The USDA's educational Web sites provide resources on gardening, conservation, nutrition, and food from farm to table. T he USDA oversees not only a variety of programs relating directly to the production of food and fiber but also the National Resources Conservation Service, the Forestry Service, the Food and Nutrition Service, the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, the Food Safety Inspection Service, and several programs relating to rural development. This material is of somewhat uneven quality, but it includes some excellent educational resources. This overview will help you find the best the USDA has to offer and design classroom activities that integrate them into your curriculum. The National Agricultural Library, located in Beltsville, MD, has a solid presence on the Web.
Users can search the catalog or browse by subject.
Topics covered include agricultural economics, animal and veterinary science, consumer and family studies, earth and environmental science, nutrition, forestry, and farming. The best sites linked from this page are listed elsewhere in this article. A good resource for educators, this site provides information on books, Web sites, and other resources useful for teaching agriculture-related sciences, including some curriculum guides. Most of the resources referenced, unfortunately, do not appear to be available online but can be ordered free of charge. This site provides educational material for both students and teachers.