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United States Secretary of Agriculture

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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 ministers in other governments

United States Secretary of Agriculture
Seal of the department
Flag of the secretary
Incumbent
Tom Vilsack
since February 24, 2021
United States Department of Agriculture
StyleMr. Secretary (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
Member ofUnited States Cabinet
Reports toPresident of the United States
SeatJamie L. Whitten Building, Washington, D.C.
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrument7 U.S.C. § 2202
FormationFebruary 15, 1889
First holderNorman Jay Coleman
SuccessionNinth[1]
DeputyUnited States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
SalaryExecutive Schedule, level I
Websiteusda.gov

The department includes several organizations. The 297,000 mi2 (770,000 km2) of national forests and grasslands are managed by the United States Forest Service.[2] The safety of food produced and sold in the United States is ensured by the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service.[3] The Food Stamp Program works with the states to provide food to low-income people.[4]

Secretary of Agriculture is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule,[5] thus earning a salary of US$221,400, as of January 2021.[6]

Since February 24, 2021, the current secretary is Tom Vilsack, who had previously served as the 30th secretary of agriculture in the Obama administration.

List of secretaries of agriculture

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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:[7]

United States commissioners of agriculture
No. Portrait Name State of residence Took office Left office President(s)
1   Isaac Newton Pennsylvania July 1, 1862 June 19, 1867 Abraham Lincoln
(1861–1865)
Andrew Johnson
(1865–1869)
2   Horace Capron December 4, 1867 July 31, 1871
Ulysses S. Grant
(1969–1877)
3   Frederick Watts Pennsylvania August 1, 1871 1877
4   William Gates LeDuc Minnesota July 1, 1877 1881 Rutherford B. Hayes
(1877–1881)
5   George B. Loring Massachusetts July 1, 1881 1885 James A. Garfield
(1881)
Chester A. Arthur
(1881–1885)
6   Norman Jay Coleman Missouri April 3, 1885 February 14, 1889 Grover Cleveland
(1885–1889)

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.[8]

Parties

  Democratic (14)   Republican (18)

Status

  Acting Secretary of Agriculture

No. Portrait Name State of residence Took office Left office President(s)
1   Norman Jay Coleman Missouri February 15, 1889 March 6, 1889 Grover Cleveland
(1885–1889)
2   Jeremiah McLain Rusk Wisconsin March 6, 1889 March 6, 1893 Benjamin Harrison
(1889–1893)
3   Julius Sterling Morton Nebraska March 7, 1893 March 5, 1897 Grover Cleveland
(1893–1897)
4   James Wilson Iowa March 5, 1897 March 3, 1913 William McKinley
(1897–1901)
Theodore Roosevelt
(1901–1909)
William Howard Taft
(1909–1913)
5   David F. Houston Missouri March 6, 1913 February 2, 1920 Woodrow Wilson
(1913–1921)
6   Edwin T. Meredith Iowa February 2, 1920 March 4, 1921
7   Henry Cantwell Wallace Iowa March 5, 1921 October 25, 1924 Warren G. Harding
(1921–1923)
Calvin Coolidge
(1923–1929)
8   Howard Mason Gore West Virginia November 22, 1924 March 4, 1925
9   William Marion Jardine Kansas March 5, 1925 March 4, 1929
10   Arthur M. Hyde Missouri March 6, 1929 March 4, 1933 Herbert Hoover
(1929–1933)
11   Henry A. Wallace Iowa March 4, 1933 September 4, 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt
(1933–1945)
12   Claude R. Wickard Indiana September 5, 1940 June 29, 1945
Harry S. Truman
(1945–1953)
13   Clinton Anderson New Mexico June 30, 1945 May 10, 1948
14   Charles F. Brannan Colorado June 2, 1948 January 20, 1953
15   Ezra Taft Benson Utah January 21, 1953 January 20, 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower
(1953–1961)
16   Orville Freeman Minnesota January 21, 1961 January 20, 1969 John F. Kennedy
(1961–1963)
Lyndon B. Johnson
(1963–1969)
17   Clifford M. Hardin Nebraska January 21, 1969 November 17, 1971 Richard Nixon
(1969–1974)
18   Earl Butz Indiana December 2, 1971 October 4, 1976
Gerald Ford
(1974–1977)
19   John A. Knebel Oklahoma November 4, 1976 January 20, 1977
20   Robert Bergland Minnesota January 23, 1977 January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981)
21   John R. Block Illinois January 23, 1981 February 14, 1986 Ronald Reagan
(1981–1989)
22   Richard Lyng California March 7, 1986 January 21, 1989
23   Clayton Yeutter Nebraska February 16, 1989 March 1, 1991 George H. W. Bush
(1989–1993)
24   Ed Madigan Illinois March 8, 1991 January 20, 1993
25   Mike Espy Mississippi January 22, 1993 December 31, 1994 Bill Clinton
(1993–2001)
–   Richard Rominger
Acting 		California December 31, 1994 March 30, 1995
26   Dan Glickman Kansas March 30, 1995 January 20, 2001
27   Ann Veneman California January 20, 2001 January 20, 2005 George W. Bush
(2001–2009)
28   Mike Johanns Nebraska January 21, 2005 September 20, 2007
–   Charles Conner
Acting 		Indiana September 20, 2007 January 28, 2008
29   Ed Schafer North Dakota January 28, 2008 January 20, 2009
30   Tom Vilsack Iowa January 20, 2009 January 13, 2017 Barack Obama
(2009–2017)
–   Michael Scuse
Acting 		Delaware January 13, 2017 January 20, 2017
–   Mike Young
Acting 		Washington D.C. January 20, 2017 April 25, 2017 Donald Trump
(2017–2021)
31   Sonny Perdue Georgia April 25, 2017 January 20, 2021
–   Kevin Shea
Acting 		January 20, 2021 February 24, 2021 Joe Biden
(2021–2025)
32   Tom Vilsack Iowa February 24, 2021 Incumbent

Line of succession

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The line of succession for the secretary of agriculture is as follows:[9]

  1. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
  2. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services (this position no longer exists)
  3. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Administration
  4. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
  5. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics
  6. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety
  7. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment
  8. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development
  9. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
  10. General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture
  11. Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary
  12. State Executive Directors of the Farm Service Agency (in order of seniority by length of unbroken tenure) for the States of:
  13. Regional Administrators of the Food and Nutrition Service (in order of seniority by length of unbroken tenure) for the:
  14. Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Agriculture
  15. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights
  16. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Congressional Relations

References

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  1. ^ "3 U.S. Code § 19 – Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act". LII / Legal Information Institute.
  2. ^ "USDA Forest Service – Caring for the land and serving people". Fs.fed.us. Retrieved September 24, 2005.
  3. ^ "Home". Fs.fed.us. Retrieved September 24, 2005.
  4. ^ "FNS Food Stamp Program Home Page". Fns.usda.gov. Retrieved September 24, 2005.
  5. ^ 5 U.S.C. " § 5312"
  6. ^ "Salary Table No. 2021-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 23, 2021.
  7. ^ Baker, Gladys L.; Rasmussen, Wayne D.; Wiser, Vivian; Porter, Jane M. (1963). "Century of Service: The First 100 Years of the United States Department of Agriculture". U.S. Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018. Alt URL
  8. ^ "Former Secretaries". U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  9. ^ "Amendments to Delegations of Authority, United States Department of Agriculture". Federalregister.gov. Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
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U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Secretary of the Interior Order of precedence of the United States
as Secretary of the Agriculture 		Succeeded byas Secretary of Commerce
U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by 9th in line Succeeded by
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