hidden pixel

United States Department of Agriculture Information

The United States Department of Agriculture (informally the Agriculture Department or USDA) is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government 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 the United States and abroad.

The head of the department is the Secretary of Agriculture, who is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary is Tom Vilsack.

Contents

History

Origins

Early in its history, the economy of the United States was largely agrarian. 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 Leavitt Ellsworth, a Yale-educated attorney 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. Ellsworth's agricultural focus earned him the sobriquet of "The Father of the Department of 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. The USDA was created by Abraham Lincoln in order to help out the United States economy.

Formation and subsequent history

On May 15, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln established the independent Department of Agriculture to be headed by a Commissioner without Cabinet status.[1] Lincoln called it the "people's department." In the 1880s, varied advocacy groups were lobbying for Cabinet representation. Business interests sought a Department of Commerce and Industry, and farmers tried to raise the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet rank. In 1887, the House of Representatives and Senate passed bills giving Cabinet status to the Department of Agriculture and Labor, but the bill was killed in conference committee after farm interests objected to the addition of labor. Finally, on February 9, 1889, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law elevating the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet level[2]

In 1887, the Hatch Act provided for the federal funding of agricultural experiment stations in each state. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 then funded cooperative extension services in each state to teach agriculture, home economics and related subjects to the public. With these and similar provisions, the USDA reached out to every county of every state.

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.

Allegations have been made that throughout the agency's history it discriminated against African-American farmers, denying them loans and access to other programs well into the 1990s.[3] The effect of this discrimination was the near total elimination of African-American farmers in the United States.[4] In 1999, the USDA settled a class action lawsuit (Pigford v. Glickman) alleging discrimination against African-American farmers.

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. Activities in this program include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides healthy food to over 40 million low-income and homeless individuals and families each month,[5]. USDA is a member of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness,[6], where it is committed to working with other agencies to ensure these mainstream benefits are accessed by those experiencing homelessness.

The USDA also concerns itself with assisting farmers and food producers with the sale of crops and food on both a domestic and on the world market. It plays a role in overseas aid programs by providing surplus foods to developing countries. This aid can go through USAID, foreign governments, international bodies such as World Food Program, or approved non profit organizations. The Agricultural Act of 1949, section 416 (b) and Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, also known as Public Law 480 or Food for Peace, provides the legal basis of such actions.

Operating units

Active

Inactive

Related legislation

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

Important legislation setting policy of the USDA includes the:

See also

References

  1. ^ 12 Stat. 387, now codified at 7 U.S.C. § 2201.
  2. ^ 25 Stat 659 (February 9, 1889)
  3. ^ General Accounting Office, USDA - Problems Continue to Hinder the Timely Processing of Discrimination Complaints, January 1999
  4. ^ Brooks, Roy L. Atonement and Forgiveness: A New Model for Black Reparations. University of California Press. pp. 7–8. ISBN 0-520-24813-9.
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ [2]
  7. ^ a b c "Records of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering [BPISAE: Administrative History"]
  8. ^ Established in 1886 according to Griesbach, Rob "BARC History: Bureau of Plant Industry"
  9. ^ Griesbach, Rob "BARC History: Bureau of Plant Industry"

External links

· · Agencies under the United States Department of Agriculture
Headquarters: Jamie L. Whitten Building Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture · Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Farm Service Agency · Foreign Agricultural Service · Risk Management Agency · Commodity Credit Corporation · Federal Crop Insurance Corporation
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment Forest Service · Natural Resources Conservation Service
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development Rural Housing Service · Rural Utilities Service · Rural Business-Cooperative Service
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 · Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
· · United States government agencies involved in environmental science
United States Environmental Protection Agency • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Department of the Interior National Park Service • Fish and Wildlife Service • Bureau of Indian Affairs • Bureau of Land Management • Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement • Bureau of Reclamation • Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement • Geological Survey • Office of Insular Affairs
Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration • National Weather Service • National Ocean Service • National Geodetic Survey • National Marine Fisheries Service • Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy • Energy Information Administration • Federal Energy Regulatory Commission • Biological and Environmental Research • Office of Environmental Management
Department of Agriculture Farm 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
Department of Health and Human Services National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
· · United States federal executive departments

Agriculture • Commerce • Defense • Education • Energy • Health and Human Services • Homeland Security • Housing and Urban Development • Interior • Justice • Labor • State • Transportation • Treasury • Veterans Affairs
Past departments: Commerce and Labor • Health, Education, and Welfare • Navy • Post Office • War

Categories: United States Department of Agriculture | Agriculture ministries | Ministries established in 1889

 

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers]
This page was last archived by our server on Tue Nov 29 14:49:37 2011.
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.

More Information Results for "United States Department of Agriculture"
[Hide]▼
'United States Department of Agriculture' Images
[Hide]▲