USDA Strategic Plan FY 2018

United States Department of Agriculture

USDA Strategic Plan

FY 2018 – 2022

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Contents

STRATEGIC GOAL 1:

Ensure USDA Programs Are Delivered Efﬁciently, Effectively,

With Integrity and a Focus on Customer Service 5

STRATEGIC GOAL 2:

Maximize the Ability of American Agricultural Producers To

Prosper by Feeding and Clothing the World 15

STRATEGIC GOAL 3:

Promote American Agricultural Products and Exports 25

STRATEGIC GOAL 4:

Facilitate Rural Prosperity and Economic Development 33

STRATEGIC GOAL 5:

Strengthen the Stewardship of Private Lands Through

Technology and Research 39

STRATEGIC GOAL 6:

Ensure Productive and Sustainable Use of Our

National Forest System Lands 45

STRATEGIC GOAL 7:

Provide All Americans Access to a Safe, Nutritious,

and Secure Food Supply 53

Message From the Secretary

It’s my honor to serve with

each and every one of you

here at USDA. Our mission

to “do right and feed

everyone” is no easy task,

but together as one USDA

family we can accomplish

so much.

I am outlining our FY2018-2022 Strategic Plan,

made up of seven strategic goals, which will

guide us as we work to support American farmers,

ranchers, foresters, producers, and consumers in

the years to come. This Plan serves as a roadmap

for everything the USDA family and I will do

to remain accountable to each other and to the

people who rely on us across the country.

First and foremost, we will work to prioritize

customer service every day for our customers – the

American taxpayers. Our customers expect – and

have every right to demand – their Government

to conduct the people’s business efﬁciently,

effectively, and with the utmost integrity.

We will promote the ability of America’s

agricultural sector to produce and sell the food and

ﬁber that feeds and clothes the world and to reap

the earned reward of their labor. By promoting

American agricultural products, we will work

to remove obstacles and give farmers, ranchers,

foresters, and producers every opportunity to

prosper and thrive.

Here at USDA, we will facilitate rural prosperity

through the expansion of rural business

opportunities, access to capital, improved

infrastructure, and support for workforce

development.

We will also work to preserve the land.

Stewardship is not optional for farmers and

ranchers. American agriculture’s bounty comes

directly from the natural resources used to produce

food and ﬁber. Today, America’s natural resources

sustain more than 320 million Americans and

countless others around the globe. We will work to

manage the natural resources entrusted directly to

the Department – including our National Forests –

with a sharp focus on the sustainable use of these

resources.

Last but not least, USDA will continue to ensure

that all Americans have access to a safe and secure

food supply.

Our FY2018-2022 Strategic Plan will guide the

work of all of us at USDA in the coming years to

ensure our efforts best serve the American public.

So, let’s roll up our sleeves and continue to “do

right and feed everyone.”

Sincerely,

Sonny Perdue

Secretary

Mission Statement

Provide leadership on agriculture, food, natural resources, rural infrastructure,

nutrition, and related issues through fact-based, data-driven, and customer-focused

decisions.

Vision Statement

Do right and feed everyone

Core Values

We expect and require complete honesty and integrity in all we do.

We make commitments with care and live up to them.

We own up to problems and are always responsive.

We provide service to our customers on time, every time.

We guard, conserve, and preserve USDA resources the taxpayers have entrusted to us.

Stakeholder Engagement

USDA regularly consults with external stakeholders, including Congress, USDA’s

customers, partners, landowners, policy experts, and industry and consumer groups

regarding our programs’ effectiveness. Recent examples include the Interagency Task

Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity Roundtables and the Back to Our Roots

Listening Tour. These consultations have been used to validate the strategic goals,

objectives, and performance measures outlined in the plan.

Strategic

Goal 1

Strategic Goal 1:

Ensure USDA Programs Are Delivered Efﬁciently, Effectively,

With Integrity and a Focus on Customer Service

he Department will modernize and

consolidate Information Technology

(IT) infrastructure and services, as well

as strengthen management and oversight

of procurement, property, and ﬁnances

to ensure our resources are deployed as

effectively and efﬁciently as possible.

We will create a safe and modern space

within which employees can work and feel

empowered to ﬁnd innovative solutions

to serve our customers’ needs, and will

promote accountability and professional

development. USDA will leverage the

strength and talent of our employees and

reduce regulatory and administrative

burdens to allow agencies to focus on our

customers. Improved customer service and

employee engagement will create a more

effective and accessible USDA for all our

stakeholders.

Objective 1.1:

Modernize Information Technology

Infrastructure, Facilities, and Support

Services to Improve the Customer

Experience

The vast breadth of USDA’s mission enables

us to impact each and every American citizen.

Providing our employees and customers with

modern, agile, efﬁcient, and easy-to-use

technology, spaces, and services is always our

core focus. Every time a family sits down to eat

or someone walks into a USDA ﬁeld ofﬁce,

visits a National Forest, or plants a seed, that

person is relying on more than 100,000 USDA

employees to do their jobs well. In order to make

that happen, we must leverage technology to

streamline communication and use data to identify

opportunities for efﬁciencies in our services.

