president obama

Representing USDA on a panel at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund’s (MALDEF) Fourth Annual Latino State of the Union in Washington, D.C. was a remarkable experience. The event examined how American public policy affects the Latino community, and assessed how future policy can lead to a better quality of life for Latinos.

While the discussions covered a range of topics important to the Hispanic community, much of conversation was dedicated to how childhood obesity is impacting educational attainment, future talent, and workforce capacity of not just Latinos, but of our entire nation.

As President Obama challenges Americans to win the future, we at USDA are implementing ways to do so by helping tribal communities across the country out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build our global competition. Starting in rural America, but more specifically within tribal communities, we see an amazing opportunity to improve the economic climate and provide a better tomorrow for today’s youth.

At the 2011 Reservation Economic Summit, I was able to showcase the programs we are employing through USDA’s Rural Development to better the lives of those living in rural America, and to support tribal economic development. As the summit rang in its 25^th anniversary, the conversation was abuzz with ideas on how to spur economic development in Indian Country – and investing in our Nation’s rural infrastructure is a great place to start.

USDA isn’t just talking, but taking action to help Hispanic Americans. The department stepped forward today as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Sandra V. Serrano of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will build programs and other activities to help further the education of Hispanic Americans and contribute to the commitment of preparing America’s young people to pursue careers in agriculture.

The agreement highlights USDA’s dedication to helping Hispanic Americans achieve educational excellence by collaborating with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) to develop a USDA and Hispanic-Serving Institutions agenda.

Breakfast matters!  And starting the day on a nutritious note enables our children to learn better and acquire the energy needed for academic success.

To amplify that message, this week USDA celebrates School Breakfast Week to ensure our nation’s children have the best opportunity to prosper in school and in their futures.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

In the President’s recent State of Union Address, he spoke candidly about winning the future.  I can’t think of a better way to achieve that than by ensuring our Nation’s children are provided a healthy school environment to learn, grow and thrive.

Speaking before a capacity crowd this morning at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum, a distinguished panel representing three federal agencies and a member of the agricultural media discussed Federal renewable energy policy and its prospects to reduce consumption of imported oil, improve environmental quality and produce new jobs in rural America.

Agricultural exports were at the forefront during yesterday’s National Export Initiative (NEI) session at USDA’s 2011 Agricultural Outlook Forum. Earlier that day, USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber announced the latest agricultural export forecast for fiscal year 2011 (Oct. 1, 2010-Sept. 30, 2011), which set the stage for a lot of interest in NEI and a packed afternoon session. President Obama and USDA view exports as one of the key drivers of sustainable economic growth and job creation. That’s why, under NEI, President Obama set a goal of doubling all U.S. exports by the end of 2014.

UPDATE 3/12/2014:

USDA is committed to ensuring the integrity and impartiality of the claims process. A neutral, third party has been tasked with overseeing all aspects of the process, including notifications, to make certain that it is fair and equitable.  As we move forward, we’re focused on making sure our programs are more inclusive and accessible than ever to all Americans.

Today is an historic day for USDA.  Working with colleagues at the Department of Justice, we launched a program that provides a path to justice for Hispanic and women farmers who believe they were discriminated against by USDA between 1981 and 2000.  Many of these farmers and ranchers have waited and fought to get relief, but until now their only means of getting their complaints heard was to file an individual case in federal court.  Today we are providing folks with a simpler path that enables them to file a claim for compensation that will be resolved by a neutral party without the involvement of the courts.

Hoy es un día histórico para el Departamento de Agricultura. En colaboración con nuestros colegas en el Departamento de Justicia, hemos iniciado un programa que les ofrece un camino hacia la justicia a agricultores hispanos y mujeres agricultoras quienes consideran fueron objeto de discriminación por el Departamento de Agricultura entre 1981 y el 2000. Muchos de estos agricultores y ganaderos han esperado y luchado para recibir compensación, pero hasta ahora la única manera de que se escucharan sus quejas era presentar una demanda individual ante un tribunal federal. Hoy estamos dándoles a las personas una vía más simple que les permite presentar una reclamación para recibir compensación, que será resuelta por una parte neutral sin participación de las cortes.

This week young people across the country are celebrating FFA Week.  During this time, members of Future Farmers of America (FFA) get a chance to educate the public about agriculture, but also to learn more about the industry themselves. In January, in his State of the Union address, President Obama focused on the importance of providing a world-class education to all American youth.  He called on us to out-educate our global competitors so that we keep great jobs here and strengthen the American economy in the long-term.