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Jamie Clover Adams, Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Every month, USDA shares the story of a woman in agriculture who is leading the industry and helping other women succeed along the way. This month, we hear from Jamie Clover Adams, Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the first woman to serve in that position. Director Adams recently participated in a 10 day women-led USDA trade mission to China with Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Deputy Under Secretary Alexis Taylor.

1. What is your background? How did you become Director of Agriculture?

I grew up on a small farm in Ionia, Michigan.  We raised purebred Angus cattle, hay & row crops.  I was part of 4-H with sewing, cooking and livestock projects.  My undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan and I have a Masters of Public Policy from Georgetown University.  I spent 7 years in Washington, DC working at trade associations and then nearly 10 years in Kansas where I had the opportunity to serve agriculture as the Kansas Secretary of Agriculture (1999-2003).  I moved my family home to Michigan in 2003, spent nearly 8 years in the majority policy office of the Michigan Senate working in a variety of issue areas including food and agriculture.

I was fortunate to have worked with Dan Wyatt when he was the Michigan Agriculture Director when I was Kansas Secretary.  He was part of the Snyder Administration so when they were looking for someone to fill the Agriculture Director slot, he recommended that I consider the position.

2. What has been your most memorable experience as Director of Agriculture?

I have had dozens of memorable experiences as I work to serve Michigan’s farmers and food producers.  I am their voice in many arenas and I work hard every day to ensure that their needs and perspectives are considered and valued as policy decisions are made.

3. What were your main takeaways from the recent trade mission to China?

The trip reinforced the huge opportunities in the Chinese market now and into the future.   I was amazed by the acceleration in the growth of the e-commerce market since my last trip in 2015 and the enormous opportunity for food companies.  Regulatory uncertainties are a significant barrier for the market and we must continue to find ways to bring more certainty to the market if we are to harness the opportunities.

4. How do you think international trade helps rural communities in your state and across the country?

Trade is critical to Michigan.  More than 26,000 food and agriculture jobs are tied to trade opportunities and many of them are in rural communities.  Further, as producers of food we must have trade given that 95% of the world’s population lives outside the borders of the United States.

5. What do you think is missing from the conversation when we don’t have women at the table and in leadership roles?

Diverse perspectives lead to stronger and more robust decisions.   Women are part of that diversity of perspectives.  In the food and agriculture sector it’s critical because women are the primary decision makers when it comes to food purchase decisions.  For our sector to thrive, we must understand how and why women make these decisions.  The entire supply chain is stronger when we understand what the customer wants whether they are in the U.S. or abroad.

6. Any words of advice you would offer your fellow women in agriculture?

Continue to be at the table and communicate your perspective.  Talk with other women about the opportunities in food and agriculture and encourage them to be a part of our sector.

During a lunch-hour cooking demonstration with chef Jonathan Bardzik (left), Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Val Dolcini (right) explains how FSA helps growers move produce from farm to market to the consumer’s table.

During my travels to 46 states over the past two years, I’ve explored Illinois cornfields, watched an oyster harvest in Connecticut, and admired beet fields in North Dakota. I’ve toured a rooftop farm on a Brooklyn high-rise, and marveled at fresh vegetables grown in truck containers in the remote Alaskan Arctic.

These are the places where it all begins, so that Americans have safe and affordable food, from the farm to the plate.

So when local author and chef Jonathan Bardzik invited me to the USDA cafeteria for a lunch-hour cooking demonstration, I grabbed my apron and joined him as his “Sous Chef for the Day.”

Bardzik has created more than 600 recipes using fresh produce from local farmers markets. With an audience of the USDA workforce and even tourists visiting from the National Mall, we prepared a delicious menu of minestrone pasta, eggplant and tomato soup, green beans with pistou sauce, and mesclun with honey crisp apples and cider vinaigrette.

While cooking, we discussed how FSA provides a critical financial safety net for farmers and ranchers that ensures what they produce reaches the marketplace and ultimately to the table.

I highlighted how the workhorse of the FSA portfolio, our microloan, of which 25,000 have been issued in just three years, has been a real game changer for farmers and ranchers, especially those who participate in farmers markets, urban agriculture, or as suppliers of locally sourced food.

We also discussed the FSA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which, by helping farmers replace environmentally sensitive farmland with grasses, shrubs and trees, has done tremendous work to enhance air and water quality, prevent soil erosion, and create habitat for waterfowl, wetland and upland species.

It wasn’t long before our guests attending our cooking demonstration were able to try all four of our freshly prepared recipes – with the Chef even offering cards so that guests could recreate the recipes in their own kitchens.

And with my mini-apprenticeship drawing to a close, I thanked Chef Bardzik for the opportunity to join him in our own “farm-to-plate” adventure here at USDA.