Successful management of USDA’s building,

administrative, and IT infrastructure requires a

practice of regular assessment and improvement.

USDA recognizes and champions the need for a

fully integrated, cost-efﬁcient, and streamlined

administrative infrastructure, and we will continue

to use lessons learned, employee and stakeholder

engagement, and best business practices in

modernization efforts. USDA will continue to

be dedicated to data-driven, enterprise solutions

through collaborative governance and human

capital management strategies.

Strategic

Goal 1

Strategies

Modernize and Consolidate IT Infrastructure and

Services: USDA will enhance the internal and

external customer experience by modernizing

and improving the security of IT infrastructure

and services. This may be achieved through

consolidation in some cases, while in other cases,

specialized systems or services may be more

efﬁcient in achieving USDA agencies’ diverse

missions. Through these efforts, IT leadership

in each USDA Mission Area will be positioned

to more directly focus on their Mission Area’s

systems, data collection and analysis, and risk

management. USDA will: (1) Strengthen strategic

IT governance by having a single USDA Chief

Information Ofﬁcer (CIO) and one Assistant

CIO for each mission area, who will focus on

improving IT for their mission speciﬁc services and

programs. This will reduce the number of CIOs

within USDA from 22 down to one CIO and 9

assistant CIOs. (2) Consolidate end-user services

and data centers from 39 USDA data centers to a

single data center and a back-up. This move will

provide a cost-effective, high-quality Department-

wide helpdesk and reduce cybersecurity

vulnerabilities. (3) Enable a strategic approach

to data management and introduce data-driven

capabilities by implementing executive dashboard

solutions with USDA-wide data. And (4) improve

the USDA customer experience by establishing an

effective framework to serve customers in-person

and online and creating online service portals

that are easy to use, include additional self-service

capabilities, and integrate data for common

customers. This strategy is also supported by

USDA’s FY 2018-2019 Agency Priority Goals. The

Department will highlight the IT modernization

work as one of the Goals to ensure achievement of

this strategy.

Modernize Facilities Management: USDA

will take a holistic approach to facilities

modernization to ensure employees are best

positioned to serve the public and deliver the

mission. We will evaluate space allocation and

building modernization through a phased and

prioritized approach, ensuring the health, safety,

and continued performance excellence of our

employees, while making responsible use of the

taxpayer dollar.

Improve Support Services: Effective USDA

mission delivery requires sound support services at

the enterprise level. USDA will be consolidating

mission support delivery at the Mission Area

level to improve the delivery of support services

including IT, procurement, human resources,

and ﬁnancial operations. Reduced redundancies

and a focus on ensuring strategic and enterprise

approaches to mission support services by creating

mission area business centers will increase

efﬁciency, reduce costs, improve the customer

experience, and lead to better data-driven decision

making. Consolidating mission support services

frees up agencies to focus on delivering better

service to our customers.

Continuity of USDA programs: USDA programs

must be delivered under all conditions. Although

the Nation faces a wide array of hazards, threats,

emergencies, and disruptions created by natural

or man-made events, USDA will ensure the

continuation of agriculture-related programs

and sustain these through the identiﬁcation of

essential functions. These essential functions are

the prioritized activities directly related to USDA’s

mission that the Department must execute

throughout disruptions. Continuity plans and

elements will be integrated in all USDA activities

to ensure viable delivery platform and programs

continue to exist irrespective of circumstance to

sustain USDA’s global agricultural leadership.

Outcomes

Through our strategies, we will improve customer

and employee satisfaction with technology-

dependent USDA services. A uniﬁed network

that meets the connectivity needs of a widely

geographically distributed and mobile workforce

will improve collaboration and data sharing

across USDA. The network will enable agencies

to increase bandwidth based on demand, for

example, during peak reporting periods to meet

mission needs. By moving to Department-wide

end-user enterprise services, USDA will reduce

costs, improve cybersecurity operations and boost

employee and customer conﬁdence in USDA’s

ability to secure their information, and enhance

employee IT capabilities integral to serving

the public. Furthermore, by centralizing IT

operational services, individual agencies will be

freed up to focus on modernizing and improving

programmatic business processes that directly

interface with customers.

We will maximize utilization of space to provide

employees with modernized, safe, collaborative

work areas that support their ability to deliver the

USDA mission. USDA will consider both the

integrity, safety, and layout of the physical space

where employees work, as well as the cost impact

of their geographical location, to provide a full

view of our mission delivery capabilities.

Evidence Building

USDA relies on an extensive range of industry

standard performance and operational metrics

to ensure customer satisfaction and operational

effectiveness in the areas of information

technology operations, data management,

cybersecurity, space management, and

procurement. In addition to creating new

enterprise IT services, USDA will establish

new standards based on speciﬁc metrics that

measure USDA-wide performance. USDA will

collaborate with other Federal agencies, the

Ofﬁce of Management and Budget (OMB), and

the General Services Administration (GSA)

to review and assess leading practices that meet

or exceed established administrative efﬁciency

and performance goals in multiple areas,

including: help-desk problem resolution; per

unit and per ticket cost-savings; space allocation

and utilization; overall customer satisfaction;

modernized collaborative work spaces; and IT

devices per employee.

