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{{redirect|USDA}}
{{Infobox Government agency
|agency_name     = United States<br/>Department of Agriculture
|logo            = USDA_logo.svg
|logo_width      = 140px
|logo_caption    = Logo of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
|picture         = Flag of the United States Department of Agriculture.svg{{!}}border
|picture_caption = Flag of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
|seal            = US-DeptOfAgriculture-Seal2.svg
|seal_width      = 140px
|seal_caption    = Seal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
|formed          = {{Start date and age|1862|5|15|mf=yes}}<br />Cabinet status: February 15, 1889
|preceding1      = Agricultural Division
|dissolved       =
|superseding     =
|jurisdiction    = [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. federal government]]
|headquarters    = [[Jamie L. Whitten Building]]<br />1301 [[Independence Avenue (Washington D.C.)|Independence Avenue]], S.W., [[Washington, D.C.]]
|coordinates     = {{coord|38|53|16.58|N|77|1|48.12|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|employees       = 105,778 (June 2007)
|budget          = [[United States dollar|US$]]139.7 billion (2015)<ref name='budget'/>
|chief1_name     = [[Thomas J. Vilsack]]
|chief1_position = [[United States Secretary of Agriculture|Secretary of Agriculture]]
|chief2_name     = Krysta Harden
|chief2_position = [[United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture|Deputy Secretary of Agriculture]]
|parent_agency   =
|website         = {{URL|http://www.usda.gov/|USDA.gov}}
|footnotes       =
}}

The '''United States Department of Agriculture''' ('''USDA'''), also known as the '''Agriculture Department''', is the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S.]] [[United States federal executive departments|federal executive department]] responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, agriculture, forestry, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities and end hunger in the United States and internationally. 

Approximately 80% of USDA's $140 billion budget goes to the [[Food and Nutrition Service]] (FNS) program. The largest component of the FNS budget is the [[Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program]] (formerly known as the Food Stamp program), which is the cornerstone of USDA's nutrition assistance.<ref>[http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/HISTORY%20OF%20FNS.pdf HISTORY OF FNS]. usda.gov. Accessed July 1, 2016.</ref>

The current [[United States Secretary of Agriculture|Secretary of Agriculture]] is former Iowa governor [[Tom Vilsack]].

==Overview==
Many of the programs concerned with the distribution of food and nutrition to people of America and providing nourishment as well as [[Nutrition Education|nutrition education]] to those in need are run and operated under the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Activities in this program include the [[Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program]], which provides healthy food to over 40 million low-income and homeless people each month.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ |title=FNS Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) |publisher=Fns.usda.gov |date=2013-06-21 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> USDA is a member of the [[United States Interagency Council on Homelessness]],<ref>[http://www.usich.gov/member_agency Member Agency | United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{wayback|url=http://www.usich.gov/member_agency |date=20120424055302 }}</ref> where it is committed to working with other agencies to ensure these mainstream benefits are accessed by those experiencing homelessness.

The USDA also is concerned with assisting farmers and food producers with the sale of crops and food on both the domestic and world markets. It plays a role in overseas aid programs by providing surplus foods to developing countries. This aid can go through [[United States Agency for International Development|USAID]], foreign governments, international bodies such as [[World Food Program]], or approved nonprofits. The [[Agricultural Act of 1949]], section 416 (b) and  [[Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954]], also known as [[Food for Peace]], provides the legal basis of such actions. The USDA is a partner of the [[World Cocoa Foundation]].

==History==
[[File:Harvey Wiley, Chief Chemist of the Department of Agriculture’s Division of Chemistry.jpg|thumb|[[Harvey Washington Wiley]], Chief Chemist of the Department of Agriculture's Division of Chemistry (third from the right) with his staff, not long after he joined the division in 1883]]

===Origins===
Early in its history, the [[economy of the United States]] was largely [[agrarian economy|agrarian]]. Officials in the federal government had long sought new and improved varieties of seeds, plants and animals for import into the United States. In 1837 [[Henry Leavitt Ellsworth]], a Yale-educated attorney interested in improving agriculture, became Commissioner of Patents, a position within the [[United States Department of State|Department of State]]. He began collecting and distributing new varieties of seeds and plants through members of the [[United States Congress|Congress]] and agricultural societies. In 1839, Congress established the Agricultural Division within the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] and allotted $1,000 for "the collection of agricultural statistics and other agricultural purposes".

