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Information about United States Department Of Agriculture

“USDA” redirects here. For other uses, see USDA (disambiguation).
United States Department of Agriculture
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Logo of the USDA

Logo of the USDA
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Seal of the Department of Agriculture

Seal of the Department of Agriculture
Agency overview
FormedFebruary 15, 1889
JurisdictionFederal government of the United States
Employees105,778 (June 2007)
Annual Budget$94 billion USD (2006)
Agency ExecutivesCharles F. Conner (acting), Secretary of Agriculture
 
vacant, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Child Agency
Website
www.usda.gov


The United States Department of Agriculture (also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA) is a United States Federal Executive Department (or Cabinet Department). Its purpose is to develop and execute policy on farming, agriculture, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities and end hunger, in America and abroad. Secretary Chuck Conner is the department's current secretary.

History

The United States had a largely agrarian economy early in its history. Officials in the federal government had long sought new and improved varieties of seeds, plants, and animals for importation to the United States. In 1836 Henry L. Ellsworth, a man interested in improving agriculture, became Commissioner of Patents, a position within the Department of State. He soon began collecting and distributing new varieties of seeds and plants through members of the Congress and agricultural societies. In 1839 Congress established the Agricultural Division within the Patent Office and allotted $1,000 for "the collection of agricultural statistics and other agricultural purposes."

Ellsworth's interest in aiding agriculture was evident in his annual reports that called for a public depository to preserve and distribute the various new seeds and plants, a clerk to collect agricultural statistics, the preparation of statewide reports about crops in different regions, and the application of chemistry to agriculture. In 1849 the Patent Office was transferred to the newly created Department of the Interior. In the ensuing years, agitation for a separate bureau of agriculture within the Department or a separate department devoted to agriculture kept recurring.

On May 15, 1862 President Abraham Lincoln established the independent Department of Agriculture to be headed by a Commissioner without cabinet status. Lincoln called it the "people's department". The law establishing the Department of Agriculture was 12 Stat. 387, now codified at hr>000-.html 7 U.S.C. ยง 2201.

In the 1880s, varied special interest groups were lobbying for Cabinet representation. Business interests sought a Department of Commerce and Industry. Farmers tried to raise the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet rank. In 1887, the House and Senate passed bills giving cabinet status to the Department of Agriculture and Labor, but farm interests objected to the addition of labor, and the bill was killed in conference. Finally, on February 9, 1889, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law elevating the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet level.

During the Great Depression, farming remained a common way of life for millions of Americans. The Department of Agriculture was crucial to providing concerned persons with the assistance that they needed to make it through this difficult period, helping to ensure that food continued to be produced and distributed to those who needed it, assisting with loans for small landowners, and contributing to the education of the rural youth. In this way, the Department of Agriculture became a source of comfort as people struggled to survive in rural areas. Throughout the agency's history it discriminated against African-American farmers, denying them loans and access to other programs well into the 1990s.[1]

Today, many of the programs concerned with the distribution of food and nutrition to people of America and providing nourishment as well as nutrition education to those in need are run and operated under the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.

USDA also concerns itself with assisting farmers and food procucers with the sale of crops and food on both a domestic and on the world market.

USDA also plays an important role in overseas aid programs, by providing surplus foods to developing countries to support development programs, sometimes via USAID or directly to foreign governments, international bodies such as WFP or approved non profit organizations. The Agriculture Act of 1949, section 416 (b) and Agricultural Development and Trade Act of 1954 (also known as Public Law 480 or just PL 480) provides the legal basis of such actions.

The United States Secretary of Agriculture administers the USDA.

The USDA's National Animal Identification System assists large agri-business and factory farms track disease in herds, a necessary regulation for sale of meat overseas.

Operating units

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The headquarters of the USDA are on the National Mall at Washington, D.C.
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USDA building (photo taken in 1934)

Defunct units

Related legislation

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The Secretary of Agriculture's office is located in the Jamie L. Whitten Building.


