Author: Site Owner

Yesterday, Secretary Vilsack and RUS Administrator McBride announced an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program award to Pedernales Electric Co-op of Johnson City, TX. Left to right: RUS Administrator Brandon McBride, Secretary Vilsack, John Hewa (CEO, Pedernales Electric Cooperative, Inc.), Emily Pataki (Board President, Pedernales Electric Cooperative, Inc.), and Cindy Thyfault (Founder & CEO, Westar Trade Resources)

This is a special year for rural electric cooperative utilities.  Eighty years ago, Congress passed and President Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act of 1936.

The REA brought electricity to rural America, ultimately making the United States the source of the world’s food, fuel and fiber—the breadbasket for the world.

Today’s cooperatives not only provide electricity, but build stronger and more vital communities, particularly in rural areas. Rural electric co-ops are leading the way with their commitment to communities, investment in infrastructure to deliver reliable, affordable power and deployment of smart grid technologies, energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.

Energy Efficiency

Rural electric cooperatives are using energy efficiency—the fifth fuel—to reduce power use and costs. Cooperatives have been very strategic in implementing energy efficiency programs to meet growing electric demand and the increasing costs of power, using nearly $127 million of RUS loans to help increase our energy independence and strengthen rural economies.

Smart Grid

To improve electric utility resiliency and efficiency, rural electric cooperatives are investing in smart grid technologies. Co-ops used over $1.5 billion of RUS loans to deploy fiber connections to provide for smart grid needs.

Investments Improve the Quality of Life in Rural America

Rural electric cooperatives are the power that helps drives investment in the rural economy—an investment that builds the foundation for a vibrant future. Since 2009, rural electric cooperatives have invested over $38 billion in rural electric infrastructure, improving over 196,000 miles of line, and connecting 1.5 million new customers.

The economic stability of rural America continues to rely on the availability of affordable and reliable electricity to serve families, businesses, and attract new opportunities to these areas.

Cooperatives understand that America is strongest when we work together. That’s why 80 years after the REA became law, co-ops remain strong and successful.

To find out more about how USDA is Powering America with a More Sustainable Energy Future, visit the latest chapter in our USDA Results page. October is Co-op Month.  See Secretary Vilsack’s Proclamation. See today’s electric program award announcement.

RUS Energy Efficiency and Loan Conservation Program can help rural electric consumers reduce energy costs by blowing insulation into an attic, benefitting both rural electric cooperatives and their members. Photo courtesy of North Carolina’s Roanoke Membership Corporation.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack serves breakfast to students at Robert E. Lee Elementary in Petersburg, VA on Jun. 7, 2016. Secretary Vilsack was at the school for the kick off of the U.S Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Summer Food Program.

Now that summer has come and gone, I’m happy to announce that this season the USDA Rural Housing Service was able to partner with the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to feed more kids than ever before. Three hundred and five Rural Housing Service Multi-Family Housing properties participated in FNS’ Summer Meal Programs, which provide low-income children with free, healthy meals during the summer when school is out. This is 121 more affordable housing communities we were able to serve than the year before, and almost triple the number from 2014.

This is a huge success, and I’m so proud of my team across the country for feeding more kids at our properties than ever before! However, we cannot become complacent because we have the potential to make an even bigger difference in the lives of rural kids. There are more opportunities to partner with borrowers in our Multi-Family Housing and Community Facilities Programs, and I’ve set a lofty goal for summer 2017.

Next year, for the first time we’re planning to actively promote the Summer Meal Programs among our Community Facilities borrowers, aiming for at least one meal site hosted at a USDA-financed Community Facility in every state.  We’re also looking at opportunities to reach out to our Mutual Self-Help single-family housing communities, and of course we’ll keep growing our Multi-Family Housing participation at our thousands of properties across the nation.

Because USDA-financed housing and community facilities exist in so many places deep in the heart of rural America, they are the perfect “home bases” for providing vital meal services to children, so we are committed to continuing to grow our kid feeding network across the nation.