Administrator Dolcini discusses FSA safety net programs while serving as sous chef, preparing four recipes with fresh produce from local farmers markets.

In 2012, FMPP supported the launch of Adelante Mujeres’s Sabor Color commercial kitchen project. This project focused on training small food producers and processors to develop culturally appropriate foods from local ingredients.

With sales of over $11 billion in 2014 and projected growth of 10 percent annually, local and regionally-produced food is the fastest growing sector of American agriculture. At USDA, we hear a lot from communities interested in strengthening the connection between farmers and consumers. That’s why we’re investing in projects across the country to help farm and food businesses tap into this growing market.

Yesterday, USDA announced more than $56 million in grants to support local and community food projects, including a program administered by my agency, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program awarded over $26 million in competitive grants, divided equally between the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) and the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP).

FMPP grants invest in marketing activities for farmers markets, roadside stands and other direct producer-to-consumer businesses. This year, 50 FMPP grants were awarded to projects across the country to help meet the local food demand and increase access to healthy local food.

LFPP funded 52 projects that support local food businesses that distribute, aggregate, or store locally or regionally produced food products.  LFPP funding will also assist a diverse population through projects that develop, improve, and expand local and regional food business. These grants support the local food sector and create jobs, helping to strengthen the rural economy.

When looking at the broader picture of impact, it’s clear that FMPP and LFPP support growth across America’s diverse agricultural communities. A significant number of these grants—82 percent—will help increase marketing opportunities for new and beginning farmers. 72 percent of the grants will help support women in agriculture.

The positive impacts can be seen from past grants such as the one received by Adelante Mujeres, an Oregon-based non-profit dedicated to empowering Latina women and their families by promoting community participation and leadership.

In 2012, FMPP supported the launch of Adelante Mujeres’s Sabor Color commercial kitchen project. This project focused on training small food producers and processors to develop culturally appropriate foods from local ingredients. Successful trainees launched 6 food businesses selling their products at the Forest Grove Farmers Market, and half of the businesses also sold at additional markets.

By late 2013, Adelante Mujeres had trained 26 individuals on food safety and preservation techniques and other types of food handing.  18 training participants were developing their own food businesses.  Adelante Mujeres also added commercial kitchen space in the nearby town of Beaverton to meet the demand for community kitchen access.

USDA is proud to be a partner and supporter of local and regional food systems through our programs, grants and technical services. Under this Administration, USDA has invested more than $1 billion in over 40,000 local and regional food businesses and infrastructure projects. As we continue to support the marketing and distribution of locally-produced foods for U.S. farmers and ranchers, we’re hearing from communities that these investments are having an impact.

This work contributes to USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF2) initiative, which coordinates local food efforts across USDA. Our recently-revamped website provides USDA resources for every point in the local food supply chain, including grants, loans, research and other resources. Additionally, the KYF2 Compass maps USDA’s local and regional food investments across the country and can help you see how other communities are using these resources to build strong food systems.

More information on how USDA is connecting producers with consumers and expanding rural economic opportunities through local foods is available in Chapter IV of USDA Results on Medium.

Glenn Buffkin, store manager of Mayflower Foods, Stuttgart, Arkansas, presents a special display of rice products to celebrate National Rice Month.

September is National Rice Month, and the Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center in Stuttgart, Arkansas, is well positioned—literally and figuratively—to support the production, harvest, and public enjoyment of this versatile and nutritious grain. And on the world-food security front, ARS’ Stuttgart center is closing in on genes that regulate rice’s uptake and storage of iron, thiamine and other important vitamins and minerals—a pursuit that could bolster the nutritional value of this cereal grain crop as a staple food for roughly half the world’s population.

In the United States, nearly 85 percent of the rice eaten by consumers is grown on family-run farms across six States:  Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. Of these, Arkansas produces about half of all U.S. rice on nearly 1.3 million acres of cropland.

Stuttgart, which is located about 55 miles southeast of the state capital (Little Rock), is referred to as the “Rice and Duck Capital of the World” because of its proximity not only to rice fields and two of the Nation’s largest rice mills but also to the Grand Prairie region, to which migratory waterfowl, hunters, and duck callers are drawn in equal measure.

Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center is co-located with the University of Arkansas at Stuttgart, making the two organizations an epicenter of sorts for cutting-edge research on the grain crop.  Between them, the ARS center and university boast more than 15 PhD scientists specializing in such areas as rice genetics, grain quality, disease and pest management, and cultivation.

The Stuttgart center also curates the USDA-ARS National Small Grains Collection, which contains specimens of both cultivated and wild rice acquired from around the world.

“Central to our research effort is using natural genetic variability found in the USDA-ARS rice collection to identify genes and traits that can help sustain U.S. production. This includes identifying genes linked with improved yield, superior milling, cooking and nutritional quality, and reduced losses due to disease and weed pressure,” says Anna McClung, the center director. “Future directions include a greater focus on abiotic stress factors associated with a changing climate,” she adds.