Ellsworth's interest in aiding agriculture was evident in his annual reports that called for a public depository to preserve and distribute the new seeds and plants, a clerk to collect agricultural statistics, statewide reports about crops in different regions, and the application of chemistry to agriculture. Ellsworth was called the "Father of the Department of Agriculture".

In 1849, the Patent Office was transferred to the newly created [[United States Department of the Interior|Department of the Interior]]. In the ensuing years, agitation for a separate [[Government agency|bureau]] of agriculture within the department or a separate department devoted to agriculture kept recurring.

===Formation and subsequent history===
[[File:USDA Bldg., Washington, D.C. IMG 4787.JPG|thumb|200px|upright|float|left|The [[Jamie L. Whitten Building]] in [[Washington D.C.]] is the USDA headquarters.]]
On May 15, 1862, [[Abraham Lincoln]] established the independent Department of Agriculture to be headed by a commissioner without Cabinet status, and the agriculturalist [[Isaac Newton (agriculturalist)|Isaac Newton]] was appointed to be the first such commissioner.<ref>12 Stat. 387, now codified at [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode07/usc_sec_07_00002201----000-.html 7 U.S.C. § 2201].</ref>  Lincoln called it the "people's department". In the 1880s, varied [[advocacy group]]s were lobbying for Cabinet representation. Business interests sought a Department of Commerce and Industry, and farmers tried to raise the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet rank. In 1887, the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and [[United States Senate|Senate]] passed bills giving Cabinet status to the Department of Agriculture and Labor, but the bill was defeated in [[conference committee]] after farm interests objected to the addition of labor. Finally, on February 9, 1889, President [[Grover Cleveland]] signed a bill into law elevating the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet level.<ref>25 Stat 659 (February 9, 1889)</ref>

In 1887, the [[Hatch Act of 1887|Hatch Act]] provided for the federal funding of [[agricultural experiment station]]s in each state. The [[Smith-Lever Act of 1914]] then funded [[cooperative extension service]]s in each state to teach agriculture, [[home economics]], and other subjects to the public. With these and similar provisions, the USDA reached out to every county of every state.

During the [[Great Depression]], farming remained a common way of life for millions of Americans. The Department of Agriculture was crucial{{Citation needed|reason=crucial for what reason?|date=October 2013}} to providing concerned persons with the assistance they needed to make it through this difficult period, helping to ensure that food continued to be produced and distributed to those who needed it, assisting with loans for small landowners, and contributing to the education of the rural youth.

