United States Secretary of Agriculture - wikipedia United States Secretary of Agriculture Secretary of Agriculture of the United States Seal of the Department of Agriculture Flag of the Secretary of Agriculture Incumbent Sonny Perdue since April 25, 2017 United States Department of Agriculture Style Mr. Secretary Member of Cabinet Reports to The President Seat Washington, D.C., U.S. Appointer The President with Senate advice and consent Term length No fixed term Constituting instrument 7 U.S.C. § 2202 Formation February 15, 1889 First holder Norman Jay Coleman Succession Ninth Deputy Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Salary Executive Schedule, level 1 Website www.usda.gov The United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The current Secretary of Agriculture is former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Perdue took office on April 25, 2017 after being confirmed by the U.S Senate 87 - 11. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organizations. The 297,000 mi ( 770,000 km ) of national forests and grasslands are managed by the United States Forest Service. The safety of food produced and sold in the United States is ensured by the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service. The Food Stamp Program works with the states to provide food to low - income people. Advice for farmers and gardeners is provided by the United States Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. Contents 1 List of Secretaries of Agriculture 2 Living former Secretaries of Agriculture 3 Line of Succession 4 References 5 External links List of Secretaries of Agriculture The following is a list of Secretaries of Agriculture, since the creation of the office in 1889. Parties Democratic ( 14 ) Republican ( 18 ) No. Portrait Name State of Residence Took Office Left Office President ( s ) Norman J. Coleman Missouri February 15, 1889 March 6, 1889 Grover Cleveland Jeremiah M. Rusk Wisconsin March 6, 1889 March 6, 1893 Benjamin Harrison J. Sterling Morton Nebraska March 7, 1893 March 5, 1897 Grover Cleveland James Wilson Iowa March 5, 1897 March 3, 1913 William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt William Howard Taft Woodrow Wilson 5 David F. Houston Missouri March 6, 1913 February 2, 1920 6 Edwin T. Meredith Iowa February 2, 1920 March 4, 1921 7 Henry C. Wallace Iowa March 5, 1921 October 25, 1924 Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge 8 Howard M. Gore West Virginia November 22, 1924 March 4, 1925 9 William M. Jardine Kansas March 5, 1925 March 4, 1929 10 Arthur M. Hyde Missouri March 6, 1929 March 4, 1933 Herbert Hoover 11 Henry A. Wallace Iowa March 4, 1933 September 4, 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt 12 Claude R. Wickard Indiana September 5, 1940 June 29, 1945 Harry S. Truman 13 Clinton P. Anderson New Mexico June 30, 1945 May 10, 1948 14 Charles F. Brannan Colorado June 2, 1948 January 20, 1953 15 Ezra Taft Benson Utah January 21, 1953 January 20, 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower 16 Orville Freeman Minnesota January 21, 1961 January 20, 1969 John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson 17 Clifford M. Hardin Nebraska January 21, 1969 November 17, 1971 Richard Nixon 18 Earl Butz Indiana December 2, 1971 October 4, 1976 Gerald Ford 19 John A. Knebel Oklahoma November 4, 1976 January 20, 1977 20 Robert Bergland Minnesota January 23, 1977 January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter 21 John R. Block Illinois January 23, 1981 February 14, 1986 Ronald Reagan 22 Richard E. Lyng California March 7, 1986 January 21, 1989 23 Clayton K. Yeutter Nebraska February 16, 1989 March 1, 1991 George H.W. Bush 24 Edward R. Madigan Illinois March 8, 1991 January 20, 1993 25 Mike Espy Mississippi January 22, 1993 December 31, 1994 Bill Clinton 26 Dan Glickman Kansas March 30, 1995 January 20, 2001 27 Ann Veneman California January 20, 2001 January 20, 2005 George W. Bush 28 Mike Johanns Nebraska January 21, 2005 September 20, 2007 -- Charles F. Conner Acting Indiana September 20, 2007 January 28, 2008 29 Ed Schafer North Dakota January 28, 2008 January 20, 2009 30 Tom Vilsack Iowa January 20, 2009 January 13, 2017 Barack Obama -- Michael Scuse Acting Delaware January 13, 2017 January 20, 2017 -- Mike Young Acting January 20, 2017 April 25, 2017 Donald Trump 31 Sonny Perdue Georgia April 25, 2017 Incumbent Living former Secretaries of Agriculture See also : List of living former members of the United States Cabinet As of January 2018, there are nine living former Secretaries of Agriculture, the oldest being Robert Bergland ( served 1977 - 1981, born 1928 ). The most recent Secretary of Agriculture to die was Clayton Yeutter ( served 1989 -- 1991, born 1930 ), on March 4, 2017. The most recently serving Secretary to die was Edward Rell Madigan ( 1991 - 1993, born 1936 ) on December 7, 1994. Name Term Birth date ( and age ) John A. Knebel 1976 -- 1977 ( 1936 - 10 - 04 ) October 4, 1936 ( age 81 ) Robert Bergland 1977 -- 1981 ( 1928 - 07 - 22 ) July 22, 1928 ( age 89 ) John R. Block 1981 -- 1986 ( 1935 - 02 - 15 ) February 15, 1935 ( age 82 ) Mike Espy 1993 -- 1994 ( 1953 - 11 - 30 ) November 30, 1953 ( age 64 ) Dan Glickman 1995 -- 2001 ( 1944 - 11 - 24 ) November 24, 1944 ( age 73 ) Ann Veneman 2001 -- 2005 ( 1949 - 06 - 29 ) June 29, 1949 ( age 68 ) Mike Johanns 2005 -- 2007 ( 1950 - 06 - 18 ) June 18, 1950 ( age 67 ) Ed Schafer 2008 -- 2009 ( 1946 - 08 - 08 ) August 8, 1946 ( age 71 ) Tom Vilsack 2009 - 2017 ( 1950 - 12 - 13 ) December 13, 1950 ( age 67 ) Line of succession The line of succession for the Secretary of Agriculture is as follows : Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Administration Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary State Executive Directors of the Farm Service Agency ( in order of seniority by length of unbroken tenure ) for the States of : California Iowa Kansas Regional Administrators of the Food and Nutrition Service ( in order of seniority by length of unbroken tenure ) for the : Mountain Plains Regional Office ( Denver, Colorado ) Midwest Regional Office ( Chicago, Illinois ) Western Regional Office ( San Francisco, California ) Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Agriculture Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Congressional Relations References Jump up ^ https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/19 Jump up ^ `` USDA Forest Service - Caring for the land and serving people ''. Fs.fed.us. Retrieved 2005 - 09 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Home ''. Fs.fed.us. Retrieved 2005 - 09 - 24. Jump up ^ `` FNS Food Stamp Program Home Page ''. Fns.usda.gov. Retrieved 2005 - 09 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service ( CSREES ) ''. Csrees.usda.gov. Retrieved 2005 - 09 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Former Secretaries ''. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2007 - 09 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Amendments to Delegations of Authority, United States Department of Agriculture ''. Federalregister.gov. Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 29. External links Official website Current U.S. order of precedence ( ceremonial ) Preceded by Ryan Zinke as Secretary of the Interior Order of Precedence of the United States as Secretary of the Treasury Succeeded by Wilbur Ross as Secretary of Commerce Current U.S. presidential line of succession Preceded by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke 9th in line Succeeded by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross United States Secretaries of Agriculture Coleman Rusk Morton Wilson Houston Meredith HC Wallace Gore Jardine Hyde HA Wallace Wickard Anderson Brannan Benson Freeman Hardin Butz Knebel Bergland Block Lyng Yeutter Madigan Espy Glickman Veneman Johanns Schafer Vilsack Perdue Agencies under the United States Department of Agriculture Headquarters : Jamie L. Whitten Building Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Censky, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment Forest Service Office of Environmental Markets Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development * Rural Housing Service Rural Utilities Service Rural Business - Cooperative Service Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Food and Nutrition Service Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety Food Safety and Inspection Service Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics Agricultural Research Service Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Economic Research Service National Agricultural Library National Agricultural Statistics Service National Institute of Food and Agriculture Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Agricultural Marketing Service Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs * * Foreign Agricultural Service Commodity Credit Corporation Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation * * Farm Service Agency Risk Management Agency Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Natural Resources Conservation Service Office of the Chief Financial Officer National Finance Center * Reports directly to the Secretary of Agriculture * * Created from Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Leaders of the United States federal executive departments Current Agriculture Commerce Defense Education Energy Health and Human Services Homeland Security Housing and Urban Development Interior Justice Labor State Transportation Treasury Veterans Affairs Past Commerce and Labor Health, Education, and Welfare Navy Post Office War Presidential line of succession in the United States of America Vice President ( Mike Pence ) Speaker of the House of Representatives ( Paul Ryan ) President pro tempore of the Senate ( Orrin Hatch ) Secretary of State ( Rex Tillerson ) Secretary of the Treasury ( Steven Mnuchin ) Secretary of Defense ( Jim Mattis ) Attorney General ( Jeff Sessions ) Secretary of the Interior ( Ryan Zinke ) Secretary of Agriculture ( Sonny Perdue ) Secretary of Commerce ( Wilbur Ross ) Secretary of Labor ( Alex Acosta ) Secretary of Health and Human Services ( Eric Hargan ) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development ( Ben Carson ) Secretary of Transportation ( Elaine Chao ) Secretary of Energy ( Rick Perry ) Secretary of Education ( Betsy DeVos ) Secretary of Veterans Affairs ( David Shulkin ) Secretary of Homeland Security ( Kirstjen Nielsen ) Jump up ^ Although Elaine Chao is the current Secretary of Transportation, she is not a natural - born citizen ( acquired U.S. citizenship by naturalization ) and thus ineligible for the Presidency. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_Secretary_of_Agriculture&oldid=817040990 '' Categories : Lists of members of the Cabinet of the United States United States Department of Agriculture Cabinet of the United States United States Secretaries of Agriculture Agriculture ministers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Esperanto فارسی Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Magyar 日本 語 Norsk Português Русский Simple English Svenska Українська Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 25 December 2017, at 17 : 49. About Wikipedia

Question: who is the current acting secretary of agriculture
Answer: Sonny Perdue