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Duties of the USDA

The United States Department of Agriculture oversees food, agriculture, nutrition and natural resources and enacts legislation to regulate and monitor these industries. The USDA was created in 1862 during the presidential tenure of Abraham Lincoln. The USDA also takes part in education and outreach initiatives such as 4-H and FFA. In total, the USDA oversees 17 organizations and agencies.

  1. Agriculture

    • The USDA oversees the nation's agricultural industry. The department monitors the weather and climate, oversees the pest management policy, publishes a weekly weather and crop bulletin and creates profiles on the major world crop areas. Farmers receive support through fact sheets, loan rate information and advice on price rates. The USDA's plant database classifies endangered, invasive and noxious plants. The department also oversees animal waste management and irrigation.

    Education and Outreach

    • The USDA monitors agricultural research and productivity. It sponsors outreach activities with teachers and future scientists, provides soil education, maintains an agricultural thesaurus and oversees the National Agricultural Library. The department's international research program also provides global outreach and education. The USDA operates an extensive disaster education network and provides humanitarian relief both domestically and abroad.

    Food and Nutrition

    • The USDA manages the nutrition.gov website which has programs for obesity prevention, meal planning and food labels. The USDA's "What's in the Foods You Eat" tool contains 13,000 nutrition profiles and its food pyramid offers guidelines for healthful diets. The meat and poultry hot line answers any food safety questions and provides information on the safe storage and preparation of meat, poultry and egg products. The USDA oversees the Women, Infant and Children program and the free school breakfast and lunch programs. The department's food preservation database provides information on general food preservation, drying foods and home canning instructions.

    Laws and Regulation

    • The USDA takes part in the active regulation and creation of laws. It runs the National Agricultural Law Center, which writes publications and lobbies for farm bills. The USDA also publishes the AgLaw Report and the Food Law Journal. The Grain Standards Act, Agricultural Marketing Act, Packers and Stockyards Act and the Food Security Act are all under the department's domain. The USDA drafts rural development initiatives and puts them into action. The organization regulates food distribution by setting commodity rates and helping set pricing.

    Natural Resources

    • The USDA oversees the nation's natural resources, including national parks and the forest service. It advocates for the protection of natural resources and for the expanded use of renewable energy sources such as biodiesel.

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