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Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan was at Utah State University yesterday, for a presentation to local leaders and students interested in food and agricultural policy. Attendees filled the auditorium to capacity with standing room only in the aisles to hear about what USDA is doing to strengthen the connection between farmers and consumers.

With 3,000 employees and visitors stopping by the U.S. Department of Agriculture cafeterias on a  daily basis, I was pleased to kick off the annual  National Nutrition Month at the  South Building Cafeteria at the USDA  headquarters here in Washington today.  I was joined by fellow USDA employees to introduce the 2010 theme “Green Nutrition—Local, Sustainable, Healthy Eating.”   This year’s event and theme are special to us because Secretary Vilsack and I have made nutrition and healthy living a top priority at USDA through the “Know Your Farmer,  Know Your Food” initiative.

“The ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ program that Kathleen is spearheading is an effort to help rebuild urban food sheds and sustainable local and regional food systems and I have been in this city for nine years and you can see the change happening,” said former Senator and New School University President, Bob Kerrey as he introduced Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan.

Yesterday was a landmark day for USDA.  The 2010 Agricultural Outlook Forum kicked off near Washington with a top-flight list of speakers, including Secretary Tom Vilsack; Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan;  Ambassador Ronald Kirk, U.S. Trade Representative; USDA Chief Economist Joseph Glauber and Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Jim Miller.

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan visited with the  students, faculty and administrators at the University of New Hampshire as part of USDA’s ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ college tour.

Deputy Secretary Merrigan had the opportunity to learn about current research efforts from staff at UNH’s College of Life Sciences and Agriculture including research on strawberry genomics conducted by Thomas M. Davis, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences.

Things were “rolling” at Park Lanes in Newton, Illinois Thursday morning for Rural Development’s Road Show.  This was our fifth Road Show where we shared how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) can help do what’s needed in rural communities.  This time we met with “scores” of our east central Illinois neighbors at a restaurant and bowling alley where everyone “spared” no time in asking questions.

Panels of economic experts, elected officials, community leaders and state agencies presented information in conjunction with Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Rural Development (RD) for a jointly hosted USDA Forum on Jobs & Economic Growth on January 21. The forum was held in Albany, a community with a 14 percent unemployment rate, well above the national rate.

Just in time for the holidays we are implementing the new Dairy Economic Loss Assistance Payment (DELAP) program that will provide critical help to America’s struggling dairy farmers.

Spinach Salad with Sliced Egg, Warm Bacon Dressing and Crumbled Clemson Blue Cheese
Tilapia Filet with a Shrimp Mornay Sauce
Sweet Potato au Gratin with Goat Cheese and Apples
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Apple Cobbler with Fresh Whipped Cream

In addition to being delicious, there is one thing each of these menu items has in common – they were all made from locally provided ingredients from South Carolina and were highlight of the 2009 Agribusiness Summit hosted by the Palmetto Institute.

I had the opportunity this week to participate in a roundtable discussion and tour of the St. Paul Schools’ Nutrition Services center. Joining me were local school foodservice professionals and members of the farming, distribution and non-profit community who are working to expand Farm-to-School programs in Minnesota.