The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments
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.
Ann Margaret Veneman is an American attorney who served as the fifth executive director of UNICEF from 2005 to 2010. She previously served as the 27th United States secretary of agriculture from 2001 to 2005. Veneman served for the entire first term of President George W. Bush,and she left to take the UNICEF position. Appointed by the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on January 18,2005,she took over the post on May 1,2005. A lawyer,Veneman has practiced law in Washington,DC and California,including being a deputy public defender. She has also served in other high-level positions in both the state and the federal government of the United States,including being appointed secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture,serving from 1995 to 1999,as well as United States deputy secretary of agriculture,serving from 1991 to 1993. Throughout her public career,Veneman was the first woman to serve in a number of positions,including secretary of agriculture,deputy secretary of agriculture,and California's secretary of food and agriculture. She was also just the second woman to lead UNICEF,following her predecessor,Carol Bellamy.
The Under Secretary for Food Safety is a subcabinet position within the United States Department of Agriculture responsible for oversight of the policies and programs of the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The Under Secretary chairs the U.S. Codex Steering Committee,which provides guidance to U.S. delegations to the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Food Safety and Inspection Service is responsible for ensuring the nation's supply of meat,poultry,and processed egg products are safe and correctly labeled and packaged.
Charles Floyd Hatcher is an American politician and lawyer from the U.S. state of Georgia. He served in Congress as a Democrat.
Karen Ross is the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture,having been appointed to that post by Governor Jerry Brown on January 12,2011. She had previously served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack,a position she accepted in 2009. From 1996 to 2009,she was president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG). She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska,Lincoln,and the Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Program.
Islam A. Siddiqui is an Indian-American scientist,and government official,and lobbyist who served as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Prior to this,he was Vice President for Science and Regulatory Affairs at CropLife America,and a career official in the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Shirley Sherrod is the Executive Director for the Southwest Georgia Project and Vice President of Development for New Communities at Cypress pond. Sherrod is a civil rights activist who has devoted most of her life advocating for farmers and rural residents. Sherrod has been the recipient of various praises such as;The Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Sojourner-Douglas College,being inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame,and awarded the James Beard Leadership Award.
Darci Vetter is an American government official and academic who served as Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
Basil Ivanhoe Gooden is an American governmental executive whose career has advanced equitable food systems,agriculture policy,public health,and community economic development in rural America. Gooden served as the 3rd Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for the Commonwealth of Virginia in the cabinet of Governor Terry McAuliffe. He became the first Black American to serve in this position and during his tenure from September 2016 until January 2018,he was the only Black American Secretary of Agriculture in any state in the United States. In his capacity as Secretary,he provided strategic vision and leadership to two of Virginia's largest private industries,Agriculture and Forestry,with an annual economic impact of $91 billion on the Commonwealth.
Michael T. Scuse is an American government official serving as the Delaware Secretary of Agriculture. Scuse previously served as the acting United States deputy secretary of agriculture and United States secretary of agriculture in the Obama administration.
Brian Baenig is an American government official who served as Chief of Staff for Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack from 2013 to 2015.
Chavonda J. Jacobs-Young is an American government executive who serves as the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research,Education,and Economics. Jacobs-Young was previously the administrator of the Agriculture Research Service,first appointed in February 2014;she was the first female and person of color to lead the agency. In 1998,Jacobs-Young became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in paper science.
Xochitl Liana Torres Small is an American attorney and politician who is the 15th and current United States deputy secretary of agriculture,acting as "chief operating officer" for the department. She was nominated by President Joe Biden in February 2023,and was confirmed by the senate on July 11.
Robert Farrell Bonnie is the current Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation,having been confirmed by the Senate on November 16,2021,by a vote of 76-19. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Senior Advisor,Climate,in the Office of the Secretary in the United States Department of Agriculture. He was appointed on Jan. 20,2021.
Jewel Hairston Bronaugh is an American government official who served as the 14th Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. She previously served as the 16th commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services from 2018 to 2021. Bronaugh is the first African-American to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.
Janie Simms Hipp is an agriculture and food lawyer,policy expert,and the founder of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the University of Arkansas,founder of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Office of Tribal Relations in the Office of the Secretary,founding Executive Director of the Native American Agriculture Fund,. Hipp's work focuses on the intersection of Indian law and agriculture and food law. She is currently the CEO/President of Native Agriculture Financial Services since August 2023.
For the American singer-songwriter,author,and TV host,see Stacy Dean Campbell.
Alexis Taylor is an American agricultural policy advisor who is serving as under secretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs since December 2022. She formerly served as director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture from 2017 to 2022.
