United States Department of Agriculture

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a Cabinet department of the United States government. Its purpose is to develop and execute policy on farming and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers[?] throughout America, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protects natural resources, foster strong rural communities, and fights hunger in America and abroad.

History

The United States was largely an 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 agricultural, 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 Bureau of Agriculture to be headed by a Commissioner without cabinet status. Lincoln called it the "people's department." At the time, 48 percent of the U.S. population were farmers.

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 Bureau of Agriculture to Cabinet rank. In 1887, the House and Senate passed bills creating a Department of Agriculture and Labor, but farm interests objected to the inclusion of labor, and the bill was killed in conference. Finally, on February 9, 1889, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law establishing the Cabinet level Department of Agriculture.

The USDA is administered by the United States Secretary of Agriculture.

Operating Units include:

• Extension Service of the USDA
• Farm Service Agency[?] (FSA)
• Foreign Agricultural Service[?] (FAS)
• Risk Management Agency[?] (RMA)
• Food Safety Inspection Service[?] (FSIS)
• Forest Service (FS)
• Natural Resources Conservation Service[?] (NRCS)
• Rural Business - Cooperative Service[?] (RBS)
• Office of Community Development[?] (OCD)
• Rural Housing Service[?] (RHS)
• Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
• Food and Nutrition Service[?] (FNS)
• Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion[?] (CNPP)
• Agricultural Marketing Service[?] (AMS)
• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service[?] (APHIS)
• Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration[?] (GIPSA)
• Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
• Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)
• Economic Research Service[?] (ERS)
• National Agricultural Statistics Service[?] (NASS)

Related Legislation Important legislation setting policy of the USDA includes the:

• 1890, 1891, 1897, 1906 Meat Inspection Act
• 1906 - Pure Food and Drug Act
• 1914 - Cotton Futures Act[?]
• 1916 - Federal Farm Loan Act
• 1917 - Food Control and Production Acts[?]
• 1921 - Packers and Stockyards Acts[?]
• 1922 - Grain Futures Act[?]
• 1922 - National Agricultural Conference[?]
• 1923 - Agricultural Credits Act[?]
• 1933 - Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
• 1933 - Farm Credit Act[?]
• 1935 - Resettlement Administration[?]
• 1936 - Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act[?]
• 1937 - Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act[?]
• 1941 - National Victory Garden Program[?]
• 1941 - Steagall Amendment[?]
• 1946 - Farmers Home Administration[?]
• 1946 - National School Lunch Act[?] PL 79-396
• 1946 - Research and Marketing Act[?]
• 1948 - Hope-Aiken Agriculture Act[?] PL 80-897
• 1956 - Soil Bank Program authorized[?]
• 1957 - Poultry Inspection Act[?]
• 1947 - Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act[?] PL 80-104
• 1949 - Agricultural Act[?] PL 81-439
• 1954 - Food for Peace Act[?] PL 83-480
• 1954 - Agricultural Act[?] PL 83-690
• 1956 - Mutual Security Act PL 84-726
• 1957 - Poultry Products Inspection Act[?] PL 85-172
• 1958 - Food Additives Amendment[?] PL 85-929
• 1958 - Humane Slaughter Act[?]
• 1958 - Agricultural Act[?] PL 85-835
• 1961 - Agricultural Act[?] PL 87-128
• 1964 - Agricultural Act[?] PL 88-297
• 1964 - Food Stamp Act[?] PL 88-525
• 1964 - Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Extension[?] PL 88-305
• 1965 - Appalachian Regional Development Act[?]
• 1965 - Food and Agriculture Act[?] PL 89-321
• 1966 - Child Nutrition Act[?] PL 89-642
• 1967 - Wholesome Meat Act[?] PL 90-201
• 1968 - Wholesome Poultry Products Act[?] PL 90-492
• 1970 - Agricultural Act[?] PL 91-524
• 1972 - Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act[?] PL 92-516
• 1970 - Environmental Quality Improvement Act[?]
• 1970 - Food Stamp Act[?] PL 91-671
• 1972 - Rural Development Act[?]
• 1972 - National School Lunch Act Amendments[?] (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children[?]) PL 92-433
• 1973 - Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act[?] PL 93-86
• 1974 - Safe Drinking Water Act[?] PL 93-523
• 1977 - Food and Agriculture Act[?] PL 95-113
• 1996 - Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act[?] PL 104-127
• 1996 - Food Quality Protection Act[?] PL 104-170
• 2002 - Farm Security and Rural Investment Act[?] PL 107-171

External Links:

• United States Department of Agriculture (http://www.usda.gov/)
• History of American Agriculture (http://www.usda.gov/history2/text11.htm)
• National Archives document of the USDA's origins (http://www.colby.edu/sts/97guide/nara07-18)