The United States Department of Agriculture (informally the Agriculture Department or USDA) is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities and end hunger in the United States and abroad. The head of the department is the Secretary of Agriculture, who is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary is Tom Vilsack. Early in its history, the economy of the United States was largely agrarian. Officials in the federal government had long sought new and improved varieties of seeds, plants and animals for importation to the United States. In 1837 Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, a Yale-educated attorney interested in improving agriculture, became Commissioner of Patents, a position within the Department of State. He soon began collecting and distributing new varieties of seeds and plants through members of the Congress and agricultural societies.
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The CDC estimates Salmonella bacteria causes about 1.35 million infections, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths in the United States every year. Despite their appearance in everyday meals and snacks, the truth is that ...
Biotechnology
Feb 26, 2024
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Scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have developed a green antibiotic alternative to treat the deadly pathogen Streptococcus iniae in hybrid striped bass, ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 30, 2024
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Scientists at U.S. the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and The Ohio State University (OSU) have been working to investigate how tomatoes may be imparting health benefits in a recently published ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 18, 2024
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Scientists at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) use innovative technology to study the lifecycle of potatoes (including development, production, and postharvest storage), ensuring a high-quality supply year-round ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 10, 2024
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As cornfields suffer crop damage caused by weather, corn producers can use geospatial and remote sensing technologies to get a more accurate measurement of the damage and estimate potential economic loss, according to a recent ...
Biotechnology
Oct 17, 2023
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Scientists examined the assumption that wildfires are the primary factor driving the expansion of invasive annual grasses that are taking over shrubland and grassland in the U.S. Great Basin and found that annual grasses ...
Ecology
Oct 16, 2023
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Experimental lines of field corn developed by a team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university scientists will usher in new commercial hybrids offering high-methionine grain.
Biotechnology
Sep 28, 2023
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Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have shown that seed meal from plants in the mustard family can kill mosquito larvae, which start their lives in stagnant water before emerging into winged adults that ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 5, 2023
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The invasive Old World Climbing Fern was introduced to Florida's ecosystem from southeast Asia around 1965. It soon dominated the state's native vegetation, infesting more than 100,000 acres in a short amount of time.
Plants & Animals
Jul 31, 2023
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Scientists at the Children's Nutrition Research Center of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) helped develop healthier sorghum varieties containing significant concentrations of provitamin A carotenoids while also ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 31, 2023
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