USDA Opens People’s Garden Initiative to Gardens Nationwide

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding its People’s Garden Initiative to include eligible gardens nationwide.  School gardens, community gardens, urban farms, and small-scale agriculture projects in rural, suburban and urban areas can be recognized as a “People’s Garden” if they register on the USDA website and meet criteria including benefitting the community, working collaboratively, incorporating conservation practices and educating the public.

USDA Designates Two South Dakota Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.

USDA Designates Three Texas Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.

USDA Seeks Input on New Grant Program to Strengthen Food Supply Chain, Reduce Irregular Migration, and Improve Labor Protections for Farmworkers

WASHINGTON, September 21, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is gathering input to help shape a recently announced planned grant program focused on improving the resiliency of our food and agricultural supply chain by addressing labor shortages in agriculture, reducing irregular migration through increased use of legal pathways, and improving labor protections for farmworkers. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will hold three virtual listening sessions on Sept.

USDA Issues First Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Payments

Washington, D.C., June 4, 2020 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already approved more than $545 million in payments to producers who have applied for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. FSA began taking applications May 26, and the agency has received over 86,000 applications for this important relief program. 

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Historic Investment in Partnerships for 70 Climate-Smart Commodities and Rural Projects

On September 14, 2022, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Biden-Harris Administration through the U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing up to $2.8 billion in 70 selected projects under the first pool of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity, with projects from the second funding pool to be announced later this year.

USDA Designates Kalamazoo County, Michigan, as a Primary Natural Disaster Area

Emergency Support to Producers in Surrounding Counties Also Available

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2020 – Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated Kalamazoo County, Michigan, as a primary natural disaster area. Producers who suffered losses due to excessive rain that occurred March 9, 2019, through Nov. 4, 2019, may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.