United States Secretary of Agriculture

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Template:Infobox official post 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.[1] The safety of food produced and sold in the United States is ensured by the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service.[2] The Food Stamp Program works with the states to provide food to low-income people.[3]

Secretary of Agriculture is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule,[4] thus earning a salary of US$253,100, as of January 2026.

Since February 13, 2025, the current secretary is 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:[5]

  Denotes acting capacity.
United States commissioners of agriculture
No. Portrait Name State of residence Took office Left office President(s)
1 Newton seated Isaac Newton Pennsylvania July 1, 1862 June 19, 1867 Abraham Lincoln
(1861–1865)
Andrew Johnson
(1865–1869)
2 File:Horace Capron.jpg Horace Capron Illinois December 4, 1867 July 31, 1871
Ulysses S. Grant
(1869–1877)
3 File:Frederick Watts.jpg Frederick Watts Pennsylvania August 1, 1871 1877
4 File:William G. LeDuc.jpg William Gates LeDuc Minnesota July 1, 1877 1881 Rutherford B. Hayes
(1877–1881)
5 File:George B. Loring - Brady-Handy.jpg George B. Loring Massachusetts July 1, 1881 1885 James A. Garfield
(1881)
Chester A. Arthur
(1881–1885)
6 File:NJColman.jpg Norman Jay Coleman Missouri April 3, 1885 February 14, 1889 Grover 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.[6]

Parties

Template:Legend2 (14) Template:Legend2 (19)

