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Tom VilsackSecretary
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Mission
Overview
Founded by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, when more than half of the Nation's population lived and worked on farms, USDA's role has evolved with the economy. Today, the country looks to rural America to not only provide food and fiber, but also for crucial emerging economic opportunities in renewable energy, broadband and recreation. People in rural areas operate in a technologically advanced, rapidly diversifying, and highly competitive business environment driven by increasingly sophisticated consumers. To assist the country in addressing today's challenges, USDA will: Assist rural communities to create prosperity so they are self-sustaining, re-populating, and economically thriving; Ensure our national forests and private working lands are conserved, restored, and made more resilient to climate change, while enhancing our water resources; Help America promote sustainable agricultural production and biotechnology exports as America works to increase food security; Ensure that all of America's children have access to safe, nutritious, and balanced meals.
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Strategic Goals & Objectives
Agencies establish a variety of organizational goals to drive progress toward key outcomes for the American people. Long-term strategic goals articulate clear statements of what the agency wants to achieve to advance its mission and address relevant national problems, needs, challenges and opportunities. Strategic objectives define the outcome or management impact the agency is trying to achieve, and also include the agency's role. Each strategic objective is tracked through a suite of performance goals, indicators and other evidence. Click here for more information on stakeholder engagement during goal development.
Strategic Goal:
Assist Rural Communities to Create Prosperity So They Are Self Sustaining, Repopulating, and Economically Thriving
Statement:
Assist Rural Communities to Create Prosperity So They Are Self Sustaining, Repopulating, and Economically Thriving
Strategic Objectives
Statement:
Enhance Rural Prosperity including leveraging capital markets to increase the government’s investment in rural America
Description:
Prosperous rural communities are those with adequate assets to fully support the well-being of community members. USDA helps to strengthen rural assets by building physical, human and social, financial, and natural capital. To achieve maximum impact, USDA will leverage resources across the Department and beyond; collaborate on cross-agency efforts such as Promise Zones and the White House Rural Council, and support community and tribal efforts to form regional strategies. USDA targets funds through strong analytics, grass roots support, and asset-based strategies. Addressing the needs of economically distressed regions is a top priority; The Strikeforce Initiative coordinates USDA’s rural development, agriculture, and conservation efforts in high poverty communities.
Physical Capital
Through loans, grants, and technical assistance, the Department will provide support for decent housing and homeownership; health care, school, library, and safety investments; and broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas. USDA also supports utility deployment of smart grid, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and carbon capture and storage for maintaining reliable electric systems in rural communities. Construction of electric, telecommunications, and water and waste system infrastructure and of farm storage facilities are also a priority for USDA.
Human and Social Capital
To assist rural residents to find jobs and start small business, USDA will provide educational opportunities, job training programs, and technical support and tools. For youth, USDA promotes non-formal education programs, 4-H, and other youth development programs to transfer knowledge and develop leaders. The Department supports job corps centers and youth corps programs through the America’s Great Outdoors initiative. Human and social capital formation is also assisted by USDA funding and oversight of rigorous agricultural research, education, and extension programs.
Financial Capital
To help build financial capital, USDA will undertake a variety of efforts. The Department will pursue public -private partnerships including by structuring investment in rural communities to attract capital from third-party investors. USDA will participate in marketing efforts to reach national lenders (capital markets) and leverage USDA resources with private capital. USDA programs will provide business and industry development opportunities to develop a local economy and create well-paying jobs. To facilitate strategic decision making to support livable communities, USDA will provide economic analyses and promote successful economic development models. USDA will also provide equitable access to capital for rural minority farmers and business owners and target outreach to underserved and minority populations.
Natural Capital
Clean air, clean water, productive farmlands, and outdoor recreation opportunities result from USDA’s efforts working with partners and producers in our national forests and on working lands. Goal 2 of this strategic plan provides a detailed look at USDA’s contributions to natural capital.
Statement:
Increase Agricultural Opportunities by Ensuring a Robust Safety Net, Creating New Markets, and Supporting a Competitive Agricultural System
Description:
The economic vitality and quality of life in rural America depends on a healthy agricultural production system. Farmers and ranchers face a challenging global, technologically advanced, and competitive business environment. USDA works to ensure that producers are prosperous and competitive, have access to new markets, can manage their risks, and receive support in times of economic distress or weather-related disasters.
Strengthen the Farm Financial Safety Net
The Department strives to provide producers with prompt and equitable disaster assistance, income support payments, marketing assistance loans, farm loans, and risk management tools. USDA partners with commercial lenders to guarantee farm ownership and operating loans and makes direct loans to producers to purchase property or finance farm operating expenses. USDA's loan programs are available to producers who are temporarily unable to obtain financing commercially. The Federal Crop Insurance Program mitigates production and revenue losses from yield or price fluctuations and provides timely indemnity payments.
To further strengthen the farm financial safety net, USDA will:
- Improve partnerships with other agricultural lenders to better leverage limited funding resources;
- Expand crop insurance availability and product coverage, especially for livestock, pasture, rangeland, forage, organic, and specialty crops;
- Use geographical information systems (GIS), remote sensing, precision agriculture, and data mining to improve crop insurance products and program integrity;
- Provide timely disaster relief to producers using available programs, use GIS to assess damage rapidly, and partner with other agencies on disaster relief outreach and;
- Expand outreach for farm storage facility loans to biomass, fruit, and vegetable producers.
Facilitate Access to International Markets
USDA expands and protects international market opportunities and connects agricultural exporters to customers. The Department works to strengthen the global rules-based trading system and supports development of international standards to facilitate safe trade. Cooperative efforts with other U.S. Government agencies and industries ensure that America’s producers have fair market access, understanding of key market trends, and support to overcome market barriers. To address the threats to international trade posed by high-consequence animal and plant pests and pathogens, USDA supports research, education, and extension programs, and networked regulatory, surveillance, and rapid response capabilities.
USDA works with exporters, importers, and other end-users of U.S. agricultural products around the world to facilitate sales in global markets. In cooperation with other U.S. government agencies, USDA monitors and investigates discrepancies reported by importing countries on the quality or weight of U.S. grains, oilseeds, and related products.
To further facilitate access to international markets, USDA will:
- Stimulate greater involvement by small- and medium-sized enterprises selling U.S. agricultural products;
- Negotiate and implement trade agreements and support international equivalency agreements;
- Facilitate the overseas marketing efforts of U.S. commodity organizations; and
- Reduce technical barriers to trade and eliminate sanitary and phytosanitary barriers not based on sound science.
Support the Development of New Domestic Markets
Accessing domestic markets helps build financial sustainability for producers and provides fresh, local food for consumers. USDA supports the planning, coordination, and education necessary for thriving regional food systems and replication of successful models. USDA will work closely with partners to develop and revitalize infrastructure for regional food systems. This includes innovative new opportunities and proven approaches like cooperatives and farmers markets. USDA analyzes market trends and provides tools to help producers identify opportunities. USDA also oversees national standards for the production and handling of agricultural products labeled as organic. To increase the number of certified organic operations, USDA will support research and education that enables organic production; reduce overlapping requirements; eliminate other obstacles; and collaborate with others to make certification more feasible for small and beginning farmers and business.
