United States Secretary of Agriculture

The United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to agriculture ministers of other governments.

Secretaries of Agriculture
The following is a list of Secretaries of Agriculture, since the creation of the office in 1889.
+United States Commissioners of AgricultureNo.PortraitNameState of residenceTook officeLeft officePresident(s)1alt=Newton seated|75pxIsaac NewtonPennsylvaniaJuly 1, 1862June 19, 1867Abraham LincolnAndrew Johnson275pxHorace CapronDecember 4, 1867July 31, 1871Ulysses S. Grant3Frederick WattsPennsylvaniaAugust 1, 18711877475pxWilliam Gates LeDucMinnesotaJuly 1, 18771881Rutherford B. Hayes575pxGeorge B. LoringMassachusettsJuly 1, 18811885James A. GarfieldChester A. Arthur675pxNorman Jay ColemanMissouriApril 3, 1885February 14, 1889Grover Cleveland

The position of secretary of agriculture was created when the department was elevated to Cabinet status in 1889.  The following is a list of secretaries of agriculture, since the creation of the office in 1889.

 Parties
 (14)
 (18)

Status

No.PortraitNameState of residenceTook officeLeft officePresident(s)75pxNorman Jay ColemanMissouriFebruary 15, 1889March 6, 1889Grover Cleveland75pxJeremiah McLain RuskWisconsinMarch 6, 1889March 6, 1893Benjamin Harrison75pxJulius Sterling MortonNebraskaMarch 7, 1893March 5, 1897Grover Cleveland75pxJames WilsonIowaMarch 5, 1897March 3, 1913William McKinleyTheodore RooseveltWilliam Howard Taft75pxDavid F. HoustonMissouriMarch 6, 1913February 2, 1920Woodrow Wilson75pxEdwin T. MeredithIowaFebruary 2, 1920March 4, 192175pxHenry Cantwell WallaceIowaMarch 5, 1921October 25, 1924Warren G. HardingCalvin Coolidge75pxHoward Mason GoreWest VirginiaNovember 22, 1924March 4, 192575pxWilliam Marion JardineKansasMarch 5, 1925March 4, 192975pxArthur M. HydeMissouriMarch 6, 1929March 4, 1933Herbert Hoover75pxHenry A. WallaceIowaMarch 4, 1933September 4, 1940Franklin D. Roosevelt75pxClaude R. WickardIndianaSeptember 5, 1940June 29, 1945Harry S. Truman75pxClinton Presba AndersonNew MexicoJune 30, 1945May 10, 194875pxCharles F. BrannanColoradoJune 2, 1948January 20, 195375pxEzra Taft BensonUtahJanuary 21, 1953January 20, 1961Dwight D. Eisenhower75pxOrville FreemanMinnesotaJanuary 21, 1961January 20, 1969John F. KennedyLyndon B. Johnson75pxClifford M. HardinNebraskaJanuary 21, 1969November 17, 1971Richard Nixon75pxEarl ButzIndianaDecember 2, 1971October 4, 1976Gerald Ford75pxJohn Albert KnebelOklahomaNovember 4, 1976January 20, 197775pxRobert BerglandMinnesotaJanuary 23, 1977January 20, 1981Jimmy Carter75pxJohn Rusling BlockIllinoisJanuary 23, 1981February 14, 1986Ronald Reagan75pxRichard Edmund LyngCaliforniaMarch 7, 1986January 21, 198975pxClayton Keith YeutterNebraskaFebruary 16, 1989March 1, 1991George H. W. Bush75pxEdward Rell MadiganIllinoisMarch 8, 1991January 20, 199375pxMike EspyMississippiJanuary 22, 1993December 31, 1994Bill Clinton75pxRichard RomingerCaliforniaDecember 31, 1994March 30, 199575pxDan GlickmanKansasMarch 30, 1995January 20, 200175pxAnn VenemanCaliforniaJanuary 20, 2001January 20, 2005George W. Bush75pxMike JohannsNebraskaJanuary 21, 2005September 20, 200775pxCharles F. ConnerIndianaSeptember 20, 2007January 28, 200875pxEd SchaferNorth DakotaJanuary 28, 2008January 20, 200975pxTom VilsackIowaJanuary 20, 2009January 13, 2017Barack Obama75pxMichael ScuseDelawareJanuary 13, 2017January 20, 201775pxMike YoungJanuary 20, 2017April 25, 2017Donald Trump75pxSonny PerdueGeorgiaApril 25, 2017January 20, 202175pxKevin SheaJanuary 20, 2021February 23, 2021Joe Bidenframeless|107x107pxTom VilsackIowaFebruary 24, 2021January 20, 202575px (2025–present)frameless|107x107pxBrooke RollinsTexasIncumbent

 Living former Secretaries of Agriculture 
As of December 2025, there are eight living former secretaries of the interior, the oldest being John R. Block (served 1981-1986). The most recent death of a former secretary of state was that of Robert Bergland (served 1977-1981) on December 9, 2018. 

 References 

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Category:1889 establishments in the United States