Public Resources

Agency description:

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) deals with the regulation of farming, food, natural resources, and animals (both livestock and the importation of domestic animals).

Website:

www.usda.gov

Enabling Statute:

“There shall be at the seat of government a Department of Agriculture, the general design and duties of which shall be to acquire and to diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with agriculture, rural development, aquaculture, and human nutrition, in the most general and comprehensive sense of those terms, and to procure, propagate, and distribute among the people new and valuable seeds and plants.” 7 U.S.C. § 2201

Key issues:

Animal health, diseases, research, and care; veterinary biologics; biotechnology; food recalls; safe food handling; food borne illness; food assistance, including food stamps and women, infants and children (WIC); plant health; forestry; rural and community development; national security related to harvest safety.

Sub-agencies:

Agricultural Marketing Service; Agricultural Research Service; Animal Plant Health Inspection Service; Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion; Commodity Credit Corporation; Economic Research Service; Farm Service Agency; Food and Nutrition Service; Food Safety and Inspection Service; Foreign Agricultural Service; Forest Service; Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; National Agricultural Statistics Service; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service; Risk Management Agency; Rural Development

Agency description:

The Agricultural Marketing Service oversees programs to ensure the competitive and efficient sale and marketing of agricultural products.

Website:

www.ams.usda.gov

Key issues:

Marketing and promoting cotton, dairy, fruits, vegetables, livestock, seed, poultry, eggs, and tobacco; Grading, certification, and verification of agricultural products; National Organic Product Program; farmers markets and local food markets.

Agency description:

The Agricultural Research Service is the primary research agency of the USDA.

Website:

www.ars.usda.gov

Key issues:

National Agricultural Library, which covers information about alternative farm systems, animal welfare, nutrition, food safety, invasive species, rural community information, and water quality.

Agency description:

The Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) monitors the health and value of agricultural products, animals, and natural resources.

Website:

www.aphis.usda.gov

Key issues:

Animal health and welfare; outbreaks of animal or plant disease; import and export of plants, animals, and animal products; pest detection; wildlife conservation; reduction of damage caused by wildlife.

Agency description:

The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion develops dietary guidelines.

Website:

www.cnpp.usda.gov

Key issues:

Food pyramid; dietary guidelines; cost of food.

Agency description:

The Commodity Credit Corporation is a government corporation that strives to stabilize farm income, prices, and supplies of agricultural commodities.

Website:

www.apfo.usda.gov

Key issues:

Payments to farmers of cotton, rice, wheat, and feed grains based on target prices; the sale of agricultural products to other agencies and foreign governments; donation of food products to relief agencies.

Agency description:

The Economic Research Service conducts research to provide information about food, farming, and agricultural policy to agency decisionmakers.

Website:

www.ers.usda.gov

Key issues:

Food economics; farm economy; economic outlook for select sectors such as feed, sugar and sweeteners, rice, wheat, and oil; economic analysis of WIC.

Agency description:

The Farm Service Agency is responsible for providing economic services that promote continuation of farming and an efficient and stable market.

Website:

www.fsa.usda.gov

Key issues:

Farm loans; commodity programs; conservation efforts; disaster assistance, including crop losses.

Agency description:

The Food and Nutrition Service seeks to provide children and families in need healthy food through assistance programs.

Website:

www.fns.usda.gov

Key issues:

Community outreach to educate on nutrition; emergency food programs after disasters; food safety.

Agency description:

The Food Safety and Inspection Service monitors the safety, labeling, and packaging of commercial meat, poultry, and eggs.

Website:

www.fsis.usda.gov

Key issues:

Meat and poultry inspection programs; recalls of meat, poultry, and eggs; Food Defense Plan.

Agency description:

The Foreign Agricultural Service oversees international agricultural market development, trade negotiations, and global food security.

Website:

www.fas.usda.gov

Key issues:

International food aid; international agricultural development;

Agency description:

The Forest Service seeks to preserve and promote the diversity, productivity, and health of forests and grasslands.

Website:

www.fs.fed.us

Key issues:

Forest fire management and prevention; management of the national forest system.

Agency description:

The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration promotes the production and marketing of agricultural products such as poultry, meat, livestock, cereals, and oilseeds.

Website:

www.gipsa.usda.gov

Key issues:

Consistent standards for the processing and sale of grains and rice; oversight of stockyard and meat packing transactions; export information related to grain and livestock.

Agency description:

The National Agricultural Statistics Service collects statistical information related to the nation’s agriculture.

Website:

www.nass.usda.gov

Key issues:

Census of Agriculture; estimates of annual crops; use of chemicals in agriculture; agricultural finance.

Agency description:

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture manages grant programs with the goal of promoting research and education about agricultural issues.

Website:

www.csrees.usda.gov

Key issues:

Land-Grant University System; health and nutrition; agricultural productivity; investing in rural communities.

Agency description:

The Natural Resources Conservation Service promotes conservation through partnerships with private landowners.

Website:

www.nrcs.usda.gov

Key issues:

Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative; Great Lakes Restoration Initiative; Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative; Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Agency description:

The Risk Management Agency provides market-based analysis of risks in the agricultural field to promote economic stability.

Website:

www.rma.usda.gov

Key issues:

Federal Crop Insurance Program.

Agency description:

Rural Development provides financial support to improve public facilities in rural areas.

Website:

www.rurdev.usda.gov

Key issues:

Loans and grants for business and coops; housing loans; utilities loans and grants.