Objective 1.2:

Maintain a High-Performing Workforce

Through Employee Engagement and

Empowerment

Each USDA employee contributes directly

to our mission success. To maintain a high-

performing, customer-centric workforce, USDA

will continue to foster a work environment that

maximizes employee performance. Research

indicates that the level of employee engagement

is a key predictor of organizational productivity

and proﬁtability. An employee’s performance is

directly tied to his or her level of engagement

and empowerment. Engaged and empowered

employees are more dedicated, persistent, and

passionate about their jobs and service delivery,

and are more willing to invest personally to

support the mission. A measure used across the

Federal Government to demonstrate employee

engagement is the Best Places to Work rankings,

which are based on the Federal Employee

Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) results. The rankings

are a measure provided by the Partnership for

Public Service, a non-proﬁt organization. USDA’s

goal is to remain in the Top 10 Best Places to

Work in the Federal Government for large

agencies.

Strategies

Ensure Effective Performance Management:

Performance plans for every employee are

linked to USDA’s mission so each employee

can personally connect how his or her work

contributes to USDA’s strategic goals. Employee

engagement is incorporated into the performance

plans of all executives, managers, and supervisors.

Executives will continue to be expected to

champion employee engagement activities,

and Performance Review Boards will rely on

performance review results in the annual rating

process. We will also ensure that poor performance

is quickly addressed and that high-performing

employees are recognized and rewarded.

Strategic

Goal 1

Strategic

Goal 1

Leverage Training and Employee Development

Opportunities: All USDA employees will

continue to be encouraged to work with their

supervisors on an Individual Development

Plan (IDP) that is updated annually. The IDP

represents a commitment that leaders make to

employee growth and development. Employee

engagement will continue to be central to the

way we do business at USDA, solidiﬁed through

required training for supervisors on best practices

to enhance the connection employees have to

their mission and responsibilities. Our personal

development training programs will foster an

environment of support for continual learning

which will drive an improved workplace and

mission delivery.

Foster Collaboration Between Managers

and Employees: The key to our success with

engaging and empowering employees is effective

collaboration between managers and employees

through multi-directional communication and

information sharing. Tools that have proven

beneﬁcial to improving connections between

employees and managers, such as town hall

meetings, listening sessions, brown bag lunch

events, and informal visits between leadership

and employees will be highlighted and replicated

across headquarters and ﬁeld ofﬁces. USDA will

continue to implement creative mechanisms to

celebrate employee achievements and innovation

in mission delivery through performance tracking

and strategies for public recognition.

Outcomes

Earning a high ranking in the Top 10 Best Places

to Work in the Federal Government for large

agencies by the Partnership for Public Service

is not just a number to us. Achieving a high

ranking will serve to validate the other indicators

we expect to see from our efforts to continue to

engage and empower our workforce. Through

their mission delivery, engaged and empowered

employees will ﬁnd creative solutions to

unexpected challenges; they will bring innovation

to their customer service delivery; they will display

curiosity and collaboration across agency and

Mission Area lines; they will celebrate each other’s

thoughts and experiences; and they will serve

as ambassadors to recruit and retain a talented

workforce that will ensure USDA’s continued

future success and evolution.

Evidence Building

Employee engagement and empowerment are

directly tied to mission delivery, thus USDA

will continue to work with Mission Areas to

celebrate, share, and learn from employee success

and innovation. Departmental directives and

policies will be reﬁned to streamline personnel

processes and emphasize employee engagement

through performance management. USDA will

collaborate with other Federal agencies that have

high levels of employee engagement, and we will

review studies from the public and private sector

to continually improve our support of a high-

performing workforce.

Objective 1.3:

Reduce the Regulatory Burden and

Streamline Processes

Strategic

Goal 1

USDA is committed to creating a culture of

consistent, efﬁcient service to our customers

while easing regulatory burdens to make it easier

to invest, produce, and build in rural America.

USDA regulations will allow for the creation

of jobs and economic prosperity while ensuring

the safety of our food supply and protecting and

safeguarding our land, water, and other natural

resources for future generations.

On February 24, 2017, President Trump signed

Executive Order (E.O.) 13777 – Enforcing the

Regulatory Reform Agenda, which established

a Federal policy to lower regulatory burdens

on the American people by implementing and

enforcing regulatory reform. It directed Federal

agencies to name a Regulatory Reform Ofﬁcer

(RRO) and establish a Regulatory Reform Task

Force (RRTF). The RRTF is comprised of senior

managers representing all the major missions of

the Department.

Strategies

The RRTF will continue to oversee the

solicitation of input from industry stakeholders,

the public, and USDA employees to identify

existing regulations, orders, guidance documents,

and policies that may be outmoded, ineffective,

insufﬁcient, or excessively burdensome, and

identifying new ideas to modify, streamline,

expand, or repeal such items. Internally, we

will provide support for managers, clarity for

employees, and enhance focus on customer service

through reducing the burden of the ad hoc nature

of internal USDA directives on USDA operations.

