Summary: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) needs revitalization if it is to be a leading force in American agriculture in the 21st century. Developments in nutrition, international trade, and environmental issues have broadened USDA's client base. Yet the agency's structure has changed little since the Great Depression. As a result, USDA is in a poor position to draw on expertise and respond quickly to cross-cutting and emerging issues. USDA needs to reexamine its mission and goals, and then design an organizational structure and system that can achieve them. Streamlining USDA's existing field structure--in which farmers have to contend with different offices, employees, and administrative procedures--could yield substantial efficiencies and cost savings. USDA will, however, have to overcome the parochial concerns of individual agencies as it tries to meet the needs of a rapidly changing agricultural sector. Even with strong leadership and a long-term commitment by USDA and Congress, revitalizing USDA will not be easy--a task made all the more difficult by the current environment of severe fiscal constraints.
