The United States Department of Agriculture (informally the Agriculture Department or USDA) is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities and end hunger in the United States and abroad. The head of the department is the Secretary of Agriculture, who is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary is Tom Vilsack. Early in its history, the economy of the United States was largely agrarian. Officials in the federal government had long sought new and improved varieties of seeds, plants and animals for importation to the United States. In 1837 Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, a Yale-educated attorney interested in improving agriculture, became Commissioner of Patents, a position within the Department of State. He soon began collecting and distributing new varieties of seeds and plants through members of the Congress and agricultural societies.
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Scientists from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and North Dakota State University (NDSU) recently found that when cattle were fed with the industrial hemp byproduct, hempseed cake, very low levels of Cannabis ...
Agriculture
Apr 12, 2023
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Dogs specially trained by Agriculture Research Service (ARS) scientists have proven to be the most efficient way to detect huanglongbing—also known as citrus greening—according to a paper just published in the Proceedings ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 3, 2020
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377
A protein that allows the fungus which causes white mold stem rot in more than 600 plant species to overcome plant defenses has been identified by a team of U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service and ...
Biotechnology
Apr 25, 2022
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Since the 1940s, antibiotics have effectively treated certain bacterial diseases. But over the years, some bacteria have developed resistance to the antibiotics that once killed them.
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 28, 2016
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12
Cedarwood oil can be found in many consumer products—perfumes, soaps and deodorants among them. In addition to its pleasing scent, cedarwood oil also is prized for its insect-repelling and anti-fungal properties.
Plants & Animals
Feb 16, 2022
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100
The spores of some fungi can linger in the environment for months or years just waiting for something to spread them elsewhere, like a gust of wind, falling rain or a passing insect or animal. Not so with Fusarium xyrophilum, ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 25, 2020
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38
Improved pest resistance and drought tolerance are among potential benefits of an international effort in which Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their collaborators have produced the clearest picture yet ...
Biotechnology
May 1, 2019
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140
Trained as an entomologist, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist Fred Eller still has a soft place in his heart for insect-related research. When he noticed ants climbing up the pole of his backyard hummingbird feeder ...
Ecology
Oct 11, 2019
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15
Brazilian peppertree thrips (Pseudophilothrips ichini) showed promise as biological control agents for invasive Brazilian peppertree populations in Florida according to a recent study published in Florida Entomologist.
Ecology
Oct 12, 2022
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11
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have identified five Romaine lettuce varieties that both brown less quickly after fresh-cut processing and are slower to deteriorate postharvest.
Plants & Animals
May 14, 2020
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