On March 19, USDA joined millions of Americans in celebrating National Agriculture Day.
National Agriculture Day provides an important opportunity each year to say “Thank You” to America’s farmers, ranchers and growers. It’s a time to recognize their productivity and to celebrate their abilities.
Their work has real impacts for every American. Our abundant food supply means that we spend a lower portion of our income on food than the people of any other developed nation. Meanwhile, America’s agricultural exports support more than one million jobs here at home.
As we celebrate their achievements, it’s important for all of us to understand the uncertainty faced by our farmers, ranchers and growers. In the past year, they have endured the worst drought in generations – putting an extra strain on farmers, and raising input costs for livestock and dairy producers. The drought continues to impact many areas of the nation today. Read more »
A family farm sits on small knoll in La Crosse, Wisconsin on April 25, 2008. There’s no better time than National Agriculture Day for all Americans to reflect on the contributions of American agriculture to the strength of our nation, and to say “Thank You” to farmers, ranchers and producers across the country.
As we mark National Agriculture Day, I want to give special recognition to our farmers, ranchers and producers for their spirit of innovation. Too often, Americans don’t take time to recognize the unique strength we have as a nation thanks to the innovation of American agriculture, and the willingness of our farmers, ranchers and producers to embrace new production methods.
We have a tremendously productive agriculture sector in the United States. In my lifetime, agriculture production has tripled. In 1950, a dairy cow produced about 5,300 pounds of milk each year; today, it’s 22,000 pounds per year. Read more »
Tags: Ag Day, Ag Week, Farm to School, federal crop insurance program, Forest Service, KYF2, REE, Science, Tom Vilsack
Forestry, Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food, Science
I am excited to report that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will lead the U.S. delegation for an important conference at the end of April at the G-8 International Conference on Open Data for Agriculture in Washington. I will join the Secretary at the conference to launch the G8 countries’ collaborative effort to make our agriculturally-relevant research and statistical data accessible to users in Africa and around the world. Read more »
On Monday, March 4, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with Haiti’s Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development Thomas Jacques who outlined his three year strategic plan for revitalization of the Haitian agriculture sector.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack met with Haiti’s Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Thomas Jacques, today to emphasize USDA’s ongoing commitment to help the Haitian agricultural sector recover from the devastating impact of the 2010 earthquake. Read more »
In his State of the Union address, President Obama laid out the importance of manufacturing as we seek to make America a magnet for jobs. He believes there’s much we can achieve to create new manufacturing jobs, including in rural America.
For example, we can achieve a common-sense reform of the tax code. The President proposed lowering tax rates for manufacturers by 25 percent, while ending unfair tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.
We can achieve strong markets and a level playing field for American-made products. USDA has already helped the President achieve record exports of agricultural products – with more than $478 billion in agricultural exports from 2009-2012. We will be there to help expand trade with Europe, Asia and other areas throughout the world. These efforts will open doors not just for agriculture, but for quality manufactured products made here at home. Read more »
Today’s farmers and ranchers are the most productive in the history of our nation. By embracing innovation, farmers of many crops are able to produce more than ever today. Meanwhile, our producers, foresters and rural landowners are undertaking modern conservation practices that help them achieve three to five times the benefits of older techniques.
At USDA, we’re working to support America’s farmers and ranchers in making the next big advances in agriculture and conservation.
First and foremost, we will continue to strengthen agricultural research. In his State of the Union Address, President Obama discussed a critical need to invest in the best ideas. We know that investing in agricultural research helps the economy and strengthens agriculture. Every dollar invested in this research generates $20 in economic benefits for our nation, while giving our farmers and ranchers new tools to mitigate risk and increase production. Read more »
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