USDA at 150

The USDA is 150 years old today.   On May 15 , 1862 President Lincoln signed the order to create what he called The People's Department - the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  To honor Lincoln , the 'Abraham Lincoln Tomato' was introduced in the 1920s , and The People's Garden project was started in 2009 , the 200th anniversary of his birth.


The USDA is hosting many activities at various sites , including the exhibit "What's Cooking Uncle Sam?" formerly at the National Archives in D.C. and sending out seed packets of the Abraham Lincoln heirloom tomato [image on right] to the 1 ,500 People's Gardens and others.   
 
The People's Garden initiative , started in 2009 , the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth , was to encourage USDA employees to begin gardens at USDA facilities.  Currently , the USDA and 700 agencies "creating school gardens , community gardens and small-scale agriculture projects in urban and rural areas , collectively referred to as community-based agriculture." For more information on the initiative go HERE

The Abraham Lincoln Tomato , an heirloom variety was introduced in the 1920s by the H.W. Buckbee seed company in Rockford , Illinois. It "proved itself to be one of the great tomato classics that survived the shift to hybrids during the 1940’s... After the Buckbee firm closed , the tomato was continued by RH Shumway of Randolph , Wisconsin."

The NAL - National Agricultural Library , of the USDA has a marvelous collection.  The rare book room has stunning manuscripts , and many online resources such as the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection with 3 ,807 images of apples [image on left].  Check out their website: NAL

 

©2012 Patricia Bixler Reber

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