The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) celebrates engineers and their significant role in agricultural research, land conservation, and the preservation of our forests, lakes, and grasslands during Engineers Week (February 19-25). Engineers and engineering technicians of all disciplines work with farmers, producers, scientists, environmentalists, and field professionals to advance agriculture, enhance the farm-to-table food supply processes, and safeguard our lands and watershed infrastructures.
Engineers with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) constantly strive to find cost-effective solutions to improve agricultural challenges, including water use efficacy, crop productivity, animal welfare, and accessibility of scientific data. Engineers at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provide technical leadership in the plan, design, and implementation of tools to address current environmental, conservation, and sustainability challenges. U.S. Forest Service (FS) engineers provide technical guidance for managing more than 200 million acres of forests, lakes, mountains, and prairies.
The technological innovations of our engineers across agencies have contributed to many achievements. For example, the rehabilitation of aging dams like the PA Beaver Creek Dam to address critical public health and safety concerns; the development of devices like "E-Nose" to help growers take preventive measures to protect their crops; the design of aerial technology that can induce more rainfall on arable land in water-stressed areas; the building of orchard management technology to help growers mitigate losses and achieve optimal fruit yields; the enhancement of rapid and cost-effective sample detection of foodborne pathogens during food processing; and so much more!
Meet our engineers and learn about their impact at ARS, NRCS, and FS!
Want to work as a USDA engineer? Find opportunities at the following link: usda.usajobs.gov.