As Earth Day approaches, I want to take a moment to highlight the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA's) strong connection to this important global event.

Earth Day serves as a reminder of the significance of conserving our natural resources, protecting our ecosystems, and promoting sustainable practices. At USDA, we recognize the critical role that agriculture and natural resources play in shaping our environment and ensuring a sustainable future for all.

One way that USDA addresses environmental challenges and promotes sustainable agriculture is by funding the efforts of partner organizations through the 2501 Program. For example, the Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust teaches underserved farmers and ranchers in New England indigenous farming practices that are now widely recognized as “climate smart.” The Marine and Environmental Research Institute of Pohnpei, Micronesia promotes sustainable aquaculture and agriculture through workshops and hands-on training. The Washington, DC-based Common Good City Farm has designed a certificate program in regenerative urban agriculture. In Puerto Rico, Community Through Colors trains farmers and ranchers in regenerative and sustainable agriculture, helping ensure an environmentally sound approach to farming.

From supporting sustainable farming practices to advancing climate change mitigation strategies, we strive to be at the forefront of environmental stewardship.

On Earth Day, please join me in celebrating the beauty of our planet and let us renew our commitment to conserving it. Together, we can create a more sustainable future for generations to come.

Farmworkers are Vital to a Resilient Food System

Farmworkers make up less than one percent of all U.S. wage and salary workers, but they are vital to the country’s agriculture. They labor every day in fruit orchards and dairy farms, in blazing heat and freezing cold, to ensure that families have food on their tables. USDA continues to take action to support farmworkers and ensuring equitable access to the Department’s resources by underserved communities is part of that commitment. By bringing awareness to the importance of farmworkers and offering programs to support and uplift them, we also build a more resilient and equitable food system.

Farmers.gov Local Dashboard Now Available for Producers in all 50 States

Farmers in all 50 states can now access county-specific farming data and USDA resources in one place via the new farmers.gov local dashboard. Your dashboard includes farming data and USDA resources such as USDA news, commodity pricing, weather forecasts, historical climate data, past storm events, a USDA service center locator and additional state resources for your state and county. The dashboard transforms complex data sets into easy-to-read charts and graphs to help you quickly find the information that matters to you.

Growing Opportunities for Women in Agriculture

The National Women in Agriculture Association headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK has operated for 16 years, grown to 60 chapters, and has big goals to help underserved communities succeed in agriculture. Find out how USDA 2501 Program grants have enabled the organization to help students apply for scholarship funding through programs like the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program, guide veteran women in launching agricultural businesses, educate student athletes about farm-related careers, host programs for teens and national conferences, and more.

2501 Program Recipient Helps Heirs Connect with Important Resources

Heirs’ property is land jointly owned by heirs of a deceased person that has been passed down without a clear and current will or deed. These heirs, who are often people of color, have the right to use the property, but they do not have a clear or marketable title to it since the estate issues remain unresolved. The Center for Heirs Property Preservation in Charleston, SC was awarded a USDA 2501 Program grant to provide free education, legal advice and direct legal services to help families keep their property and put it to work for them.

Drive and Ambition Fuels this USDA 1890 Scholar

The USDA 1890 National Scholars Program allowed Kaitlyn Hampton to pursue her passions through internships and job placements that provided experience. In 2022, she received her undergraduate degree in business management from Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black land-grant university in Prairie View, TX. Today, she is in the position she shadowed as an intern with the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program and continues to hone her contracting, purchasing, property and vendor-relations skills as an administrative specialist for USDA's Farm Service Agency. 

EKDLG Fellow - Samuel Discua Duarte

Samuel Discua is a postdoctoral researcher at University of Arizona Yuma in the Department of Entomology, where he studies and teaches courses on the ecology and management of insect pests. As a USDA E. Kika De La Garza (EKDLG) Science Fellow, he spent a week in Washington, DC learning about USDA opportunities and resources followed by another week with USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists in Salinas, CA. He considers the connections he made with fellow faculty and staff among the most rewarding aspect of the fellowship experience.

