u s department of agriculture

The Department of Agriculture encourages dairy producers to consider enrolling in the new and improved Margin Protection Program for Dairy, which will provide better protections for dairy producers from shifting milk and feed prices.

The Maryland General Assembly is considering a bill aimed at helping research dogs and cats get adopted after studies are done.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture is asking people to think twice before bringing chicks and other live poultry into their homes. The risk of illness from improper handling is high, especially for those who do not follow the proper biosecurity procedures.

Baltimore city health officials said they have opened the latest virtual supermarket at Ruscombe Gardens apartments in Northwest Baltimore.

The proposal to replace SNAP with “America’s harvest box,” a box of “shelf-stable” canned and boxed goods, for those households receiving over $90 per month, is perplexing and concerning to say the least.

The district previously used a family’s eligibility for the Free and Reduced Meals program as a proxy for poverty. It’s now based on a family’s participation in federal aid programs, which immigrants are less likely to apply or qualify for.

To help support local farmers, the county’s Office of Community Sustainability recently launched its “We are Hoco Fresh” initiative, to certify restaurants that buy their ingredients from Howard County farmers.

While bees are extra busy in spring, local beekeepers work year-round to keep them healthy. Changes in the weather, insect enemies and low food supplies can all affect a hive’s viability. But the rewards that come with owning hives are worth the effort.

Farmers.gov will have multiple features added over the coming months to allow agricultural producers to make appointments with USDA offices, file forms, and apply for USDA programs.

The Westminster Livestock Auction unexpectedly closed Thursday. The auction, which had been in operation since 1936, is the county’s sole venue in which to buy and sell livestock.

The Census of Agriculture is conducted by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service and it is the only NASS questionnaire mailed to every producer across the country and is conducted just once every five years.

A 53-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced this week to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution after pleading guilty to food stamp and wire fraud, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. 

Nestled in Baltimore County’s rolling hills, Roseda Farm has been slowly perfecting its Black Angus herd to create beef prime for plating. The brand has become ubiquitous on Baltimore-area restaurant menus, and the farm wants to become synonymous with Baltimore.

Laurel-Beltsville Senior Activity Center hosts activities in the new year. Plans for a proposed Maglev could affect the community.

The Maryland Zoo announced the death of five-year-old giraffe Juma.

Share Your Blessings holiday list of organizations that assist the needy.

Brower said his family, who has owned the farm since 1901, always raised dairy cows and used to raise thousands of turkeys until the late 1960s. Five years ago, they started raising turkeys again.

Our View: Oct. 12, is National Farmers Day, an opportunity to recognize farmers for the hard work that they do that provides us with the food we eat every day and the jobs a number of us have.

Anne Marguerite Moe, a retired editor and proofreader and Howard County equestrienne, dies

The number of families in Maryland who suffer from food insecurity has dropped, according to new federal statistics, but advocates many people are still going hungry.

From pharmaceutical experts to former restaurateurs, Maryland's first medical marijuana growers are getting started.

It's not quite 9 a.m. and already the sun is glaring overhead when Jess Beck greets a reporter with a firm handshake … and bare feet. She and her mother, Cathy

Three Harford County elementary schools: Deerfield, Magnolia and William Paca/Old Post Road will have full-day pre-kindegarten for 4-year-olds this coming school year.

Alex Kochmarsky has a full-time hobby, and it's a sweet one at that.

Westminster company recalls some ready-to-eat ham products

We are advocating for a diversity mindset for the medical marijuana industry in Maryland — not simply a wish of diversity inclusion, but a strategic, inclusive plan.

Poultry judged and elders entertained

Jerome Gause always liked cooking, but for the 20-year-old from Towson it had always been just a hobby.

A growing group of activists, government agencies, nonprofits and private companies have joined the food recovery movement. Their shared mission is to cut down on food waste, and divert what previously was thrown away to feed those who might otherwise eat less nutritiously — or go hungry.

Health advocate Christine Carswell dies

Most people view Carroll as a fairly affluent county, and it is. So it might be surprising to learn that about 20 percent of students enrolled in Carroll

Baltimore County Public Schools will begin serving free breakfast and lunch Wednesday at 44 schools — including six in the Catonsville and Arbutus areas — to

Annie Davenport, of Westminster, is 5 and in a summer kindergarten readiness program at Robert Moton Elementary School, where she will attend kindergarten in

Vitreon America Inc. will move its headquarters to Baltimore City from Northern Virginia, bringing 200 full-time jobs over five years and a 200,000-square-foot high-tech laboratory, company and state officials announced Monday

Two food products distributed in Maryland are being recalled because of possible undeclared allergens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday.

In the few years, Holly Poultry plans to quadruple volume and nearly double the workforce to meet a growing demand for poultry

A Baltimore man was ordered Friday to pay more than $3.7 million in restitution for trafficking food stamps.

At 7 a.m. Friday, Ray Bahr began ringing the bell on his bicycle and announcing where he was about to go.

NASS will be conducting two major mid-year surveys: the June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey. The agency will survey nearly 1,000 operations across Maryland to determine crop production and supplies levels in 2017.

Don't allow Trump administration to reverse course on animal cruelty regulations

As much as 40 percent of food is wasted nationally every year and much of it is nutritious, representing an enormous missed opportunity to improve people's diets and prevent hunger, according to Johns Hopkins researchers

Losing my job has been a difficult blow. But I count myself fortunate. I possess employable skills and reliable transportation to reach work. I have a supportive extended family that would help me out in a pinch. So even though I've not been as wise a saver as I could be, or as frugal a shopper as I should be, I probably won't find myself in the receiving line of my local food pantry. But one thing is certain: The next time I volunteer there, I'll not register shock at whomever I do see in line.

Jean R. Worthley, a well known Maryland naturalist and MPT TV host, died Sunday. She was 92.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service will mail a census at the end of this year.

The hours and menu are somewhat limited, the staff is small, and opening night didn't draw much of a crowd, but we think the Brass Hat Cafe in Westminster i

Adding to his flock, 13-year-old Nathan Grimm picked out six chicks that will grow to be brown egg layers Sunday afternoon at the Tractor Supply Co. in West

Tuesday is National Agriculture Day, coinciding with the start of spring, and Gov. Larry Hogan has declared March 19 to 25 Maryland Agriculture Week.

All drugs and some chemicals are tested on animals before humans, but no one is really sure how good mice, dogs and others are in predicting the toxic affects on people so a team from Johns Hopkins University aims to find out

Even with the potential for an accumulating snowfall early next week, spring is almost here, and that means planting season for Carroll County farmers. And

The effectiveness of a new Maryland law banning pet shops from selling dogs raised in "puppy mills" is in questionafter the U.S. Department of Agriculture stripped an online database of animal welfare reports from its website.