==Organization and budget==
[[File:Consumer Reports - product testing - brine test for canned peas.jpg|thumb|right|a nutrition researcher considers canned peas]]
The Department of Agriculture was authorized a budget for [[2015 United States federal budget|Fiscal Year 2015]] of $139.7 billion. The budget authorization is broken down as follows:<ref name="budget">[http://www.obpa.usda.gov/budsum/FY15budsum.pdf 2015 Department of Agriculture Budget Request], United States Department of Agriculture, Accessed 2015-07-14</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! scope="col" colspan="2" | Program
! scope="col" | Funding <br> (in billions)
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | Management and Finance
([[United States Secretary of Agriculture]], <br> [[United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture]])
|Departmental Administration
|0.3
|-
|Office of the Inspector General
|0.1
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services
([[Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services|Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services]])
|[[Farm Service Agency]]
*[[Commodity Credit Corporation]]
|6.2
|-
|[[Risk Management Agency]]
*[[Federal Crop Insurance Corporation]]
|8.7
|-
|[[Foreign Agricultural Service]]
|1.8
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | [[USDA Rural Development|Rural Development]]
([[Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development|Under Secretary for Rural Development]])
|[[Rural Business-Cooperative Service]]
|1.3
|-
|[[Rural Utilities Service]]
|7.3
|-
|[[Rural Housing Service]]
|28.4
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
([[Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services|Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services]])
|[[Food and Nutrition Service]]
|112.2
|-
|[[Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion]]
|
|-
! scope="row" | Food Safety
([[Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety|Under Secretary for Food Safety]])
|[[Food Safety and Inspection Service]]
|1.0
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | Natural Resources and Environment
([[Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment|Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment]])
|[[Natural Resources Conservation Service]]
|4.2
|-
|[[United States Forest Service]]
|4.8
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | Marketing and Regulatory Programs
([[Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs|Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs]])
|[[Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service]]
|1.1
|-
|[[Agricultural Marketing Service]]
|1.3
|-
|[[Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration]]
|0
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="5" | Research, Education, and Economics
([[Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics|Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics]])
|[[Agricultural Research Service]]
|1.1
|-
|[[National Institute of Food and Agriculture]]
|1.5
|-
|[[Economic Research Service]]
|0.1
|-
|[[National Agricultural Statistics Service]]
|0.2
|-
|[[National Agricultural Library]]
|
|-
! scope="row" colspan="2" | Total
| 139.7
|}

[[File:Beagle Brigade - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), U.S. Department of Agriculture.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Beagle Brigade]] are part of the USDA's [[Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service]].  This piece of luggage at [[Washington Dulles International Airport|Dulles Airport]] may contain contraband.]]
===Inactive===
*[[Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service]] (ASCS) (became part of the [[Farm Service Agency]] in 1994)
*Animal Damage Control (renamed [[Wildlife Services]])
*Soil Conservation Service (SCS) renamed [[Natural Resources Conservation Service]]
*Section of Vegetable Pathology, Division of Botany (1887–90)<ref name="BPISAE">{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/054.html |title=Records of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering [BPISAE&#93;: Administrative History |publisher=Archives.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref><ref>Established in 1886 according to Griesbach, Rob [http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFiles/ad_hoc/12000000BARCCentennial/BARC%20History%20Plants%201.pdf "BARC History: Bureau of Plant Industry"]</ref>
**Renamed Division of Vegetable Pathology (1890–95)<ref name="BPISAE" />

==Discrimination==
Allegations have been made that throughout the agency's history that its personnel have discriminated against [[African-American]] farmers, denying them loans and access to other programs well into the 1990s.<ref>General Accounting Office, [http://www.gao.gov/archive/1999/rc99038.pdf ''USDA - Problems Continue to Hinder the Timely Processing of Discrimination Complaints''], January 1999</ref>  The effect of this discrimination has been the reduction in the number of African-American farmers in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book | last=Brooks | first=Roy L | authorlink=Roy L. Brooks | coauthors= | title=Atonement and Forgiveness: A New Model for Black Reparations | date= | publisher=[[University of California Press]] | location= | isbn=0-520-24813-9 | pages=7–8}}</ref> In 1999, the USDA settled a class action lawsuit, the [[Pigford v. Glickman|Pigford Case]], alleging discrimination against African-American farmers in the late twentieth century. The government's settlement of nearly $1 billion with more than 13,300 farmers was reportedly the largest civil rights claim to date.<ref name="Pickert">{{cite journal|url = http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2006058,00.html?xid=rss-fullnation-yahoo|title = When Shirley Sherrod Was First Wronged by the USDA|first = Kate|last = Pickert|date = July 23, 2010|work = [[Time Magazine|Time]]}}</ref> The 2008 Farm Bill provided for additional farmers to have their claims heard, as 70,000 had filed late in the original program.<ref name="Pickert"/> In 2010 the federal government made another $1.2 billion settlement in what is called ''Pigford II'' for outstanding claims.<ref name="CRS">[http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/RS20430.pdf Tadlock Cowan and Jody Feder, "The Pigford Cases: USDA Settlement of Discrimination Suits by Black Farmers"], Congressional Research Service, 14 June 2011, accessed 1 December 2011</ref>