As we move forward, USDA will continue to

review comments to ensure they are considered by

agencies as they prepare their regulatory agendas.

The Department will review its stock of existing

regulations, orders, and related guidance

documents by asking four questions intended to

help determine if they are consistent with sound

policy:

• How does it affect jobs? Does it eliminate

jobs, or inhibit job creation?

• Does it make sense? Is it outdated,

unnecessary, or ineffective?

• Is it worth it? Does it impose costs that

exceed beneﬁts?

• Is there a better way? Will it create an

inconsistency or interfere with regulatory

reform initiatives, policies, and priorities?

Is it duplicative within the Federal

Government? Is it the role of Federal

Government rather than State/local

government or private sector?

Outcome

The intended outcome is to ease the regulatory

burden on the American people and improve

service delivery to USDA customers, and it will

be measured in terms of compliance with E.O.

13771 - Reducing Regulation and Controlling

Regulatory Costs. The changes will be reﬂected

in the upcoming regulatory agendas and future

statements of regulatory priorities.

Evidence Building

USDA will employ three principles to guide its

regulatory review and reform effort: scientiﬁc

rigor, lawfulness, and sound policy. All evidence

used by agencies in support of a regulation will

be based upon sound science, data, information,

or methods that are publicly available and

sufﬁciently transparent to meet the standard for

reproducibility. USDA’s regulatory review and

reform exercise will ensure that the science and

research underlying the Department’s decisions,

policies, and regulations are held to the highest

standards of intellectual rigor and scientiﬁc

integrity. USDA will also ensure that agencies

Strategic

Goal 1

follow current laws to assess and mitigate the

impact of new and existing regulations on the

American people, and we will examine the

judicial standards by which the lawfulness of its

regulations will be judged.

Objective 1.4:

Improve Stewardship of Resources and

Utilize Data-Driven Analyses To

Maximize the Return on Investment

USDA is a steward of the Nation’s resources,

public lands, and research and administrative

facilities, and is responsible for supporting

America’s farms, ranches, forests, and rural

communities. With more than $200 billion in

assets, $145 billion in annual spending, and $100

billion in loans to America’s rural communities,

the Department shepherds these resources while

relying on legislative guidance, streamlined

policies, and the best available science. A key

piece of that science is determining the outcomes

and impacts of our work through accurate and

reliable data.

Using this information, USDA can make

decisions, evaluate outcomes, improve programs,

and share how we invest the public’s resources.

Returns on these investments can be quantitative,

but they may not always be counted in dollars and

cents. In these instances, we describe the impacts

of our activities in clear and concise narratives

that inform decision-makers and stakeholders both

within and outside USDA. This will allow USDA

to continue to improve our program delivery over

time to better meet intended legislative and policy

outcomes.

Similarly, our administrative policies must also

be supported by data. As the second-largest

Executive Agency landholder in the Federal

Government, the Department’s real property

asset portfolio includes 20,645 owned buildings

totaling approximately 193 million acres of land;

15.2 million square feet of commercially leased

building space with an annual rent of $241

million; and approximately 1,100 General Service

Administration (GSA) space assignments with

$228 million in annual rent. The land, facilities,

and other real property play a critical role in the

Department’s ability to deliver programs and

services. Centralizing common processes and

enhancing standardization and accountability at

all levels will allow USDA to more effectively

serve its employees and stakeholders.

Strategies

Improve Data Collection and Utilization:

USDA will explore opportunities to improve the

collection and utilization of data and information

on both the direct effects of its programs and

the broader outcomes that those activities may

be having across the country and around the

world. Where appropriate, USDA will make its

data publicly available, while also guarding the

privacy of individuals and organizations that

support USDA’s data collection efforts. In all

cases where appropriate, USDA will strive to

collect, analyze, and release data in an efﬁcient

and timely manner. This will allow us to use the

most up-to-date information to improve and build

upon the delivery, effectiveness, and outcomes

of our programs. Accurate and relevant data will

also enable our partners to meet their goals and

objectives more efﬁciently.

USDA will combine knowledge and expertise

from across the programmatic, research, and

administrative mission areas to identify innovative

opportunities to streamline and strengthen its data

collection, analysis, and dissemination. Where

appropriate, we will work to connect program-

level data with results from surveys administered

by the National Agriculture Statistics Service,

Economic Research Service, and other agencies

to connect the direct impacts of USDA’s programs

with broader trends in agriculture, forests, and

rural communities. We will also explore new

methods and technologies to more efﬁciently

collect data on the process, output, and outcome

indicators for USDA programs and activities,

including: integrating databases across USDA

agencies; incorporating rapid-response customer

surveys; integrating mobile data entry; and

utilizing satellite and other remote-sensing

products.

Enhance Internal Data: USDA will also

better utilize its internal data by developing

administrative dashboards and tracking systems

to better understand where efﬁciencies can be

gained in the technology, human resources,

ﬂeet, procurement, and real property spaces. The

development of these dashboards and tracking

systems will provide the Department with

enhanced capacity to collect accurate, reliable,

complete, accessible, and consistent data. Through

these efforts, USDA will be better positioned to

conduct effective evaluations of administrative

programs, and provide leaders access to the data

necessary to make informed decisions.

