Articles by Whitney Forman-Cook

- A panel of government officials and environmentalists agreed during a Farm Foundation Forum discussion Tuesday that the Endangered Species Act can be a valuable tool for species recovery, but voluntary and cooperative conservation initiatives ` that engage farmers and ranchers in par

The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee took on the hotly debated topic of àfire borrowingà for the first time during a Thursday hearing, and even went as far as to publically agree to try to end the practice.

The White House released a memorandum Tuesday on the ways President Obamas administration will encourage the private sector to mitigate the impacts of development on natural resources and public lands.

In the 35-year period following World War II, intensive farming in the Midwest increased nitrate levels in rivers in the region by up to 500 percent, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study.

USDA has awarded a $3.6 million grant to the Seattle Jobs Initiative (SGI) to set up a so-called Center of Excellence designed to develop and disseminate best practices to help state job training centers find work for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Pr

The House Agriculture Committee heard from the private sector Wednesday on how it plans to safely use the pbig datap American producers collect with farm equipment during their day-to-day operations.

Separate congressional panels last week took a hard look at outstanding budget problems in rental assistance and water infrastructure programs that have kept federal dollars from reaching rural America.

House and Senate Democrats met on Capitol Hill Tuesday to solicit the help of child nutrition advocates and congressional staffers in their push to reauthorize the Obama administration@s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HFKA) @ that lapsed last month @ and the healthy sch

The White House honored 12  Champions of Change  in sustainable agriculture Monday for using and promoting management practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve environmental conditions and grow local economies.

The Agriculture Department says its Farm to School Grant Program, created under the Obama administrationðs Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, has increased the number of school meals sold, bolstered consumption of healthier foods in schools, and helped to reduce pl