Help us help kids! If you want to work with USDA to reduce child food insecurity this summer contact your local USDA Rural Development State Office. The more partners we have, the more kids will feel secure in the knowledge that they’ll be getting regular meals this summer. Now is the time to get involved—many of the state agencies administering the Summer Meal Programs are holding planning meetings this fall. To contact the state agency managing the program in your state, visit www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/school-meals-contacts.

Two sisters share lunch at Meadowridge Apartments on July 14, 2016 in Simpsonville, Kentucky during the USDA Summer Meals program.

October 26th, 2016|Tags: urban forests|0 Comments

The post Excerpt: Urban Forests by Jill Jonnes appeared first on American Forests.

NRCS Chief Jason Weller (left) visited with NRCS District Conservationist Rob Clauto (center) and Blair County landowner Tom Belinda (right) to see some of the practices at work on the land.

When most people think of bats, images of dark caves, vampires and Halloween come to mind. But actually, bats get a bad rap, and we often don’t know how important they are for controlling insects, pollinating plants, dispersing seeds and improving biodiversity.

Many of our nation’s bats are facing population declines to near-extinction levels, primarily because of disease and loss of habitat. One of those species is the Indiana bat, an endangered species that has experienced rapid declines since the 1960s.

The Indiana bat, which has mouse-like ears, is found over the eastern half of the country. Indiana bats are a very social species, and they cluster together during hibernation. The bat got its name because the first one to be discovered was in 1928 in a cave in southern Indiana. The Indiana bat feeds on insects, and it is great for controlling mosquitoes and other flying pests. In summer, female Indiana bats gather into maternity colonies and each mother bat births, nurses and rears one pup under the peeling bark of an older-growth or diseased tree. The species spends its winters hibernating in caves or sometimes abandoned mines.

Unfortunately, this species is facing a new foe. White-nose syndrome, a fungal infection, is taking a toll on the Indiana bat and other bat species across the country, but there is hope.

With the help of biologists, private landowners, USDA is working to reduce the spread of this disease, as well as promote protection of high-quality habitat. For example, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) assists Thomas and Wendy Belinda of Blair County, Pennsylvania, to improve the management of forests on their land.  The Belindas are working to ensure diverse, open forests for the bats’ survival, as the bats prefer roosting in the cavities of large trees or under loose tree bark in open forests where the sun’s penetrating rays provide warmth.

The Belindas are planning and implementing a variety of management practices to restore more than 800 acres of forestland through the Healthy Forest Reserve Program—one of the Farm Bill programs available to landowners to receive assistance for adopting conservation practices. Through this program, the Belindas enrolled their land into a permanent conservation easement and have made a number of improvements, including removing competing trees, retaining highly preferred roosting trees and controlling invasive species.

Located in a key area adjacent to state game lands and nearly connecting to a nearby state park, the Belindas’ easement is part of a corridor of permanently protected Indiana bat habitat totaling approximately 21,000 acres.  NRCS staff are also actively working with other nearby landowners, which will expand this corridor even more. These efforts provide better quality and more secure summer breeding habitat for Indiana bats with the hope that the species will once again thrive in this area.

The MyPlate, MyWins video series shows how real families make healthy eating work for them. Meet Brad, a dairy farmer, his wife Carol, and their four children in our newest and final family video.

This year, our MyPlate, MyWins video series has introduced you to families sharing their solutions for incorporating healthy eating into their unique lifestyles. In the final family video, Carol and Brad share how they plan meals around foods they either produce themselves in their family garden or are on sale at the grocery store. For them, making sure their four children eat right and take care of their bodies is essential!

“It is very satisfying when you’re eating what you’ve produced,” says Carol. “It’s rewarding because I can teach my kids where food comes from.”