Ensure a Financially Sustainable and Competitive Agricultural System
USDA manages farm price support and commodity purchase programs to help balance supply and demand and conducts oversight to protect producers from unfair competition and unfair business practices in the livestock, meat, and poultry markets. Working with the Department of Justice, USDA enforces fair market practices and takes action against anti-competition behavior, to create a level playing field for producers.
The Department ensures efficient marketing of agricultural products through clear and consistent descriptions and measurements of the grade, quality and quantity of products that are bought and sold. By providing current, unbiased statistics, price and sales information USDA assists in the orderly marketing and distribution of farm commodities to inform decision-making by agricultural producers and agribusinesses and to ensure market stability. USDA will ensure that USDA-approved and licensed warehouse programs maintain adequate storage facilities, adequate frequency of warehouse examinations, and reduced product losses. USDA foods will be delivered in a timely manner, within contract specifications, and at competitive prices.
USDA develops and maintains national standards for the production and handling of agricultural products labeled as organic and examines and accredits State and private organic certifying agents. By providing education resources on organics to producers through its field offices, USDA will better serve diverse management systems including organic and specialty crops.
The Department works to ensure that minority, women, beginning, and other socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers have full knowledge and access to its programs. USDA also works with producer and farmworker organizations and the U.S. Department of Labor to improve working conditions and income for farmworkers.
Increase the Number of Certified Organic Operations and Expand Programs and Services for Organic Producers
USDA will support research and education that enables organic production; reduce overlapping requirements; and collaborate with others to make certification more feasible for small and beginning farmers and businesses.
Protect the Foundations of the Agricultural System
USDA provides leadership in creating and disseminating knowledge spanning the biological, physical, and social sciences through agricultural research, economic analysis, statistics, and partnerships with Cooperative Extension, and higher education institutions. The Department conducts research, education, and extension programming to reduce the costs of agricultural inputs and to improve crop and animal production efficiency and practices. Research efforts lead to more thorough assessments of Americans’ nutritional needs; new methods for sustaining a competitive agricultural economy; and a better understanding of how to enhance the natural resource base. Research priorities include improving agriculturally important plants and animals, including those resilient to anticipated changes in climate. USDA will use the cooperative extension system to transfer technology and best practices from the laboratory into active use.
In coordination with Federal partners, USDA helps higher-education institutions with undergraduate and graduate programs in agriculture develop strong science, technology, engineering, and math curriculums, and increase enrollment in secondary and two-year post-secondary programs, especially from underrepresented groups. As part of USDA’s science leadership, the Department will continue to provide Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education grants for projects designed to help America’s two million small- and medium scale producers improve their knowledge of sustainable agriculture production and marketing practices [1]
[1] 2007 Census of Agriculture. Small- and medium-sized farms and ranches are less than 1,000 acres.
Statement:
Contribute to the Expansion of the Bioeconomy by Supporting Development, Production, and Consumption of Renewable Energy and Biobased Products
Description:
Expanding the bioeconomy creates economic opportunities and improves the environment. Biomass from farms, forests, and rangelands could supply a significant portion of U.S. transportation fuels, heat, power, and biobased products. Research, development, and demonstration are necessary to realize the potential of biomass resources. USDA efforts in this area will help reduce investor risk, support market development, and contribute to energy security, environmental quality, and economic opportunity. USDA’s efforts will include:
- Creating viable engineering, business, and financial protocols to evaluate proposed commercial renewable energy and energy efficiency projects;
- Developing superior genetic feedstocks and production and logistic systems suited to regional conditions;
- Developing advanced biomass crops and methods for their sustainable production as biofuels and other forms of biopower; and
- Providing analysis and data about commodity markets for renewable energy sources; and
USDA will create bio-economy opportunities for farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, small businesses, rural utilities, Tribal governments, and rural municipalities by providing financial and technical assistance and leveraging investments of other Federal agencies and industry. By facilitating commercialization of bio-based products, USDA will work to create green jobs and investment opportunities and expand support for commercial deployment of wind, solar, geothermal, hydro and ocean resources. USDA will:
- Support expanding production of advanced biofuels through the financing of the widespread deployment of full-scale commercial facilities;
- Support the development of integrated regional systems for the sustainable production of biofuels, biopower, and biobased products;
- Integrate renewable energy and biobased product feedstock production into sustainable agriculture, forest, and range management systems; and
- Support the establishment and production of annual and non-woody perennial crops and woody biomass crops for conversion to bioenergy and biobased products.
USDA education programs use the Nation’s public institutions, private sector partners, and the Land-Grant University System to promote and expand the workforce needed to grow the bioeconomy. USDA also has a role in educating the general public and international partners through capacity building programs, on the benefits and costs of bioenergy production and use from economic, environmental, social and sustainability perspectives.
Strategic Goal:
Ensure Our National Forests and Private Working Lands are Conserved, Restored, and Made More Resilient to Climate Change, While Enhancing Our Water Resources
Statement:
Ensure Our National Forests and Private Working Lands are Conserved, Restored, and Made More Resilient to Climate Change, While Enhancing Our Water Resources
Strategic Objectives
Statement:
Improve the Health of the Nation's Forests, Grasslands, and Working Lands by Managing our Natural Resources
Description:
Restoring watershed and forest health is central to USDA’s efforts in our national forests and grasslands. USDA will develop and implement National Forest System land management plans and projects to restore and sustain ecosystem function. This includes improving the health of fire-adapted or fire-impaired ecosystems; addressing the spread of insects and diseases that kill trees; restoring wildlife habitat; improving or decommissioning roads; replacing and improving culverts; and rehabilitating streams and wetlands.
On agricultural and grazing lands, USDA will assist private landowners and managers with sustainable land management through conservation programs. USDA provides technical and financial assistance to enable landowners to develop conservation plans and implement effective conservation practices. These efforts restore vegetative cover; implement sustainable agricultural production levels on erosive lands; and improve soil productivity through soil health management. USDA is working to protect forest and agricultural land from conversion to urban and other developed land use through conservation easements and strategic land acquisition. Beyond national forests and agricultural lands, USDA also invests in urban and community forestry programs to improve urban forests and greenspaces.
USDA will work with partners to identify the most environmentally and socially important landscapes, create strategies to protect natural resources, and involve communities in this work. USDA will also prioritize and accelerate research that delivers tools for more effective conservation.
Statement:
Lead Efforts to Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change, Drought, and Extreme Weather in Agriculture and Forestry
Description:
USDA will work through its natural resource conservation and energy programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon, while leading adaptation efforts. This supports the Administration’s goal to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
USDA will encourage voluntary practices to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. These include conservation tillage; manure and nutrient management; fertilizer efficiency; planting trees; minimizing deforestation; increasing energy efficiency in agriculture and rural development; and developing renewable sources of energy. Forest restoration, along with conservation easements and land acquisition, will help maintain forests as a net carbon sink.
