A Guide to the Department of Agriculture

A Guide to the Department of Agriculture What is the Department of Agriculture?

The Department of Agriculture, in the United States, is a Federal agency that operates within the United States of America’s executive department. The Department of Agriculture is responsible for developing and executing various federal policy regarding agriculture, farming and the production of food.

The Department of Agriculture aims to satisfy the needs of ranchers and farmers, to promote agricultural trade and production and to supply resources to assure that protocol revolving around agricultural production is safe. In addition, the Department of Agriculture is responsible for protecting natural resources and fostering rural communities in the United States. In general, the primary objective of the Department of Agriculture is end hunger in the United States and abroad.

Department of Agriculture Quick Facts:

The following details outline the administration of the Department of Agriculture:

The Department of Agriculture was founded on May 15, 1862

The headquarters of the Department of Agriculture are located on 1301 Independence Avenue in the South Western District of Washington D.C.

The Department of Agriculture is responsible for the jurisdiction over the Federal Government of the United States

The head of the Department of Agriculture is Tom Vilsack

History of the Department of Agriculture:

The Department of Agriculture was established by President Abraham Lincoln on May 15, 1862. Lincoln, who originally referred to the Department of Agriculture as the “people’s department” supplied the agency with a Commissioner without Cabinet Status. Over the years, the department of agriculture has transformed through the passing of legislation and the re-structuring initiated by various Presidents of the United States.

In modern times, many of the programs, once delivered by the Department of Agriculture, predominantly those responsibilities concerned with the distribution of food and nutrition to the people of the United States, is run and operated under the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. In addition, the USDA also concerns itself with assisting farmers and food producers with the sale of crops and food, both in a domestic and international sense.

Government Agency of the Executive Branch


Government agencies are defined as organizations, councils, and offices operating under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government of the United States of America; each federal agency retains specific administrative jurisdiction over specific facets latent within the operations of the United States Government.

The Department of Agriculture functions as a government agency under the Executive Branch of the United States government, which is comprised of 3 total branches; in addition to the Executive branch – which is responsible for the regulation and enforcement of operational legislation existing within the United States of America – there also exists the Legislative and Judicial Branches.

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