u s department of agriculture

If Baltimore needs a model for creating vocational education programs, officials need to go no further than Green Street Academy charter school.

The Harford County government is working with the Armstrong cable and internet provider to seek USDA grants to expand service in northern Harford County.

By David Anderson

Jun 24, 2019

Children who need a lunch this summer will have a new place to grab one: The Taneytown branch of the Carroll County Public Library.

New Windsor residents might see a slight decrease in their water bills for the next quarter, thanks to a state grant.

Some longtime Lexington Market vendors who can no longer take food stamps say the program's changes are costing them business.

By Lorraine Mirabella

Jun 17, 2019

Perdue Farms is recalling more than 31,000 pounds of chicken as the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture says some patties, tenders and nuggets may contain bone material.

By Phil Davis

Jun 2, 2019

The Howard County Public School System is adding nine new locations for its summer meals program, bringing the total to 15.

By Jess Nocera

May 21, 2019

I myself am a farmer raising cattle, goats, sheep, and rabbits. I do not believe in the use of antibiotics unless the animal's life depends on it.

Here's what one Baltimore beekeeper recommends doing when you spot a bee swarm in the city.

By Lillian Reed

Apr 22, 2019

A new study has found that one in five of the world's deaths are linked to bad eating habits, and we need good policy to address that.

An investigation by the Humane Society of America traced dead rabbits found in a Virginia pet store to a "rabbit mill" in Centreville, Md.

By Sarah Meehan

Apr 2, 2019

Charis Ramsing, a Wilde Lake High School alum, was named a 2019 Distinguished Senior from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

By Jess Nocera

Apr 2, 2019

The number one industry in the state of Maryland is agriculture, but it doesn’t take long in Annapolis to see that it’s not celebrated by everyone. Many bills this legislative session seem to target our number one industry and enforce strict rules and regulations on Maryland farmers.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Thursday proposed $1.5 million in funds to help struggling dairy farmers participate in a federal program that aims to protect dairies from plummeting milk prices paired with the rising cost of feeding cows.

An animal rights group has filed an official complaint with federal regulators against the Johns Hopkins University regarding the death of a young marmoset in the university’s care in December 2017.

By Colin Campbell

Feb 6, 2019

State of the Union guests — including Marylanders — came to the U.S. Capitol in Washington bearing political messages. President Donald Trump's guests include included the father of a Western Maryland sailor killed in the 2000 terrorist attack on the USS Cole.

By Jeff Barker

Feb 6, 2019

Marylanders expressed relief at the end of a partial federal government shutdown, but also frustration that it lasted a record 35 days — and anxiety that it could happen again next month. Lila Johnson, a contract custodian at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was awaiting word on when to report.

By Jeff Barker

Jan 25, 2019

What would be open or closed if the government partially shuts down over President Trump's refusal to sign funding legislation unless it includes money for a wall between the U.S. and Mexico?

By Jean Marbella

Dec 27, 2018

With Johns Hopkins in its crosshairs, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals plans to run an ad in Baltimore that depicts experiments on animals.

By Meredith Cohn

Nov 13, 2018

Christopher Guy, a former longtime Baltimore Sun reporter, editor and Eastern Shore bureau chief, died Friday from complications of dementia at Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital in Onacock, Va. The Easton resident was 65.

By Frederick N. Rasmussen

Nov 8, 2018

Maryland's heavy rains this year have stunted the pumpkin crop, leading some sellers to purchase gourds from out of state.

A five-year effort by the University of Maryland and other researchers aims to figure out how best to reduce tick populations, and, they hope, Lyme disease.

Over the past few weeks, we have received many calls in University of Maryland Extension offices regarding aerial spraying. What’s being sprayed? Why is it being sprayed? Am I at risk? With many misconceptions surrounding modern agriculture, people worry. Here's why you shouldn't.

A salmonella outbreak that began in September 2017 sickened 17 people in the Mid-Atlantic and northeast, including one in Maryland.

By Sarah Meehan

Aug 30, 2018

Three egg masses of the destructive Asian gypsy moth were discovered on a vehicle transport ship in the port of Baltimore earlier this month.

By Christopher Dinsmore

Aug 29, 2018

Mary C. Pino, a retired secretary who worked for several federal agencies, died Aug. 16 from complications of a stroke at the Charlestown Retirement Community. The former Ellicott City resident was 98.

By Frederick N. Rasmussen

Aug 22, 2018

The grocery industry is in trouble — so some retailers are putting Halloween candy out early.

By Christina Tkacik

Aug 17, 2018

Howard County schools summer meals program is projected to serve over 66,000 children this summer. The first year the program has added a mobile site at the East Columbia Library Branch of the county's library system.

By Jess Nocera

Aug 16, 2018

What a strange obsession we have with our yards in America — and an expensive one. U.S. households spent almost $16 billion on lawn care and gardening services in 2015.

Asian gypsy moth eggs were discovered aboard a vehicle transport ship in Baltimore.

By Sarah Meehan

Aug 10, 2018

Maryland is working to maintain access to farmers markets for those who use food stamps.

Tracie Prevost, principal of Scotchtown Elementary School, requested the summer meals site for this summer to stop children from going hungry when school is out of session.

The city’s food policy director Holly Freishtat said she’s been in discussions with the Maryland Farmers Market Association on whether local vendors should be looking to find a new way to swipe SNAP cards.

By Talia Richman

Jul 25, 2018

SNAP users will have at least another month to buy food from 18 farmers markets in Maryland and many more nationwide thanks to an infusion of cash from a Virginia nonprofit.

By Christina Tkacik

Jul 19, 2018

After pressure from an animal-rights activist group, owners of the Deer Haven Mini Zoo near Keymar have re-homed several of their animals, including two endangered lemurs.

Former ambulance driver Jack Clayton, a Phoenix, Md., native and partner Candi Durham, are learning organic farming and selling produce at local venues such as the Towson Farmers' Market.

A private vendor going out of business could mean that people who receive government aid to buy food would no longer be able to use it at farmers markets.

Maryland firefighters are helping battle a Utah wildfire in their first assignment of the year.

A training program for burgeoning farmers is working with its largest class yet, feeding a growing demand from experienced farmers and newbies looking to trade their desk jobs for long days in the fields.

By Sarah Meehan

Jun 28, 2018

Carroll County Public Schools has the smallest percentage of students who qualify for the free and reduced-price meal program in the state of Maryland. That’s a good thing. Yet, sadly, even at that rate, there is still roughly one in every five kids who are eligible for the FARMs program.

Free meals will be available at over two dozen schools and 10 library branches throughout the summer.

By Cody Boteler

Jun 19, 2018

Maryland Democrats in Congress asked the Trump administration on Thursday to grant crab shacks temporary relief from a new rule that is preventing many from accepting food stamps for steamed crabs.

By Jeff Barker

Jun 14, 2018

In less than three weeks, Carroll County Public Schools-sponsored summer meals programs — which recently won a national award — will begin.

Summer doesn’t officially start until June 21, but for most people, Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of the season. That means cookouts, swimming pools and other outdoor activities. It’s important to remember to be safe as we resume many of these activities after a long break.

Summer doesn’t officially start until June 21, but for most people, Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of the season. That means cookouts, swimming pools and other outdoor activities. It’s important to remember to be safe as we resume many of these activities after a long break.

Federal regulators have forbidden many Baltimore-area carry-out shops from accepting food stamps for steamed crabs, a move that is stirring debate over whether it is an appropriate use of government benefits and what impact it could have on a beleaguered seafood industry.

By Scott Dance

May 10, 2018

Many of us know about puppy mills, or at least we think we do. But in most cases, the places we picture when we hear the term “puppy mill” are legal. Every year, around 1 million dogs are born at these facilities, licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and treated as livestock.

Eastern Shore farms produced $1 billion of chicken in 2017, surpassing that milestone for the first time, an industry group said. Maryland poultry production grew 12 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics.

By Scott Dance

May 8, 2018

Growth in underwater grasses shows Chesapeake Bay is healing but more work needs to be done.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund recently served Deer Haven Mini Zoo in Keymar with an intent to sue for allegedly violating the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and state laws.