The impact of the research is far-reaching, with global implications in world food security as well.

In other cases, the ARS center staff play a more local role, including working with the community to help create awareness about ARS rice research. This month, for example, the center’s staff provided 15 pounds of raw grain and freshly cut rice plants to help assemble a display celebrating National Rice Month at the local grocery store, Mayflower Foods.

“Being located in Stuttgart is a huge advantage to us in that we have direct access to all segments of the rice industry—producers, millers, and processors—with benefits passed along not only to U.S. consumers, but worldwide as well,” says McClung.

September 29th, 2016|Tags: recreation|0 Comments

By Lindsay Seventko, American Forests

Fall is finally here! To celebrate, here are the best fall foliage views from across the country. Whether you’re looking to experience a remote vista or an urban forest that brings the rainbow of autumn colors to your city’s center, here are the forests best experienced during fall’s beautiful transformation.

Blue Ridge Parkway — North Carolina to Virginia

The Blue Ridge Parkway is an iconic drive any time of year, but during mid- to late-October is the ideal time to visit, with vista after breathtaking vista of mountainsides and valleys flush in a canvas of bright red, orange and yellow foliage. Instead of picking a single destination on the parkway, aim to drive a large section at a time. The varied terrain and elevation will show you a variety of predominant colors and forest composition.

Credit: Jerry and Pat Donaho via Flickr.

Kebler Pass — Colorado

Kebler Pass is a rough mountain road at an elevation of 10,000 feet, making it a uniquely remote way to experience Colorado. Traversing this high in elevation offers breathtaking looks at the quaking yellow aspen, nearby rugged mountaintops and diverse high elevation wildlife. Make sure you plan your trip in the beginning of the season — at high elevation, leaves change colors quickly and the road will be completely closed once winter hits.

Credit: John B Kalla via Flickr.

Mohawk Trail — Massachusetts

New England is famous for picturesque fall colors, and the best way to take in plenty of seasonal scenery at once is on the historic Mohawk Trail route. Once a Native American footpath, the road is now a scenic route that winds among quaint, historic Massachusetts towns up to overlooks of the Berkshire Mountains, driving over tumbling streams and under crimson foliage. The tallest tree in New England can be found along the trail (at an undisclosed location for protective reasons), but the forests are dotted with stands of old-growth maples, birch, pine, beech and ash.

Credit: Massachusetts Office of Tourism Travel via Flickr.

Stowe — Vermont

This small town in Vermont is a popular skiing and snowboarding destination, but one of the best times to visit is months earlier to witness the breathtaking fall foliage. With beautiful hiking nearby, artisanal shops, local galleries, farm-to-table food and local microbreweries, the town is a great place to explore for a day trip or weekend getaway in autumn.

Credit: Jim Liestman via Flickr.

Lundy Lake — California

Fall foliage in southern California? Yes, it exists! At the tip of the Sierras, Lundy Lake in lined with seasonal forests that turn into brilliant shades of yellow and red in the height of autumn. The lake offers plenty of trails to explore the area by foot, as well as campgrounds and marinas to explore, fish and relax.

Credit: Fred Moore via Flickr.

Lost Maples State Natural Area — Texas

More than 2,000 acres of Apache and Comanche Native American territory are preserved along the Sabinal River in Texas. Home to huge, rare stands of Uvalde bigtooth maple, the area turns into breathtaking swatches of crimson during the last two weeks of October and the first two weeks of November. The varied terrain of limestone canyons, grasslands and forest provides a wealth of wildlife to view from bats to coyotes, and is a bird watcher’s paradise.

Credit: bettylynne via Flickr.

Lake of the Clouds Overlook — Michigan

An extensive boardwalk area leads the way to this breathtaking overlook, making it easily and safely accessible from the road, but a network of trails winds around four lakes and waterfalls to the overlook point to satisfy the ambitious hiker. Up to 388 species of birds can be spotted in the area, including the hermit thrush and bald eagle. The mountainous area is also home to the largest old-growth hardwood stands west of the Adirondacks in New York, which turn into brilliant, massive arrays of fall foliage in the autumn months.

Credit: Yugang Bai via Flickr.

Boston Public Garden — Massachusetts

There’s no need to venture out into the backcountry to find beautiful fall foliage — many urban forests display breathtaking autumn transformations right within the heart of the city. For example, Boston’s public garden, the first public botanical garden in the United States, transforms during fall into rich swaths of vibrant autumn color, from the towering treetops to the ornamental bushes. Walk on leaf-carpeted pathways, and over Impressionist style bridges, and appreciate the extraordinary fall colors right in the heart of an urban center.

