USDA Celebrates 150th Anniversary
June 4, 2012
This past month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) turned 150 years old. When the country was in the throes of civil war, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation on May 15, 1862, that created the department that would grow and touch the lives of every American every day. Over the next two months after the initial formation of the USDA, President Lincoln signed additional legislation that expanded and transformed American farming, including the Homestead Act, and the establishment of the Land Grant agricultural university system.
NMPF congratulated USDA on its anniversary and the accomplishments it has achieved throughout the decades. To learn more about USDA's 150th birthday, visit the USDA website.