Meet Carol & Brad, the last family in our MyPlate, MyWins video series, as they teach their four children the importance of keeping their bodies healthy:

In October, we kicked our, MyPlate, MyState campaign into high gear. This latest initiative encourages Americans to personalize their plates with their favorite local and seasonal foods. Additionally, MyPlate, MyState supports local farmers, ranchers, and producers just like Brad, a dairy farmer himself. Want to incorporate local foods into your meals like Carol and Brad? Visit www.ChooseMyPlate.gov/MyState for more information on the foods commonly produced in your state.

For more healthy eating tips and resources for families, visit ChooseMyPlate.gov/Families, follow MyPlate on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for email updates. And stay tuned… this might be the last family video, but more MyPlate, MyWins videos are on their way!

October 25th, 2016|Tags: recreation|0 Comments

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By Doyle Irvin, American Forests

Are you feeling the spirit of Halloween, yet? We at American Forests are sharing with you the spookiest forests from around the world. These are places where you will definitely spend half your time looking over your shoulder — that is, if the aliens, sasquatches and mysterious illnesses don’t get you first!

We’ll start you off easy…

6. Screaming Woods, Britain

The Screaming Woods, sometimes conventionally known as the Dering Woods, haunt the outskirts of Pluckley, known to be Britain’s most haunted village. We’re beginning our list with these woods because, at worst, you may just go mad if you choose to visit them. Maybe, just maybe, you might get lost in the fog and never return, becoming one of the screaming drifters that give this place its name.

Credit: Richard Gunn via Flickr.

5. Epping Forest, Britain

Coming in at No. 5 on our list, Epping Forest is an infamous burial ground for the murderers and victims alike of London. The notorious highwayman Dick Turpin used to operate out of this forest, robbing passers-by, and his spirit is frequently encountered in the deepest, darkest gnolls of this chilling thicket. That being said, the place could hardly be called dangerous, compared to what’s next on the list — really, Epping Forest earned its spot here because some say it breaks the laws of physics: park your car in neutral at the base of Hangman’s Hill, and it will be pulled upwards by the long-dead executioner’s spectral rope.

Credit: (c) Nick Watts via Flickr.

 

4. Freetown State Forest, United States

The locus of the notorious Bridgewater Triangle, Freetown State Forest owns the fourth spot on our list as the only representative from the United States. Located in southern Massachusetts, the local Wampanoag Tribe cursed the forest when greedy chiefs sold the land in a shady deal without approval from the rest of his tribe. Now said to be home to mysterious creatures, UFOs, Sasquatches and Satanic cultists, the Freetown State Forest is not a place many want to be alone at night.

Credit: Frank C. Grace via Flickr.

3. The Black Forest, Germany

Ask a friendly German what they think about the Black Forest, and they will tell you that it’s a lovely place to go for an afternoon hike. But, don’t let them fool you: this place has said to have been haunted for centuries, since long before the Brothers Grimm wrote down all of its happenings. Wizards, sorcerers, dwarves, nymphs and even Freischützen — marksmen aided by the devil — wander about the Black Forest, steadfastly maintaining it as a sanctuary for the abnormal.

Credit: David Blackwell via Flickr.

2. Aokigahara Forest, Japan

We have two possibilities here, folks. Either these woods drive people into madness … or the mad are inexplicably drawn to these woods. Known as yurei, the disturbed spirits of the dead resonate here with a possessive force: they don’t want you to leave. For centuries, legend has it they have been luring souls to this forest; the sick, the agitated, the restless, the infirm and the disturbed have been coming here to end their lives early. Watch out for the skeletons.

Credit: Jeordy Meow via Wikimedia commons.

1. Hoia-Baciu Forest, Romania

Known to be the most haunted place on our planet, the Hoia-Baciu Forest easily claims the top spot on our list. Don’t go here, if you are one to believe in haunted legends! Many say just walking through these woods will inflict you with nausea, headaches and anxiety — and that’s only if they decide to leave you alone! Studies have shown that the Hoia-Baciu Forest is an entryway to other dimensions, and that visitors from the spirit realm frequently use it to enter our world. These outside influences have shaped the local vegetation: many of the trees grow in crazy, warped patterns, and there is a large circle in the middle of the woods where absolutely no life can grow at all.

