WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2012 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the availability of funds for Fiscal Year 2012 for two key programs to encourage the use of renewable biomass and production of advanced biofuels. About $25 million will be made available through each program.

CHICAGO, February 3, 2012 - Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced that USDA has selected 298 recipients in 44 states and Puerto Rico to receive business development assistance through the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. Merrigan made the announcement in Chicago after keynoting the “Local/Regional Food System Conference” hosted at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

WASHINGTON – Feb. 2, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a new report, Increasing the Pace of Restoration and Job Creation on our National Forests, that outlines a strategy and series of actions for management on 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is launching a pilot program to help rural borrowers refinance their mortgages to reduce their monthly payments. This initiative is part of the Administration's ongoing efforts to help middle class families, create jobs, and strengthen the economy.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2012-Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS) Michael Scuse announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct a four-week Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general signup, beginning on March 12 and ending on April 6.

WASHINGTON – Jan. 31, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that loans and grants will be provided to applicants in ten states to support businesses, improve the quality of medical care, and create or save hundreds of jobs. Funding is provided through USDA's Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program.

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 27, 2012 – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack held a roundtable meeting today with local business owners and agricultural leaders to discuss the vision laid out in President Obama's State of the Union address that will help grow the Missouri economy. This meeting provided Secretary Vilsack with an opportunity to hear directly from Missourians on how to best implement the President's blueprint for an economy built to last.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 27, 2012 – U.S. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan joined business leaders today to highlight the vision laid out in President Obama’s State of the Union address that will help grow the Florida economy. Deputy Secretary Merrigan emphasized the importance of American manufacturing, homegrown energy development, education, and rewarding hard work and responsibility as a blueprint for an economy built to last.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2012 ─ Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of 24 university students who will attend USDA’s 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum. The finalists include students from Land-Grant, Hispanic-serving institutions, and American Association of State Colleges of Agriculture and Renewable Resources institutions who are the recipients of corporate and USDA sponsorship aimed at promoting the education of the next generation of agriculturalists. The Forum titled, “Moving Agriculture Forward,” is USDA’s largest annual event and will be held Feb. 23 and 24 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

DOVER, De., Jan. 26, 2012 – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined Delaware Governor Jack Markell today to highlight the vision laid out in President Obama’s State of the Union address that will help grow the Delaware economy. Secretary Vilsack emphasized the importance of American manufacturing, homegrown energy development, education, and rewarding hard work and responsibility as a blueprint for an economy built to last.

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Jan. 26, 2012 - Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today provided highlights on how Florida can build local and regional food systems which encourage job creation and economic development while increasing access to affordable, fresh and local food. Deputy Secretary Merrigan discussed these efforts, part of USDA's 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative, with students, faculty and community leaders at the University of Florida, Gainesville. The Deputy Secretary is in Florida as part of a two-day trip to discuss President Obama’s State of the Union Address and the Administration's strategy to strengthen the economy.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2012--The U. S. Department of Agriculture will release new 10-year agricultural projections Feb. 13 at 12:00 noon EST. The USDA Agricultural Projections to 2021 report will be released on the Office of the Chief Economist web site at www.usda.gov/oce. USDA publishes the projections each year in February.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today signaled the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s intent to issue a new planning rule for America’s 193-million acre National Forest System that seeks to deliver stronger protections for forests, water, and wildlife while supporting the economic vitality of our rural communities, by releasing online a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule. Today’s action honors the commitment made by Secretary Vilsack in his 2009 speech on forest management, and by the President in the America’s Great Outdoors Report.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Jan. 26, 2012 – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack held a roundtable meeting today with local business owners, agricultural leaders and state officials to discuss the vision laid out in President Obama’s State of the Union address that will help grow the Pennsylvania economy. This meeting provided Secretary Vilsack with an opportunity to hear directly from Pennsylvanians on how to best implement the President’s blueprint for an economy built to last.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2012 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA has approved a conditional commitment in the amount of $232.5 million to ZeaChem Boardman Biorefinery, LLC (ZBB) through the Biorefinery Assistance Program. ZBB will operate a 25 million gallon per year biorefinery, which will be constructed on an industrial site in Boardman, Oregon, along the Columbia River.

WASHINGTON, January 20, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is seeking applications to provide assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to complete a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Funding is available from USDA's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill).

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25. 2012 – First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today unveiled new standards for school meals that will result in healthier meals for kids across the nation.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2012 – As part of continued efforts to close the chapter on allegations that discrimination occurred at USDA in past decades, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced improvements to a process announced last February to resolve the claims of Hispanic and women farmers and ranchers who assert that they were discriminated against when seeking USDA farm loans.

FAIRFAX, Va., Jan. 25. 2012 – First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today unveiled new standards for school meals that will result in healthier meals for kids across the nation. The new meal requirements will raise standards for the first time in more than fifteen years and improve the health and nutrition of nearly 32 million kids that participate in school meal programs every school day. The healthier meal requirements are a key component of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was championed by the First Lady as part of her Let’s Move! campaign and signed into law by President Obama.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2012--The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released the new version of its Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM), updating a useful tool for gardeners and researchers for the first time since 1990 with greater accuracy and detail. The new map—jointly developed by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Oregon State University’s (OSU) PRISM Climate Group—is available online at www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov. ARS is the chief intramural scientific research agency of USDA.