What does the Federal Department of Agriculture Really Do?
This is the first of a series of CSES articles examining the important work departments and agencies of the US Government are engaged in doing. Next up will be the Commerce Department.
Like most Americans, I assumed the Agriculture Department’s name said it all—the agency looked after US farmers’ needs. Maybe it did in 1862, when Lincoln established it, but not so much now. A little research revealed only a relatively small percentage of USDA’s large budget ($160+ billion in 2017) goes to direct aid to America’s farmers. The Department’s 100,000 employees are engaged in a wide array of other activities and programs, of which the following is just a sample:
- Manages 19.3 million acres of natural forests and grasslands.
- Inspects most of the animals Americans eat, including about 9 billion birds annually.
- Hosts a massive science program.
- Runs a bank with $220 billion in assets.
- Maintains a large fleet of airplanes.
- Finances multiple poverty related programs using some 70% of its budget (see below).
And much more, including running a firing range in its Washington, DC headquarters.
But there’s still more. The current Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, a former Governor of Georgia, has seven Under Secretaries (U/S), whose duties are as follows.
U/S for Natural Resources and Environment . Responsible for:
- 40,000 employees, including US Forest Service.
- 193 million acres of forests and grasslands and fighting wild fires.
U/S for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service. Responsible for:
- Data base on farmers’ dependency on Federal Government.
- Provides financial support to large grain producers, often corporations.
- Note: Trump Administration changed name to “Farm and Foreign Agricultural Trade.”
U/S for Rural Development. Responsible for:
- Subsidies – low interest loans, plus grants to smaller rural towns ($ billions).
- USDA bank serving poorest in rural America (includes South, SW border, and tribal lands).
- Bank also funds electricity systems, health care, internet access, and potable water.
U/S for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. Responsible for:
- US School-Lunch Program.
- New Mothers and Young Children Nutrition Program and 12 other hunger alleviation programs.
- Approximately 70% of Department’s budget goes to these programs.
U/S for Food Safety. Responsible for:
- Inspecting all meat and eggs.
- Setting rates at which poultry slaughter lines process chickens (now 140/minute).
U/S for Research, Education and Economics (Science). Responsible for:
- The Department’s Chief Scientist; gives $3 billion in grants annually.
- In 2015 responsible for suppressing Bird Flu outbreak.
- In 1942 took Alexander Fleming’s research and invented penicillin.
U/S for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Responsible for:
- Measuring/defending against bird threats to US airports.
- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The nine counties making up the Eastern Shore of Maryland benefit very substantially from the Department of Agriculture’s multiple programs, as do most other American agricultural regions. However, probably few of those who live here know the full extent and variety of the support it provides.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore




