department of agriculture

Innovation in Government: Creating The ‘Know Your Farmer’ Program

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This is the second in a series of profiles of innovative leaders in government based on interviews by the authors Paul R. Lawrence and Mark A. Abramson for the book “Paths to Making a Difference: Leading in Government.” The book highlights the management lessons of 24 political executives during their first two years in the Obama administration.

Historically, a major criticism of government has been that it consists of individual government agencies (often called stove-pipes or silos) which tend not to work very well with other agencies, even those within their own department.

When she arrived at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan found some truth in this criticism of government. Many agencies within USDA viewed themselves as somewhat independent of the Office of the Secretary. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 28, 2012 at 3:05 PM

USDA Fine-tunes Twitter For Food Recall Alerts

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When it comes to food safety, the government’s ability to inform consumers fast with word of recalls due to contamination can make the difference between life and death.

To that end, the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is harnessing the power of technology and social media. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 26, 2012 at 11:30 AM

USDA Harnesses New Web App To Track Tainted Food

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The Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has launched a web-based system that identifies and keeps tainted meat, poultry and eggs out of the food chain.

Gone are paper reports and word-of-mouth alerts about unsafe and dangerous food detected by USDA’s food inspectors, whether its salmonella or sour milk that sends consumers to the hospital. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 21, 2012 at 9:30 AM

CIA’s World Factbook: Intelligence For Every Thinker, Traveler, Soldier, Spy

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The Government Printing Office has just recently released its latest edition of the CIA’s World Factbook–which marks its 50th anniversary in 2012 for the classified version and more than 40 years of publishing the public version.

The 810-page public edition of the CIA’s World Factbook provides not only a timely and valuable source of global information, it also allows us a glimpse into the times and events that necessitated its production. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 2, 2012 at 8:09 AM
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