Agriculture, Department of, is an executive department of the United States government. It works to maintain adequate supplies of farm products and to expand overseas markets for such products. It helps ensure reasonable incomes for farmers and reasonably priced farm products for consumers. It works to ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply. The department also works to combat hunger in the United States and abroad and to improve the economy of rural America.
The secretary of agriculture, who is a member of the president’s Cabinet, heads the department. The president appoints the secretary with the approval of the U.S. Senate.
Functions.
The Department of Agriculture, also called the USDA, serves farmers and consumers in many ways. It works to safeguard the food supply by inspecting meat and poultry in slaughtering and processing plants. It grades meat, poultry, and dairy products to indicate their quality. It establishes standards of quality for grain exported from the United States and administers a nationwide system of grain inspection. The department’s regulatory programs help protect animals and plants from pests and diseases.
The department runs food assistance programs to fight hunger and to improve the diet of Americans. These programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly the Food Stamp Program), which helps needy people purchase food; the National School Lunch Program; and a program to provide certain foods for pregnant women and for nursing mothers and their infants.
The USDA finances research in its own laboratories and in agricultural experiment stations at land-grant universities and other institutions. This research deals with such topics as plant and animal diseases, crop production, marketing of agricultural products, nutrition, pest control, and soil conservation. Together with state and county governments, the department sponsors a nationwide program of agricultural education.
The Department of Agriculture provides other services as well. It reports on crop production, crop prices, and farm operating costs. It gathers world agricultural data and provides technical assistance to help developing nations improve food production. The department’s Forest Service manages national forests. The department also provides financial aid and other assistance to communities, businesses, and utilities in rural areas. The department’s website at http://www.usda.gov presents information on its activities.
History.
Congress established the Department of Agriculture in 1862. A commissioner of agriculture headed the department. In 1889, it became a Cabinet-level department headed by a secretary of agriculture.
From the start, the department devoted much of its attention to developing and distributing information that would help increase agricultural production. Later, as improved farming methods led to larger crop yields, the department increased its emphasis on marketing farm products and supporting prices. In the 1960’s, the USDA began to give more attention to expanding the agricultural markets at home and abroad and to ensuring an adequate diet for all Americans.
