The USDA embraces the workplace as being one of tolerance and compassion
The USDA empowers farmers to access markets and generate fair returns
How The Us Dept. Of Agriculture (USDA) Builds A Culture That Encourages Everyone To Reach Their Highest Potential
On July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. He announced a policy that enforcement should focus on labor markets, agricultural markets, health markets (including prescription drugs, hospital consolidation, and insurance), and the technology sector. He Instructed the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a plan to empower farmers to access markets and generate fair returns, including supporting alternative food distribution systems such as farmers’ markets and developing standards and labels so that consumers can choose products that treat farmers fairly. [Source: 5]
The parts of this landmark Executive Order that pertain to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) are detailed below, in which the President:
“Directs USDA to consider issuing new rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act making it easier for farmers to bring and win claims, stopping chicken processors from exploiting and underpaying chicken farmers, and adopting anti-retaliation protections for farmers who speak out about bad practices.
Directs USDA to consider issuing new rules defining when meat can bear “Product of USA” labels, so that consumers have accurate, transparent labels that enable them to choose products made here.
Directs USDA to develop a plan to increase opportunities for farmers to access markets and receive a fair return, including supporting alternative food distribution systems like farmers’ markets and developing standards and labels so that consumers can choose to buy products that treat farmers fairly.”
It is noteworthy that he has officially directed that USDA empower family farmers and increase their income by strengthening USDA tools to not only stop abuse by some meat processors but more importantly, to develop a plan to increase opportunities for farmers to access markets and receive a fair return. [Source 5]
The historic initiative by the President is not without precedent. A National Geographic article has identified a number of barriers to women in bringing their crops to the market, including land rights and entrenched gender roles in developing countries.
The World Bank and the USDA: combatting women’s gender inequality and combating hunger and food insecurity
Giving women access to the same resources and education as men could increase women’s food production by 30 percent, potentially eliminating hunger for 150 million people. The World Bank also has gender equality in agriculture and food as a separate goal and is working to improve women’s access to land and rural finance. In 2016 alone, Feeding the Future, the U.S. government’s global initiative to combat hunger and food security, helped nearly 2.4 million women improve their farming and food security skills and helped more than 420,000 women gain access to agriculture loans. [Source: 9]
In western Uganda, for example, the PepsiCo Foundation is partnering with global humanitarian organization CARE to provide smallholder farmers with the knowledge and technical support to grow high-demand crops using sustainable farming practices. This includes the modernization of farms and support for young farmers, as well as the production of traditional and organic food. Once implemented, these initiatives will lead to concrete improvements in people’s lives. [Sources: 5, 7, 9]
The USDA embraces a culture of encouraging everyone to reach their highest potential
In his January 7, 2022 “USDA First Friday: The People’s Department Serves Out People” message, the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, emphasized the urgency and importance of ensuring that the USDA sustains the agency’s culture of encouraging everyone to reach their highest potential. [Source: 6]
He stated that all of the agency’s employees have many opportunities to improve America’s well-being and people’s lives through the actions that its employees take and their commitment to achieving USDA’s goals.
He acknowledged the dedication that USDA’s employees continue to exhibit, who are committed to developing the USDA Equity Action Plan. The Plan is part of USDA’s ongoing commitment to achieving equity in everything the agency does.
He explained that the priorities of the various USDA departments require courageous cooperation and action, focusing on serving internal and external customers, and constantly reminding people that the Department of Human Affairs serves our people, meets their needs, and improves lives across the country every day. [Sources: 6]
Making America’s food system fairer and more sustainable
He acknowledged the role that USDA employees have in ensuring that creating more and better market opportunities, along with tackling food and nutritional insecurity, create more market opportunities for America’s producers and make the country’s food system fairer, and more sustainable.
He praised the employees’ dedication and hard work that has enabled many of the agency’s stakeholders, such as neighbors, friends, family, and community members to enjoy good food at their tables. [Sources: 6]
The Takeaway — doing good for the long-term future of the world
Indeed, Secretary Vilsack appears to embrace (IMHO) the premise that work is a place of tolerance and compassion, where people strive to do good for the long-term future of the world. He, I am sure, would agree that a workplace is a place of warmth, collaboration, and enthusiasm, where people can help and support each other.
USDA, it would seem is a workplace where it is results-oriented and performance-based, and people strive to achieve the best performance. The USDA workplace, I believe is truly a relatively carefree place, where people tend to do things that make them happy. [Sources: 4]
USDA work culture, to be sure is a dynamic thing. Unlike developing and executing a business plan, changing the USDA culture is inextricably linked to the emotional and social dynamics of the people in the organization. As the organization grows and new people come on board, learning practices can strengthen the USDA workplace culture. [Sources: 4]
Thank you for reading! My thanks to @DrMehmetYildiz for kindly publishing my blog post! Please share your sentiment in the comments section. Thank you!
The Sources List is at the very bottom of my blog post! Enjoy!
Full Disclosure: This link will take you offsite — outside of Medium:
Like my awesomeness? Please — would you buy me a Ko-fi
Thanks for reading! If you liked my article, subscribe to Medium to get more articles that I publish regularly!
Free or $5/month: Check out Medium — a social media platform venue for freelance writers like me
If you want to support me as a writer, consider signing up to become a Medium member. It’s $5/month, giving you unlimited access to stories on Medium. If you sign up using my link, I’ll earn a small commission.
Join Medium with my referral link:
Get an email whenever Patrick OConnell publishes:
You can find me on LinkedIn (ID: azpat0)
If you like my article, check out my other stories on my Medium Profile page!
I am a freelance writer- available to write YOUR blog posts or articles -
Samples of my work are on my Medium Profile page:
And also on my website -
Full Disclosure — This link will take you offsite outside of Medium:
I also publish a weekly newsletter on Substack: The Market Algo Newsletter — It forecasts the direction of the S&P 500 market — index for the upcoming week -
Full Disclosure — This link will take you offsite outside of Medium:
Sources
[0]: https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/sustainable-agriculture-23562787/
[1]: https://www.americaspromise.org/news/funding-opportunities-205
[2]: https://www.ffa.org/about/who-we-are/mission-motto/
[3]: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/agriculture/
[4]: https://hbr.org/2018/01/the-leaders-guide-to-corporate-culture
[6]: https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/mail-call/usda-first-friday-peoples-department-serves-our-people
[7]: https://op.europa.eu/webpub/com/eu-what-it-is/en/
[9]: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/partner-content-empowering-female-farmers