The Department will assist rural communities, producers, resource managers, and community planners to develop and implement climate adaptation strategies. Impacts that are already appearing include changing water flow, availability, and quality; fire risk; and extreme weather events. USDA will monitor impacts and help implement adaptations (e.g., measuring changes in water flow and then installing stream buffers or upgrading culverts to handle increased water overflow).
The Department conducts and invests in research to inform climate change policy and mitigation and adaptation strategies, tools and technologies. USDA will evaluate the effects of conservation actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to identify effective and economic approaches. USDA is supporting plant variety and animal breed development that maximize carbon sequestration and can adapt to climate change. Work is also underway to develop methods and technical guidelines to measure and model the effects of climate change on ecosystem services and to conduct greenhouse gas inventories of the urban forest and agriculture sector. The Department and its partners will make research outcomes widely available through outreach and extension networks.
Statement:
Contribute to Clean and Abundant Water by Protecting and Enhancing Water Resources on National Forests and Working Lands
Description:
Clean and abundant water is essential for healthy ecosystems, sustainable agricultural and forest production, livable communities, and viable industry. Eighty seven percent of America's surface supply of drinking water originates on our Nation’s forests, farms, and range lands. The National Forest System alone is the source of fresh water for more than 60 million people.
USDA helps protect and enhance water quality through its work in national forests and grasslands and by supporting the efforts of private landowners and communities. Assessing water resource vulnerability nationally and investing in high impact watershed improvement projects ensures strategic use of USDA resources. USDA will also increase watershed-based partnerships with Tribes, States, communities, landowners, and other stakeholders to improve watershed management.
To restore and protect head-waters and wetlands in the national forests and grasslands, USDA will implement integrated watershed restoration. This will be based on a national assessment of watershed conditions and restoration needs established in the Watershed Condition Framework.
USDA will deliver financial and technical assistance to land owners to implement conservation measures and management strategies to benefit water quality and availability, conserve water, and improve watershed health. The Department will work with landowners to protect wetlands and implement soil health management systems that mitigate the impacts of extreme weather. Working with Federal and State partners, USDA will assist private landowners who are improving water quality to achieve regulatory certainty.
Statement:
Reduce Risk of Catastrophic Wildfire
Description:
Many forests, rangelands, and grasslands are dependent on fire for ecological health. Unfortunately, fires that burn too hot and too large are becoming more prevalent due to climate change, development in fire-prone areas, and other factors. These catastrophic fires harm the environment and threaten communities. To reduce the risk of catastrophic fire, USDA works with the Department of the Interior, other Federal agencies, Tribal and State governments and local law enforcement and emergency preparedness staff on prevention, preparedness, and response.
USDA and its partners will work with communities to assess risks, and develop and implement community plans to improve capability to respond to local wildfires. USDA will also collaborate with public and private forest and rangeland owners to develop and implement hazardous fuels reduction and ecosystem restoration projects. In the national forests and grasslands, land management plans will be designed to restore degraded ecosystems and to allow fire to play a healthy role in fire dependent ecosystems. This will reduce fuel loads, improve wildlife habitat, and sustain healthy ecosystems.
Strategic Goal:
Help America Promote Agricultural Production and Biotechnology Exports as America Works to Increase Food Security
Statement:
Help America Promote Agricultural Production and Biotechnology Exports as America Works to Increase Food Security
Strategic Objectives
Statement:
Ensure US Agricultural Resources Contribute to Enhanced Global Food Security
Description:
Adequate food supplies must be based on enhanced trade, in-country increases in production, and the ability of the poor to earn enough to purchase food. The largest contributors to insufficient in-country production are chronic under-investment in agriculture, inefficient inputs and markets, and poor governance.
USDA supports global and national security policy through development and capacity-building of sustainable agricultural systems in the developing world. USDA’s promotes sustainable, market-led growth across the entire food production and market chain. The Department uses a cooperative approach to make strategic investments to strengthen countries’ capacity to participate in international markets, thus expanding demand for U.S. agricultural products and enhancing global food security.
USDA’s Food for Progress Program increases productivity and expands trade of agricultural products along the value chain, while the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education program improves literacy, health, hygiene, and nutrition practices of school-aged beneficiaries in targeted countries. Improving the education of women is especially important due to their critical links with economic growth, health, nutrition, and improved living standards for future generations.
USDA will assist priority countries to increase capacity to develop sustainable agricultural systems and markets. This includes providing advice on developing and adopting market and science-based policies and institutions and building trade capacity. The Department helps countries create an enabling environment for increased private-sector participation in agricultural value chains, while leveraging partnerships with U.S. government agencies, land grant universities, other institutions, and the private sector to conduct technical assistance and training.
USDA will invest in research, development, and extension to improve agricultural techniques and technologies, including biotechnology. Data and analysis from USDA will assist with addressing food security including market analysis, and food security assessments for food insecure countries. The Department will assist developing countries in establishing robust agricultural statistics programs through technical assistance and training. To support the sustainable management of soil, USDA will: disseminate soil science information and technology; build capacity to conduct soil surveys; and promote the adoption of data, technology and science-based solutions for soil management. Many of these activities are carried out collaboratively with funding partners, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of State, Department of Defense, and Millennium Challenge Corporation.
The Department promotes agricultural policy and regulatory programs to strengthen food safety and animal and plant health systems, which help countries take advantage of new trade and marketing opportunities. At the same time, promotion of these policies and programs reduce the worldwide prevalence of significant diseases.
USDA is a key partner in President Obama’s Feed the Future Initiative, a global food security and nutrition initiative led by USAID. The three key areas in which USDA will contribute at the country and global levels for sustained and enhanced impact include: a) in-country capacity building efforts with government, farmer organizations, the private sector, and universities on agricultural policies, regulatory systems including sanitary and phytosanitary systems, natural resources management, and agribusiness, market chains and trade; b) basic and applied research, including extension; and c) market information, statistics, data, and economic analysis.
Statement:
Enhance America's Ability to Develop and Trade Agricultural Products Derived from New and Emerging Technologies
Description:
The United States is in a unique position to combat global hunger and the impacts of a changing climate. American farmers are among the most productive in the world, and U.S. science is among the most advanced in developing innovative solutions to agro-ecological challenges. USDA supports the safe and appropriate use of science and technology, including biotechnology, to help meet agricultural challenges and market needs of the 21st century.
USDA uses science-based regulatory systems to allow for the safe development, use, and trade of products derived from new agricultural technologies. USDA will continue to regulate the importation, interstate movement, and field-testing of newly developed genetically engineered (GE) organisms that qualify as “regulated articles” to ensure they do not pose a threat to plant health before they can be commercialized. These science-based evaluations facilitates the safe introduction of new agricultural production options, and enhance public and international confidence in these products. USDA will coordinate responsibilities with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of the Federal Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology.
