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 Brooke Rollins since February 13, 2025
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
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.

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	Illinois	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)

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)
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	Maryland	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	Washington D.C.	January 20, 2025	February 13, 2025		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2025–present)
33		Rollins, BrookeBrooke 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.

1. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
2. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Administration
3. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
4. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics
5. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety
6. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment
7. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development
8. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
9. General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture
10. Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary
11. State Executive Directors of the Farm Service Agency (starting with the longest serving) for the States of:
    • California
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
12. 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)
13. Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Agriculture
14. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights
15. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Congressional Relations

See also

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