Credit: Michael Krigsman via Flickr.

Multnomah Falls — Oregon

Watch Multnomah Falls drop out of the mountainside and fall 611 feet to the pool below from a beautifully designed overlook bridge. According to legend, the waterfall was created to win the heart of a princess who wanted a private bathing pool, and it’s easy to see why that location was chosen. Giant towering trees surround the falls and provide a rich canopy of color during the fall months. Uniquely fed by an underground spring, the falls don’t dry up in late summer and early autumn, like many other falls in the area. Trails crisscross the steep mountainside up to the top of the falls and beyond, offering a challenging hike through the array of fall foliage.

Credit: Scott Kinmartin via Flickr.

Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Byway — Georgia

Winding through the Chattahoochee National Forest, this scenic byway offers endless vistas of mountainsides and valleys painted in fall colors. Access to the Appalachian Trail, beautiful waterfalls and plentiful trout fishing streams offer perfect places to stop and take in the autumnal colors on foot.

Credit: Explore Georgia via Flickr.

The post Best Fall Foliage Views in the U.S. appeared first on American Forests.

In preparation for the workshop in Alton, Missouri, the USDA and Smart Growth America team tours the historic Greer Mill, which is being revitalized as an educational facility and event space through a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and the nonprofit Friends of Eleven Point River.

How will decisions about where we locate new development or upgrade existing infrastructure impact our future economic vitality and fiscal health?  How can we site and plan public facilities and housing so they have the greatest benefits for our community?  How can we rebound from years of population loss?  How can we capitalize on our unique history to become the kind of place we want to be in the future?  These were some of Alton, Missouri’s residents’ many questions Smart Growth America addressed during a recent USDA Rural Development supported technical assistance workshop.

During my visit to Alton, I was amazed at this small town’s vision, energy, and commitment to revitalizing its economy and improving the lives of its 870 residents.  Local leaders are bringing life back to their downtown by improving the built environment and hosting cultural events, developing the regional food system, strengthening tourism to nearby National Forests and beautiful rivers, and more.  However, I’ve seen rural communities with similar dreams fall short of their goals due to a lack of technical expertise, local capacity, financing, and partnerships.  That’s why USDA is working with Smart Growth America to bring innovative solutions, funding ideas, and insights from their experiences around the nation to communities who want a brighter future.

In rural communities like Alton; Rifle, Colorado; and Brookings, South Dakota, USDA is teaming up with Smart Growth America to work with local elected officials, city and county government staff, affordable housing nonprofits, economic developers, and other local stakeholders to tackle tough challenges related to development, infrastructure costs, housing, economic stagnation, population decline, and more.

Through interactive workshops (like the one I attended in Missouri) and fiscal impact analysis, which estimates the budgetary costs and benefits to municipalities of development decisions within their borders, Smart Growth America has helped these small towns identify strategies to build on their distinctive sense of place in order to grow their economies, retain and attract residents, and improve quality of life.

Now your rural community can apply to receive similar help.  Smart Growth America has announced the availability of more free technical assistance, thanks to cooperative agreement with the federal government.  Towns, cities, tribal governments, and regions across the country can now get expert analysis and ideas of creative solutions on downtown revitalization, green building, climate resilience, safe and vibrant street design, and more.  Communities can apply here through October 6^th.  If you’re interested, find out more on the Smart Growth America website or check out this Smart Growth America webinar.

In addition, through its partnership with USDA Rural Development, Smart Growth America has launched a new Rural Development program that will provide technical assistance, policy toolkits and best practices, an online funding clearinghouse, peer networking opportunities, and more to rural leaders.  Visit Smart Growth America’s Rural Development webpage for updates and to get involved.

To find out more about how USDA Rural Development is helping rural economies grow, visit Rural America is Back In Business.

Over a homemade lunch provided by the Oregon County Food Producers and Artisans Coop, local leaders and residents from Alton, Missouri and surrounding communities strategize about opportunities for collaboration around local food systems, tourism, and downtown revitalization.

The MyPlate, MyWins video series shows how real families make healthy eating work for them. Meet pregnant mom Candice, husband James, and their two-year-old son in the newest video.

Every family is unique, and when it comes to healthy eating, it’s important to find solutions that work for you. The MyPlate, MyWins video series features real-life families sharing their tips for success. In the newest video, Candice & James share how they plan healthy meals involving their two-year old son. For this growing family, preparing ahead is key.

“When I get hungry and I’m not prepared, I make bad decisions,” says pregnant mom Candice. “If the set-up is there for you, then your split-second decisions are still good.”

Meet Candice & James, the newest family featured in the MyPlate, MyWins video series, as they explore a local farmers market and teach their two-year-old about healthy eating:

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… more MyPlate, MyWins videos are on their way!