Nowhere is the Obama Administration’s legacy on national security and economic growth more recognizable than in today’s renewable energy economy.

The United States leads the world in agricultural innovation, with crop and livestock production that feeds our country and more than enough to export overseas. But the economic potential of rural America doesn’t stop just at growing food. The entrepreneurial, pioneering spirit of America’s farmers and ranchers now has put them at the forefront of a remarkable transformation, ranging from homegrown renewable energy to biobased materials, keeping rural manufacturing humming and ensuring that our communities throughout the countryside stay economically competitive.

President Obama entered office in 2009 with a strong commitment to pursue an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy and, since then, domestic energy-related emissions have fallen to their lowest level in 20 years and our dependence on foreign oil is at a 40-year low and declining. In the last eight years, USDA has helped lead an effort to promote the domestic production and use of advanced biofuels and biobased products, supporting millions of jobs and pumping hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars into the U.S. economy.

Join us throughout the month of October as we tell the story of a proud legacy of rural innovation and its contribution to a new generation of renewable energy and biobased products; increasing American energy security, giving American consumers environmentally friendly choices, cutting our carbon pollution, strengthening America’s economy and with it the small towns and rural communities that so many call home. Follow along on usda.gov, on the USDA blog and by using #USDAResults, or catch up on Chapter X on our Medium site.

Throughout the month we’ll tell the story of a proud legacy of rural innovation and its contribution to a new generation of renewable energy and biobased products.