Category: Agriculture

This week, USDA officials, including Deputy Secretary Torres Small, welcomed 32 faculty and staff from Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Hispanic-Serving School Districts around the nation to the 2024 class of E. Kika De La Garza Fellows.

Excitement buzzed in the air as kids gathered from miles around, ready for a day filled with friendly competition and learning.

The Amy Goldman-Fowler Teaching Garden, part of New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute, is now open for self-guided tours from sunrise to sunset seven days week throughout chile-growing season.

Training for collegiate competitions has been a primary focus for NMSU’s meat judging team since its early days in the 1900s. After a nearly 40-year hiatus, the team orchestrated a comeback in fall 2023.

USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences broke ground on the new National Grape Improvement Center on Wednesday in Geneva, New York. Deputy Secretary Torres Small and Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) were on hand to celebrate the new state-of-the-art USDA grape research facility on the Cornell AgriTech campus.

Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small visited two USDA Summer Food Service Program sites this week to see them in action serving meals, known as SUN Meals, to kids of all ages at no cost to families. In Virginia Beach, Virginia, she visited Bettie F. Williams Elementary School and in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, she and Representative…

During the week of June 17-23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is recognizing and celebrating National Pollinator Week.

Participants in the vet science camp at New Mexico State University listen to Extension Veterinarian Dr. John Wenzel during a presentation.

Floral design is not the only skill the New Mexico State University College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences’ floral team teaches students.

The study sought to better understand the ecology of human pathogens in the environment in the Southwest agricultural region, particularly how pathogens survive, move, and possibly contaminate produce prior to harvest, so that the agricultural community can work together to identify best practices to enhance food safety.

On June 3, 1924, the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico was established, paving the way for it to become the world’s first-ever designated wilderness thanks to the leadership of Forest Service employee Aldo Leopold.

Deputy Secretary Torres Small met with USDA’s Tribal Advisory Committee on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

This year’s event, now known as the onion research workshop, will take place June 5 at the Fabián García Research Center in Las Cruces.

In a May 10 update, FDA confirmed that all 297 samples from FDA’s national survey of retail dairy products were found to be negative for viable highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (H5N1 HPAI) virus.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that most farm loan borrowers will be able to make payments to their direct loans online through the Pay My Loan feature on farmers.gov in early February.

New Mexico State University’s Agricultural Experiment Station is kicking off its annual field day season at the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center May 22.

The New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service will host a pair of workshops June 6 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum.

Welcome back to the annual Las Cruces Utilities Spring Stroll in the Garden from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at the Las Cruces Utilities Building, 680 N. Motel Boulevard.

Pro-Russia hacktivists seek to compromise industrial control systems (ICS) and small-scale operational technology (OT) systems in various North American and European critical infrastructure sectors, including Water and Wastewater Systems, Dams, Energy, and Food and Agriculture Sectors.

On Friday, Deputy Secretary Torres Small was in the Chicago area for events highlighting efforts during the Biden-Harris Administration to create new revenue streams for producers and ensure children have access to healthy, nutritious food at school. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a final rule on agricultural water that represents an important step toward enhancing the safety of produce.

From 4-H youth programming to food demonstrations, the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service county offices serve the residents of New Mexico in a variety of ways.

Gradual implementation of nutrition updates, to include less sugar, set to begin in Fall 2025.

The New Mexico Healthy Food Financing Fund Partnership will use funding to conduct new market studies to collect and analyze information that highlights strengths and weaknesses within the New Mexico food ecosystem.

New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute will host its annual spring plant sale April 18-19 at the Fabián García Science Center.

New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service will host a Small Acreage Stewardship and Homesteading Skills workshop series from April to October.

Biochar is a charcoal-like substance produced by burning organic materials in an oxygen-limited environment and is used to rejuvenate soil health. 

American farms remind us of the beauty and generosity of our Nation. They feed the country and the world, and with each new planting season, they embody that most American of things—possibilities.

Throughout U.S history, historically underserved farmers have disproportionately faced obstacles in accessing the necessary resources to scale their farming operations.

Funding will improve access to good jobs in agriculture, non-agricultural careers

You are invited to attend the 2024 Virtual Agricultural Seminar hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.