Important legislation setting policy of the USDA includes the:

See also

External links

 •  • [ e]
Agencies under the United States Department of Agriculture
Secretary of Agriculture
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment
Forest Service • Natural Resources Conservation Service

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services
Farm Service Agency • Foreign Agricultural Service • Risk Management Agency

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development
Rural Development

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
Food and Nutrition Service • Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety
Food Safety and Inspection Service

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics
Agricultural Research Service • Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service • Economic Research Service • National Agricultural Library • National Agricultural Statistics Service

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
Agricultural Marketing Service • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Federal Crop Insurance Corporation • Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
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United States Department of Agriculture Seal
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United States government agencies involved in Environmental science
Department of the InteriorUnited States Environmental Protection Agency
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration		National Weather Service • National Ocean Service • National Geodetic Survey • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration • National Marine Fisheries Service • Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
Department of EnergyEnergy Efficiency and Renewable Energy • Energy Information Administration • Federal Energy Regulatory Commission • Biological and Environmental Research • Office of Environmental Management
Department of AgricultureFarm Service Agency • Foreign Agricultural Service • Risk Management Agency • Food Safety and Inspection Service • Forest Service • Natural Resources Conservation Service • Rural Business-Cooperative Service • Office of Community Development • Rural Housing Service  • Rural Utilities Service • Food and Nutrition Service • Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion • Agricultural Marketing Service • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration • Agricultural Research Service • Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service • Economic Research Service • National Agricultural Statistics Service • Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service
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USDA may refer to:
  • United States Department of Agriculture
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United States of America

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Charles F. Conner is the current United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. He was sworn in on May 2, 2005, by Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns. After Johanns resigned on September 20, 2007, Conner was named acting secretary.
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United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The current acting secretary is Charles F. Conner after the resignation of Mike Johanns.[1]

The department includes several organizations.
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Occupancy is a defined legal term in building construction and building codes. It refers to the use or intended use of a building or part thereof for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property.
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The United States Federal Executive Departments are among the oldest primary units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States—the Departments of State, War, and the Treasury all being established within a few weeks of each other in 1789.
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Agriculture (from Agri Latin for ager ("a field"), and culture, from the Latin cultura "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil". A literal reading of the English word yields "tillage of the soil of a field".
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Agriculture (from Agri Latin for ager ("a field"), and culture, from the Latin cultura "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil". A literal reading of the English word yields "tillage of the soil of a field".
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Food is any substance, usually composed primarily of carbohydrates, fats, water and/or proteins, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal or human being for nutrition or pleasure.
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A farmer is a person who is engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. This is a way of life that has been the dominant occupation of human beings since the dawn of civilization.
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ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool.
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Trade is the voluntary exchange of goods, services, or both. Trade is also called commerce. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services.
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Food safety is a scientific discipline describing the handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent Foodborne illness.

Domestic foodborne illness prevention

At home, prevention of Foodborne illness mainly consists of:

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Natural resources are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified (natural) form. A natural resource's value rests in the amount of the material available and the demand for it. The latter is determined by its usefulness to production.
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Rural areas (also referred to as "the country", countryside) are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities. Such areas are distinct from more intensively settled urban and suburban areas, and also from unsettled lands such as outback, American Old West
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Hunger is a feeling experienced when the glycogen level of the liver falls below a threshold, usually followed by a desire to eat. The usually unpleasant feeling originates in the hypothalamus and is released through receptors in the liver.
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Charles F. Conner is the current United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. He was sworn in on May 2, 2005, by Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns. After Johanns resigned on September 20, 2007, Conner was named acting secretary.
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Nation millions of dollars percentage cumulative percentage
Canada 23.1192% 23.1192%
Mexico 13.5432% 36.6624%
Japan 6.6509% 43.3133%
United Kingdom 4.3964% 47.7097%
China 4.2449% 51.9546%
Germany 3.8366% 55.7912%
Korea 3.2194% 59.
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Agriculture (from Agri Latin for ager ("a field"), and culture, from the Latin cultura "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil". A literal reading of the English word yields "tillage of the soil of a field".
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Henry Leavitt Ellsworth (November 10 1791 - December 27 1858) was a U.S. administrator.

Ellsworth was born in Windsor, Connecticut, a son of Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth and Abigail Wolcott, graduated from Yale University in 1810, and studied law at Litchfield Law School.
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United States
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Formed July 27, 1789

Headquarters Harry S Truman Building
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Annual Budget $35.
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Formed March 3, 1849

Employees 71,436 (2004)
Annual Budget $10.
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May 15 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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  • 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad exstirpanda

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19th century - 20th century
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Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the sixteenth President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1861 until his death on April 15, 1865. As an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery, he won the Republican Party nomination in 1860 and was
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