Annual sunflowers are now grown in New Jersey by local farmers to supply NJ Audubon’s annual birdseed sale. Sale proceeds support wildlife conservation education and research.

With an increased demand for locally grown food, many farmers are finding new markets for their products that are closer to home. But what some New Jersey farmers are doing to expand their market base is strictly for the birds! Read more »

USDA NRCS and local officials plant a tree. Earth Day, April 22, was founded by former U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin and was first celebrated in 1970. Earth Day continues to be celebrated throughout the country.

Earlier this week, to help kick-off USDA Rural Development’s celebration of Earth Day, I joined with Undersecretary Dallas Tonsager in announcing support for more than 50 USDA Rural Development projects that will help improve water and wastewater systems and provide energy efficiency system upgrades to local  communities across the country. Read more »

Earth Team volunteer Steve Eckstein’s computer work is helping North Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council (NJRC&D) improve water quality in a big way. He’s also helping farmers get conservation funding needed to improve their land.

Earth Team is the name given to USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service volunteers. Earth Team volunteers work side by side with Natural Resource Conservation Service employees on conservation projects to improve their local environment. Read more »

Pictured above from left to right are Brittnay Diorio, Senator Frank Lautenberg's representative; Pete Bitting, LTMUA; Marc DeBlasio, Engineer; Michael Beck, Mayor, Lower Township; USDA Rural Development State Director Howard Henderson; Senator Robert Menendez; and Nels Johnson, Chairman LTMUA

A groundbreaking ceremony took place earlier this month in the Town Bank section of Lower Township, Cape May County, New Jersey, to kick off the first phase of a water main project.  USDA Rural Development officials joined Lower Township Municipal Utility Authority, Senator Bob Menendez, state and local officials, and local residents outside the Cape May Beach Property Owners Association Clubhouse.  Howard Henderson, New Jersey Rural Development State Director told the crowd that this project is being funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), and is the second largest water project awarded in New Jersey. Read more »

After struggling for several years with a stagnant economy, the future is looking brighter for Paulsboro, New Jersey.  Earlier this week, USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Cheryl Cook, Assistant Administrator for the Water and Environmental Program Jacki Ponti, and I attended an event to celebrate a Recovery Act-funded water project that will help to stimulate job creation while also upgrading Paulsboro’s water system. Read more »

In a nation founded on the values of hard work and entrepreneurship, we often look to industry leaders for the next game-changing idea. So it’s no surprise that I was excited to hear what the members of one of the fresh fruit and vegetable industry’s leading trade associations, United Fresh Produce Association, had to say about the future of farming in America.

At their annual Washington Public Policy Conference, United Fresh presents their “Grower Achievement Award” to honor “a role model for the industry” who has “taken agriculture to new heights in the areas of consumer-oriented marketing, technology; food quality and safety; industry leadership, and the spirit of achievement.” Read more »