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They say that variety is the spice of life. Well, you can’t get much more variety than in the plant world. Genetic variation exists for many traits in all crops. For example, although most carrots on grocers’ shelves are orange, carrots can also be white, yellow, green, or purple. Most potatoes are susceptible to potato late blight, but some wild potato species are immune. Carrot color may be unrelated to where the carrots are grown, so a local grower can grow whatever color carrot people enjoy. Variation for disease resistance or tolerance to different soil types, however, does affect local adaptation.

Many local foods can be bred specifically to adapt to local conditions and preferences. Since local breeding takes manpower, the costs for these seeds can spill over to the customers. One solution is participatory plant breeding where breeders and farmers collaborate to contribute genetic variation; resources such as fields and labor; and expertise in breeding, crops, and farming.

As a service to farmers, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently presented an interactive webinar entitled “How to Sell Fruits and Vegetables to the USDA”.  The webinar was hosted by Red Book Credit Services as part of its free Red Book University educational offering.

Delivered by Ron Ulibarri of the Commodity Procurement Branch of AMS Fruit and Vegetable Programs, participants in the “How to Sell Fruits and Vegetables to the USDA” webinar learned about:

Larry Wright leaned to his right and said, “I just realized that when I was up there introducing the conference, I forgot to tell everyone who I was.”Larry is the Oklahoma area coordinator for the Great Plains Resource Conservation and Development’s (RC&D) and worked tirelessly for five months planning a conference that would help build the rural communities his council serves.  After his first Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Conference and Gala more than 250 attendees know exactly what Larry does, and will be telling their friends about him, too.

Cross posted from the Know Your Farmer Know Your Food blog.

The Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) is a statewide association of Christian denominations, congregations, ecumenical organizations and interfaith partners. Their comprehensive efforts around food started in 1994 with a mission to promote community food security among faith communities. Aided by a USDA Community Food Projects Grant in 2005, EMO started the Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership (IFFP).

The Mayberry farming operation in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., consists of nearly 1,200 acres of soybean and corn row crops, along with more than 200 beef cattle and hay. Eric, Ethan and Eddy Mayberry exemplify farming through their dedication, passion and three generations of family farming tradition. The Mayberry’s are avid supporters and educators of agriculture through active participation with the Farm Service Agency County Committees, Farm Bureau Board, and 4-H.

In the hustle and bustle of working for the WIC program in the Southwest Region, I travel quite often, attending meetings and ensuring logistics much like many of my fellow federal and state co-workers. Recently I had the privilege to attend the Pottawatomie County Farmers Market five-year anniversary in Shawnee, OK. Having grown up in a very rural town, representing FNS was a learning experience that reminded me of home. The event was a total success, as the market was full of people including farmers, seniors, families and children. Celebrating five years of service, the event included live music, family and children’s activities, and most important of all: fresh fruit and vegetables.

Recently tomato farmers from across the Bay State converged on Boston City Hall Plaza seeking top tomato bragging rights at the 26^th Annual Tomato Festival.  I joined a panel of food writers, chefs, cookbook authors, grocers, and state officials as we readied our score sheets.

Support local farmers, strengthen rural communities, promote healthy eating, and protect natural resources…these goals of our Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative find a lot of support in the results of a major new scientific study by the National Research Council, Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21^st Century.  A group of fifteen experts spent three years reviewing many hundreds of scientific papers and detailed case studies of sixteen farms to understand how U.S. agriculture can “produce more crops, pollute less, fulfill consumer preferences, pay fair wages, and make a living – all with increasingly scarce natural resources such as land and water.”

Cross posted from the White House Blog.

Ed. Note: Building on the President’s commitment to address issues important to rural Americans, Administration officials are visiting State Fairs around the country, see a map of where we've been so far.

When you grow up in rural America, as I did, there is nothing more exciting than the state or county fair.  Showing livestock, competing in baking and quilting contests, eyeing the latest farm equipment, and dipping the season’s first apples in caramel are perennial favorites among America’s rural youth.  So when I visited the Nevada State Fair last week, I made a quick beeline to the 4H and FFA exhibits to see if things were the same as ‘when I was a kid.’

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced the availability of nearly $5 million in funds for community-based food and agriculture projects through the Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program (CFP). Applications should: Meet the needs of low-income people by increasing access to fresher, more nutritious food supplies; Increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for their own food needs; Promote comprehensive responses to local food, farm, and nutrition issues; Meets specific state, local, or neighborhood food and agricultural needs for infrastructure improvement and development; Plans for long-term solutions; and/or Create innovative marketing activities that benefit both agricultural producers and low-income consumers.