USDA Business and Cooperative Programs Administrator Judith Canales and Ohio Rural Development Director Tony Logan recently paid a visit to Troy, Ohio’s 3 Sigma Corporation to see how the company is utilizing its $2.25 million USDA Business & Industry loan guarantee. Among other things, the funds are helping finance the purchase, transportation and installation of a 78-inch wide aqueous (water-based emulsion) coater, financed through First Financial Bank of Dayton.

In business since 1980, 3 Sigma specializes in custom pressure-sensitive products and specialty coatings. But this technology goes well beyond diaper fasteners and sticky tape! Have you ever noticed those clever little holographic tags inside ball caps and on other wearable items? That’s a 3 Sigma-engineered counterfeit-detection system. The peel-off coupon that doesn’t shred your Sunday morning paper? 3 Sigma. That authentic backstage pass to your favorite rock star’s show? Chances are 3 Sigma may have had a hand in its creation. Read more »

Hello, I am Dr. Rosslyn Biggs.  I am a Field Veterinary Medical Officer (VMO) with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services stationed in southwest Oklahoma.

My mother was also a veterinarian, so I was exposed to the profession at an early age.  She later worked as a VMO for USDA APHIS VS as well.   I always had an interest in veterinary medicine as a career because I liked the combination of animals and problem solving.  After veterinary school, I worked in a mixed animal practice for approximately three years before joining the staff at APHIS in the spring of 2007. Read more »

How often do you have an opportunity to learn history from a living legend?  At FNCS we were thrilled to have Dr. Ivan Ware, an original Tuskegee Airman, as the inspirational speaker for our Veterans Day observance on November 9.

I was particularly excited to meet him as my own father had shared stories from his service in the segregated forces of the U.S. Army where he was among the troops landing on Normandy in June 1944. Read more »

Livia Marqués and Juanita Ewell stand in front of the tool shed at Eat Healthy Live Healthy Urban Garden in the 900 block of Cherry Hill Road, Baltimore City, Maryland. The mural was painted by Towson University student John Rice.

I’m thrilled that I could join Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan last week when we announced the recipients of the People’s Garden Grant Program in Baltimore, Maryland.  The backdrop for the $60,000 grant announcement to Towson University was set at the Eat Healthy Live Healthy Urban Garden in the Cherry Hill neighborhood. Cherry Hill is an approximately one square mile, geographically isolated, food desert neighborhood. These residents are impoverished and experience some of the highest rates of chronic disease in Baltimore city. Read more »

USDA is updating the definitions for poultry classes, such as broiler or roaster, which are based on the sex and age of the bird when harvested.

When cooking poultry, chefs know choosing the right bird will affect the outcome of a final dish. That’s why most recipes call for a fryer, roaster, or other class—terms based on the age and sex of the bird and printed on poultry labels.  While breeding and raising practices have improved over the years, the definitions for these terms have remained roughly the same since the 1970’s. Read more »