Program Information

Did you know the USDA, was founded by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862? At that time, 58 percent of the people were farmers who needed good seeds and information to grow their crops. Today, USDA continues Lincoln's legacy by serving all Americans. USDA remains committed to helping America's farmers and ranchers but they do so much more.

ABCs of Agriculture informs about Virginia's farming community and how it affects you. ABCs of Agriculture are produced by the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) - an educational program which encourages and enhances agricultural literacy in Grades K-5 and 6-8.

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the ABC’s of Agriculture! We’re here today at the Richmond office of the Farm Service Agency to talk about the letter U which stands for United States Department of Agriculture. Did you know the USDA, was founded by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862?

At that time, 58 percent of Americans were farmers who needed good seeds and information to grow their crops. Today, USDA continues Lincoln's legacy by serving all Americans. USDA remains committed to helping America's farmers and ranchers but they do so much more.

The USDA leads the Federal anti-hunger effort with the Food Stamp, School Lunch, School breakfast, and the WIC Programs… plus the agency takes care of our nation's 192 million acres of national forests and rangelands.

USDA is the country's largest conservation agency encouraging voluntary efforts to protect soil, water and wildlife on the 70% of America's lands that are in private hands. They even provide housing and modern telecommunications to rural America.

Another very important job of the USDA is making sure the nation’s meat, poultry, and egg products are safe for consumers.

But the USDA doesn’t just work in America… Their efforts are even seen overseas by providing food aid for needy people in the world.

For the ABC’s of Agriculture, I’m Professor Brad… see you next time!

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