usda science

Ever wonder where Ohio’s nickname came from? Ohio is commonly referred to as “The Buckeye State” due to the prevalence of the Ohio Buckeye, named Ohio’s official state tree in the 1950s. According to USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the name refers to the tree’s nuts and their resemblance to the eye of a deer. But don’t eat these nuts! NRCS warns that all parts of the Ohio Buckeye are toxic to humans and livestock. Luckily there are many other things we can eat that come out of this great state.

Today is World Milk Day! In America, the average consumption of milk is about 146 pounds (17 gallons) per person per year according to data from USDA’s Economic Research Service. Children account for a large portion of milk drinkers, particularly infants as milk is meant to be the sole source of nutrition for infants until age 6 months.

Support your health with good nutrition while spending less money. Nutrition.gov has resources to help you get the best price on produce and cook tasty, low-cost recipes while staying at home to protect yourself and others and slow the spread of COVID-19. Fit fruits and vegetables into your food budget with these 3 tips.

It’s National Salsa Month! If you missed Salsa Day, no worries, Americans enjoy salsa all year long. Use this recipe to create a delicious pairing for chips, eggs, steak, chicken, shrimp, or salmon, and see the latest agricultural statistics for each ingredient. A condiment for all seasons and any meal, salsas range from simple salsa fresca (also known as pico de gallo) to peach salsa. U.S. farmers grow everything you need to make it delicious.

There are many amazing things in nature, and a USDA scientist in California is exploring evidence that Bing cherries contain some wonderous health possibilities.

The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the world’s largest fresh groundwater resources. It underlies 175,000 square miles in eight states. Starting as hundreds of feet of silt, clay, and gravel eroded from the Rocky Mountains and laid down by streams millions of years ago, rainfall during this time produced an underground lake the size of Lake Huron.

In recent decades, cattle production and ranch profitability have been declining in the desert southwest. Especially during drought conditions, thirsty beef cattle have had to remain close to sources of water (it takes 1,590 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef), greatly reducing the area over which they can graze and causing overgrazing in parts of fragile rangelands. This loss of productive range capable of supporting cattle is one reason why the cattle industry in New Mexico is suffering.

After a trip to Colorado’s Pikes Peak in 1893, Katharine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics to “America the Beautiful.” The memorable words paint a sensory-rich picture of “amber waves” and “fruited plains” that celebrate our land and the true wealth of any nation – agriculture. Today, according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, the United States has more than 900 million acres of land in farms; that’s 40% of all U.S. land. And we rely on the 3.4 million producers, around 1% of our population, to manage that land and provide food, feed, fiber and fuel for our nation and the world.

The United States and its territories have suffered five consecutive years of at least $10 billion weather and climate disasters. And, for five consecutive years, USDA’s Climate Hubs have been there to help American agriculture prepare for and respond to these and other major climate events.

Without a doubt, Hawaii is an influencer’s paradise when it comes to spurring creativity for storytellers, brands, and entertainment on social media platforms of all kinds. But are these “influencers in the wild” missing out on the crowning jewel of U.S. agriculture? Maybe not, but there is a wellspring of inspirational agriculture growing in Hawaii.