to area farms and communities, Farm and Foreign Service (FFAS) Acting Deputy Under Secretary Karis Gutter stopped by Mounds City, Missouri and Hamburg, Iowa to hear from local producers, and to see for himself the devastating effects of the flooding. Read more »

From left: Farmers Steve Roth, Don Rief, Dale Rief, Clifford Dilts discuss topics covered during a town hall meeting with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the Glenwood Community High School in Glenwood, Iowa on Thursday, June 16, 2011. Farmers, local and regional media listened and questioned Secretary Vilsack on the cause of the floodwaters along the Missouri River affecting Iowa and Nebraska. Secretary Vilsack offered advice and assistance available through the United States Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met face-to-face last week with about 40 farmers, ranchers and producers from Iowa and Nebraska impacted by flooding along the Missouri River.  The Secretary promised the group he would stay until every question had been answered and every concerned voiced – and he did just that, engaging in a dialogue that lasted more than two hours. Read more »

Anyone can be healthy “if you eat right and try to get moving,” said a young participant in Move Across Missouri, a program developed in partnership with University of Missouri Extension 4-H and the Missouri Beef Industry Council. Move Across Missouri encourages 4-Hers to increase their physical activity and track the time they spend moving through the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA), which challenges kids to log 60 minutes of physical activity for five days out of the week for six out of eight weeks. Read more »