The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a cooperative agency of 29 agencies that specify in developing and executing forestry, farming, and food policies (USDA, 2023). President Abraham Lincoln established the USDA in 1862, making it one of the oldest American federal agencies. It was initially named “The People’s Department” and was developed to aid America’s economic growth and stability with agriculture (USDA, 2023). With time, the USDA agency expanded its mission towards rural development, natural resources, nutrition, food, nutrition, and agriculture. The USDA aims to help America thrive by providing economic opportunity through innovation; nourishing America and helping feed countries across the globe through agriculture; and conserving natural resources by restoring forests, watersheds, and healthy working lands with the best scientific methods (USDA, 2023).
Economically, the USDA plays an essential agricultural role in the U.S. economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture consists of twenty-nine agencies and offices with about a hundred thousand employees serving at 4,500 locations across America and abroad (USDA, 2023). Agriculture significantly contributes to the nation’s G.D.P. Agriculture and food-related industries contributed $164.7 billion, making up 5.4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (USDA, 2023). The USDA employs millions of American citizens and forms the nation’s food security backbone. Agriculture provided 10.5 percent of employment in 2021 (USDA, 2023). The USDA offers employment eligible to all U.S. citizens for Rural Development careers. The USDA implements policies primarily to ensure constant growth of the economy agriculturally (USDA, 2023).
The USDA offers grants and loans through banks and community lending pools to help promote businesses and create jobs. Citizens can access diverse courses such as Loan Technicians, Loan Specialists, Engineering, Human Resources, Finance, and other exciting career paths (USDA, 2023). The USDA Rural Development is bent toward supporting employees with desirable benefits, competitive salaries, and benefits packages. Essential services such as housing, healthcare, emergency services, water, electricity, transport, and communications infrastructure have improved due to USDA rural development support (Rural Development, 2021). This infrastructure creates jobs, improves life quality, and attracts new businesses to rural areas. Due to improved infrastructure, residents can access affordable housing and buy and rent affordably (Rural Development, 2021). This agency significantly supports farmers and ranchers through crop insurance, farm loans, and technical assistance. With these services, farmers and ranchers effectively manage agricultural production risks, reducing operating costs and maximizing profits (USDA, 2023).
Additionally, the USDA supports rural development helping curb food insecurity and nutrition issues (Rural Development, 2021). The USDA is responsible for ensuring a constant supply of safe and quality food in the United States. The department ensures food safety by inspecting meat, eggs, and poultry for human consumption. The USDA also plays a critical role in promoting agricultural research and innovation. The department’s Agricultural Research Service (A.R.S.) researches topics such as plant and animal science, nutrition, and food safety and collaborates with universities, industry partners, and other stakeholders to develop new technologies and practices to improve agricultural productivity and enhance food security. The USDA’s economic significance is far-stretching, improving millions of Americans’ economies and financial situations in rural and urban areas (USDA, 2023).
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) enforces many laws and regulations related to agriculture, but the Agricultural Adjustment Act (A.A.A.) of 1938 is the most outstanding. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (A.A.A.) of 1938 was a United States federal law that reduced crop surpluses and raised crop prices. The act was a revised version of the original Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, created as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program. This law introduced a system of price support for certain crops, which helps to stabilize agricultural prices and financially protect farmers from market fluctuations. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (A.A.A.) of 1938 is an essential policy enforced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Under the A.A.A., the USDA can set wheat, cotton, and corn price ranges. To achieve this, price support programs are established to provide financial assistance to farmers producing these crops. The price support programs aimed to secure farmers were paid fairly for their products and could cover their production costs. One of the key benefits of the A.A.A. is that it prevents the overproduction of certain crops. Farmers were used to planting large amounts of a specific crop, hoping to make a reflective profit, only to encounter an oversupply of crops in the market. As a result, the crop supply exceeds demand forcing farmers to settle for terribly low prices and incur financial losses. The A.A.A. effectively prevents this by incentivizing farmers to control their production of certain crops, balancing supply and demand.