Reduce the Real Property Footprint: USDA

will continue to identify and target real property

reductions. Reduction efforts will not only occur

in the ofﬁce and warehouse portfolios, but in all

categories of real property where reductions are

either warranted by a lack of mission need or

underutilization. In such cases, USDA will be

identifying properties that offer co-location or

consolidation opportunities or disposal.

Outcome

USDA will use up-to-date information and data,

and the best available science, on both the direct

effects of its programs and the broader state

of agriculture, forests, and rural communities

across the United States. As stewards of public

resources, we will be able to show the return on

investment for our activities through quantitative

and qualitative evaluations. USDA will also use

the data and tools developed through this effort to

inform day-to-day and long-term decision-making,

evaluating our actions against a variety of criteria,

including the efﬁciency and equity of our programs

and how well they meet legislative intent.

Internally, USDA will decrease the overall real

property footprint through effective disposal

and consolidation efforts to reduce overall

square footage of building space by 1 percent

annually. The reduced footprint will conserve

energy and save money, enabling agencies to

reinvest in improved mission delivery. Over time,

a reduced footprint will improve the utilization

of Government-owned buildings, lower the

number of excess and underutilized properties,

including ﬂeet, and improve the cost effectiveness

and efﬁciency of the portfolio. Consolidating

properties and co-locating agency ofﬁce space

is not only cost effective, but can provide more

convenient and cohesive access to the public and

allow for upgraded, modern facilities that promote

increased health, safety, and performance of

USDA employees. Additionally, space reduction

creates opportunities for modernization of existing

spaces in USDA that promote the health, well-

being, and performance of employees who serve

customers.

Evidence Building

The strategies for this objective will help USDA

make science-based, data-driven decisions and

communicate the impacts of those decisions to our

stakeholders. The outputs of a particular program

are often the easiest to measure, in terms of money

spent, number of individuals served, or acres of

a speciﬁc conservation practice implemented.

However, developing and evaluating robust

measures of outcomes and impacts is more

difﬁcult. There are methods to monitor progress

for these types of activities, including benchmarks

toward achieving activity goals. In addition,

tools such as logic models are useful for mapping

the relationships between program activities,

outputs, and short, medium, and long-term

outcomes. Throughout this process, USDA will

Strategic

Goal 1

Strategic

Goal 1

recognize that various programs and activities

may need different evaluation methods, and use

varying temporal and spatial scales to best assess

progress and outcomes. Coordination between

programmatic and research agencies, as well as

strategic engagement with land-grant universities

and other external partners, can help USDA

develop new and innovative methods to evaluate

our programs and identify relationships between

USDA’s activities and broader outcomes across the

country.

Human Capital Management

Success for this goal lies within the heart and

minds of our workforce, as they are charged with

delivering the mission every day. USDA remains

dedicated to our employees by ensuring that they

have the tools, space, and opportunities to deliver

our mission and serve our Nation. We also must

ensure that we improve, consolidate, or eliminate

duplicative processes which impede our employees’

delivery of excellent service to their customers.

We will achieve these goals using the employee-

focused tools outlined in Objective 1.2.

In alignment with the Federal Information

Technology Acquisition Reform Act, USDA

will increase focus on the certiﬁcation of

acquisition program and project managers, and

we will work to create and develop specialized

teams of contracting professionals and program

managers who work closely together to improve

contracting and management of USDA

investments. USDA will analyze the beneﬁts of

implementing the use of special hiring authorities

for cybersecurity personnel and other IT resources

in high demand. Where additional specialized or

highly technical expertise is not available through

the Federal workforce, USDA will tap into

public-private partnerships and contractor services

to address these workforce gaps, all with an eye

towards ultimately building relevant and necessary

skillsets within our own employees.

Key Performance Measures

Strategic

Goal 1

Baseline

Data

FY 2017

FY 2018

Target

FY 2022

Target

Reduce the number of data centers across the Department. 39 20 2

Maintain ranking of the Top 10 Best Places to Work in the

Federal Government for large agencies by the Partnership

for Public Service.

7 Top 10 Top 10

Reduce the Department’s overall real property footprint

through effective disposal and consolidation efforts (Million

Square Feet).

31.9 31.6 30.3

Reduce the Department’s total number of light duty ﬂeet

vehicles (Thousand).

29.4 28.8 26.5

Strategic

Goal 2

Strategic Goal 2:

Maximize the Ability of American Agricultural Producers To

Prosper by Feeding and Clothing the World

strong and prosperous agricultural

sector is essential to the well-being

of the U.S. economy. America’s farmers

and ranchers ensure a reliable food supply,

support job growth, and promote economic

development. To maintain a competitive

agricultural sector, USDA will support

farmers and ranchers’ ability to start and

maintain proﬁtable businesses as well

as offer ﬁnancial support to producers

affected by natural disasters. Furthermore,

USDA’s research agencies will continue to

introduce high-performance plants, animals,

and integrated management options that

increase the efﬁciency of farming practices.

