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USDA Awards More Than $30 Million in Grants for Food Safety and Plant Health Improvements

3 Feb 2016

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2016 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the award of $30.1 million in competitive grants to fund 80 research projects to improve food safety, reduce antibiotic resistance in food, and increase the resilience of plants in the face of climate change. The grants are made possible through USDA’s Agriculture and Food...

U.S. Forest Service Releases Findings on the Effects of Drought for Forests and Rangelands

1 Feb 2016

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2016 — The U.S. Forest Service today released a new report, Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis, that provides a national assessment of peer-reviewed scientific research on the impacts of drought on U.S. forests and rangelands. This report will help the Forest Serv...

USDA Seeks Proposals for Market-Based Wetland Protection Systems

28 Jan 2016

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the establishment of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Wetland Mitigation Banking Program, made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill.

Open Data from USDA, Microsoft Cloud Technology Become Tools to Strengthen Food Supply Through "Innovation Challenge" Winners

27 Jan 2016

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Microsoft officials today announced the winners of the USDA-Microsoft Innovation Challenge, in which contestants used USDA agriculture production open data to develop online tools that can help make the American food supply more resilient in the face of climate change.

USDA Renews Agricultural Air Quality Task Force, Appoints Members

27 Jan 2016

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the renewal of the USDA Agricultural Air Quality Task Force and the selection of its members for the 2016-2018 term. The task force is composed of representatives from agriculture, industry, academia, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and other a...