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 minister
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
s in other governments.
The department includes several organizations. The 297,000 mi
2 (770,000 km
2) of national forests and grasslands are managed by the
United States Forest Service. The safety of food produced and sold in the United States is ensured by the
United States Food Safety and Inspection Service. The
Food Stamp Program works with the states to provide food to low-income people.
Secretary of Agriculture is a
Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
221,400, as of January 2021.
Since February 24, 2021, the current secretary is
Tom Vilsack, who had previously served as the 30th secretary of agriculture in the
Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
.
List of secretaries of agriculture
When the Department of Agriculture was established in 1862, its executive was a non-Cabinet position called the commissioner of agriculture. The commissioners of agriculture were:
The position of secretary of agriculture was created when the department was elevated to Cabinet status in 1889. The following is a list of secretaries of agriculture, since the creation of the office in 1889.
; Parties
(14)
(18)
Status
Line of succession
The line of succession for the secretary of agriculture is as follows:
#
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
The United States deputy secretary of agriculture is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Agriculture, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The deputy secretary becomes acting secre ...
#
#Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Administration
#
#
#
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety
#
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment
#
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development
The Under Secretary for Rural Development (USDA(RD)) is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Agriculture and principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Agriculture responsible for oversight of the department's rural ...
#
#General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture
#Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary
#State Executive Directors of the
Farm Service Agency (in order of seniority by length of unbroken tenure) for the States of:
#*
California
#*
Iowa
#*
Kansas
#Regional Administrators of the
Food and Nutrition Service
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The FNS is the federal agency responsible for administering the nation’s domestic nutrition assistance programs. The service helps to add ...
(in order of seniority by length of unbroken tenure) for the:
#*Mountain Plains Regional Office (
Denver,
Colorado)
#*Midwest Regional Office (
Chicago,
Illinois)
#*Western Regional Office (
San Francisco,
California)
#Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Agriculture
#Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights
#Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Congressional Relations
References
External links
*
, -
{{US Presidential Line of Succession
Agriculture
Secretary
Agriculture
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
1889 establishments in the United States