Lastly, USDA will also provide tools to

producers so that they are well-positioned

to secure a share of a growing market for

agricultural products.

Objective 2.1:

Provide an Effective Financial Safety

Net for Farmers and Ranchers to Sustain

Economically Viable Agricultural

Production and Support Rural Jobs and

Economic Growth

USDA is committed to providing an effective

safety net to the more than 2 million agricultural

producers who provide food and ﬁber to more

than 320 million Americans and millions more

around the globe. USDA works to strengthen the

economic viability of the agricultural sector by

providing eligible producers with income support

payments, disaster assistance, marketing assistance

loans, farm loans, and risk management tools

through its extensive network of ofﬁces covering

most rural counties. These programs help farmers

and ranchers manage ﬁnancial risks associated

with commodity price ﬂuctuations and recover

from unpredictable weather events.

Farm loans provide farmers and ranchers access to

credit when they are unable to obtain ﬁnancing

from commercial lenders at reasonable rates

and terms. Through direct and guaranteed farm

ownership and operating loans, USDA assists

tens of thousands of family farmers each year

with starting and maintaining proﬁtable farm and

ranch businesses. Disaster assistance programs

offer ﬁnancial support to crop and livestock

producers affected by drought, ﬂoods, hurricanes,

wildﬁres, and other natural disasters. USDA’s

income support options provide producers the

ﬂexibility to select the program that best ﬁts their

needs. For example, Marketing Assistance Loans

(MALs) provide producers interim ﬁnancing to

Strategic

Goal 2

meet cash ﬂow needs without having to sell their

commodities when market prices are lower. USDA

support of farmers and ranchers extends across

rural America, supporting jobs and economic

growth.

Federal crop insurance keeps many of our Nation’s

agricultural producers in business when adverse

weather, pests, or low commodity prices cause

ﬁnancial hardships. Risks to these programs

include ensuring the actuarial soundness of

insurance policies (particularly after high-

loss years), reducing improper payments, and

maintaining the reputation of Federal crop

insurance as the primary Federal ﬁnancial safety

net provided to farmers and ranchers. Other risks

include changing market conditions (such as

periods of steep price declines) and widespread

or prolonged natural disasters. USDA manages

these and other risks through ongoing reviews of

crop production information, analysis of actuarial

data, analyzing weather and climate information,

data mining for anomalies, and overseeing the

private-sector insurance companies who sell and

service the insurance policies to farmers to ensure

that they meet ﬁnancial and operational standards

required to participate in the program.

Strategies

Provide a farm safety net that helps American

farmers weather times of economic stress without

distorting markets: USDA provides programs and

services that support the economic stability of

American farmers and ranchers. The Department

works to ensure that the American agriculture

industry is competitive by providing farmers and

ranchers with ﬁnancial capital, risk management

assistance through the Federal crop insurance

program, and ﬁnancial and other support in times

of economic distress or disaster.

Evaluate and Monitor the Customer Experience:

Understanding customer needs and expectations

is essential to providing exceptional customer

service. USDA will evaluate the current

customer experience for farmers and ranchers,

which will result in a better understanding of

customer needs and expectations, identiﬁcation of

speciﬁc improvement projects that will have the

greatest impact on the customer experience, and

development of a set of key performance indicators

to monitor the customer experience. These

insights will allow USDA to prioritize investments

with the customer in mind. This strategy is also

supported by USDA’s FY 2018-2019 Agency

Priority Goals. The Department will highlight the

work in the customer experience space as one of

the goals to ensure achievement of this strategy.

Improve Program Delivery: The Department will

enhance customer access to its farm loan, income

support, and risk management programs through

improved personnel education and training. The

Department is also advancing the use of web-based

technologies to expand and improve agriculture

producers’ access to USDA programs and decision

tools.

Increase Analytic Capabilities: USDA will

continue to improve its program analytics and

reporting capabilities. These tools are critical to

evaluate program effectiveness and accountability,

and enhance delivery of these programs to farmers

and ranchers.

Increase Farm Program Participation: A robust

set of risk management, income support, and

disaster assistance programs enables producers to

be proactive in protecting their farm enterprises.

Increasing participation in these programs

contributes to economic stability and reduces

short-term income volatility. The Department

will continue to conduct education and outreach

through its network of State and local ofﬁces, the

Cooperative Extension Service, State Departments

of Agriculture, land-grant university partners,

nongovernmental organizations, nonproﬁts,

community, and faith-based organizations.

Maintain Actuarial Soundness of the Federal Crop

Insurance Program: An actuarially sound crop

insurance program, as mandated by statute, is a

critical component of an effective ﬁnancial safety

net for farmers and ranchers. USDA will regularly

adjust premium rates to reﬂect accumulated loss

experiences, commission periodic external reviews

of premium rating methodologies, and monitor

underwriting procedures and key program dates.

Expand Program and Practice Offerings for Federal

Crop Insurance Enabling Farmers To Make Sound

Production Decisions and To Manage Operational

Risk: Access to crop insurance greatly increases

the ability of farmers and ranchers to weather hard

times and secure loans needed to cover input costs

or expand their operations.