Credit: http://hostelcluj.com/.

The post Explore 6 of the World’s Most Haunted Forests appeared first on American Forests.

Administrator Sam Rikkers (left) discusses the Central City Solar Garden Project with (L-R) City Administrator Chris Anderson, Cliff Mesner of Mesner Development Company (with his back to the camera), and Bill Sheppard and Jeff Carpenter of USDA Rural Development’s Nebraska offices.

USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program, commonly referred to as ‘REAP’, provides financial resources for rural agricultural producers and small businesses to help them improve their bottom line. REAP provides loan guarantees and small grants to support these producers and owners as they improve the energy efficiency of their operations and develop renewable energy sources.

Today, Secretary Vilsack announced hundreds of new projects like the one I visited over the summer in Central City, Nebraska.  It exemplifies the strategic thinking our rural communities use daily to find new ways to prosper.  A community just shy of 3,000 residents, Central City is home to the first community solar garden project ever developed in Nebraska.

Our USDA staff worked with a forward thinking public/private partnership between Cliff Mesner of Mesner Development, and Central City Administrator Chris Anderson to finance the project. Three small businesses: Mesner Development, Co.; Central City Scale, Inc.; and D Bar K, P.C. were awarded small grants they leveraged with low-interest loans from the State of Nebraska’s Energy Office.

Using a concept called ‘virtual net metering’ where the energy produced at the solar array can be applied directly toward the owner’s off-site meter, this partnership has been able to lower electric costs for these businesses, help the environment, and establish an effective price hedge against rising electricity costs. The solar garden initially has eight systems tied together generating nearly 300,000 kWh annually, and the City is planning to develop at least double that amount before the end of 2016.

The business model works like this: The solar panels are owned by what is, essentially, a cooperative partnership comprised of local businesses, individuals, and Central City itself. The array of panels are located in the city’s industrial park, which gives room for growth of the project. Since each of the respective partners own a share of the power, they can assign and reassign it as needed for their homes or businesses, and if they move, they can transfer the power to the new property without having to move the panels.

I spoke with project developer Cliff Mesner about the project, and he pointed out the diversity of ownership, ranging from small business owners looking to improve their bottom line to homeowners – grandmothers, even – who want to use ecologically friendly power sources to preserve the earth for their grandchildren. I’m glad USDA could be a part of making this project possible.

To read more about USDA’s investments in renewable energy and the bio-based economy, visit USDA’s entry on Medium.com, Powering America with a More Sustainable Energy Future.

If you are in Washington DC, you come celebrate fall with us at the 7th annual USDA Harvest Festival on Friday, October 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the People’s Garden, at the USDA Farmers Market and along 12th Street right next to the market and steps from the Smithsonian Metro Stop Mall Exit.

Can you describe your favorite thing about fall? Would it be picking pumpkins, jumping carefree into a pile of crisp leaves, admiring the brilliant riots of color in our national forests and grasslands, eating fall vegetables, or something else entirely?

You can celebrate fall in all of these ways at the 7^th annual USDA Harvest Festival on Friday, October 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the People’s Garden, at the USDA Farmers Market and along 12^th Street right next to the market. Take advantage of the last opportunity this year to enjoy what’s in season from pumpkins to apple cider at the USDA Farmers Market located at the corner of 12^th Street and Independence Ave, SW in Washington, D.C.

The day will be filled with what makes fall so special from favorite activities to smells and flavors to the riot of colors and so much more – all free and fun for the whole family. Here’s a list of the planned events:

Fall Activities:

