The City of Quinter, Kansas, had a groundbreaking ceremony for a new fire station earlier this month.  All of the city’s fire equipment will soon be under one roof, which will help improve the fire station’s efficiencies when crews respond to emergencies in its 400 square mile service area.  The new station is being built with funding support from USDA and a local electric cooperative.

Earlier this month, the City of Quinter, Kansas, celebrated the groundbreaking of a new fire station with city employees, members of the volunteer fire department, USDA Rural Development staff, and representatives from Midwest Energy and Quinter Manufacturing & Construction (QMC). This photo was taken by a USDA employee.

According to City of Quinter Administrator, Ericka Gillespie, the city of less than 1,000 needed a new fire station because the old facility was not meeting the needs of the community.  A larger space was needed for training, storage, and additional fire protection equipment and trucks.  The larger fire station will also improve the department’s fire rating, resulting in lower insurance costs. Read more »

A report being released by the U.S. Forest Service examines the impact of climate change on eight forest diseases and how these pathogens will ultimately affect Western forests.

The report analyzed a range of future conditions from warmer and dryer to warmer and wetter.  The first scenario, which is considered more likely for most regions in the West, includes dryer and hotter summers.  These conditions will increase the risk of wildfires and warmer winters allowing insect outbreaks, like the bark beetle, which has destroyed millions of pine trees in Colorado, to continue. Read more »

Nearly 150 years ago – on July 2, 1862, just two months after the creation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – President Lincoln signed another historic measure, the Morrill Act, which created the land grant university system.

Over the years, land grant colleges and universities have had a tremendously positive impact on our nation, graduating more than 20 million students. And in partnership with USDA, more than 100 land-grant institutions and other research partners have helped conduct the groundbreaking research that remains the envy of the world. Read more »

Many children believe their food comes from the grocery store. But a class of 23 Mississippi second-graders knows better than that – the delicious food they love starts with a seed.

Students from Madison Avenue Elementary plant a People’s Garden in Mississippi in honor of the upcoming 150th anniversary of USDA.

Students from Madison Avenue Elementary visited a new People’s Garden at an office of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and planted seeds of squash, watermelon, pumpkin, cucumber and, of course, the “Abraham Lincoln” tomato. Read more »

On May 15, we will recognize the 150th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  On that date in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law an act of Congress establishing USDA.

Two and a half years after he established the Department, in what would be his final annual message to Congress, Lincoln called USDA “The People’s Department.”

President Lincoln knew the importance of agriculture to our prosperity – particularly at a time when about half of all Americans lived on the farm. And while that number today stands at about 2 percent, our values are still rooted in rural America. Read more »

Law enforcement officers with the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests joined forces with about 70 other professionals recently to showcase their careers at Clarkesville Elementary School in Clarkesville, Ga.

Officer Derik Breedlove gives potential future Forest Service law enforcement officers an opportunity to try out the view from an ATV seat. Photo credit: USDA Forest Service/Stuart Delugach

The Forest Service is a regular participant in the school’s career day.  Captain Stuart Delugach and Officer Derik Breedlove talked with the students about jobs in Forest Service law enforcement.  This year they met with approximately 500 students and showed off some of the tools of the trade, including their All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and law enforcement vehicles. Read more »