Many black farmers across the nation experienced discrimination in their dealings with in-state USDA agencies. Across the nation, black farmers alleged, and the USDA later agreed, they were denied access to loans and subsidies provided by the government.<ref name="nytimes1">{{cite news|author=Published: April 15, 1999 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E0D9143BF936A25757C0A96F958260 |title=Judge Approves Settlement for Black Farmers |publisher=New York Times |date=1999-04-15 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> On a national level, farm subsidies that were afforded to white farmers were not afforded to black farmers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/PersonOfWeek/story?id=131844&page=1 |title=ABC World News Tonight (2003) |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=2003-11-21 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> Since they were denied government loans, emergency or disaster assistance, and other aid, many black farmers lost their farms and homes.<ref>{{cite news|last=Evans |first=Ben |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-06-28-1736680923_x.htm |title=(2008) |publisher=USA Today |date=2008-06-28 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref>

===''Pigford v. Glickman''===
{{main|Pigford v. Glickman}}
Following long-standing concerns, black farmers joined a [[class action]] discrimination suit against the USDA filed in federal court in 1997.<ref name="nationalaglawcenter1">http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/RS20430.pdf</ref> An attorney called it "the most organized, largest civil rights case in the history of the country".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/race_relations/jan-june99/farmers_3-2.html |title=PBS The News Hour (1999) |publisher=Pbs.org |date= |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref>

Also in 1997, black farmers from at least five states held protests in front of the USDA headquarters in [[Washington, DC|Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7QOUqVlu5IC |title=Homecoming: The Story of African-American Farmers - Charlene Gilbert, Quinn Eli - Google Boeken |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> Protests in front of the USDA were a strategy employed in later years as the black farmers sought to keep national attention focused on the plight of the black farmers. Representatives of the [[National Black Farmers Association]] met with President [[Bill Clinton]] and other administration officials at the [[White House]]. And NBFA's president testified before the [[United States House Committee on Agriculture]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FywV4yVN5iIC |title=Treatment of minority and limited resource producers by the U.S. Department ... - United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture - Google Boeken |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref>

In ''[[Pigford v. Glickman]]'', U.S. Federal District Court Judge [[Paul L. Friedman]] approved the settlement and consent decree on April 14, 1999.<ref name="nationalaglawcenter1"/> The settlement recognized discrimination against 22,363 black farmers but the NBFA would later call the agreement incomplete because more than 70,000 were excluded.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLKMFlLhCx0C |title=Where Rebels Roost... Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited - Mba Susan Klopfer, Fred Klopfer, Esq Barry Klopfer - Google Boeken |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> Nevertheless, the settlement was deemed to be the largest-ever civil rights class action settlement in American history. Lawyers estimated the value of the settlement to be more than $2 billion.<ref name="nytimes1"/> Some farmers would have their debts forgiven.<ref>{{cite web|author=Morning Edition |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1046266 |title=Black Farmers Lawsuit |publisher=NPR |date=1999-03-02 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> Judge Friedman appointed a monitor to oversee the settlement.<ref>{{cite news|author=Published: April 15, 1999 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E0D9143BF936A25757C0A96F958260 |title="Judge Approves Settlement for Black Farmers", The New York Times (1999) |publisher=New York Times |date=1999-04-15 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> Farmers in Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Georgia were among those affected by the settlement.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_2_97/ai_58411585 |title=Southern farmers among those affected by court case}}{{dead link|date=October 2015}}</ref>

===Reopening of case===
The NBFA's president was invited to testify before congress on this matter numerous times following the settlement including before the [[United States Senate Committee on Agriculture]] on September 12, 2000, when he testified that many farmers had not yet received payments and others were left out of the settlement. NBFA asked Congress to pass legislation that would ensure a full resolution of the discrimination cases.