Forest Service Seeks Summer Resource Assistant Program Interns

The application period for the Summer 2024 Resource Assistant Program (RAP) is now open. Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations will host five Law Enforcement Interns and two Program Assistant Interns for at least 6 months. Selected interns will be compensated and provided a monthly housing stipend. Personal transportation is highly advised. The program engages students, recent graduates, and underrepresented populations helping the Forest Service to attract and retain a diverse and inclusive workforce and carry out mission critical work. Successful completion of the internship and the student’s degree will earn them a Direct Hiring Authority (DHA), which can be used for appointment to a permanent position within 2 years of the DHA being issued.

USDA Cultivates the Next Generation of Leaders in Agriculture at MANRRS

USDA was strongly represented at the recent National Society of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) 38^th Annual Training and Career Expo in Chicago, IL.  As a longstanding partner with MANRRS, USDA helped sponsor the 2024 conference, where over 2,000 registrants from across the country gathered to explore ways to grow the next generation of leaders in agriculture from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. USDA staff met with hundreds of students from grades 7 to the collegiate level to share opportunities for professional development, networking and mentoring at USDA.

USDA Liaison Travis Johnson

Travis Johnson started his USDA career 26 years ago as a co-op intern with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Minnesota. Upon receiving his degree, Johnson was converted to a fulltime soil conservationist with NRCS. In this role, he wrote conservation plans, designed conservation practices, lead different working groups, and recruited for NRCS and USDA. Next, he served as a risk management specialist with the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA), where he approved crop insurance for high-risk land, gathered and submitted application for new crops to be insured, recruited new employees, and shared information about RMA with partner organizations and commodity groups.  

After 16 years with RMA, he was selected as a USDA 1890 Liaison for South Carolina State University. In this role, he has helped over 300 students with internships, recruited more than 14 students for the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program, and assisted 8 students who were selected for the Future Leaders of Agriculture Program. He has also secured outside funding to help students relocate to their summer internships with USDA. He has also introduced the university and surrounding community to USDA resources and services.  

Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences with a concentration in agronomy from Tennessee State University.  He enjoys mentoring youth, hunting, fishing, gardening and helping people. 

Foreign Agricultural Service Seeks Foreign Service Officers

Do you want to dedicate your career to supporting U.S. farmers and ranchers? To live in interesting places, learn new languages, and work with great people? If so, then the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is for you! Later this year, FAS will conduct an assessment to hire new Foreign Service Officers (FSO) to represent USDA at U.S. embassies and consulates overseas. FSOs:

• Analyze global agricultural production and trade
• Advocate for science-based trade regulations
• Market U.S. agricultural products
• Promote global food security, and technical expertise
• Fight climate change through capacity building projects

Visit the FAS careers page for more info and stay tuned for upcoming public information sessions and the application announcement in Spring 2024. We hope to have you join us in representing the U.S. and USDA in markets and fields around the world. Please contact FASForeignService@usda.gov with questions.

USDA Celebrates Earth Day

On April 22, USDA joins the global community in celebrating Earth Day 2024, a day that promotes the preservation of our planet’s natural resources. Just two weeks ago, USDA celebrated the life of Cesar Chavez, one of America’s most important labor and civil rights leaders. Seeing the devastating health impact of crop pesticides on farmworkers and their families, he participated in several boycotts and a hunger strike to peacefully protest these working conditions. Chavez and his fellow activists mobilized farmworkers across the country to share their stories and struggles, and in July 1970, their efforts were successful. Just three months after the inaugural Earth Day, the United Farm Workers Union signed a contract with Delano Grape Growers to improve the working conditions of their farmworkers, including protections against the effects of toxic pesticides.

Farmworkers remain at risk from pesticides, despite greater awareness about their harmful effects on the land and animal life. The USDA Office of Pest Management Policy promotes the development of strategies that reduce the economic, environmental and public health risks from pests as well as from the methods used to control them in agricultural and natural resource environments.

The 2024 Earth Day theme “Planet vs. Plastics,” is a potent reminder that plastics now pose a potential risk for farmworkers in the form of micro-plastics that infiltrate our water and soil systems. Earth Day recognizes the efforts of environmental activists to make the planet a safer and more sustainable place to live, but it also challenges us to think of how we can improve the planet for the future. USDA accepts this challenge on Earth Day and every day.