Status

Template:Legend2

No. Portrait Name State of residence Took office Left office President(s)
1 File:NJColman.jpg Norman Jay Coleman Missouri February 15, 1889 March 6, 1889 Grover Cleveland
(1885–1889)
2 File:Jeremiah McLain Rusk - Brady-Handy.jpg Jeremiah McLain Rusk Wisconsin March 6, 1889 March 6, 1893 Benjamin Harrison
(1889–1893)
3 File:JSMorton.jpg Julius Sterling Morton Nebraska March 7, 1893 March 5, 1897 Grover Cleveland
(1893–1897)
4 File:James Wilson (Secretary of Agriculture 1897-1913) 2003 902 275 f1881m24x.tiff James Wilson Iowa March 5, 1897 March 3, 1913 William McKinley
(1897–1901)
Theodore Roosevelt
(1901–1909)
William Howard Taft
(1909–1913)
5 File:David F. Houston by Lewis Hine (cropped).jpg David F. Houston Missouri March 6, 1913 February 2, 1920 Woodrow Wilson
(1913–1921)
6 File:E.T. Meredith, ggbain.16011u.jpg Edwin T. Meredith Iowa February 2, 1920 March 4, 1921
7 File:H. C. Wallace (retouched).jpg Henry Cantwell Wallace Iowa March 5, 1921 October 25, 1924 Warren G. Harding
(1921–1923)
Calvin Coolidge
(1923–1929)
8 File:Howard Mason Gore.jpg Howard Mason Gore West Virginia November 22, 1924 March 4, 1925
9 File:W.M. Jardine.jpg William Marion Jardine Kansas March 5, 1925 March 4, 1929
10 File:Arthur M. Hyde, 10th Secretary of Agriculture, March 1929 - March 1933. - Flickr - USDAgov.jpg Arthur M. Hyde Missouri March 6, 1929 March 4, 1933 Herbert Hoover
(1929–1933)
11 File:33 Henry Wallace 3x4.jpg Henry A. Wallace Iowa March 4, 1933 September 4, 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt
(1933–1945)
12 File:Claude R. Wickard, 12th Secretary of Agriculture, September 1940 - June 1945. - Flickr - USDAgov.jpg Claude R. Wickard Indiana September 5, 1940 June 29, 1945
13 File:Clinton P. Anderson, 13th Secretary of Agriculture, June 1945 - May 1948. - Flickr - USDAgov.jpg Clinton Anderson New Mexico June 30, 1945 May 10, 1948 Harry S. Truman
(1945–1953)
14 File:Charles F. Brannan.jpg Charles F. Brannan Colorado June 2, 1948 January 20, 1953
15 File:Ezra Taft Benson - USDA portrait.gif Ezra Taft Benson Utah January 21, 1953 January 20, 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower
(1953–1961)
16 File:Orville L. Freeman, Secretary of Agriculture (1961-1969).jpg Orville Freeman Minnesota January 21, 1961 January 20, 1969 John F. Kennedy
(1961–1963)
Lyndon B. Johnson
(1963–1969)
17 File:Clifford Morris Hardin - USDA portrait.png Clifford M. Hardin Nebraska January 21, 1969 November 17, 1971 Richard Nixon
(1969–1974)
18 File:Earl Lauer Butz - USDA portrait.png Earl Butz Indiana December 2, 1971 October 4, 1976
Gerald Ford
(1974–1977)
19 File:John Albert Knebel - USDA portrait.png John A. Knebel Oklahoma November 4, 1976 January 20, 1977
20 File:Robert Bergland - USDA portrait.jpg Robert Bergland Minnesota January 23, 1977 January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981)
21 File:John Block.jpg John R. Block Illinois January 23, 1981 February 14, 1986 Ronald Reagan
(1981–1989)
22 File:Richard E. Lyng, 22nd Secretary of Agriculture, March 1986 - January 1989. - Flickr - USDAgov.jpg Richard Lyng California March 7, 1986 January 21, 1989
23 File:Clayton Yeutter, 23rd Secretary of Agriculture, February 1989 - March 1991..jpg Clayton Yeutter Nebraska February 16, 1989 March 1, 1991 George H. W. Bush
(1989–1993)
24 File:Edward R. Madigan (cropped).jpg Ed Madigan Illinois March 8, 1991 January 20, 1993
25 File:Mike Espy.jpg Mike Espy Mississippi January 22, 1993 December 31, 1994 Bill Clinton
(1993–2001)
– File:Rominger Official USDA Portrait.jpg Richard Rominger
Acting 		California December 31, 1994 March 30, 1995
26 File:Dan Glickman, 26th Secretary of Agriculture, January 1995 - 2001. - Flickr - USDAgov.jpg Dan Glickman Kansas March 30, 1995 January 20, 2001
27 File:Ann Veneman.jpg Ann Veneman California January 20, 2001 January 20, 2005 George W. Bush
(2001–2009)
28 File:Mike Johanns.jpg Mike Johanns Nebraska January 21, 2005 September 20, 2007
– File:Charles F. Conner, official USDA photo portrait.jpg Charles Conner
Acting 		Indiana September 20, 2007 January 28, 2008
29 File:Ed Schafer -- February 2008.jpg Ed Schafer North Dakota January 28, 2008 January 20, 2009
30 File:Tom Vilsack, official USDA photo portrait.jpg Tom Vilsack Iowa January 20, 2009 January 13, 2017 Barack Obama
(2009–2017)
– File:Michael T. Scuse official portrait.JPG Michael Scuse
Acting 		Delaware January 13, 2017 January 20, 2017
– File:Michael Young 20170216-DM-RBN-7992 (32557392300).jpg Mike Young
Acting 		Washington D.C. January 20, 2017 April 25, 2017 Donald Trump
(2017–2021)
31 File:Secretary Sonny Perdue official photo.jpg Sonny Perdue Georgia April 25, 2017 January 20, 2021
– File:Kevin Shea US Dept of Agriculture.jpg Kevin Shea
Acting 		Maryland January 20, 2021 February 24, 2021 Joe Biden
(2021–2025)
32 File:20210427-OSEC-TEW-001 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (51148817903).jpg Tom Vilsack Iowa February 24, 2021 January 20, 2025
– File:Gary Washington official photo (cropped).jpg Gary Washington
Acting 		Washington D.C. January 20, 2025 February 13, 2025 Donald Trump
(2025–present)
33
Brooke Rollins
Brooke Rollins
 Brooke Rollins Texas February 13, 2025 present

Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of agriculture is as follows:[7]

  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:
  13. Regional Administrators of the Food and Nutrition Service (in order of seniority by length of unbroken tenure) for the:
  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

References

  1. ↑ "USDA Forest Service – Caring for the land and serving people". Fs.fed.us. Retrieved September 24, 2005.
  2. ↑ "Home". Fs.fed.us. Archived from the original on January 25, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2005.
  3. ↑ "FNS Food Stamp Program Home Page". Fns.usda.gov. Archived from the original on May 8, 1999. Retrieved September 24, 2005.
  4. ↑ 5 U.S.C. " § 5312"
  5. ↑ Baker, Gladys L.; Rasmussen, Wayne D.; Wiser, Vivian; Porter, Jane M. (1963). "Century of Service: The First 100 Years of the United States Department of Agriculture". U.S. Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018. Alt URL
  6. ↑ "Former Secretaries". U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Amendments to Delegations of Authority, United States Department of Agriculture". Federalregister.gov. Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
Template:S-precTemplate:S-prec
Preceded byas Secretary of the Interior Order of precedence of the United States
as Secretary of the Agriculture 		Succeeded byas Secretary of Commerce
Preceded by 9th in line Succeeded by
Secretary of Commerce
Howard Lutnick
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