United States Secretary of Agriculture facts for kids

Quick facts for kids United States Secretary of Agriculture
Flag of the secretary
Seal of the department
Incumbent Gary Washington since January 20, 2025
United States Department of Agriculture
Style	Mr. Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Member of	United States Cabinet
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Jamie L. Whitten Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	7 U.S.C. § 2202
Formation	February 15, 1889
First holder	Norman Jay Coleman
Succession	Ninth
Deputy	United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Salary	Executive Schedule, level I

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

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. The safety of food produced and sold in the United States is ensured by the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service. The Food Stamp Program works with the states to provide food to low-income people.

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

Since January 20, 2025, the current secretary is Gary Washington, who is serving in an acting capacity until the confirmation of Brooke Rollins.

List of secretaries of agriculture

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:

United States commissioners of agriculture

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s)
1		Newton, IsaacIsaac Newton	Pennsylvania	July 1, 1862	June 19, 1867		Lincoln, AbrahamAbraham Lincoln (1861–1865)
							Johnson, AndrewAndrew Johnson (1865–1869)
2		Capron, HoraceHorace Capron		December 4, 1867	July 31, 1871
							Grant, Ulysses S.Ulysses S. Grant (1969–1877)
3		Watts, FrederickFrederick Watts	Pennsylvania	August 1, 1871	1877
4		LeDuc, William GatesWilliam Gates LeDuc	Minnesota	July 1, 1877	1881		Hayes, Rutherford B.Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881)
5		Loring, George B.George B. Loring	Massachusetts	July 1, 1881	1885		Garfield, James A.James A. Garfield (1881)
							Arthur, Chester A.Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885)
6		Coleman, Norman JayNorman Jay Coleman	Missouri	April 3, 1885	February 14, 1889		Cleveland, GroverGrover 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.

Parties

      Democratic (14)       Republican (18)

Status

      Acting Secretary of Agriculture

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s)
1		Coleman, Norman JayNorman Jay Coleman	Missouri	February 15, 1889	March 6, 1889		Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland (1885–1889)
2		Rusk, Jeremiah McLainJeremiah McLain Rusk	Wisconsin	March 6, 1889	March 6, 1893		Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison (1889–1893)
3		Morton, Julius SterlingJulius Sterling Morton	Nebraska	March 7, 1893	March 5, 1897		Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland (1893–1897)
4		Wilson, JamesJames Wilson	Iowa	March 5, 1897	March 3, 1913		McKinley, WilliamWilliam McKinley (1897–1901)
							Roosevelt, TheodoreTheodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)
							Taft, William HowardWilliam Howard Taft (1909–1913)
5		Houston, David F.David F. Houston	Missouri	March 6, 1913	February 2, 1920		Wilson, WoodrowWoodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
6		Meredith, Edwin T.Edwin T. Meredith	Iowa	February 2, 1920	March 4, 1921
7		Wallace, Henry CantwellHenry Cantwell Wallace	Iowa	March 5, 1921	October 25, 1924		Harding, Warren G.Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
							Coolidge, CalvinCalvin Coolidge (1923–1929)
8		Gore, Howard MasonHoward Mason Gore	West Virginia	November 22, 1924	March 4, 1925
9		Jardine, William MarionWilliam Marion Jardine	Kansas	March 5, 1925	March 4, 1929
10		Hyde, Arthur M.Arthur M. Hyde	Missouri	March 6, 1929	March 4, 1933		Hoover, HerbertHerbert Hoover (1929–1933)
11		Wallace, Henry A.Henry A. Wallace	Iowa	March 4, 1933	September 4, 1940		Roosevelt, Franklin D.Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
12		Wickard, Claude R.Claude R. Wickard	Indiana	September 5, 1940	June 29, 1945
							Truman, Harry S.Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
13		Anderson, ClintonClinton Anderson	New Mexico	June 30, 1945	May 10, 1948
14		Brannan, Charles F.Charles F. Brannan	Colorado	June 2, 1948	January 20, 1953
15		Benson, Ezra TaftEzra Taft Benson	Utah	January 21, 1953	January 20, 1961		Eisenhower, Dwight D.Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
16		Freeman, OrvilleOrville Freeman	Minnesota	January 21, 1961	January 20, 1969		Kennedy, John F.John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
							Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
17		Hardin, Clifford M.Clifford M. Hardin	Nebraska	January 21, 1969	November 17, 1971		Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (1969–1974)
18		Butz, EarlEarl Butz	Indiana	December 2, 1971	October 4, 1976
							Ford, GeraldGerald Ford (1974–1977)
19		Knebel, John A.John A. Knebel	Oklahoma	November 4, 1976	January 20, 1977
20		Bergland, RobertRobert Bergland	Minnesota	January 23, 1977	January 20, 1981		Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter (1977–1981)
21		Block, John R.John R. Block	Illinois	January 23, 1981	February 14, 1986		Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (1981–1989)
22		Lyng, RichardRichard Lyng	California	March 7, 1986	January 21, 1989
23		Yeutter, ClaytonClayton Yeutter	Nebraska	February 16, 1989	March 1, 1991		Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
24		Madigan, EdEd Madigan	Illinois	March 8, 1991	January 20, 1993
25		Espy, MikeMike Espy	Mississippi	January 22, 1993	December 31, 1994		Clinton, BillBill Clinton (1993–2001)
–		Rominger, RichardRichard Rominger Acting	California	December 31, 1994	March 30, 1995
26		Glickman, DanDan Glickman	Kansas	March 30, 1995	January 20, 2001
27		Veneman, AnnAnn Veneman	California	January 20, 2001	January 20, 2005		Bush, George W.George W. Bush (2001–2009)
28		Johanns, MikeMike Johanns	Nebraska	January 21, 2005	September 20, 2007
–		Conner, CharlesCharles Conner Acting	Indiana	September 20, 2007	January 28, 2008
29		Schafer, EdEd Schafer	North Dakota	January 28, 2008	January 20, 2009
30		Vilsack, TomTom Vilsack	Iowa	January 20, 2009	January 13, 2017		Obama, BarackBarack Obama (2009–2017)
–		Scuse, MichaelMichael Scuse Acting	Delaware	January 13, 2017	January 20, 2017
–		Young, MikeMike Young Acting	Washington D.C.	January 20, 2017	April 25, 2017		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2017–2021)
31		Perdue, SonnySonny Perdue	Georgia	April 25, 2017	January 20, 2021
–		Shea, KevinKevin Shea Acting		January 20, 2021	February 24, 2021		Biden, JoeJoe Biden (2021–2025)
32		Vilsack, TomTom Vilsack	Iowa	February 24, 2021	January 20, 2025
–		Washington, GaryGary Washington Acting		January 20, 2025	present		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2025–present)

Line of succession

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

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:
    • California
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
13. Regional Administrators of the Food and Nutrition Service (in order of seniority by length of unbroken tenure) for the:
    • Mountain Plains Regional Office (Denver, Colorado)
    • Midwest Regional Office (Chicago, Illinois)
    • Western Regional Office (San Francisco, California)
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

See also

In Spanish: Secretario de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos para niños