As early as 1796, President Washington called on Congress to establish a national board of agriculture. Although the bill was considered in that session, it never reached a vote and it would be another 40 years before agriculture would be represented by a federal agency. From 1836 to 1862, agricultural interests were promoted by the Patent Office. Commissioner Henry Leavitt Ellsworth helped lay the foundation for the subsequent Department of Agriculture through his work. Largely through efforts by the U.S. Agricultural Society in the 1850's, a law was passed in 1862 establishing the Department of Agriculture with Isaac Newton as its first commissioner. In 1884, the Bureau of Animal Industry was created and six years later the Weather Bureau was transferred from the War Department. Only in 1889 did the Department achieve cabin status, after a long campaign on its behalf by the National Grange. The Department of Agriculture's mission is to enhance the quality of life for the American people by supporting production of agriculture, to
Term of Service
|
Secretary | Home State | Administration |
1889
|
Norman J. Coleman | Missouri | Cleveland |
1889 - 1893
|
Jeremiah M. Rusk | Wisconsin | B. Harrison |
1893 - 1897
|
J. Sterling Morton | Nebraska | Cleveland |
1897 - 1901
|
James Wilson | Iowa | McKinley |
1901 - 1909
|
James Wilson | Iowa | T. Roosevelt |
1909 - 1913
|
James Wilson | Iowa | Taft |
1913 - 1920
|
David F. Houston | Missouri | Wilson |
1920 - 1921
|
Edwin T. Meredith | Iowa | Wilson |
1921 - 1923
|
Henry C. Wallace | Iowa | Harding |
1923 - 1924
|
Henry C. Wallace | Iowa | Coolidge |
1924 - 1925
|
Howard M. Gore | West Virginia | Coolidge |
1925 - 1929
|
William M. Jardine | Kansas | Coolidge |
1929 - 1933
|
Arthur M. Hyde | Missouri | Hoover |
1933 - 1940
|
Henry A. Wallace | Iowa | F.D. Roosevelt |
1940 - 1945
|
Claude R. Wickard | Indiana | F.D. Roosevelt |
1945 - 1948
|
Clinton P. Anderson | New Mexico | Truman |
1948 - 1953
|
Charles F. Brannan | Colorado | Truman |
1953 - 1961
|
Ezra Taft Benson | Utah | Eisenhower |
1961 - 1963
|
Orville L. Freeman | Minnesota | Kennedy |
1963 - 1969
|
Orville L. Freeman | Minnesota | L.B. Johnson |
1969 - 1974
|
Clifford M. Hardin | Indiana | Nixon |
1974
|
Earl L. Butz | Indiana | Nixon |
1974 - 1976
|
Earl L. Butz | Indiana | Ford |
1976 - 1977
|
John A. Knebel | Virginia | Ford |
1977 - 1981
|
Bob Bergland | Minnesota | Carter |
1981 - 1986
|
John R. Block | Illinois | Reagan |
1986 - 1989
|
Richard E. Lyng | California | Reagan |
1989 - 1991
|
Clayton K. Yeutter | Nebraska | G.H.W. Bush |
1991 - 1993
|
Edward Madigan | Illinois | G.H.W. Bush |
1993 - 1995
|
Mike Espy | Mississippi | Clinton |
1995 - 2001
|
Dan Glickman | Kansas | Clinton |
2001 - 2005
|
Ann M. Veneman | California | G.W. Bush |
2005 - 2007
|
Mike Johanns | Nebraska | G.W. Bush |
2008 - 2009
|
Ed Schafer | North Dakota | G.W. Bush |
2009 - 2017
|
Tom Vilsack | Iowa | Obama |
2017 - 2021
|
Sonny Perdue | Georgia | Trump |
2021 - present
|
Tom Vilsack | Iowa | Biden |
See cabinet officers sorted by administration. | ||