To bring products of new and emerging technologies to the worldwide marketplace, USDA works with other federal agencies to address trade challenges while building strong international partnerships. These efforts facilitate the safe use and trade of products produced by such technologies, including the genetic engineering of animals, animal cloning, next generation plant and animal biotechnologies and nanotechnology. USDA will continue to monitor and encourage industry efforts to enable the development and export of biotechnology products containing intellectual property whose patents have expired.
USDA supports global adoption of science-based regulatory systems and works to advance internationally accepted science-based regulations with U.S. trading partners. Ensuring the enforcement of existing global commitments governing trade in agricultural biotechnology products is also a priority for the Department. USDA raises awareness of the contributions of innovative technologies to global food and energy security, environmental sustainability, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. This fosters global adoption of these technologies and their products, increases trade opportunities for U.S producers, and provides tools for addressing 21st century challenges to agriculture.
At the same time, USDA facilitates increased dialogue and cooperation among farmers who employ varied agricultural production methods. This leads to domestic and international growth for all production systems and reduces friction among diverse interests. USDA will implement, as appropriate, recommendations provided by the USDA Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture on strengthening coexistence among different agricultural systems.
Strategic Goal:
Ensure that All of America's Children Have Access to Safe, Nutritious, and Balanced Meals
Statement:
Ensure that All of America's Children Have Access to Safe, Nutritious, and Balanced Meals
Strategic Objectives
Statement:
Improve Access to Nutritious Food
Description:
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USDA’s domestic nutrition assistance programs serve one in four Americans annually. The Department is committed to making benefits available to every eligible person who wishes to participate in the major nutrition assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Child Nutrition Programs, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). While the Department’s ultimate objective is for economic opportunities to make nutrition assistance unnecessary for as many families as possible, we will ensure that these vital programs remain ready to serve all eligible people who need them.
While the rate of SNAP participation among eligible people has returned to the coverage levels of the 1990s, a substantial portion of those eligible for SNAP are not participating. USDA will continue its efforts to ensure that every eligible person is aware of the program’s benefits so that they can make an informed choice whether to participate or not.
USDA also intends to ensure effective and easy access to the Child Nutrition Programs for eligible children who need them. The National School Lunch Program is available in most schools. Schools can receive cash subsidies and donated commodities from the Department for each meal they serve. In return, those schools must serve lunches that meet Federal requirements and offer free or reduced-price lunches to eligible children.
Promoting access to nutrition assistance goes hand-in-hand with managing these programs in a manner that ensures public confidence and maximizes the impact of Federal dollars. Strong management ensures that those most in need of nutrition assistance receive it. It also ensures that nutrition assistance programs leverage opportunities to positively impact the local economy in the communities they serve. Finally, it ensures that resources are not wasted by error or abuse. USDA uses all available opportunities, including new communication and eGovernment technologies, to serve customers, work with partners, and administer programs as effectively as possible.
Statement:
Promote Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Behavior
Description:
The Administration has set a goal to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight. The First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign has been central to this effort, and USDA will continue to play a critical role in its success. In addition, USDA is fighting to reverse the rapid increase in childhood obesity by improving school meals and the school nutrition environment. On school days, children who participate in both the breakfast and lunch programs consume as many as half of their calories at school. The Department must ensure that all foods served in school contribute to good health, and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act provided new authority to set common-sense nutrition standards for food sold throughout the school day. USDA will work with schools to implement the new standards for all foods sold in school, and will continue to support ongoing implementation of updated school meals nutrition standards.
USDA is also encouraging and supporting WIC mothers to breastfeed their infants by strengthening breastfeeding policy and program activities. Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of numerous health problems for both mother and infant. It also may have a protective effect against pediatric overweight and obesity. Breast milk provides the best source of infant nutrition and helps infants get a healthy start in life. USDA will recognize and reward State achievements in promoting breastfeeding through performance awards, expand the availability of peer-counseling in WIC clinics, and continue its core promotion and support activities.
Furthermore, USDA is working to double the number of Americans who eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Too many Americans simply do not eat enough of these nutrient-dense foods to support good nutrition. The Department establishes evidence-based nutrition guidance, the basis for which is the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), which are developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Department is also working to improve access to healthful, locally produced food in under-served communities through a multifaceted strategy that focuses on food production, distribution, and both traditional and non-traditional retail options. Through research and technical and financial assistance, the Department will help producers produce, distribute and market healthy foods locally. The Department will also encourage additional farmers markets in low-access areas to become authorized SNAP vendors, equip markets to accept SNAP through electronic benefit transfer (EBT), work with local and private partners to test and expand the use of incentive programs for healthy food purchases, and promote greater use of farmers markets by SNAP participants. Through its farm-to-school efforts, USDA also connects schools with regional and local producers to increase producers’ market opportunities as well as young people’s access to healthy, local foods.
To improve Americans’ physical activity behaviors, USDA is promoting the use of the Nation’s public lands. Most Americans need to move more to promote their health and well-being and improve the energy balance between the calories they consume and those they expend. National forests and grasslands are America’s backyard, offering chances to increase physical activity. Over 90 million National Forest System visitors participate in outdoor-based physical activities each year. USDA will promote the use of these lands and facilities to nurture the body and mind in natural settings near local communities. The Department also will increase access to green space through such programs as the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry program.
Statement:
Protect Public Health by Ensuring Food is Safe
Description:
USDA is committed to ensuring Americans have access to safe food through a farm-to-table approach to reducing and preventing foodborne illness. The Department invests in its workforce and data infrastructure to prevent harm to consumers by reducing the incidence of food contamination and quickly identifying and working to prevent or limit outbreaks. Effective response to food safety issues and enforcement depend upon timely, quality data and analysis.
USDA conducts in-commerce surveillance activities to protect public health by ensuring that meat, poultry, and processed egg products are safe, secure, wholesome, correctly labeled and packaged. In fiscal year 2012, USDA ensured public health requirements were met in establishments that slaughter or process 147 million head of livestock and 8.9 billion poultry carcasses. In the same year, USDA estimated that there were 479,621 Salmonella, Listeria monocytgenes (Lm), and Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 foodborne illnesses attributed to Department-regulated products.
USDA also measures industry adoption of functional food defense plans. Food defense plans are written procedures that official meat and poultry slaughter and processing establishments, egg product plants, and official import inspection establishments should follow to protect the food supply from intentional contamination of food products with chemicals, biological agents, or other harmful substances. These plans help the industry protect public health and reduce negative economic impacts on the food infrastructure.
Finally, as imported products and on-farm practices can dramatically impact food safety, USDA participates in and leads government-wide Codex Alimentarius activities to ensure that science-based international public health standards are in place, promotes use of Codex standards by other governments and international producers, conducts re-inspection of imported products and audits foreign countries to ensure the safety of imported products and provides guidance to promote good agricultural practices on the farm. The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (chaired by the U.S.) also adopted Guidelines for the Control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat in 2011. The guidelines are consistent with USDA hygienic performance standards and will help ensure the safety of imported products.