Encourage Entry Into Farming Through Increased

Access to Land and Capital for Young, Beginning,

and Underrepresented Farmers: New and

beginning farmers and ranchers are a fundamental

and growing part of the American and global

agricultural marketplace. USDA continues to

support new and beginning farmers to access

capital and risk management tools, acquire land,

and develop ﬁnancially sustainable operations

to promote the next generation of American

agriculturalists.

Strategic

Goal 2

Strategic

Goal 2

Outcomes

USDA will continue to play a crucial role in

supporting America’s rural prosperity by providing

a strong safety net for America’s farmers and

ranchers. In addition, the customer experience

and program delivery will be improved.

Evidence Building

Several ongoing internal evaluations provide

insights into the effectiveness of strategies to reach

our objective of providing an effective ﬁnancial

safety net for farmers and ranchers to sustain

viable agricultural production and support rural

jobs. On an annual basis, USDA compares crop

revenue with and without the Agriculture Risk

Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC)

program payments. Complementing this data is

USDA’s annual review of the ﬁnancial security

of the agricultural production sector. When

combined, this data allows comparisons through

time of the effectiveness of USDA’s strategies in

improving the performance of the farm safety

net programs. The Farm Loan Program Risk

Assessment (FLPRA) is the primary tool that

USDA uses for ongoing review and oversight of

ﬁeld ofﬁce farm loan program operations. FLPRA

evaluates farm loan programs using a data-driven,

risk-based approach and provides the framework

for assessing program management and oversight

of State Ofﬁces and program delivery by Service

Centers. The Federal crop insurance program is

periodically evaluated, and adjustments are made

based upon evidence from these evaluations.

Objective 2.2:

Increase Agricultural Opportunities

and Support Economic Growth by

Creating New Markets and Supporting a

Competitive Agricultural System

Each year, the Department’s Agricultural

Marketing Service (AMS) provides industry-

speciﬁc services and grants to help agricultural

food producers and businesses create and enhance

their food marketing efforts. Through the

National Farmers Market Directory, National

Organic Database, and the Market Information

Portal, USDA connects consumers and producers

to more than 8,000 farmers markets, certiﬁed

organic operations, and commodity pricing data.

USDA also provides onsite assessment and design

services for food market planners, managers,

and community stakeholders to improve the

efﬁciency of permanent food market facilities.

These facilities include wholesale markets,

farmers markets, public markets, and food hubs,

all of which are important parts of the national

food distribution network and provide important

agricultural opportunities for producers.

Through its various grant programs, USDA

works to support the economic growth of U.S.

growers and producers, local and regional food

systems, innovative production methodologies,

and marketing strategies. These grants address

issues that include increased access to fruits

and vegetables, transportation, food safety, and

sustainability.

To provide a common language for commodity

buyers and sellers, USDA develops commodity

standards that are widely used by the agricultural

industry in trading, futures market contracts,

and in purchase speciﬁcations in most private

contracts. Utilizing these standards and

other process-veriﬁed determinations, USDA

provides grading and inspection, auditing, and

accreditation services for more than $150 billion

worth of agricultural products on an annual

basis, ensuring the quality of domestic goods, and

helping American farms and businesses export

goods to at least 100 different countries.

USDA’s collaborative work with industry ensures

that we keep pace with trends and changing

needs. The Agricultural Marketing Service’s

Research & Promotion programs conduct research

that can assist in developing new markets and

strengthening existing markets. AMS also

analyzes and publishes market information to

assist in the orderly marketing and distribution of

agricultural commodities.

Through our efforts to support a competitive

agriculture system, we have partnered with the

other Federal Agencies and government entities

as well as public associations on issues related to

marketing, testing, inspection, technical assistance

offerings, safety, and food procurement. Internally,

we will continue to coordinate efforts across

USDA agencies in support of our farmers and

other stakeholders.

Strategies

Expand New Markets: As demand for market

transparency and food access increases, USDA will

continue to ensure that its programs have the tools

necessary to address both current and future needs

of consumers and industry. For example, USDA

will assist in the establishment or expansion of

new market opportunities through its various

grant and data reporting programs. In addition to

grant support, USDA will provide wholesale and

farmers markets with targeted community-level

trainings, site assessment, and architectural design

services for food market planners, managers, and

community stakeholders to improve the efﬁciency

of local food systems and permanent food market

facilities.

Develop and Maintain Market Data: USDA will

develop and maintain vital market data for both

Federal and industry partners. In response to the

increasing demand for information, USDA will

utilize innovative methods to collect and report

information. The Department will continue to

assess, modernize, and restructure programs to

provide services that meet customer needs and

capitalize on opportunities to achieve greater

efﬁciencies through streamlined processes and

cross-leveraged internal resources.

Outcome

USDA will develop market opportunities while

improving food access and market transparency

by helping industry connect with consumers

through our grants and market access programs.

