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BlogNetNews.com/Iowa (Free subscription) | 07/03/2009
No, he has not been knighted by the queen. Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack -- the current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture -- and his wife, Christie, are grandparents. Their oldest son, Jess, and his wife, Kate, are the parents of a newborn -- a baby boy. [...]
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 07/02/2009
Under this announcement, USDA will make $169.5 million available in direct Community Facilities loans; $157.4 million in guaranteed loans and $24.2 million in grants. Community Facilities programs finance the development of essential community facilities in rural areas. These include hospitals, medical clinics, elderly care, first responder equipment and facilities, vocational and medical rehabilitation...
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White House.gov Blog (Free subscription) | 07/01/2009
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack discusses the Administration's rural tour, and highlights the new Rural Tour Web site, which will document the Secretary's travels to rural communities across the country.
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 06/30/2009
Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at www.AskKaren.gov. For food safety information in English and Spanish, consumers also can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854); TTY: 1-800-256-7072. The Hotline's hours are Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern Time, year-round,...
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Reuters (Free subscription) | 06/29/2009
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Congress is eyeing ways to make sure speculative trading helps commodity markets rather than distorting pricing signals, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a Reuters Television interview Monday.
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 06/26/2009
Interactive Features on Provide Functionality for the American People to Share Their Recovery Stories, Provide Feedback on USDA Efforts WASHINGTON, June 26, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today launched a new USDA Recovery Act website, including features and functionality that will allow people to learn about, share, and discuss American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding in states and...
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 06/26/2009
Meanwhile, the Lake County Community Development Corporation, in Ronan, Mt., was selected to receive a $500,000 loan to establish a revolving loan program for small and emerging businesses in Lake, Mineral and Sanders counties and to serve the Flathead Indian Reservation. The region has faced double-digit unemployment due to timber and technology sector layoffs, and these funds will be used to support...
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 06/24/2009
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA Rural Development has approved a $25 million loan to enable a Minnesota biodiesel facility to diversify its operations and significantly expand the production of advanced biofuels. "The investment announced today helps fulfill the Obama Administration's goal of increasing production of biofuels while securing...
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 06/23/2009
For example, the City of Vienna in rural Georgia will receive a $99,999 grant for rehabilitation and system improvements to three portions of the City's wastewater infrastructure. According to a 2008 system analysis, 50 percent of the facilities required immediate corrective action. These funds will completely rehabilitate two portions of the infrastructure that provide services to two of the city's...
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 06/23/2009
The remediation activities undertaken as part of these projects include closing mine openings and vertical shafts; recontouring open pits, trenches, and associated roads; and removing or stabilizing abandoned buildings, equipment, and hazardous materials. To enhance safety, mine openings will be gated and signs posted to prevent public entry. Watershed cleanup activities will include replacing contaminated...
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 06/22/2009
"HUD and this Administration are committed to providing the highest level of transparency possible as Recovery Act funds are spent," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "It is vitally important that the American people are fully aware of how their tax dollars are being spent and can hold their federal leaders accountable. We are proud to collaborate with USDA on this project and build...
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Vox Verax (Free subscription) | 06/22/2009
By STEPHEN POWER WSJ WASHINGTON -- The fate of the leading proposal to curb U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions is in the hands of Rep. Collin Peterson, a Marlboro-smoking free spirit who scoffs at warnings about climate change and says the Environmental Protection Agency is "in bed with" corporations opposed to the ethanol industry. [House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D., Minn.)...
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 06/18/2009
Father's Day offers a unique opportunity for families to have fun together - but also to develop healthy habits that can last a lifetime. USDA has developed a short list of tips for families celebrating Father's Day. TOP 5 Father's Day Tips: Visit a Local Farmer's Market: Take Dad to your local farmer's market! More than 4,500 farmer's markets across the country are open for business and brimming with...
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 06/17/2009
Meanwhile, Johnson City in Washington County, Tenn., was selected to receive $869,000 to extend safe, reliable water service to an area outside the city limits where household wells and springs have become unreliable for a significant part of the year. A majority have also already tested positive for bacteria and other contaminants. The new water mains will deliver service to about 75 existing households...
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Department of Agriculture (Free subscription) | 06/17/2009
CHICAGO, June 17, 2009 -- Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced that a first-of-its-kind agreement has been reached between the United States and Canada that will expand opportunities for organic producers in both countries. The "equivalency agreement" follows a review by both nations of the other's organic certification program and a determination that products meeting...
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wineandfoodtube | 06/03/2008
In Sarrion, Spain the truffle growers are under strict control by the Aragon department of agriculture, some 15,000 oak seedlings a year receive the corresponding mycorrhization (inoculation with T. melanosporum spores) treatment before being planted. It will take some five years before the first truffles appear. Every Sunday from around December 15th through to March 15th there is a fresh truffle...