Statement:
Protect Agricultural Health by Minimizing Major Diseases and Pests to Ensure Access to Safe, Plentiful, and Nutritious Food
Description:
The Department detects and quickly responds to new invasive species and emerging agricultural and public health situations through a three-part strategy that involves (1) identifying threats overseas and working to prevent them from coming to the United States, (2) providing training and expertise to identify threats at ports of entry, and (3) working to eradicate pests and diseases or manage them to limit the damage done if they are already in the United States.
Where possible, USDA eradicates or manages existing agricultural pests and diseases and wildlife damage. The Department also develops and applies more effective scientific methods to prevent, detect, eradicate, or manage pests and diseases. These efforts contribute to the overall agricultural health of the Nation and the world.
Strategic Goal:
Create a USDA for the 21st Century that is High-performing, Efficient, and Adaptable
Statement:
Create a USDA for the 21st Century that is High-performing, Efficient, and Adaptable
Strategic Objectives
Statement:
Develop a Customer-centric, Inclusive, and High-performing Workforce by Investing in and Engaging Employees to Improve Service Delivery
Description:
USDA employees work on the frontlines every day, whether it is through battling wildfires or ensuring the safety of our Nation’s food supply, to serve the country and its taxpayers. Since the employees are responsible for providing these services, it is imperative that the workforce is equipped with the skills and abilities to effectively and efficiently carry out the Department’s responsibilities. To effectively develop the workforce, therefore, USDA is focusing on ensuring that the skills and competencies of its employees are appropriately assessed and improved upon. At the same time, the Department is striving to institute an inclusive and high-performing culture that not only values the differences offered by a diverse workforce, but also leverages those differences to better serve the Department’s customers. To further improve performance, the Department is striving to engage its workforce in the development and implementation of innovative solutions to the challenges of today.
With a high-performing, results-focused, and engaged workforce, USDA will be better positioned to serve the public. As a result, the Department and its component agencies and offices can more effectively collaborate on challenges facing our Nation’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.
Statement:
Build a Safe, Secure, and Efficient Workplace by Leveraging Technology and Shared Solutions Across Organizational Boundaries
Description:
In order to effectively serve the public and deliver the programs and services to USDA customers in the future, the Department must modernize its operations and administrative support structures. With a modern structure and workplace, the Department can more quickly and efficiently support America’s farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, rural communities and other USDA stakeholders. In addition, by creating a modern workplace, the Department can better ensure the security of the USDA facilities infrastructure and the safety of employees and customers across the country.
A key provision to this modern workplace will be the focus on streamlining operations and creating an environment through which employees can be as effective as possible. To achieve these streamlining targets, the Department will look across its entire portfolio of operations to identify opportunities to reduce the time and effort required to deliver its programs and services. Through coordinated and continuous process improvements, USDA will reduce the burden on its employees and the public while enhancing program delivery. In addition, the Department will also strive to improve the effectiveness of its employees through the increased implementation of technology solutions and workplace enhancements, such as telework. These improvements will enable USDA to become more flexible in its service delivery and more adaptable and responsive to the needs of its employees and customer base.
Statement:
Maximize the Return on Taxpayer Investment in USDA Through Enhanced Stewardship Activities and Focused Program Evaluations
Description:
In order to become a truly modern organization, the Department will need to improve the efficiency and efficacy with which it utilizes taxpayer resources to deliver services to the public. Intrinsic to these improvements will be an enhanced focus on being good stewards of the financial and property resources entrusted to the Department. Key to such stewardship will be a continued focus of the Department on the accuracy of payments being made through USDA programs. USDA will continue to strive to reduce its rate of improper payments to ensure that the program resources are being received by the intended recipients.
To also improve its program delivery, the Department will focus on expanding its use of performance data and program evaluation results to drive decisions. Information derived from these evaluations will focus on identifying areas for improvement and opportunities for applying limited resources to improving the quality of service provided by USDA programs.
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FY16-17 Agency Priority Goals
An Agency Priority Goal is a near-term result or achievement that agency leadership wants to accomplish within approximately 24 months that relies predominantly on agency implementation as opposed to budget or legislative accomplishments. Click below to see this agency's FY16-17 Priority Goals.
Agency Priority Goal:
Statement:
USDA will improve the health of our Nation’s soils to make our food, fiber, and energy production systems resilient and sustainable. By September 30, 2017, USDA will continue to implement and monitor progress of modeled science-based practices that improve soil health and sustainability. Nationwide, the soil health practices that are consistent with the Secretary’s Climate Change Mitigation Building Blocks will store (sequester) more than 8.8 million metric tons of carbon per year or more than 32 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e).
Based on results generated by EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator (http://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator), the carbon sequestration benefits of an additional 32 million metric tons of CO2e annually would offset an estimated: 76 billion miles driven by passenger cars, or 3.6 billion gallons of gasoline consumed, or 4.4 million homes electricity use emissions for one year. Soil health practice implementation will also increase resilience during seasons with extreme weather, in comparison to fields that are not using such practices.
Description:
The world population is expected to rise from approximately 7 billion in 2013 to over 9 billion by 2050. To sustain this rate of growth, we must provide as much food in the next 40 years as has been grown in the last 500 years. From 1982 to 2007, over 41 million acres of rural land was lost to development (the size of Illinois and New Jersey combined). Approximately 23 million acres of this was active agricultural land, and 14 million acres was prime farmland.
At the same time that we need to grow more food on a shrinking available land base, we are also asking more and more of our farmers and ranchers. We ask that they help reduce our Nation’s dependency on fossil fuels by growing more bioenergy crops, that they provide adequate pollinator habitat (required for about 35% of our food supply), that they protect water quality, and that they incorporate management practices and technologies that optimize efficiencies of water and nutrient use. In addition, while addressing these needs, producers are increasingly faced with extreme weather events, ranging from drought to flood.
Improving soil health allows us to simultaneously address these and other pressing natural resource needs. Improving soil health allows us to improve water quality, increase soil water availability, enhance resilience to extreme weather, enhance nutrient cycling, increase carbon sequestration, provide wildlife habitat (including pollinators), enhance rural economic opportunity, and meet the food and fiber production needs of a rapidly growing population on a shrinking available land base. Simply stated, improving the health of our Nation’s soils is one of the most important things we can do for this and for future generations.
USDA assists agricultural producers with improving soil health through increased knowledge, education, and technical and financial assistance in implementing soil health management systems. The research and educational activities conducted by USDA and its partners contribute much more than a body of knowledge. The information is integrated into policies that lead to the development of science-based standards and specifications for management practices, used for appropriate implementation of practices. The practices can then be combined in a systems approach, to form customized location-specific plans for conserving selected resources. Such conservation plans are applied by land managers to improve soil health. In addition, the impact of implementing these standardized practices can be measured and modeled nationally, especially when combined with land, soil, climate, and other data.
Agency Priority Goal:
Statement:
USDA is committed to the collaborative efforts across the executive branch to reduce the
impacts of stressors on pollinator health. In particular, USDA is committed to restoring
and enhancing pollinator habitat acreage, contributing to research to understand, prevent
and recover from pollinator loss, conducting frequent surveys of beekeepers, and
education and outreach around this important issue. By September 30, 2017, USDA will promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators by restoring an additional 1 million acres of pollinator habitat.
