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U.S. Department of Agriculture

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Department of Agriculture
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Secretary:Brooke Rollins
Year created:1862
Official website:USDA.gov



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Executive Departments of the United States

Executive Departments
Department of StateDepartment of the TreasuryDepartment of DefenseDepartment of JusticeDepartment of the InteriorDepartment of AgricultureDepartment of CommerceDepartment of LaborDepartment of Health and Human ServicesDepartment of Housing and Urban DevelopmentDepartment of TransportationDepartment of EnergyDepartment of EducationDepartment of Veterans AffairsDepartment of Homeland Security

Department Secretaries
Marco RubioScott BessentPete HegsethPam BondiDoug BurgumBrooke RollinsLori Chavez-DeRemerRobert F. Kennedy Jr.Scott TurnerHoward LutnickSean DuffyChris WrightLinda McMahonDoug CollinsKristi Noem

TheDepartment of Agriculture (USDA) is a United States executive department established in 1862 in order to "provide leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on sound public policy, the best available science, and efficient management."[1]

Brooke Rollins is the current secretary of agriculture.Click here to learn more about her confirmation process.

History

The following list includes important dates in the department's history:[2]

  • 1820:United States House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture formed
  • 1825:United States Senate Committee on Agriculture formed
  • 1862: U.S. Department of Agriculture formed
  • 1862: Homestead Act passed, providing land to willing farmers
  • 1862: Morrill Land Grant College Act passed, allowing for land grant colleges
  • 1890: Second Morrill Act passed, establishing black land grant colleges
  • 1890: Federal Meat Inspection Act passed
  • 1906: Food and Drug Act passed
  • 1932-1936: Drought leads to Dust Bowl
  • 1933: Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) established controls on agricultural markets
  • 1936: Rural Electrification Act passed, providing electricity to rural areas
  • 1946: National School Lunch Act passed
  • 1964: Food Stamp Act passed as start to War on Poverty

Mission

The Department of Agriculture website states:

"We provide leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on public policy, the best available science, and effective management."[3]
—USDA[1]

Leadership

Recent Secretaries of Agriculture
Secretary of AgricultureYears in officeNominated by
Daniel R. Glickman1995-2001Bill Clinton
Ann M. Veneman2001-2005George W. Bush
Michael O. Johanns2005-2007George W. Bush
Edward T. Schafer2008-2009George W. Bush
Tom Vilsack2009-2017Barack Obama
Sonny Perdue2017-2021Donald Trump
Tom Vilsack2021-2025Joe Biden
Gary Washington (acting)2025-2025Donald Trump
Brooke Rollins2025-presentDonald Trump
Historical Secretaries of Agriculture
Secretary of AgricultureYears in officeNominated by
Norman J. Colman1889-1889Grover Cleveland
Jeremiah M. Rusk1889-1893Benjamin Harrison
J. Sterling Morton1893-1897Grover Cleveland
Tama Jim Wilson1897-1913William McKinley
David F. Houston1913-1920Woodrow Wilson
Edwin T. Meredith1920-1921Woodrow Wilson
Henry C. Wallace1921-1924Warren G. Harding
Howard M. Gore1924-1925Calvin Coolidge
William M. Jardine1925-1929Calvin Coolidge
Arthur M. Hyde1929-1933Herbert Hoover
Henry A. Wallace1933-1940Franklin D. Roosevelt
Claude R. Wickard1940-1945Franklin D. Roosevelt
Clinton P. Anderson1945-1948Harry Truman
Charles F. Brannan1948-1953Harry Truman
Ezra Taft Benson1953-1961Dwight D. Eisenhower
Orville L. Freeman1961-1969John F. Kennedy
Clifford M. Hardin1969-1971Richard Nixon
Earl L. Butz1971-1976Gerald Ford
John A. Knebel1976-1977Gerald Ford
Robert S. Bergland1977-1981Jimmy Carter
John R. Block1981-1986Ronald Reagan
Richard E. Lyng1986-1989Ronald Reagan
Clayton K. Yeutter1989-1991George H.W. Bush
Edward R. Madigan1991-1993George H.W. Bush
Mike Epsy1993-1994Bill Clinton

Organization

Click here to view the USDA organization chart.

Responsibilities

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Read more about theadministrative state on Ballotpedia.

USDA is responsible for researching, developing, and executing federal laws and policies related to food, farming, forestry, and rural development. USDA has eight mission areas: Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC), Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, Food Safety, Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP), Natural Resources and Environment, Research, Education, and Economics, Rural Development, and Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs (TFAA). Through these mission areas, USDA aims to develop and execute programs to distribute food and nutrition information across the United States.[4][5]

Role of USDA in work requirements for SNAP benefits

See also:Arguments about work requirements for public assistance programs

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has two sets of work requirements that are required by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. Persons between the ages of 16 and 59 years old who are able to work must meet general work requirements to receive SNAP benefits. Work requirements may include registering for work; participating in SNAP employment and training or what USDA refers to as workfare programs (private or public nonprofit agency work as a condition of eligibility) if required by a state SNAP agency; and taking a suitable job if it is offered. Individuals required to work for SNAP benefits will lose benefits if they voluntarily quit their jobs or reduce their work hours below 30 hours a week without a good reason. If beneficiaries do not meet the general work requirements, they are disqualified from receiving SNAP benefits for at least a month and must start meeting requirements to receive SNAP benefits again.[6][7]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the termsUnited States Department of Agriculture. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

External links

Footnotes

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Reporting
Laws
Administrative Procedure ActAntiquities ActCivil Service Reform ActClayton Antitrust ActCommunications Act of 1934Congressional Review ActElectronic Freedom of Information ActFederal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938Federal Housekeeping StatuteFederal Reserve ActFederal Trade Commission Act of 1914Freedom of Information ActGovernment in the Sunshine ActIndependent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952Information Quality ActInterstate Commerce ActNational Labor Relations ActPaperwork Reduction ActPendleton ActPrivacy Act of 1974Regulatory Flexibility ActREINS ActREINS Act (Wisconsin)Securities Act of 1933Securities Exchange Act of 1934Sherman Antitrust ActSmall Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness ActTruth in Regulating ActUnfunded Mandates Reform Act
Cases
Abbott Laboratories v. GardnerA.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United StatesAssociation of Data Processing Service Organizations v. CampAuer v. RobbinsChevron v. Natural Resources Defense CouncilCitizens to Preserve Overton Park v. VolpeFederal Trade Commission (FTC) v. Standard Oil Company of CaliforniaField v. ClarkFood and Drug Administration v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco CorporationHumphrey's Executor v. United StatesImmigration and Naturalization Service (INS) v. ChadhaJ.W. Hampton Jr. & Company v. United StatesLucia v. SECMarshall v. Barlow'sMassachusetts v. Environmental Protection AgencyMistretta v. United StatesNational Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v. SebeliusNational Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning CompanyNational Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.Panama Refining Co. v. RyanSecurities and Exchange Commission v. Chenery CorporationSkidmore v. Swift & Co.United States v. LopezUnited States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co.Universal Camera Corporation v. National Labor Relations BoardVermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense CouncilWayman v. SouthardWeyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife ServiceWhitman v. American Trucking AssociationsWickard v. FilburnWiener v. United States
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Bibliography
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