• Don’t miss a chance to enter the Halloween costume contest at 11 a.m. at the yellow information tent in the USDA Farmers Market to win prizes. Bring your dog for a chance to win best “Howl-A-Ween” costume.
• Meet adoptable dogs and cats aboard The Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League’s mobile adoption vehicle called Adopt Force One.
• Buzz over to observe honeybees at work in a glass enclosed observation hive, taste honey from the People’s Garden Apiary and talk with beekeepers from the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Bee Research Laboratory.
• Play “inspector” and work alongside staff from USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Livestock, Poultry and Seed Program to help with the candling and grading of eggs by hand. What is candling? Candling is the process of using light to help determine the quality of an egg.
• Explore DC Central Kitchen’s Truck Farm, a traveling, edible exhibit that allows D.C.’s urban youth to really “dig in” to the source of the food that fuels their growing.
• Pet a potbelly pig, sheep, goats and other farm animals in the People’s Garden.
• Pick and paint a pumpkin to take home, play games like squash bowling and get free temporary vegetable tattoos.

Fall Flavors:

• Learn how to buy, clean, store, and cook with mushrooms from 11:30 to 1 p.m. at VegU. Many different types of mushrooms will be on display, along with recipes, nutrition information, tips and tastings thanks to the American Mushroom Institute and the Mushroom Council.
• Try a variety of raw apples to help you seek out your favorite or a new-to-you apple variety thanks to USDA’s Agricultural Research Service’s Appalachian Fruit Research Station in West Virginia.
• Not sure what to do with that harvest? Talk with experts from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service for food storage and holiday cooking tips.
• Buy prepared foods for lunch or snacks and fall’s freshest produce like squash, apples, sweet potatoes and cauliflower from more than 30 vendors who are farmers and small business owners in the District, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania at the USDA Farmers Market.

Fall Colors:

• Ask experts from the U.S. Forest Service why as days shorten and temperatures become crisp, the green palette of summer leaves transforms into the fall foliage palette of reds, oranges, golds, and browns.
• Meet local artist and illustrator Marcella Kriebel, whose art celebrates a variety of food related themes, from broccoli to cheese. Her collection of watercolor prints, titled Illustrated Feast is fun to mix and match, to make your own DC created art series.
• And much more!

For updates about this event, follow us on Twitter @PeoplesGarden and @USDA_AMS.

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, Transportation and Marketing Program oversees the USDA Farmers Market & People’s Garden Initiative for the Department.

Jennifer Redell, a conservation biologist/cave and mine specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, gives a close up and personal look at a straw-coloured fruit bat, the most widely distributed of the African fruit bats. Bats fulfill many important ecosystem functions, such as pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds during their flights. (U.S. Forest Service)

Bats have quite the list of positive effects in our world, from the billions of dollars they save in pesticides to natural pollination and seed spreading. Bats eat about one-half of their body weight in insects each night.

We need bats.

In honor of our furry, flying mammal friends, consider pulling for bats during Bat Week from Oct. 24-31. You can make a difference, whether you get a group together to literally pull invasive plants to help improve habitat and food for bats or figuratively “pull” for bats by sharing why they are important to our ecosystem with your friends and family. And, the great news is that you don’t have to be an adult to help bats.

Kids across America are getting involved in bat conservations in their own backyards. From science projects to lunchtime bat groups to social media campaigns, there are many ways for kids to get involved with helping bats. But don’t take our word for it – we have eight amazing kids from across the USA excited to share their batty experiences. The Bat Squad! webcast series for kids airs during Bat Week featuring four 15-minute webcasts with amazing, action-oriented footage streamed live from BatWeek.org. The webcasts are matched with a Project EduBat activity that is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.

Brian Heeringa, District Wildlife Biologist on Wisconsin’s Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, uses a bat detector to bring the echolocation sounds of a big brown bat into the range of human hearing. Echolocation is a remarkable navigation system that most bat species have that helps them detect obstacles in flight, find their way home, and hunt down their main target – delicious insects. While we can’t hear these ultrasonic sounds, bat detectors record bat calls so wildlife experts can analyze them. (U.S. Forest Service)

Recently, Batman and Smokey Bear joined partners to “pull” for bats in Wisconsin as part of the Wisconsin Bat Festival at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Participants got up close and personal with a number of live native and non-native bats such as a big brown bat, a straw-coloured fruit bat, and a Malayan flying fox, the largest bat in the world. Others put their construction skills to use making green bat boxes from repurposed Chevy Volt materials. Completed bat boxes will be placed on national forests, such as the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, providing much needed habitat to native species.

