international

Two women Carol Podolak and Joy Thompkins poke their head out a window of a van that they use for their BNutty business.

International Day of Rural Women Spotlight: Indiana Soccer Moms Score Big as Global Entrepreneurs with USDA Assist

For a women-owned business in rural Indiana, working with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) became a life-changing experience. Soccer moms Carol Podolak and Joy Thompkins sold homemade peanut butter as their kids’ team fundraiser to travel from Portage, Indiana to Dallas, Texas for a tournament in 2016. Customers wanted the pretzel, blueberry, and toffee peanut butter more than once a year, so Podolak and Thompkins started taking custom orders. And now, BNutty is on shelves in stores around the world.

Zane Evans, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Posted in Trade Rural

Oct 13, 2023

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New PLU labels are stuck onto a grapefruit to evaluate their effectiveness

Helping Reduce Methane Emissions by Solving a Sticky Problem for U.S. Produce Exporters

We see them every time we purchase fresh fruits and vegetables: price look up (PLU) labels. The little coin-size stickers are stuck to everything from apples, bananas, and cantaloupes to watermelons, yams, and zucchini.

Krissy Young, FAS Public Affairs Specialist Posted in Research and Science Trade

Apr 20, 2023

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Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a gift of Irish shamrock for the U.S. collage

Annual St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Gift Highlights Relationship Between Ireland and the United States and the Importance of Plant Health

The spirit of The International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) was in full force this St. Patrick’s Day when President Joe Biden was presented with a shamrock bowl by the Irish Taoiseach (Irish for “chief or leader” – pronounced “tee-shuhk”), Micheál Martin, on March 17, 2021 at the White House. The shamrock bowl was delivered to the White House earlier in the week and presented to President Biden virtually. The tradition of this annual gift from the people of Ireland started in the early 1950s when Ireland’s first Ambassador, John J. Hearne, sent a small box of shamrocks to President Harry Truman.

Lucero Hernandez, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Posted in Plants

Mar 18, 2021

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