[[Environmental Working Group]] and NBFA issued a report in July 2004 accusing the USDA of withholding nearly three out of every four dollars in the multibillion-dollar settlement of discrimination cases.<ref>[http://www.ewg.org/reports/blackfarmers Environmental Working Group report (2004)] {{wayback|url=http://www.ewg.org/reports/blackfarmers |date=20061022140301 }}</ref> The report says that the U.S. Department of Justice and the USDA pursued a path of "willful obstruction of justice" in blocking many of the cases. It was later revealed that one DoJ staff "general attorney" was unlicensed while she was handling black farmers' cases.<ref>[http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0205/021105lb.htm "Unlicensed hire", Government Executive (2005)] {{wayback|url=http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0205/021105lb.htm |date=20050416092038 }}</ref> NBFA called for all those cases to be reheard.

In 2006 the [[Government Accountability Office]] (GAO) issued a report highly critical of the USDA in its handling of the black farmers cases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5362406 |title=Black Farmers Follow Up on USDA Grievances|publisher=National Public Radio |date=25 Apr 2006 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref>

NBFA continued to lobby Congress to provide relief. NBFA's Boyd secured congressional support for legislation that would provide $100 million in funds to settle late-filer cases. In 2006 a bill was introduced into the House of Representatives and later the Senate by Senator [[George Felix Allen]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092900152.html |title=(2006) |publisher=The Washington Post |date=2006-09-29 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref>

In 2007 Boyd testified before the [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary]] about this legislation.

As the organization was making headway by gathering Congressional supporters in 2007 it was revealed that some USDA Farm Services Agency employees were engaged in activities aimed at blocking Congressional legislation that would aid the black farmers.<ref>[http://obama.senate.gov/press/070808-usda_improper_lobbying/ Office of Senator Obama]</ref>

President [[Barack Obama]], then a U.S. Senator, lent his support to the black farmers' issues in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/as-champion-of-black-farmers-obama-could-win-southern-votes-2007-09-19.html |title=The Hill newspaper (2007) |publisher=Thehill.com |date= |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> A bill cosponsored by Obama passed the Senate in 2007.<ref>http://obama.senate.gov/news/071217-senate_votes_to_1/</ref>

The Senate and House versions of the black farmers bill, reopening black farmers discrimination cases, became law in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|last=Evans |first=Ben |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-06-28-1736680923_x.htm |title=Associated Press (2008) |publisher=Usatoday.com |date=2008-06-28 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> The new law could affect up to 74,000 black farmers according to some news reports.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17722777 |title="Help Ahead for Black Farmers", National Public Radio (2008) |publisher=Npr.org |date= |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref>

In 2008 hundreds of black farmers, denied a chance to have their cases heard in the ''Pigford'' settlement, filed a new lawsuit against USDA.<ref>{{cite news|author=BEN EVANS, Associated Press Writer |url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jun04/0,4670,BlackFarmersLawsuit,00.html |title=(2008) |publisher=FOXNews.com |date= 2012-03-12|accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref>

In 2008, the GAO issued a report criticizing the USDA's handling of discrimination complaints.<ref>{{cite web|last=Etter |first=Lauren |url=http://s.wsj.net/article/SB122472492972861173.html |title="USDA Faulted Over Minority Farmers", The Wall Street Journal (2008) |publisher=S.wsj.net |date=2008-10-23 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> The GAO recommended an oversight review board to examine civil rights complaints.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/22/AR2008102203198.html |title="USDA Action On Bias Complaints Is Criticized", The Washington Post (2008) |publisher=Washingtonpost.com |date= 2008-10-23|accessdate=2013-12-29 |first=Darryl |last=Fears}}</ref>

After numerous public rallies and an intensive NBFA member lobbying effort, Congress approved and Obama signed into law in December 2010 legislation that set aside $1.15 billion to resolve the outstanding black farmers cases.<ref>{{cite news|author=the CNN Wire Staff |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-08/politics/obama.black.farmers_1_national-black-farmers-association-minority-farmers-glickman-case?_s=PM:POLITICS |title="Obama signs measure funding black farmers settlement", CNN.com (2010) |publisher=Articles.cnn.com |date= 2010-12-09|accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref> NBFA's John W. Boyd, Jr., attended the bill-signing ceremony at the White House.