The event also featured a 70-foot inflatable cave where kids could explore. Brave cavers saw cave formations, bats on walls, and were able to touch the bones and skulls of various animals.

Before entering the cave, everyone was required to take off their street shoes. That served as a lesson about the real-world rules on exploring caves, as explained in an online training video. We all have a role in protecting our caves from White Nose Syndrome in order to #SavetheBats.

A group of students who are working on a children’s book about bats listen as Cindy Sandeno, Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species Program lead with the U.S. Forest Service, talks about the big brown bat she is holding. The big brown bat is not so big. They weigh between one half to three quarter ounce, and their wingspans range can be up to 16 inches. They consume a large number of agriculture and forest pests. (U.S. Forest Service)

An inspiring visitor to the U.S. Forest Service booth was a group of school age children who love bats so much they are in the midst of writing a children’s book to share with other children about why bats are so important.

We hope you’re inspired. Find more information on an invasive pulls near you the Bat Conservation International Inc. Batweek. The site also has fact sheets about invasive plants, why bats are important and archived webcasts.

Want to find a place near you to see bats on your public lands?  Read more about these heroes of the night Recreation.gov and how you can help.

A straw-coloured fruit bat is held by Jennifer Redell, a conservation biologist/cave and mine specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The annual Bat Week events near Halloween help to dispel the notions that bats are to be feared. Rather, bats are an integral part of our ecosystem and many bat populations are declining around the world, largely as a result of human interaction, according to Bat Conservation International. A little brown bat, for example, can eat as many as 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour. Most of the 1,300 bat species worldwide – about 40 of which are found in the U.S. – play vital ecological roles by eating pests that damage agriculture, pollinating valuable plants that ensure production of our food and disperse seeds, sometimes in a further distance than birds. (U.S. Forest Service)

Deputy Under Secretary Katie Wilson speaks with Denver Green School students about their locally-sourced lunch during Colorado Proud School Meal Day.

From locally-raised yak burgers to school garden-grown zucchini, Colorado schools kicked off the school year with farm to school gusto! On September 14, an estimated 550 schools reaching 160,700 students celebrated Colorado Proud School Meal Day by featuring fresh, locally-grown food in their school meals. The annual event is organized by Colorado Proud, a program to promote local foods through the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Students from the public Denver Green School celebrated with special guests including Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Deputy Under Secretary Katie Wilson and Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock. Guests joined students for a delicious school lunch featuring homegrown zucchini, onions, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. Students voiced their excitement for the fresh food, and guests headed outside to the school farm where the produce was grown.

In partnership with the local nonprofit organization Sprout City Farms, the Green School features a one-acre farm on school grounds where students help plant, tend and harvest fresh food. The farm provides fresh produce to the school lunchroom through its innovative Farm to Cafeteria program.  Produce from the farm also benefits the community through a neighborhood Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, weekly farm stand, cooking classes and donations to local food pantries. In 2012, Denver Public Schools received a USDA Farm to School Grant to develop standards-based garden curriculum, create and test new farm to school recipes and bolster on-farm food safety trainings.

The Denver Green School wasn’t the only school that celebrated Colorado Proud School Meal Day with a bang – the Ridgway School District in Ridgway served locally-raised yak burgers! The district’s food service manager, Marilyn Younie, connected with Hawk N’ Yak Ranch located across the street from the school. Students and faculty were pleasantly surprised by the tender, lean, flavorful yak burgers served alongside roasted potatoes from the San Luis Valley and peaches from Conner Orchard in Hochkiss.

From the front range of the Rocky Mountains to the Uncompahgre Valley, Colorado schools have Colorado Proud School Meal Day under their belts and look forward to celebrating National Farm to School Month!

Staff at Hotchkiss School District serve a colorful, local meal for Colorado Proud School Meal Day.