Resource Search

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

See also: Aquatic Invasive Species Fact Sheets for additional species information

The ongoing spread of wheat rusts, a group of fungal plant diseases that stymy the production of the staple grain and other crops, is raising concern in Central Asia and the Middle East and sparking closer international collaboration to study, detect and prevent the threat from advancing further.

FAO launched today a three-year Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control to scale up efforts to curb the growing spread of the invasive pest which is causing serious damage to food production and affecting millions of farmers across the world. Fall Armyworm (FAW), a crop pest native to the Americas, has rapidly spread through Africa, and to the Near East and Asia in the past four years. "It (Fall Armyworm) threatens food security of hundreds of millions of people and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers," said FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu. He made the remarks at the launch of the Global Action on the sidelines of the FAO's Council, the Organization's executive body. "This is a global threat that requires a global perspective," he stressed, urging the FAO member states "to greatly scale up the existing efforts" to prevent the further spread of this harmful pest to new regions.

Scientists and staff at the Agricultural Research Service have been studying Covid-19 for over a year-and-a-half to ensure that America’s agricultural system is safe. The aim of the research was to confirm that farm animals were not susceptible to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and remove potential concerns of farm animals becoming infected and transmitting the virus to people through direct contact or through agricultural products.

Every five years, Congress develops and passes a Farm Bill that outlines agriculture and food policy for the country. In the Farm Bill, Congress can create new programs and reform existing ones. In recent Farm Bills, Congress has created new USDA, APHIS programs that benefit the nation’s farmers and ranchers. Programs include those related to animal health, feral swine, pests and diseases of concern, and plant health.

Section 12203(b) of the 2018 Farm Bill required APHIS to develop a list of pests and diseases that pose the most significant threat to U.S. agriculture. 
See related resource: Animal and Plant Diseases and Pests of Concern

Sometimes reaching a height of more than 100 feet tall with trunk diameters often well over 10 feet, the American chestnut was the giant of the eastern U.S. forests. There were once billions of them and their range stretched from Georgia and Alabama to Michigan, but the majestic tree was gone before forest science existed to document its role in the ecosystem. Notes left by early foresters including Gifford Pinchot, the founder and first chief of the USDA Forest Service, suggest that its ecological role was as impressive as the tree's size. Mature American chestnuts have been virtually extinct for decades. The tree's demise started with something called ink disease in the early 1800s, which steadily killed chestnut in the southern portion of its range. The final blow happened at the turn of the 20th century when a disease called chestnut blight swept through Eastern forests. But, after decades of work breeding trees, The American Chestnut Foundation, a partner in the Forest Service's effort to restore the tree, is close to being able to make a blight-resistant American chestnut available.

The second annual National Pesticide Safety Education Month gets underway February 1st, to reinforce core principles of safe handling and use and to raise awareness of and support for the land-grant university Pesticide Safety Education Programs (PSEPs). Pesticide safety is a must, whether the applicator is an unlicensed homeowner or certified in one or more of the federal or state categories of use.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey have signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing their joint leadership of the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), a collaborative partnership focused on advancing bat conservation across North America. As co-leads of the NABat program, the two federal agencies will work to ensure the program remains sustainable and meets the needs of partners by providing coordination, technical assistance, data products and analyses that make it easier to apply bat monitoring data more effectively in support of conservation. For more information about the North American Bat Monitoring Program and opportunities to participate, please visit https://www.nabatmonitoring.org.

NABat was born out of the urgent need to monitor bat populations following the emergence of white-nose syndrome, a disease of hibernating bat species that appeared in New York in 2007 and has since spread across the continent. White-nose syndrome is considered one of the worst wildlife diseases in modern times, resulting in the loss of millions of bats across North America.

See related resource: Data Visualization Tools to explore plant and animal health management data and interactive story maps