The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production,promotes agricultural trade and production,works to assure food safety,protects natural resources,fosters rural communities and works to end hunger in the United States and internationally. It is headed by the secretary of agriculture,who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The current secretary is Tom Vilsack,who has served since February 24,2021.
Thomas James Vilsack is an American politician serving as the 32nd United States secretary of agriculture in the Biden administration. He previously served in the role from 2009 to 2017 during the Obama administration. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as the 40th governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007.
Agriculture is a major industry in the United States,which is a net exporter of food. As of the 2017 census of agriculture,there were 2.04 million farms,covering an area of 900 million acres (1,400,000 sq mi),an average of 441 acres per farm.
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF),more informally called the American Farm Bureau (AFB) or simply the Farm Bureau,is a United States–based 501(c)(5) tax-exempt agricultural organization and lobbying group. Headquartered in Washington,D.C.,the Farm Bureau has affiliates in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Each affiliate is a Farm Bureau,and the parent organization is also often called simply the Farm Bureau.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS),formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS),is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers.
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The FNS is the federal agency responsible for administering the nation’s domestic nutrition assistance programs. The service helps to address the issue of hunger in the United States.
The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is the foreign affairs agency with primary responsibility for the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) overseas programs –market development,international trade agreements and negotiations,and the collection of statistics and market information. It also administers the USDA's export credit guarantee and food aid programs and helps increase income and food availability in developing nations by mobilizing expertise for agriculturally led economic growth. The FAS mission statement reads,"Linking U.S. agriculture to the world to enhance export opportunities and global food security," and its motto is "Linking U.S. Agriculture to the World."
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a wholly owned United States government corporation that was created in 1933 to "stabilize,support,and protect farm income and prices". The CCC is authorized to buy,sell,lend,make payments,and engage in other activities for the purpose of increasing production,stabilizing prices,assuring adequate supplies,and facilitating the efficient marketing of agricultural commodities.
Food policy is the area of public policy concerning how food is produced,processed,distributed,purchased,or provided. Food policies are designed to influence the operation of the food and agriculture system balanced with ensuring human health needs. This often includes decision-making around production and processing techniques,marketing,availability,utilization,and consumption of food,in the interest of meeting or furthering social objectives. Food policy can be promulgated on any level,from local to global,and by a government agency,business,or organization. Food policymakers engage in activities such as regulation of food-related industries,establishing eligibility standards for food assistance programs for the poor,ensuring safety of the food supply,food labeling,and even the qualifications of a product to be considered organic.
In different administrative and organizational forms,the Food for Peace program of the United States has provided food assistance around the world for more than 60 years. Approximately 3 billion people in 150 countries have benefited directly from U.S. food assistance. The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the U.S. Government's largest provider of overseas food assistance. The food assistance programming is funded primarily through the Food for Peace Act. The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance also receives International Disaster Assistance Funds through the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) that can be used in emergency settings.
American Farmland Trust (AFT) is a non-profit organization in the United States with a mission to protect farmland,promote environmentally sound farming practices,and keep farmers on the land. AFT is staffed by farmers,policy experts,researchers,and scientists,and governed by a board of directors. Its headquarters are in Washington,D.C.,and it has regional offices throughout the country. AFT also runs the Farmland Information Center,an online collection of information on farmland and ranchland protection and stewardship established as a public-private partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
In the United States,the farm bill is comprehensive omnibus bill that is the primary agricultural and food policy instrument of the federal government. Congress typically passes a new farm bill every five to six years.
The Food,Conservation,and Energy Act of 2008 was a $288 billion,five-year agricultural policy bill that was passed into law by the United States Congress on June 18,2008. The bill was a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill. It continues the United States' long history of agricultural subsidies as well as pursuing areas such as energy,conservation,nutrition,and rural development. Some specific initiatives in the bill include increases in Food Stamp benefits,increased support for the production of cellulosic ethanol,and money for the research of pests,diseases and other agricultural problems.
The agricultural policy of the United States is composed primarily of the periodically renewed federal U.S. farm bills. The Farm Bills have a rich history which initially sought to provide income and price support to US farmers and prevent them from adverse global as well as local supply and demand shocks. This implied an elaborate subsidy program which supports domestic production by either direct payments or through price support measures. The former incentivizes farmers to grow certain crops which are eligible for such payments through environmentally conscientious practices of farming. The latter protects farmers from vagaries of price fluctuations by ensuring a minimum price and fulfilling their shortfalls in revenue upon a fall in price. Lately,there are other measures through which the government encourages crop insurance and pays part of the premium for such insurance against various unanticipated outcomes in agriculture.
Pigford v. Glickman (1999) was a class action lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),alleging that it had racially discriminated against African-American farmers in its allocation of farm loans and assistance from 1981 to 1996. The lawsuit was settled on April 14,1999,by Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. To date,almost $1 billion US dollars have been paid or credited to fewer than 20,000 farmers under the settlement's consent decree,under what is reportedly the largest civil rights settlement until that point. Due to delaying tactics by U.S. government officials,more than 70,000 farmers were treated as filing late and thus did not have their claims heard. The 2008 Farm Bill provided for additional claims to be heard. In December 2010,Congress appropriated $1.2 billion for what is called "Pigford II," settlement for the second part of the case.
The National Agricultural Law Center (NALC) at the University of Arkansas is a federally funded,nonpartisan research and information center that serves as the nation's leading source of agricultural and food law research and information. The center,created by Congress in 1987,is the only institution of its kind in the United States and serves the nation's vast agricultural community,including attorneys,farmers,federal and state policymakers,extension personnel,academics,students,consumers,and others.
The Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) is a federal assistance program in the United States associated with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,Infants and Children that provides fresh,unprepared,locally grown fruits and vegetables and nutrition education to WIC participants. Women,infants and children that have been certified to receive WIC program benefits or who are on a waiting list for WIC certification are eligible to participate in the FMNP.
The USDA Coalition of Minority Employees is a civil rights organization formed by employees of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1994 specifically focused on ending discrimination within the Department and more generally on eradicating racism in agriculture in the United States.
Garcia v. Vilsack refers to a 2000 lawsuit brought by a hundred Hispanic farmers against the USDA,with the farmers claiming the organization had discriminated against Latino/Hispanic farmers. This lawsuit was filed at the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