As of 2013, 90,000 African-American, Hispanic, female and Native American farmers had filed claims, some fraudulent, or even transparently bogus. Lack of documentation is an issue complicated by the USDA practice of discarding denied applications after three years. In [[Maple Hill, North Carolina|Maple Hill]], North Carolina, the number of successful claimants was four times the number of farms with 1 out of 9 African-Americans being paid.<ref name=NYT42512>{{cite news|title=Federal Spigot Flows as Farmers Claim Discrimination|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/us/farm-loan-bias-claims-often-unsupported-cost-us-millions.html|accessdate=April 26, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 25, 2013|author=Sharon LaFraniere|quote=...claimants were not required to present documentary evidence that they had been unfairly treated or had even tried to farm.}}</ref>

The result of such longstanding discrimination is that black farmers have been forced out of business at a rate three times faster than white farmers. In 1920, 1 in 7 U.S. farmers was African-American, and now the number is 1 in 100. USDA spokesman Ed Loyd, when acknowledging that the USDA loan process was unfair to minority farmers, has claimed it is hard to determine the effect on such farmers.<ref>{{cite news|first= Andrew |last=Martin, Washington Bureau |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-08-08/news/0408080241_1_national-black-farmers-association-minority-farmers-white-farmers |title=USDA discrimination accused of withering black farmers - Chicago Tribune |publisher=Articles.chicagotribune.com |date=2004-08-08 |accessdate=2013-12-29}}</ref>

==Related legislation==<!-- This section is linked from [[List of United States federal legislation]] -->
[[File:United States Department of Agriculture, Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building, Washington DC (12 June 2007).JPG|thumb|right|The [[Secretary of Agriculture]]'s office is located in the [[Jamie L. Whitten Building]].]]
[[File:USDA Visitors Center by Matthew Bisanz.JPG|USDA Visitor's Center in the [[Jamie L. Whitten]] Building.|thumb|right]]
[[File:Hemp for Victory 1942.webm|thumb|right|300px|thumbtime=00:07|''Hemp for Victory'', a short documentary produced by the United States Department of Agriculture during World War 2]]

