The headlines go to the president’s appointee for agriculture secretary — this year, President Trump’s selection of former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. But the Agriculture Department has approximately 400 executive jobs, the great majority of them filled by the appointee. Michael Young, the USDA budget director, is the top officer at USDA for the moment, awaiting Senate confirmation of the new secretary.
Young was tapped for the top job by outgoing Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who named nearly two dozen other civil servants to direct operations in the interim. A Trump “beach head team” arrived soon after Trump’s inauguration to begin putting his stamp on the department.
With Young designated as acting deputy secretary, the seven major program areas of USDA are directed by acting deputy undersecretaries: Jason Hafemeister, for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; Yvette Jackson, for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services; Al Almanza, for Food Safety; Kevin Shea, for Marketing and Regulatory Programs; Dan Jiron, for Natural Resources and Environment; Roger Glendenning, for Rural Development; and Ann Bartuska, for Research, Education and Economics.