Department of Agriculture

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EXECUTIVE BRANCH:

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250

Phone, 202–720–4623. Internet, http://www.usda.gov.

Secretary of Agriculture THOMAS J. VILSACK

Deputy Secretary KRYSTA L. HARDEN

Director, Off‌i ce of Communications MATT PAUL

Inspector General PHYLLIS K. FONG

General Counsel RAMONA ROMERO

Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations BRIAN BAENIG

Assistant Secretary for Administration GREGORY PARHAM , Acting

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights JOE LEONARD

Chief Information Off‌i cer CHERYL COOK

Chief Financial Off‌i cer JON HOLLADAY , Acting

Chief Economist JOSEPH GLAUBER

Under Secretary for Natural Resources and

Environment

ROBERT BONNIE

Chief, Forest Service THOMAS TIDWELL

Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service JASON WELLER , Acting

Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign

Agricultural Services

MICHAEL SCUSE

Administrator, Farm Service Agency JUAN GARCIA

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service SUZANNE HEINEN

Administrator, Risk Management Agency BRANDON WILLIS

Under Secretary for Rural Development DALLAS TONSAGER

Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative

Service

LILLIAN SALERNO , Acting

Administrator, Rural Housing Service TAMMYE TREVINO

Administrator, Rural Utilities Service JOHN C. PADALINO , Acting

Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and

Consumer Services

KEVIN CONCANNON

Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service AUDREY ROWE

Director, Center for Nutrition Policy and

Promotion

RAJ ANAND

Under Secretary for Food Safety ELISABETH HAGEN

Administrator, Food Safety and Inspection

Service

ALFRED V. ALMANZA

Under Secretary for Research, Education, and

Economics

CATHERINE WOTEKI

Administrator, Agricultural Research Service EDWARD B. KNIPLING

98 U.S. GOVERNMENT MANUAL

Director, National Institute of Food and

Agriculture

SONNY RAMASWAMY

Administrator, Economic Research Service MARY BOHMAN

Director, National Agricultural Library SIMON Y. LIU

Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics

Service

CYNTHIA CLARK

Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory

Programs

EDWARD M. AVALOS

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service DAVID SHIPMAN

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service

KEVIN SHEA , Acting

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers, and

Stockyards Administration

LARRY MITCHELL

Chief Judge, Administrative Law Judges PETER DAVENPORT

[For the Department of Agriculture statement of organization, see the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Part

2]

The Department of Agriculture develops agricultural markets, f‌i ghts hunger and

malnutrition, conserves natural resources, and ensures standards of food quality

through safeguards and inspections.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA)

was created by an act of Congress

on May 15, 1862 (7 U.S.C. 2201). In

carrying out its work in the program

mission areas, USDA relies on the

support of departmental administration

staff, as well as the Off‌i ce of the

Chief Financial Off‌i cer, Off‌i ce of the

Chief Information Off‌i cer, Off‌i ce of

Communications, Off‌i ce of Congressional

and Intergovernmental Relations, Off‌i ce

of the Inspector General, and the Off‌i ce

of the General Counsel.

Rural Development

USDA’s rural development mission is to

increase the economic opportunities of

rural Americans and improve their quality

of life. To accomplish this, USDA works

to foster new cooperative relationships

among Government, industry, and

communities. As a capital investment

bank, USDA provides f‌i nancing for

rural housing and community facilities,

business and cooperative development,

telephone and high-speed Internet

access, electric, water, and sewer

infrastructure. Approximately 800 Rural

Development f‌i eld off‌i ces, staffed by

7,000 employees, provide frontline

delivery of rural development loan and

grant programs at the local level.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

To meet business credit needs in

underserved rural areas, USDA’s Rural

Business-Cooperative Service provides

loan guarantees, direct loans, and grants

to rural businesses, cooperatives, farmers,

and ranchers, often in partnership with

private sector lenders. The following is

a list and description of USDA’s Rural

Development business and cooperative

programs.

Business and Industry Guaranteed

Loan Program This program creates

jobs and stimulates the rural economy

by providing f‌i nancial backing to

rural businesses. Borrowers use loan

proceeds for working capital, machinery

and equipment, buildings, real estate,

and certain types of debt ref‌i nancing.

A borrower may be a cooperative

organization, corporation, partnership,

nonprof‌i t corporation, Native American

tribe, federally recognized tribal group,

public body, or individual.

Intermediary Relending Program

This program provides capital to rural

areas through low-interest and direct

loans made to nonprof‌i t corporations,

public agencies, Native American

groups, and certain corporations

(intermediaries). These intermediaries

establish revolving loan funds so they

can relend the money to businesses in

economically and socially disadvantaged