United States Secretary of Agriculture facts for kids
Quick facts for kids United States Secretary of Agriculture |
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United States Department of Agriculture | |
Style | Ms. 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
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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 a very important person in the U.S. government. This person leads the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Think of them as the main boss for everything related to farming, food, and forests in the country. Their job is similar to what "agriculture ministers" do in other countries around the world.
The USDA has many different parts that help people and the environment.
- The United States Forest Service takes care of huge areas of national forests and grasslands. These are like giant parks and wild spaces, covering about 297,000 square miles (770,000 square kilometers)!
- The Food Safety and Inspection Service makes sure that the food you eat in the U.S. is safe and healthy.
- The Food Stamp Program helps people with low incomes get the food they need.
The Secretary of Agriculture is a high-level government job. As of January 2021, the person in this role earned a salary of US$221,400 per year.
Since February 13, 2025, the current Secretary of Agriculture is Brooke Rollins.
History of Agriculture Leaders
When the Department of Agriculture was first created in 1862, its leader was called the "commissioner of agriculture." This job was not part of the President's main group of advisors, called the Cabinet.
Denotes acting capacity. |
No. | Portrait | Name | State of residence | Took office | Left office | President(s) | |
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1 | ![]() |
Isaac Newton | Pennsylvania | July 1, 1862 | June 19, 1867 | Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865) |
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Andrew Johnson (1865–1869) |
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2 | ![]() |
Horace Capron | Illinois | December 4, 1867 | July 31, 1871 | ||
Ulysses S. Grant (1969–1877) |
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3 | ![]() |
Frederick Watts | Pennsylvania | August 1, 1871 | 1877 | ||
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William Gates LeDuc | Minnesota | July 1, 1877 | 1881 | Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881) |
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5 | ![]() |
George B. Loring | Massachusetts | July 1, 1881 | 1885 | James A. Garfield (1881) |
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Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885) |
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6 | ![]() |
Norman Jay Coleman | Missouri | April 3, 1885 | February 14, 1889 | Grover Cleveland (1885–1889) |
Secretaries of Agriculture
The job of Secretary of Agriculture was created in 1889. This happened when the Department of Agriculture became a full part of the President's Cabinet. Below is a list of the people who have served as Secretary of Agriculture since then.
- Parties
Democratic (14) Republican (19)
- Status
Acting Secretary of Agriculture
No. | Portrait | Name | State of residence | Took office | Left office | President(s) | |
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1 | ![]() |
Norman Jay Coleman | Missouri | February 15, 1889 | March 6, 1889 | Grover Cleveland (1885–1889) |
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2 | ![]() |
Jeremiah McLain Rusk | Wisconsin | March 6, 1889 | March 6, 1893 | Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893) |
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3 | ![]() |
Julius Sterling Morton | Nebraska | March 7, 1893 | March 5, 1897 | Grover Cleveland (1893–1897) |
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4 | ![]() |
James Wilson | Iowa | March 5, 1897 | March 3, 1913 | William McKinley (1897–1901) |
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Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
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William Howard Taft (1909–1913) |
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5 | ![]() |
David F. Houston | Missouri | March 6, 1913 | February 2, 1920 | Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) |
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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) |
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Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929) |
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8 | ![]() |
Howard Mason Gore | West Virginia | November 22, 1924 | March 4, 1925 | ||
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William Marion Jardine | Kansas | March 5, 1925 | March 4, 1929 | ||
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Arthur M. Hyde | Missouri | March 6, 1929 | March 4, 1933 | Herbert Hoover (1929–1933) |
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11 | ![]() |
Henry A. Wallace | Iowa | March 4, 1933 | September 4, 1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
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12 | ![]() |
Claude R. Wickard | Indiana | September 5, 1940 | June 29, 1945 | ||
Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |
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Clinton Anderson | New Mexico | June 30, 1945 | May 10, 1948 | ||
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Charles F. Brannan | Colorado | June 2, 1948 | January 20, 1953 | ||
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Ezra Taft Benson | Utah | January 21, 1953 | January 20, 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
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16 | ![]() |
Orville Freeman | Minnesota | January 21, 1961 | January 20, 1969 | John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) |
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Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) |
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17 | ![]() |
Clifford M. Hardin | Nebraska | January 21, 1969 | November 17, 1971 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
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18 | ![]() |
Earl Butz | Indiana | December 2, 1971 | October 4, 1976 | ||
Gerald Ford (1974–1977) |
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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) |
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21 | ![]() |
John R. Block | Illinois | January 23, 1981 | February 14, 1986 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
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22 | ![]() |
Richard Lyng | California | March 7, 1986 | January 21, 1989 | ||
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Clayton Yeutter | Nebraska | February 16, 1989 | March 1, 1991 | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
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24 | ![]() |
Ed Madigan | Illinois | March 8, 1991 | January 20, 1993 | ||
25 | ![]() |
Mike Espy | Mississippi | January 22, 1993 | December 31, 1994 | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) |
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– | ![]() |
Richard Rominger Acting |
California | December 31, 1994 | March 30, 1995 | ||
26 | ![]() |
Dan Glickman | Kansas | March 30, 1995 | January 20, 2001 | ||
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Ann Veneman | California | January 20, 2001 | January 20, 2005 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
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28 | ![]() |
Mike Johanns | Nebraska | January 21, 2005 | September 20, 2007 | ||
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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) |
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– | Michael Scuse Acting |
Delaware | January 13, 2017 | January 20, 2017 | |||
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Mike Young Acting |
Washington D.C. | January 20, 2017 | April 25, 2017 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
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31 | ![]() |
Sonny Perdue | Georgia | April 25, 2017 | January 20, 2021 | ||
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Kevin Shea Acting |
Maryland | January 20, 2021 | February 24, 2021 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
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32 | ![]() |
Tom Vilsack | Iowa | February 24, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | ||
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Gary Washington Acting |
Washington D.C. | January 20, 2025 | February 13, 2025 | Donald Trump (2025–present) |
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33 | Brooke Rollins | Texas | February 13, 2025 | present |
Who Takes Over?
If the Secretary of Agriculture cannot do their job, there is a special order of people who can step in. This is called the "line of succession." It makes sure that someone is always in charge.
- Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
- Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Administration
- Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
- Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics
- Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety
- Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment
- Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development
- Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
- General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture
- Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary
- State Executive Directors of the Farm Service Agency (starting with the longest serving) for the States of:
- Regional Administrators of the Food and Nutrition Service (starting with the longest serving) for the:
- Mountain Plains Regional Office (Denver, Colorado)
- Midwest Regional Office (Chicago, Illinois)
- Western Regional Office (San Francisco, California)
- Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Agriculture
- Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights
- Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Congressional Relations
See also
In Spanish: Secretario de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos para niños