As part of a flourishing partnership, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently hosted students from Columbia Heights Educational Campus (CHEC) in Washington, D.C., for what proved to be an action-packed shadowing day at USDA Headquarters.
From this local high school to the most remote rural areas, AMS is answering Secretary Tom Vilsack’s call to develop a diverse workforce by teaching students about careers in agriculture. Read more »
Tags: AMS, Anne MacMillan, Columbia Heights Educational Campus, DC., Ed Avalos, Ellen King, John Ferrell, Let's Move, MRP, Rayne Pegg, Washington
Education
Recently I had the opportunity to travel to south Texas to learn first-hand about our Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program.
USDA has successfully eradicated cattle fever in the U.S. Only a permanent quarantine buffer zone remains in south Texas, which spans 500 miles from Del Rio to Brownsville. The ticks and disease remain well-established in Mexico, so the buffer zone is necessary to keep U.S. cattle free of cattle fever by preventing the re-establishment of the ticks. Read more »
The importation of Mexican feeder cattle is a tradition, a way of life and important to the border economy in Mexico and the U.S. The Mexican cattle producer is dependent on the U.S. cattle market, while U.S. feeders and packers need the Mexican feeder cattle for their operations.
However, due to the increased border violence in northern Mexico, we were not able to allow USDA personnel to travel into Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo and Pierdas Negras to inspect and dip Mexican cattle destined for export to the U.S. Read more »
On my recent trip to Guatemala, I had the honor and pleasure to spend some quality time with my counterpart from Mexico, Dr. Enrique Sanchez Cruz and the Mexican Secretary of Agriculture, Francisco Mayorga.
We were in Guatemala to attend the MOSCAMED Med Fly Commission meeting and to sign an agreement between Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and the United States to continue the MOSCAMED program. The program is a cooperative effort with a focus on maintaining a barrier for the med fly pest in Central America through the production of sterile flies and the development of natural parasites and organic bait sprays. Read more »
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