USDA Rural Development Rural Utilities Service Administrator Jonathan Adelstein and the Rural Development Broadband Division Staff welcomed over 200 people to the National Broadband Workshop on April 20 – 21, 2011 in Downtown Denver.

While rural communities face unique challenges in creating and sustaining good jobs, they are also presented with unprecedented opportunities for economic growth.  Increasing their access to broadband is one way in which Rural Development can assist communities on this journey.  Providing broadband service to our rural communities is a vital platform for job creation and a springboard for economic development for years to come.  Workshop sessions held focused on a variety of topics including financial analysis and business plan preparation. Read more »

Cross posted from the White House blog:

As gasoline prices continue to rise across the country, USDA is working with farmers and entrepreneurs to secure our nation’s long-term energy future and give Americans more choices about where to spend their gas dollars: at home or abroad.

For the past two years, USDA has worked to support the research, investment, and infrastructure necessary to build a nationwide biofuels industry that creates jobs in every corner of the country. Read more »

Richard Burley, a nutritionist for the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Southwest Regional Office, gives a presentation over the Food Pyramid and health eating to after-school kids at Jubilee Park & Community Center in Dallas. Jubilee is a revitalization project for community renewal and enrichment to Southeast Dallas.

Seeing the results of Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) programs up close is always an amazing experience as an FNS employee.   In this case, I had that opportunity in Dallas recently at the Jubilee Park & Community Center. Founded in 1997, along with AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity and several faith-based organizations, the Center serves as a catalyst for community renewal and enrichment. Read more »

The Inyo National Forest is home to many bristlecone pines, thought to be the oldest living organisms on Earth.

Bristlecone pines are a small group of trees that reach an age believed by many scientists to be far greater than that of any other living organism known to man — up to nearly 5,000 years. Read more »