Description:
Wherever flowering plants flourish, pollinating bees, birds, butterflies, bats, and other animals are hard at work, providing vital but often unnoticed services. Some three-fourths of all native plants in the world require pollination by an animal, most often an insect, and most often a native bee. The attributed value of crops in the United States that are directly dependent on insect pollination was estimated at $15.12 billion in 2009, including an estimated $11.68 billion of crop value directly attributable to honey bees.
But many pollinators are in serious decline in the United States and worldwide. Preventing continued losses of our country’s pollinators requires immediate national attention, as pollinators play a critical role in maintaining diverse ecosystems and in supporting agricultural production. Unabated, these losses of our pollinators threaten agricultural production, the maintenance of natural plant communities, and the important services provided by those ecosystems, such as carbon cycling, flood and erosion control, and recreation. Restoring, enhancing and conserving pollinator habitat can mitigate pollinator losses by providing abundant sources of pollen and nectar, and space for other essential niche requirements, such as nesting sites.
USDA has the capacity to improve and expand pollinator habitat through two private landowner incentive programs: Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
Agency Priority Goal:
Statement:
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New and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers (BFR) are a fundamental part of the American and global Agricultural marketplace and legacy. The 2014 Farm Bill gave USDA new tools and flexibility in several key programs in order to support BFR, by continuing, increasing and creating new assistance for this group. It is a priority of the Secretary and the Agency to ensure the success and sustainability of BFR. By September 30, 2017, USDA will increase access to key BFR programs which will result in increasing investments to BFR by a value of $5.6 billion over 2 years. Within existing resources, USDA will expand opportunities for BFR through targeted outreach, and increased technical assistance, resulting in increasing BFR participation in key programs by 6.6% over the goal term. Increased investments to BFR will contribute to growing their value, and supporting economic development and stability in their communities, both through increased opportunity and support for longevity of new operations.
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Description:
American agriculture is at a critical juncture of need and opportunity for the next generation of farmers and ranchers. New and beginning farmers and ranchers are a fundamental part of the American and global agricultural marketplace and legacy. However, according to the most recent Census of Agriculture, in 2012, the United States had 522,058 beginning farmers (principal operators who were on their current operation ten years or less). This was 20 percent fewer than in 2007, when the last agriculture census was conducted. Additionally, consistent with the 30 year trend, the average age of a principal operator has continued to rise – and is at 58.3 years old nationwide. While USDA is working to understand additional nuance and gain a deeper picture of all the parts of the next generation of agriculture, these are important trends of note. Information from USDA’s 2015 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land report also evaluated the impending transition of agricultural land to the next generation – in the next five years, almost 10 percent (or 91 million acres) of all farmland is expected to transition, not including the 57.1 million acres that landowners have put or plan to put into wills. These trends stand to have a significant effect on the structure of the agricultural economy and rural communities.
Targeted outreach and increased investment in the next generation, proposed here by USDA, will serve to support new and beginning farmers and strengthen USDA’s ongoing efforts to assist beginning farmers in accessing capital, acquiring land, developing financially sustainable operations, and fully utilizing USDA programs – supporting the next generation of American agriculture.
Since 2009, USDA has engaged its resources to support a strong next generation of farmers and ranchers by improving access to land and capital; building new markets and market opportunities; extending new conservation opportunities; offering appropriate risk management tools; and increasing our outreach, education, and technical support. Specifically, from 2009-2014, USDA increased our investment in new and beginning farmers across several key programs by 14.1%. The 2014 Farm Bill gave USDA new tools and flexibility in several key programs in order to support new and beginning farmers and ranchers, by continuing, increasing, and creating new assistance for this group.
USDA is proposing to increase and broaden access for new farmers even further over the next two years – an additional 6.6% across key programs – for a total increased investment value of about $5.6 billion. Including the additional investment, by September 30, 2017, USDA will have invested roughly $17.4 billion to beginning farmers and ranchers.
USDA will focus our work on the most relevant programs across the Department (excluding disaster assistance programs due to their unique nature of benefit). These programs were chosen for their impact on increasing opportunity for new and beginning farmers and ranchers and support for increased longevity of new and beginning operations.
• For the purposes of our goal, increased opportunity is defined as the opportunity to begin an operation, grow an operation, develop new markets, support more effective agricultural or conservation practices, or having access to relevant training and education opportunities.
• Increased longevity refers to support for new and beginning farmers during critical development periods, including the transition from a brand new operation to a more experienced level of beginning farming, and then finally graduating from being a beginning farmer to an experienced farm operator.
Additionally, USDA works closely with other Federal partners that have a role in supporting new businesses, including agricultural operations. USDA will collaborate closely with them in the achievement of this goal.
Note: The numbers contained in the goal statement represent both dedicated programmatic funding and programmatic utilization by new and beginning farmers. We refer to this blended number as general “access” to USDA programs.
Agency Priority Goal:
Statement:
USDA will increase food security and diet quality among America’s children through provision of nutritious food and support for healthy choices. By September 30, 2017, USDA will reduce the number of children in food insecure households by 10 percent from baseline-- 15.8 million (2013) to 14.2 million (measured annually by USDA Economic Research Service study) and, increase the average Healthy Eating Index (HEI) for all children (between ages 2 and 18) to 55 (based on USDA analysis of national nutrition survey data).
Description:
A plentiful supply of safe and nutritious food is essential to the well-being of every family and the healthy development of every child in America. Scientific research has established strong links between diet, health, and productivity. Even small improvements in the average diet may yield significant health and economic benefits.
Yet we know that for a significant number of American families, a lack of sufficient food and nutrition remains a serious problem. While most American households always have access to enough nutritious food for an active and healthy lifestyle, the latest data show that about 7.5 million American households with children, accounting for over 15.3 million children, had difficulty putting enough food on the table at some point during 2014. Even more alarming, in more than 400,000 households, with more than 914,000 children, one or more children simply did not get enough to eat. At times during the year, these children were hungry, skipped meals, or went whole days without food.
USDA’s domestic nutrition assistance programs serve one in four Americans annually. The Department is committed to making benefits available to every eligible person who wishes to participate in the major nutrition assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Child Nutrition Programs, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Too often people who need benefits do not participate, because they do not know they are eligible, do not realize the size and value of benefits available to them, or believe applying is too difficult or burdensome. While the Department’s ultimate objective is for economic opportunities to make nutrition assistance unnecessary for as many families as possible, we are working to ensure these vital programs remain ready to serve all eligible people who need them and to eliminate barriers to access for eligible Americans.
In particular, USDA is working to ensure eligible children have effective and easy access to the Child Nutrition Programs. The National School Lunch Program is available in most schools, but not all eligible children participate. Some bring healthful food from home, while others, especially in high schools, may be foregoing a nutritious lunch entirely. In addition, the School Breakfast Program (SBP) operates much like the National School Lunch Program, except the program may not be reaching all the children who need it for a number of reasons, including limited time in the school schedule and potential stigma. Eating a healthy breakfast, at home or at school, is linked to better educational performance and classroom behavior, and fewer visits to the school nurse. Therefore, USDA is focused on improving participation in SBP. We are also focused on improving access to nutritious food for children during the summer months when school meals are not available, and the risk of hunger increases. We’ve made it a priority to expand access to summer meals with creative approaches so that children and teens can access nutritious food .
