United States 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 secretary of agriculture in the event of the Secretary's resignation, death, or otherwise inability to fulfill the duties of the position. The deputy secretary performs whatever duties are prescribed to him or her by the secretary of agriculture. The deputy secretary of agriculture is paid at level II of the Executive Schedule.
Xochitl Torres Small, Deputy Secretary (2023–present)
Image: John Coyle White
Image: James Hunter Williams
Image: Richard E. Lyng, 22nd Secretary of Agriculture, March 1986 January 1989. Flickr USD Agov
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production, works to assure food safety, protects natural resources, fosters rural communities and works to end hunger in the United States and internationally. It is headed by the secretary of agriculture, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The current secretary is Tom Vilsack, who has served since February 24, 2021.
Harvey Washington Wiley, Chief Chemist of the Department of Agriculture's Division of Chemistry (third from the right) with his staff in 1883
The first Department of Agriculture Building on the National Mall around 1895
The Jamie L. Whitten Building in Washington D.C. is the current USDA headquarters.
A nutrition researcher considers canned peas.