Important legislation setting policy of the USDA includes the:
* 1890, 1891, 1897, 1906 [[Meat Inspection Act]]
* 1906: [[Pure Food and Drug Act]]
* 1914: [[Cotton Futures Act]]
* 1916: [[Federal Farm Loan Act]]
* 1917: [[Food Control and Production Acts]]
* 1921: [[Packers and Stockyards Act]]
* 1922: [[Grain Futures Act]]
* 1922: [[National Agricultural Conference]]
* 1923: [[Agricultural Credits Act]]
* 1930: [[Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act]]
* 1930: [[Foreign Agricultural Service Act]]
* 1933: [[Agricultural Adjustment Act]] (AAA)
* 1933: [[Farm Credit Act]]
* 1935: [[Resettlement Administration]]
* 1936: [[Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act]]
* 1937: [[Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act]]
* 1941: [[National Victory Garden Program]]
* 1941: [[Steagall Amendment]]
* 1946: [[Farmers Home Administration]]
* 1946: [[National School Lunch Act]] PL 79-396
* 1946: [[Research and Marketing Act]]
* 1948: [[Hope-Aiken Agriculture Act]] PL 80-897
* 1956: [[Soil Bank Program authorized]]
* 1957: [[Poultry Inspection Act]]
* 1947: [[Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act]] PL 80-104
* 1949: [[Agricultural Act of 1949|Agricultural Act]] PL 81-439 (Section 416 (b))
* 1954: [[Food for Peace]] Act PL 83-480
* 1954: [[Agricultural Act of 1954|Agricultural Act]] PL 83-690
* 1956: [[Mutual Security Act]] PL 84-726
* 1957: [[Poultry Products Inspection Act]] PL 85-172
* 1958: [[Food Additives Amendment]] PL 85-929
* 1958: [[Humane Slaughter Act]]
* 1958: [[Agricultural Act of 1958|Agricultural Act]] PL 85-835
* 1961: [[Agricultural Act of 1961|Agricultural Act]] PL 87-128
* 1964: [[Agricultural Act of 1964|Agricultural Act]] PL 88-297
* 1964: [[Food Stamp Act]] PL 88-525
* 1964: [[Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Extension]] PL 88-305
* 1965: [[Appalachian Regional Development Act]]
* 1965: [[Food and Agriculture Act]] PL 89-321
* 1966: [[Child Nutrition Act]] PL 89-642
* 1967: [[Wholesome Meat Act]] PL 90-201
* 1968: [[Wholesome Poultry Products Act]] PL 90-492
* 1970: [[Agricultural Act of 1970|Agricultural Act]] PL 91-524
* 1972: [[Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act]] PL 92-516
* 1970: [[Environmental Quality Improvement Act]]
* 1970: [[Food Stamp Act]] PL 91-671
* 1972: [[Rural Development Act]]
* 1972: [[Rural Development Act Reform 3.31]]
* 1972: [[National School Lunch Act Amendments]] (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for [[Women, Infants and Children]]) PL 92-433
* 1973: [[Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act]] PL 93-86
* 1974: [[Safe Drinking Water Act]] PL 93-523
* 1977: [[Food and Agriculture Act]] PL 95-113
* 1985: [[Food Security Act]] PL 99-198
* 1996: [[Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act]] PL 104-127
* 1996: [[Food Quality Protection Act]] PL 104-170
* 2000: [[Agriculture Risk Protection Act]] PL 106-224
* 2002: [[Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002|Farm Security and Rural Investment Act]] PL 107-171
* 2008: [[Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008]] PL 110-246
* 2010: [[Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010]] PL 111-296

==See also==
{{Portal|Government of the United States|Agriculture}}
*[[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]]
*[[Endangered Species Act]]	
*[[Food and Drug Administration]]
*[[Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]
*[[Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]
*[[Migratory Bird Treaty Act]]
*[[National Transportation Safety Board]]
*[[The Wildlife Society]]
*[[United States Agricultural Society]]
*[[US Fish and Wildlife Service]]
*[[USDA home loan]]

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*[http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=33830 Report: USDA Regulatory Policy Has Been 'Hijacked' by Agribusiness Industry] - July 23, 2004.
*[http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2006/06/0228.xml USDA releases 180-Day Report on Avian Influenza efforts and supplemental spending] [[H5N1]] efforts.
*[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071231/pentland_gumpert USDA Bets the Farm on Animal ID Program]
*[http://bs-agro.com/index.php/news/other-countries/19463-usda-issues-grants-to-support-for-robotics-research USA: USDA Issues grants to support for robotics research]
*[http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49741 USDA Awards $97 M for Renewable Energy Projects]
*{{WhoRunsGov|institutions/agriculture}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|United States Department of Agriculture}}
*[http://www.usda.gov/ United States Department of Agriculture]
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/agriculture-department United States Department of Agriculture] in the [[Federal Register]]
*[http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?navtype=FT&navid=POLICY_LINK USDA public domain policy]
*[http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=8964 USDA National Nutrient Database]
*[http://plants.usda.gov/about_plants.html USDA PLANTS database]
*[http://www.colby.edu/sts/97guide/nara07-18.html National Archives document of the USDA's origins]
*[http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets.aspx#.U8Uq1LEXtQu USDA Economic Research Service State Fact Sheets]
*[http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=13726 USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Nutrient Lists]
* {{Internet Archive author |search=( "United States Department of Agriculture" OR "Agriculture Department" OR USDA )}} (historic archives)
* Historic technical reports from USDA (and other Federal agencies) are available in the [http://www.technicalreports.org/ Technical Report Archive and Image Library (TRAIL)]

[https://www.nal.usda.gov/ National Agricultural Library]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Department Of Agriculture}}
[[Category:United States Department of Agriculture| ]]