U.S. Department of Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a department of the federal government responsible for developing and executing federal government policy on farming, agriculture, forestry, and food. It promotes agricultural trade and production and works to ensure food safety and end hunger in the United States and abroad. The USDA promotes research and the dissemination of agricultural information and best practices to farmers. It assists farmers in improving crops, thus lowering the cost of food.

In 1839, Congress passed a small appropriation that required the U.S. Commissioner of Patents to issue an annual report disseminating “agricultural statistics and for other agricultural purposes.” In 1852, prominent agriculturalists and congressmen organized the United States Agricultural Society, which lobbied for the creation of a federal department solely focused on ...