President Lincoln

Nearly 150 years ago – on July 2, 1862, just two months after the creation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – President Lincoln signed another historic measure, the Morrill Act, which created the land grant university system. Over the years, land grant colleges and universities have had a...

Many children believe their food comes from the grocery store. But a class of 23 Mississippi second-graders knows better than that – the delicious food they love starts with a seed. Students from Madison Avenue Elementary visited a new People’s Garden at an office of USDA’s Natural Resources...

On May 15, we will recognize the 150th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On that date in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law an act of Congress establishing USDA. Two and a half years after he established the Department, in what would be his final annual...

A blueprint guides the decisions of an entire team of craftspeople toward a common goal of creating something that serves a purpose and withstands time and the elements. Over several decades now, U.S. agriculture has become the second most-productive sector of our economy. Today, net farm income is...

On February 12, President Lincoln’s birthday, let’s take a moment to appreciate the many impressive accomplishments that our Nation's 16th President achieved during his four years in office. Many of those accomplishments have a direct tie-in to the success of American agriculture. Lincoln’s birthday...

Today, I accompanied Secretary Vilsack on a trip to the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois to announce USDA’s year-long celebration of the 150 th anniversary of our founding in 1862. It is quite fitting that we are marking this celebration in the hometown of our founder, President Abraham...