The Department is working to improve access to and the nutritional quality of benefits in these programs. These efforts seek to ensure that healthful and palatable food is available to every student to support his/her health, growth, and learning.
Agency Priority Goal:
Increasing Assistance for Rural, Persistent Poverty Communities
Statement:
USDA is committed to increasing program access and leveraging resources for investments in rural, persistent poverty communities. By September 30, 2017, USDA will :
a) increase the percentage of USDA funding in StrikeForce areas by 10 percent from 2010 baseline $4 billion and;
b) leverage $1 billion of outside resources from baseline in high poverty areas over two years.
Description:
Currently, 85 percent of our country’s persistent poverty counties are in rural America. More than one third of rural Americans and one in four rural American children live in poverty. Kids growing up in families earning even twice the poverty threshold are nearly three times as likely as other children to have poor health, are more likely to finish two fewer years of school, and earn half as much money in their adult life.
Growing the economy by investing in rural communities and increasing opportunities for families is critical to our Nation’s future. Capacity building is essential in these persistent poverty rural areas. By doing so, it enables these communities to increase its readiness for access to USDA’s grant and loan programs as well as leveraging other resources to fund and implement projects and strategies that will spur economic growth.
Starting in FY2016, USDA Rural Development will implement Farm Bill’s Section 6025 Strategic Economic Development which enables Business & Industry Guaranteed Loan, Rural Business Development Grant, Community Facilities, and Water and Environmental Programs to set aside up to 10% of its appropriated funds for prioritizing projects that implement multi-jurisdictional community economic development plans. In high poverty areas, community planning is a critical step for identifying needs, opportunities, resources, & strategies, building partnerships, and identifying the right processes, structure, and leadership to execute milestones and achieve economic goals. Through USDA’s Stronger Economies Together (SET) Initiative and other federal planning programs, we are delivering training and technical assistance so high poverty rural communities can start or update their community economic development plans, build their local capacity, and have increased opportunity to access Section 6025 and other federal programs. In FY2015, we have 75 SET Regions who are actively developing or updating their community economic development plans, which we aim to increase to a 100 by September 30, 2017. These SET Regions along with other high poverty rural and tribal communities with multi-jurisdictional plans can compete for Section 6025 and have the opportunity to fund and implement their projects in a way that align and in support of the community or the region’s economic development and poverty reduction priorities. As we lay the framework and build the 6025 program, USDA should be able to report by September 30, 2017 number of SET Regions and multi-jurisdictional plans adopted under SET and number of economic development projects supported, implemented, and funded due to 6025 in high poverty communities.
Moreover, the StrikeForce Initiative for Rural Growth and Opportunity was created in 2010 to address specific challenges associated with rural poverty. Since then, USDA teams have collaborated with more than 1,000 community partners and public entities to bring targeted assistance to rural areas experiencing chronic poverty. These efforts have helped create jobs, build homes, feed kids, assist farmers and conserve natural resources in StrikeForce designated states. By September 30, 2017, USDA will increase the funding in StrikeForce areas by 10 percent from the 2009 baseline of $4 billion and leverage $1 billion of outside resources for investment in high poverty areas.
To complement, USDA has also established Poverty Targeting goals for each of its State Office with an overall FY2015 goal of 22% of Rural Development’s program funding to be invested in high poverty rural areas. This ensured that our Strikeforce and other States with persistent poverty are given reasonable priority and that Rural Development invests available program funding in areas that need it the most. And in many cases, other non-federal dollars must be leveraged to sufficiently fund projects that will help build capacity and spur economic growth. Program leveraging is essential, it ensures partnership building and utilization of other capital so high poverty communities can have adequate assets to fully support the well-being of its community members.
And lastly, USDA in partnership with the White House Rural Council have been taking a comprehensive look at how its policies impact the way rural areas develop and how well those places support the people who live there, in all aspects of their lives – education, health, housing, business, energy, and transportation. This “place-based” approach is an effort to help places work better for people. An effective place-based policy requires comprehensive interagency collaboration and investment that can ensure an increased impact of federal dollars and a greater return on federal investments. By concentrating resources, this approach asserts the primacy of place in moving our nation towards more robust social and economic outcomes. In FY2014, President Obama announced the Promise Zones, a place-based initiative. USDA and HUD jointly support the coordination and implementation of the Promise Zone objectives. As of FY2015, there are 13 Promise Zone designees, of which four are Rural and Tribal. USDA leads the application, review, and implementation support (i.e. planning, training and technical assistance, matching their needs with the appropriate financing tools to fund projects, etc.) for these Rural and Tribal designees. By September 30, 2017, there will be two additional Rural and Tribal designees.
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FY14-15 Agency Priority Goals
An Agency Priority Goal is a near-term result or achievement that agency leadership wants to accomplish within approximately 24 months that relies predominantly on agency implementation as opposed to budget or legislative accomplishments. Click below to see this agency's FY14-15 Priority Goals.
Agency Priority Goal:
Statement:
Reduce the number of foodborne Salmonella illnesses that are associated with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulated meat, poultry, and processed egg products.
By September 30, 2015, FSIS will reduce the total estimated number of foodborne Salmonella illnesses caused by FSIS-regulated products to 357,515 illnesses from a 2007-2009 baseline of 413,965 illnesses.
The FY 2015 target aligns with the established FSIS “All-Illness Measure” that seeks an ambitious reduction in Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) illnesses concurrent with illness reductions identified in the Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2020 Initiative.
Description:
Salmonella is the leading known cause of bacterial foodborne illness and death in the U.S. causing an estimated 1.3 million illnesses, and between 400 and 500 deaths annually. FSIS estimates that, in Q4, FY2013, approximately 393,000 Salmonella illnesses were associated with Agency-regulated products.
Preventing Salmonella infections depends on actions taken to reduce contamination of food by the food industry, regulatory agencies, and consumers, as well as actions taken for detecting and responding to outbreaks when they occur. FSIS, a public health regulatory agency within the USDA, is responsible for ensuring that the commercial supply of meat, poultry, and processed egg products moving in interstate commerce or exported to other countries is safe, secure, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.
This Agency Priority Goal (APG) tracks an established FSIS performance measure known as the “All-Illness Measure” that estimates the total number of illnesses from Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), and E. coli O157:H7 from all FSIS-regulated products. FSIS estimates that approximately 33% of all salmonellosis is associated with FSIS regulated products* and that Salmonella comprises approximately 95% of all estimated illnesses in the All-Illness Measure. This corporate performance measure is included in the USDA Strategic Plan and the FSIS Strategic Plan for 2011-2016. FSIS Program Area actions designed to achieve the goal are included in the FSIS Annual Performance Plan. This APG specifically tracks and reports on reductions in Salmonella illnesses.
