United States Department of Agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture of the United States (official United States Department of Agriculture, USDA abbreviated ) is part of the Federal Government of the United States and has its headquarters in Washington, DC (1400 Independence Ave., S.W. ). The main building is located on the north side of Independence Avenue and is situated opposite the South Building emerged in the 1930s. It is primarily concerned with the interests of agriculture and farming.
History
The Authority was established in 1862 by Abraham Lincoln, after it was originally home to a small office in the Patent Office and there collected mainly new seeds and plants, and distributed. Over time, statistics on crop yields and fertilization methods were added, and since then almost every other American was a farmer, soon arose the need for a new, own ministry.
Lincoln called the Bureau of Agriculture in life, which headed by a Commissioner without Cabinet status, and called it the People 's Department (People's Department). In 1889 it became the current U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1942, the Press Department of the Ministry alone already fixed 711 and 20,543 part-time employees, which cost the U.S. taxpayers 11.9 million a year for salaries and printing products. It now has some 110,000 employees.
Tasks
This ministry represents a budget of $ 94.6 million (fiscal year 2006) the concerns of farmers and farmer, is responsible for food safety and the regulation of agricultural markets, forest and landscape protection, agricultural science and research as well as for the economic development of rural America. In addition, it promotes healthy eating and fight hunger within the United States and abroad.
In the wake of the terrorist threat after the September 11, 2001 Fears have been raised that terrorists could carry out attacks on the food chain, and a published in the July 2005 report showed once again how vulnerable the system would be at this point. Due to this fact the Ministry of Agriculture has moved into the center of terrorism prevention and it started several programs to sensitize employees, manufacturers and food processors, as well as to enhance cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security.
In 2006, the Ministry made headlines because it away in its latest annual report on the food supply of the U.S. population the term famine, and by the euphemistic term " very low food security " (very low food security ) replaced. According to the report include 12 % of Americans, that over 35 million people to the risk from very low food security group.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported monthly on the needy U.S. citizens who took the state food program SNAP ( Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ) to complete. About 43 million U.S. citizens based in October 2010, the modern version of food stamps, food by credit card for average $ 133.76 per person in a month, based on the state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP ). For January 2006, the increase was about 16 million.
Imputed authorities
- Agricultural Marketing Service ( AMS)
- Agricultural Research Service ( ARS)
- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ( APHIS )
- Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion ( CNPP )
- Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service ( CSREES )
- Economic Research Service (ERS )
- Farm Service Agency (FSA )
- Food and Nutrition Service ( FNS )
- Food Safety Inspection Service ( FSIS )
- Foreign Agricultural Service ( FAS)
- Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration ( GIPSA )
- National Agricultural Library (NAL )
- National Agricultural Statistics Service ( NASS)
- Natural Resources Conservation Service ( NRCS )
- Office of Community Development (OCD )
- Risk Management Agency ( RMA)
- Rural Housing Service ( RHS )
- United States Forest Service ( German Forestry Administration of the United States )