FSA

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. This Chinese proverb is the idea behind the Little People’s Garden in Montevideo, Minnesota. “Children need to know where their food comes from,” said Liz Ludwig, Farm Service Agency county executive...

Mark Seale got out of agriculture early. A Virginia native raised on the family farm, he didn’t see a future in the business once he finished high school – and his family didn’t argue with him. But over the years, Mark found himself drawn back to agriculture in Virginia. Working with produce was...

South Dakota’s harsh winters can be tough on a farm or ranch, and conservation improvements like a shelterbelt can help shield buildings, crops and livestock from the wind and snow. Ken Mouw, a CEO-turned-farmer, has used a shelterbelt—a band of trees and shrubs—to protect his Elk Point, S.D. farm...

Following the devastating effects of tornadoes this week, USDA is offering assistance to those in need. USDA offers many programs that can provide assistance to landowners, farmers, ranchers and producers during disasters. No Presidential or Secretarial declarations are required for the provision of...

May 2 nd dawned a majestic spring day in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Colorado as rural and tribal stakeholders from the Four Corners region descended upon the San Juan National Forest Headquarters to learn more about USDA’s StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative...

Austin Midkiff thinks, breathes and lives farming. It’s all he has done since he was six years old. By the time he was 14, he took over his grandparent’s 10-acre farm in Springdale, W.Va. “When I turned 16 my grandparents sold everything to me in order to teach me how to get things on my own and...

South Dakota USDA officials recently highlighted the StrikeForce initiative at the bi-annual South Dakota Indian Business Alliance Conference held in Rapid City. The conference with the theme of, “Building Opportunities in the New Native America,” was a perfect opportunity to announce South Dakota...

In the four years I’ve served as Deputy Secretary, I’ve talked with thousands of women in agriculture – from young women thinking about entering farming to older women who have been tilling the soil for decades. Each of their stories is powerful on its own. But taken together, they have been an...

“Clear, direct and easy to understand” may not be the first words most Americans associate with government publications and documents, but that is changing. Thanks to the Plain Writing Act, signed into law by President Obama in 2010, all federal agencies must now put their readers first when writing...

Ms. Annie Faye Woodson has been directly involved in farming and ranching in Texas for the last 76 years. At 100 years-old she stays up-to-date on Farm Service Agency (FSA) program news and still makes trips to the Fannin County FSA office to sign up for farm programs and to certify acres. It is no...