U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Agriculture officials have recently issued a warning to Coloradans: If you receive an unexpected package by mail that contains a packet of unidentified seeds – do NOT plant them. Learn more about the mysterious seeds showing up in mailboxes – and what to do if you get some.

One of the agency’s expanded regional offices is in Fort Collins.

Since Colorado began its wolf reintroduction program two years ago, wildlife officials have worked to find non-lethal ways to stop wolves from attacking livestock. One promising strategy encourages more ranchers to use very large dogs called Turkish Boz Shepherds to guard their flocks and keep wolves away.

Pat and Jan Stanko raise 180-pound Turkish Boz Shepherds, known for loving kids, lambs, calves and tiny chicks. They’re also fierce defenders of livestock against wolves, and a nonlethal coexistence group hopes to build a team they can deploy to ranchers on short notice. Listen to "Morning Edition" host Michael Lyle, Jr. discuss this story with Colorado Sun reporter Tracy Ross and then read the entire article at the link below.

The USDA abruptly ended policies to address the long history of discrimination against minority and women farmers last month.

The plan, released last week by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would eliminate the Forest Service’s nine regional offices over the next year, including offices in Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Retirees from the agency said they were "extremely concerned."

The Catch Up is your weekly way to get all the headlines and stories from KUNC in one place.

US Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins unveiled plans for a “complete reorganization of the USDA.” Thousands of USDA jobs in D.C. will be relocated to five new regional hubs, including one in Fort Collins.

Earlier this year, a commercial airliner struck an animal as it was taking off from Denver International Airport and had to make an emergency landing. Which led KUNC investigative reporter Scott Franz to ask: Just how often does this kind of thing happen? Scott found documents that show planes at DIA hit birds and other animals hundreds of times each year.

It would be called the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, according to budget documents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior. The agency would consolidate the wildland fire programs of the USDA and Interior within the latter.