Did you know the U.S. Department of Agriculture is nicknamed The People’s Department? The name was given to the agency by President Abraham Lincoln, who established the USDA in 1862.
Initially, the nickname may have referred to the fact that about half of all Americans in Lincoln's time lived on farms, compared with about two percent these days. Now, though, even in the 21st century, the nickname, the People's Department, is still appropriate because of the breadth and depth of USDA's work. If you eat, or enjoy clean drinking water and clean air, USDA touches your life every day – whether you know it or not.
Here are some useful links to help you navigate USDA:
USDA Mission Areas
USDA is one of the largest federal agencies in the U.S. government, with many different areas of responsibility. If you are interested in learning more about what USDA does, please check out this listing of USDA mission areas.
USDA Programs and Services
Farmers.gov is a one-stop shop for many USDA programs and services. This site will let you know what USDA programs are available and when is the application deadline. It will help you find the USDA service center location nearest you. It also allows you to create an account that will help you with filing e-applications for USDA programs.
USDA Cares Partner Portal
The USDA CARES Partner Portal is a resource designed to help USDA partners access the information and tools that are most relevant to their work. It is designed specifically for, and by, those that work with underserved farmers, ranchers and landowners. The Partner Portal also houses the Key Programs Catalog, a catalog of services that is organized for ease-of-use, according to producer needs and topic of interest.
Equity at USDA
USDA has a historic commitment to ensure equity across all of its policies and activities. To this end, USDA seeks to improve access to programs and services for all stakeholders and communities, especially historically underserved farmers, ranchers and forest landowners and operators. By putting equity at the center of decision-making and policymaking, USDA seeks to root out generations of systemic racism and lower barriers to access to ensure USDA programming is inclusive of all employees and customers. Please go online for more information on USDA’s work on Equity.
USDA Press Releases
Want to know the latest news about what USDA is doing? Here’s the link to the most recent press releases.
Finding a U.S. Government Job
One of the first steps toward finding a job with USDA or anywhere else in the federal government is being able to do a relevant search for open positions. To this end, OPPE has put together a few useful USAJobs filters that will help you get started in your search. Each link will show you the most current information on USAJobs, but the filters will help narrow down what information is returned. Please try it out!