Secondly, the A.A.A. helps to provide financial support to rural communities and, by extension, the nation’s economy. Agriculture is a critical sector of the U.S. economy, and the A.A.A. facilitates farmers’ actions to continue producing food and other products beneficial to domestic and international consumers (Agricultural Adjustment Act, 2019). Additionally, A.A.A. supports rural economies by providing income to farmers who can later invest and grow in the rural areas. Despite the A.A.A. proving important in supporting farmers and stabilizing agricultural markets, it is still subject to critics. Some argue that price regulation programs may lead to inefficiencies, market distortions, and environmental concerns related to specific crop production processes. Conclusively, the A.A.A. remains a vital law enforced by the USDA that significantly supported American farmers and the broader national economy for many years.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the United States agricultural industry, altering the supply and demand for agricultural products. The pandemic disrupted global supply chains creating significant economic challenges for farmers and several agricultural businesses (USDA Economic Research Service, 2021). The Agricultural Adjustment Act (A.A.A.) and the USDA were responsible for responding to these challenges (Agricultural Adjustment Act, 2019). The pandemic altered demand as consumer behavior drastically changed. Groceries lost demand for agricultural products like meat, poultry, and eggs. However, the closure of restaurants, schools, and other institutions led to decreased demand for products such as dairy, which were highly demanded before. The pandemic also disrupted agricultural production and supply chains, causing significant challenges for small-scale and large-scale farmers—several factors, such as lack of labor and transportation disruptions (USDA Economic Research Service, 2021). Many migrant workers who travel to work on U.S. farms can no longer do so due to travel restrictions leading to labor shortages in many U.S. farms.
To address the agricultural impact of the pandemic, the USDA implemented several programs that provided financial assistance to farmers, especially those whose crops were covered under the A.A.A. price support (Agricultural Adjustment Act, 2019). The USDA provided financial assistance to farmers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). Producers who had suffered a 5% or more significant price decline received direct payments to eligible commodities (USDA Economic Research Service, 2021). The USDA also took steps to help maintain supply chains, such as expanding access to emergency food assistance programs and providing regulatory flexibility to ensure that food is available to consumers. In addition, the USDA assisted farmers in adjusting their production levels in response to altercations in market demand caused by the pandemic. For instance, the USDA implemented the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to pay farmers who agreed to reduce their production of certain crops (Agricultural Adjustment Act, 2019).
The pandemic highlighted the importance of the USDA concerning their support of American agriculture. As the industry continues to face challenges related to agriculture, it will be necessary for the USDA to respond to assistance to farmers and ensure the continuous growth of American agriculture. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of a strong and resilient agricultural industry. While the industry has faced significant challenges, the USDA and other stakeholders’ efforts have helped mitigate some of these challenges and ensure that food remains available to consumers.
In conclusion, the USDA is a federal agency crucial to the U.S. national economy. The USDA contributes significantly to the gross domestic product proving it economically important. Also, the agency has made significant progress in agriculture, rural development, and food security. The USDA enforces the Agriculture Adjustment Act to control crop production and maintain favorable market prices for farm products. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the USDA played a crucial role in handling the financial and economic situations regarding agriculture and development. The USDA has proved to be one of the most crucial federal agencies to the American fraternity. The government should implement more policies and direct resources toward improving the USDA situation and boundaries.
Reference
U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA. (2023). Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://www.usda.gov/our-agency/about-usda
Rural Development. (2021). Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://www.rd.usda.gov/aboutrd#:~:text=Through%20our%20programs%2C%20we%20help,water%2C%20electric%20and%20communications%20infrastructure.
USDA. (2021). COVID-19 Pandemic Response: USDA Actions. Retrieved from https://www.usda.gov/coronavirus/food-supply-chain
USDA. (2021). Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. Retrieved from https://www.farmers.gov/cfap
Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, 7 U.S.C. §§ 601-628. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-8978/pdf/COMPS-8978.pdf
USDA Economic Research Service. (2021). COVID-19 and U.S. Agriculture: An Update. Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/in-the-news/covid-19-and-us-agriculture-an-update/
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