FSIS will attempt to achieve the ambitious reduction in Salmonella illnesses called for in this APG through the implementation of the 2013 FSIS Strategic Performance Working Group (SPWG) Action Plan for Salmonella, along with existing FSIS activities focused on reducing Salmonella contamination on regulated product.
Additionally, FSIS works closely with other Federal agencies that have a role in protecting the food supply, including both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); FSIS has worked with these agencies on a Priority Goal to reduce Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses from FDA-regulated shell eggs. FSIS also works with sister agencies within USDA, including the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), and USDA’s research agencies such as the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Economic Research Service (ERS), and National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in protecting the food supply.
This goal relates directly to the USDA Strategic Plan goal 4.3, “Protect Public Health by Ensuring Food is Safe”, to ensure that all of America’s children have access to safe, nutritious, and balanced meals.
*At the time FSIS developed and submitted its Agency Priority Goal, the most recent outbreak data the Agency had to calculate foodborne illness attribution was from 2008-2010 (33% for Salmonella). In the subsequent quarter, FSIS received new outbreak data from the CDC, which allowed the Agency to estimate a new attribution fraction for 2009-2011, which for Salmonella was 31.7%.
Agency Priority Goal:
Statement:
By September 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will:
- Provide credit assistance to 7,000 small and family operations, women, minority, and beginning farmers and ranchers through its Microloan program;
- Provide 3 percent of RBS funding to companies that produce or manufacture biobased products; and
- Provide assistance to develop the infrastructure for 450 new markets for local and regional food.
Description:
Although export opportunities and agricultural revenue are at historic highs, rural America continues to lose population. A continued population drain from rural areas jeopardizes the economic stability of rural America and the many national assets that rural communities have historically stewarded. In order to reverse the trend, USDA is investing in creating opportunities with potential to catalyze long-term economic growth and prosperity in rural America. Areas of opportunity include supporting new and beginning farmers and ranchers, the bioeconomy, and local and regional food systems.
To achieve the goal, USDA will make strategic investments in the following areas:
- New and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers: The Microloan program operated by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is designed to help small and family operations, beginning, minority, and women farmers and ranchers to secure loans under $50,000 (Effective December 2014). It is aimed at bolstering the progress of producers through their start-up years by providing needed resources and helping to increase equity so that farmers may eventually graduate to commercial credit and expand their operations. The Microloan program provides a less burdensome, simpler application process in comparison to traditional farm operating loans. In addition, for those who want to grow niche crops to sell directly to ethnic markets and local farmers markets, the Microloan program offers a path to obtain financing.
- Biobased Companies: USDA provides funding for biobased products, from the production of the renewable biomass feedstock through the sale of the resulting biobased product, including research and development for production, capital for startup businesses, and marketing and outreach. USDA invests in the discovery and refinement of the best feedstocks and production systems for biomass through its research and development programs and partnerships. Further, USDA provides financial and technical assistance to rural individuals, businesses, and communities to aid in sustainably producing and distributing renewable biomass resources. USDA also leads the Federal effort to designate biobased products for preferred Federal procurement. It is through these investments and partnerships that USDA will make strategic investment to support the creation of new biobased companies and associated economic opportunities in the coming years.
- Local and Regional Food Systems: USDA supports the development of physical infrastructure, often in partnership with private lenders, and provides technical assistance in marketing, risk management, food safety practices and other areas. The Department also works to reach stakeholders who are unaware of available federal resources and works internally to ensure that USDA programs and policies meet the unique needs of local and regional supply chains. The long-term result will be job growth driven by a maturing market and accessible infrastructure to aggregate, process, and distribute local and regionally-produced foods.
Agency Priority Goal:
Statement:
By September 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will develop, demonstrate, and implement science-based practices to improve soil health and sustainability that, nationwide, will reduce carbon loss on cropland by over 100,000 tons per year and increase corn and soybean production by over 5 percent on those fields implementing soil health practices.
Description:
The world population is expected to rise from approximately 7 Billion in 2013 to over 9 Billion by 2050. To sustain this rate of growth, we must provide as much food in the next 40 years as has been grown in the last 500 years. From 1982 to 2007, over 41 Million acres of rural land was lost to development (the size of Illinois and New Jersey combined). Approximately 23 Million acres of this was active agricultural land, and 14 Million acres was prime farmland.
At the same time that we need to grow more food on a shrinking available land base, we are also asking more and more of our farmers and ranchers. We ask that they help reduce our nation’s dependency on fossil fuels by growing more bioenergy crops, that they provide adequate pollinator habitat (required for about 35% of our food supply), that they protect water quality, and that they incorporate management practices and technologies that optimize efficiencies of water and nutrient use. In addition, while addressing these needs, producers are increasingly faced with extreme weather events, ranging from drought to flood.
Improving soil health allows us to simultaneously address these and other pressing natural resource needs. Improving soil health allows us to improve water quality, increase soil water availability, enhance resilience to extreme weather, enhance nutrient cycling, increase carbon sequestration, provide wildlife habitat (including pollinators), enhance rural economic opportunity, and meet the food and fiber production needs of a rapidly growing population on a shrinking available land base. Simply stated, improving the health of our Nation’s soils is one of the most important things we can do for this and for future generations.
USDA assists agricultural producers with improving soil health through increased knowledge and education that leads to development of science-based standards and specifications for management practices. The research and educational activities conducted by USDA and its partners contribute much more than a body of knowledge. The information is used in standardized practices that when combined in a systems approach, form a customized plan for conserving selected resources. Such conservation plans are applied by land managers to improve soil health. In addition, the impact of implementing these standardized practices can be measured and modeled nationally, especially when combined with land, soil, climate, and other data.
The APG contributes to two of the four goals outlined in the USDA Strategic Plan. Specifically, it contributes to meeting Goal 2: Ensure Our National Forests and Private Working Lands Are Conserved, Restored, and Made More Resilient to Climate Change, While Enhancing Our Water Resources; and Goal 1: Assist Rural Communities to Create Prosperity So They Are Self-Sustaining, Repopulating, and Economically Thriving.
Several USDA agencies will work cooperatively to achieve this APG. Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will conduct and summarize research on the impacts of soil health promoting practices on available soil water holding capacity, soil carbon, water infiltration, nutrient availability and other important production system attributes. Programs administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will be used to provide competitive grants aimed at filling in the knowledge gaps (e.g. for specific soil properties or crop management systems). Programs administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will be used to demonstrate soil health management systems (e.g. through Conservation Innovation Grants and Plant Materials Centers) and provide financial/technical assistance to enhance adoption of soil health promoting practices (e.g. through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, EQIP). This cooperation will allow each agency to contribute its own strengths to enhancing soil health across the public value chain from research to technology transfer to landowner adoption. Existing partnerships with NGOs and foundations will be leveraged and broadened to amplify the impact of these investments. These combined efforts to enhance the health of our Nation’s soils will allow USDA to help farmers and ranchers feed the world more profitably and sustainably – now and for generations to come.
