WHITE HALL, Ala., Aug. 12, 2015 – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is in Alabama today to announce $4.9 million in new funding for projects that will protect public safety and health, improve water and wastewater infrastructure and create expanded economic opportunities in rural Alabama.

Source: The USDA.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2015 – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization will host a conference on Thursday, Aug. 13th in Owasso, Oklahoma. This event will provide small business owners located in rural areas with opportunities to learn how to grow and support their businesses by partnering with USDA, and other Federal Agencies.

Source: The USDA.

RWANDA, Aug. 10, 2015 – Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden today announced that seven new school feeding projects could benefit more than 2.5 million children in Africa and Central America.

Source: The USDA.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma will become the 52nd state agency to operate the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP). The program is part of USDA’s efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of seniors, ensuring that all older Americans have access to healthy food.

Source: The USDA.

WASHINGTON, August 7, 2015 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $63 million in loans grants for 264 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide that USDA is supporting through its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

Source: The USDA.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2015 — For the first time in its 110-year history, the Forest Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is spending more than 50 percent of its budget to suppress the nation's wildfires. A new report released today by the Forest Service estimates that within a decade, the agency will spend more than two-thirds of its budget to battle ever-increasing fires, while mission-critical programs that can help prevent fires in the first place such as forest restoration and watershed and landscape management will continue to suffer. Meanwhile, the report notes, these catastrophic blazes are projected to burn twice as many acres by 2050.

Source: The USDA.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2015 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is recognizing state and local agencies of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (more commonly known as WIC) that excel in offering education and support for breastfeeding mothers.

Source: The USDA.

SANTA FE, N.M., Aug. 1, 2015 – Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the start of the 16th annual Farmers' Market Week, which will begin tomorrow, Sunday August 2, and run through August 8.

Source: The USDA.

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2015 — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today made the following statement on the Senate Confirmation of Jeffrey Prieto as General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“I am grateful for Jeff’s ongoing commitment to America’s rural communities and I look forward to the contributions he will make in his new role as General Counsel. A skilled public servant with many years of experience in the federal government, Jeff has worked diligently as part of the USDA team since his arrival as Principal Deputy General Counsel in June of 2014. Before joining USDA, Jeff served with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Environment and Natural Resources Division since 1999, most recently as the Deputy Executive Officer and General Counsel. I am certain that as USDA’s General Counsel, Jeff will continue to advocate on behalf of America’s ranchers, farmers and families with integrity, expertise and purpose.”

Source: The USDA.