08/19/2014
USDA Week In Review August 8
A weekly look at some of the events and activities at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Stamps honoring the country's farmers markets, saving energy and helping the environment at USDA, and tracking a creeping menace.
Those stories and more in USDA Week In Review
Watch the video at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=thisweek
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Narrator (Bob Ellison): Stamps honoring the country’s farmers markets, saving energy and helping the environment at U-S-D-A, and tracking a creeping menace. Those stories and more in U-S-D-A Week In Review.
Narrator: A new stamp series from the postal service celebrates America’s farmers and farmers markets. Secretary Vilsack helped unveil the four new stamps at a farmers market near the White House.
Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary: And a lot of folks have talked about the benefits of farmers markets and that’s certainly true. This postage stamp will give us the opportunity to focus on those benefits. It’s been mentioned that it’s obviously access to great food and I’d encourage everybody to spend a few bucks while you’re here.
Narrator: The new stamps will help remind people how farmers markets help connect consumers with the people who grow our food.
Anne Alonzo, Administrator, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service: We have been celebrating nationwide the fifteenth annual National Farmers Market week. We kicked off the week’s celebration at the Madison, Dane County Farmers Market. Secretary Tom Vilsack proclaimed this the week that farmers and customers and the public should really celebrate farmers markets throughout the nation.
Narrator: To find a farmers market near you go to the online farmers market directory at A-M-S dot U-S-D-A dot gov.
Narrator: In Washington and across the country, U-S-D-A is working to make its buildings more environmentally friendly.
Dr. Gregory Parham, Assistant Secretary for Administration: Number one, to reduce our carbon footprint so that it helps with climate change. The second reason is to preserve our natural resources, of course. And then also to make our facilities more efficient.
Narrator: And cooling more efficiently is what an upgraded chilled water plant does at U-S-D-A headquarters.
John Carothers, USDA Operations Coordinator: Energy savings on a daily, monthly basis, not needing to mechanically cool the water using the outside air, that really does save an awful lot. Probably thirty percent of the baseline energy costs have been saved just not running the machines on a daily basis.
Narrator: The new chiller plant uses outside air and computer software to cool headquarters during fall and winter warm spells when the main a-c is off.
Narrator: The vine that ate the south is eating a lot more these days. Damaging kudzu vines have crept through the mid-Atlantic and northern U-S and into Canada.
Lewis Ziska, USDA Agricultural Research Service: We think that with warming winters that kudzu is going to be a potential newcomer to many parts of the United States that have not seen kudzu before and may not be familiar with it. It basically eliminates all the other species, so you’re reducing the degree of biodiversity that you’re going to have. The kudzu is also host for soybean rust, which is a pathogen, which once it gets into a soybean field is difficult to control. Kudzu is sort of a super w**d, if you will. One that we really need to keep an eye on and one that we need to come up with new ways to try and detect and, of course, to try and manage. And that’s really, truly difficult.
Narrator: Right now, kudzu is mostly useless aside from preventing erosion. However, the Agricultural Research Service has shown that kudzu can be turned into a biofuel.
Narrator: And in this week’s photo of the week, thanks to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, oysters are now thriving at the Nisqually Shellfish Farm, near Belfair, Washington. The once polluted waters were improved through successful efforts to prevent sediment and nutrient runoff. The oysters are eaten locally and as far away as New York City. Visit the U-S-D-A Flickr photo stream for more photographs.
That’s all for U-S-D-A Week In Review. Follow, tweet, and stay informed at U-S-D-A dot-gov.
Narrator (Bob Ellison): Stamps honoring the country’s farmers markets, saving energy and helping the environment at U-S-D-A, and tracking a creeping menace. Those stories and more in U-S-D-A Week In Review.
Narrator: A new stamp series from the postal service celebrates America’s farmers and farmers markets. Secretary Vilsack helped unveil the four new stamps at a farmers market near the White House.
Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary: And a lot of folks have talked about the benefits of farmers markets and that’s certainly true. This postage stamp will give us the opportunity to focus on those benefits. It’s been mentioned that it’s obviously access to great food and I’d encourage everybody to spend a few bucks while you’re here.
Narrator: The new stamps will help remind people how farmers markets help connect consumers with the people who grow our food.
Anne Alonzo, Administrator, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service: We have been celebrating nationwide the fifteenth annual National Farmers Market week. We kicked off the week’s celebration at the Madison, Dane County Farmers Market. Secretary Tom Vilsack proclaimed this the week that farmers and customers and the public should really celebrate farmers markets throughout the nation.
Narrator: To find a farmers market near you go to the online farmers market directory at A-M-S dot U-S-D-A dot gov.
Narrator: In Washington and across the country, U-S-D-A is working to make its buildings more environmentally friendly.
Dr. Gregory Parham, Assistant Secretary for Administration: Number one, to reduce our carbon footprint so that it helps with climate change. The second reason is to preserve our natural resources, of course. And then also to make our facilities more efficient.
Narrator: And cooling more efficiently is what an upgraded chilled water plant does at U-S-D-A headquarters.
John Carothers, USDA Operations Coordinator: Energy savings on a daily, monthly basis, not needing to mechanically cool the water using the outside air, that really does save an awful lot. Probably thirty percent of the baseline energy costs have been saved just not running the machines on a daily basis.
Narrator: The new chiller plant uses outside air and computer software to cool headquarters during fall and winter warm spells when the main a-c is off.
Narrator: The vine that ate the south is eating a lot more these days. Damaging kudzu vines have crept through the mid-Atlantic and northern U-S and into Canada.
Lewis Ziska, USDA Agricultural Research Service: We think that with warming winters that kudzu is going to be a potential newcomer to many parts of the United States that have not seen kudzu before and may not be familiar with it. It basically eliminates all the other species, so you’re reducing the degree of biodiversity that you’re going to have. The kudzu is also host for soybean rust, which is a pathogen, which once it gets into a soybean field is difficult to control. Kudzu is sort of a super w**d, if you will. One that we really need to keep an eye on and one that we need to come up with new ways to try and detect and, of course, to try and manage. And that’s really, truly difficult.
Narrator: Right now, kudzu is mostly useless aside from preventing erosion. However, the Agricultural Research Service has shown that kudzu can be turned into a biofuel.
Narrator: And in this week’s photo of the week, thanks to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, oysters are now thriving at the Nisqually Shellfish Farm, near Belfair, Washington. The once polluted waters were improved through successful efforts to prevent sediment and nutrient runoff. The oysters are eaten locally and as far away as New York City. Visit the U-S-D-A Flickr photo stream for more photographs.
That’s all for U-S-D-A Week In Review. Follow, tweet, and stay informed at U-S-D-A dot-gov.
USDA's Week in Review
