Noah Campbell, vice president of community relations for Utopian Wireless; Fred Witzig, co-coordinator of Monmouth College’s Midwest Matters initiative; and Colleen Callahan, Illinois state director of USDA Rural Development discuss the benefits of broadband access for rural communities at a public forum in Monmouth, Ill.

Monmouth, Ill., residents Vicki and Ted Briscoe want to know when their access to the Internet will no longer be hampered by a slow dial up connection. The answer—12 to 18 months—came from Noah Campbell, vice president of community relations for Utopian Wireless Corp, at a talk show-style forum held at the Briscoes’ alma mater Monmouth College Wednesday, Sept. 22. Read more »

Cross posted from the FSA blog.

The senior citizen’s centers in seven Kentucky counties are benefitting from fresh produce grown as part of the West Liberty Service Center People’s Garden. Read more »

Tanner Johnson con sus cerdos

La vida de un niño típico no es nada comparada con la rutina diaria de Tanner Johnson, un chico de 11 años de edad y beneficiario de un Préstamo para Jóvenes de la Agencia de Servicio Agrícola (FSA, por sus siglas en inglés). Read more »

From left to right: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist Juan Hernandez; Manna Ministries Executive Director Bill Rae; USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel; USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Don Todd

USDA Rural Development, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency employees delivered a bounty of fresh vegetables to Manna Ministries in Bangor on September 10. It marked the eleventh delivery of garden vegetables this summer. The heaps of fresh tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers and other offerings were from the recent harvest of The People’s Garden, a collaborative effort of the three USDA agencies. In addition, donations from staff members’ own gardens were also accepted. Read more »

Lupe Gomez, Coordinator and WIC staff show their contributions to the food drive.

This summer I had the honor of organizing the Feds, Farmers and Friends Feed Families Food Drive for the Southwest Region Food and Nutrition Service.  As the human resources liaison for the region, I don’t get the opportunity to work directly with partners or clients so this food drive gave me a very unique perspective on hunger.  I collected food items, sent out reminders to staff and ensured delivery of the food to the North Texas Food Bank. Read more »

Cow equipped with a GPS collar, used to track the location of the animal.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

While driving, have you ever wondered why there are so many fences to interrupt your  soul-satisfying, wide-open-spaces experience?  Until recently, that was the only way to keep livestock in their place, so to speak.  But today’s wire fencing and posts soon will be augmented with virtual fencing that erases these visual barriers from the landscape. Read more »