U.S. Department Of Agriculture

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A McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder is shown on March 6, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

McDonald’s tries to reassure customers after deadly E. coli outbreak

By Dee-Ann Durbin - Associated Press

In this March 6, 2018, file photo, a McDonald's Quarter Pounder, left, and Double Quarter Pound burger is shown in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

McDonald’s tries to reassure customers after deadly E. coli outbreak

By Dee-Ann Durbin - Associated Press

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

RFK Jr. suggests he’ll have a significant role on agriculture and health policy if Trump is elected

By Michelle R. Smith and Josh Funk - Associated Press

The headquarters of the U.S. Census Bureau is seen in Suitland, Md., Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)

In D.C., federal workers worry about Trump’s plans to relocate jobs across the country

By Olivia Diaz and Brian Witte - Associated Press

Jaime Harrison, Democratic National Committee chair, watches as preparations are made before the upcoming Democratic National Convention, on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Start of Democratic National Convention draws headlines

By Jennifer Harper - The Washington Times

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, speaks during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to examine the nomination of Army Lt. Gen. Randy George to be reappointment to the grade of general and to be Chief of Staff of the Army, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) ** FILE **

Senators flag USDA’s failures in tracking foreign-owned farmland

By Alex Miller - The Washington Times

Farmer John Boyd Jr., poses for a portrait during a break from bailing hay at his farm in Boydton, Va., Thursday, May 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Biden administration announces $2 billion in payments to minority farmers over USDA discrimination

By Summer Ballentine - Associated Press

Water droplets cling to the wings of an adult periodical cicada at Lincoln Memorial Garden and Nature Center on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Springfield, Ill. The most noticeable part of the cicada invasion blanketing the central United States is the sound. The songs — only from males — are mating calls. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

How do cicadas make their unique sound, so eerie and amazingly loud?

Associated Press

FILE - Ground beef is displayed for sale at a market in Washington, Saturday, April 1, 2017. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will test ground beef samples for bird flu particles, though officials said Tuesday, April 30, 2024, they're confident the nation's meat supply is safe. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The USDA is testing ground beef for bird flu. Experts are confident the meat supply is safe

By Devi Shastri - Associated Press

FILE - Second-grade students select their meals during their lunch break in the cafeteria, Dec. 12, 2022, at an elementary school in Scottsdale, Ariz. The nation's school meals will get a makeover under new nutrition standards that limit added sugars for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Mariani, File)

USDA updates rules for school meals that limit added sugars for the first time

By Jonel Aleccia - Associated Press

Fernando Osorio Loya, center, a contract worker from Veracruz, Mexico, stirs soil for a seeding machine as Jamie Graham, left, and Fredy Osorio, right, also a contract worker from Veracruz, Mexico, unload trays of seeded tobacco, Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at a farm in Crofton, Ky. The latest U.S. agricultural census data shows an increase in the proportion of farms utilizing contract labor compared to those hiring labor overall. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

U.S. farms are increasingly reliant on contract workers who are acutely exposed to climate extremes

Associated Press

In this July 23, 2007, file photo, corn, far left, and soy beans carpet fields near Greenwood, Neb. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

House hearing scheduled to investigate China’s threat to U.S. agriculture industry

By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

Farmer John Boyd Jr., runs his hay bailer at his farm in Boydton, Va., Thursday, May 27, 2021. Just two generations out of slavery, by 1910 Black farmers had amassed more than 16 million acres of land and made up about 14 percent of farmers. The fruit of their labors fed much of America. In 2021, they have fewer than 4.7 million acres. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

USDA and Black farmers: Reparations done wrong

By Editorial Board - The Washington Times

A member of the Bridge Crew watches over a fire line, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010, in case the prescribed burn jumps the line and ignites on the other side of Kings Pinnacle in Crowders Mountain State Park in Gastonia, N.C. As the U.S. tries to restore a key forest ecosystem in the Southeast, landowners must light more fires on private property. The so-called “prescribed burns” are key to clearing forest debris and allowing pine cones to drop seeds onto the floor. (John D. Simmons /The Charlotte Observer via AP, File)

U.S. pine species thrives when burnt. Southerners are rekindling a ‘fire culture’ to boost its range

By James Pollard - Associated Press

A hen stands next to an egg, Jan. 10, 2023, at a farm in Glenview, Ill. More than 1.3 million chickens are being slaughtered on an Ohio egg farm as the bird flu continues to take a toll on the industry. The outbreak that began in early 2022 has been much less severe this year as fewer cases of the virus are being found among the wild birds that spread it. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

Bird flu still taking toll on industry as 1.35 million chickens are being killed on an Ohio egg farm

By Josh Funk - Associated Press

Turkeys stand in a barn on a farm near Manson, Iowa, Aug. 10, 2015. Nearly 5 million chickens, turkeys and ducks have been slaughtered this year because of a persistent bird flu outbreak that began in 2022, but as big as that number may sound, it’s far less than the number of birds killed last year and that means consumers generally aren’t seeing as much impact on poultry and egg prices. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Bird flu outbreak isn’t over, but it’s less severe, helping egg and poultry prices recover

By Josh Funk - Associated Press

A turkey stands in a barn, Aug. 10, 2015, on a turkey farm near Manson, Iowa. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that avian influenza (bird flu), which is deadly to commercial poultry, was confirmed in a flock of 47,300 turkeys in Jerauld County of South Dakota last Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, and at a farm with 141,800 birds in Sanpete County of Utah last Friday, Oct. 6. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Deadly bird flu reappears in U.S. commercial poultry flocks in Utah, South Dakota

By Steve Karnowski - Associated Press

Smoke billows from a fire burning in the mountains over Napa Valley, Friday, Oct. 13, 2017, in Oakville, Calif. Firefighters gained some ground on a blaze burning in the heart of California's wine country but face another tough day ahead with low humidity and high winds expected to return. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) ** FILE **

Wildfires can make your red wine taste like an ashtray. These scientists want to stop that

By Andrew Selsky - Associated Press

Second-grade students select their meals during lunch break in the cafeteria, Dec. 12, 2022, at an elementary school in Scottsdale, Ariz. More students in schools serving low-income communities will be eligible to receive breakfast and lunch at no cost under a rule change announced Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (AP Photo/Alberto Mariani, File)

More students gain eligibility for free school meals under expanded U.S. program

By Annie Ma - Associated Press

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addresses a gathering at Fresh Start Food Hub & Market on June 15, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Biden administration to provide over $1 billion in grant money for 385 environmental projects

By Brad Matthews - The Washington Times