These programs will increase market interest

and commodity value. Through industry-speciﬁc

services and grants, agricultural food producers

and businesses will create and enhance their food

marketing abilities. USDA programs provide

market intelligence and product integrity through

reporting and standards development and

application. Grant projects focus on the following

priority areas: research, food safety, sustainability,

market access, nutrition, and improving efﬁciency

of distribution systems. These programs and

services will beneﬁt industry stakeholders

throughout the food supply chain.

Evidence

Markets are being established or expanded by

improving access to healthy, locally produced

foods, with a focus on food production and

distribution at both traditional and non-

traditional retail options. Through these means,

producers will be better equipped to distribute

and market healthy foods and have access to

market information that will provide a basis for

good business decisions. This will be achieved

through the development of systems and portals

that provide customers with greater access

and ﬂexibility with market data. In addition,

USDA’s fee-for-service programs will continue

to meet customer expectations through timely,

objective, and valuable program delivery and

develop commodity standards and programs which

facilitate global trade and economic growth.

Strategic

Goal 2

Objective 2.3:

Protect Agricultural Health by Preventing

and Mitigating the Spread of Agricultural

Pests and Disease

Strategic

Goal 2

American agriculture continually faces threats

arising from domestic and foreign pests and

diseases, which have negative impacts on animal

and plant agricultural production, commerce, and

trade. USDA’s animal health and specialty crop

pests programs help protect these commodities,

which are valued at $193 billion.

Identifying

these intentional and unintentional threats,

risks, and conditions early enables USDA’s

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

(APHIS) to anticipate potential outbreaks

and act appropriately to prevent damage. The

threats posed by agricultural pests and diseases

are also continually evolving. USDA responds

to these threats by adjusting its strategies for

the early and rapid identiﬁcation of agricultural

pests and diseases through surveillance and

monitoring techniques, and applying pest

mitigations as appropriate and necessary. Working

collaboratively, the Department is able to address

these threats by building and maintaining the

capability and capacity to rapidly respond to an

agricultural pest or disease outbreak.

USDA must balance keeping American

agriculture safe against increasing requests for

agricultural market access by our international

trading partners. We make trade safe by

examining disease and pest risks and inserting

mitigation strategies into our international

agreements and interstate movement protocols,

which reduce the risk of unsafe agricultural

imported products entering the United States and

ensure that American agriculture is protected.

Domestically, we employ emergency response

activities that minimize threats and their impacts

Derived from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service

(NASS) reports and publications, including results and analysis

of the Census of Agriculture conducted every 5 years.

on agricultural industries. However, there may

be a pest or disease introduction that exceeds

the Department’s ability to effectively respond,

and USDA adapts to changes in agricultural

risk by adjusting available resources to address

the threats. For example, we may take the most

restrictive measure and stop movement of an

at-risk commodity through a regulatory action.

Alternatively, we may embark on a collaborative

research effort to develop pest-resistant strains of

crops, develop new animal-disease vaccines, or

expedite the approval of new treatments.

Strategies

Surveillance and Early Detection: USDA’s animal

and plant health protection strategy begins by

identifying high-risk pest and disease threats and

monitoring for their potential appearance in the

United States. APHIS prevents foreign pests and

diseases from entering the United States through

offshore programs and mitigating the pest risks

associated with agricultural imports. Once a

pest or disease becomes established or spreads,

it can result in substantial costs to producers

and consumers. Detecting a new pest or disease

quickly is crucial to a quick and effective response.

APHIS works with partners in State Departments

of Agriculture and industry to expand the

Agency’s detection and emergency response

capabilities. APHIS provides guidance on

identifying high-risk threats, develops surveillance

and monitoring tools and techniques, carries out

nationwide surveys for plant pests and diseases,

and conducts surveillance of foreign animal

diseases with State partners. Each year, APHIS

and partners conduct surveys for the pests and

diseases that present the highest risk. APHIS also

ensures that the United States has the diagnostic

capability to identify the pests and diseases that

are found through monitoring and surveillance

efforts. The Agency supports diagnostic capability

through animal and plant laboratory networks

with State and university personnel.

Emergency Preparedness and Response: When a

serious pest or disease outbreak occurs, APHIS

activates its emergency response mechanisms

to contain the outbreak. APHIS maintains

the capacity to respond rapidly to a variety of

agricultural emergencies, ranging from small-scale

incidents to catastrophic events. The Agency

carries out regular emergency preparedness and

response activities to improve its ability to prepare

for, respond to, and recover from animal and plant

health emergencies. This includes developing

strategies and policies for incident management,

and conducting exercises with Federal, State, and

local partners to test and improve response plans.

One key to effective responses is a strong network

of people trained and prepared to respond to

any of these emergencies. This network includes

people from other USDA and Federal Agencies

which are part of the National Response Plan,

and the State and local government personnel as

part of State-level response plans. Trained Agency

personnel are the backbone of our emergency

response capacity, and APHIS is working to

increase the percentage of staff properly trained in

the Incident Command System. These personnel

will be able to deploy quickly when an emergency

occurs and allow the Agency to sustain a response

program over the course of the emergency. To be

prepared for large-scale, animal health-related

events, the Agency also maintains an animal

health emergency reserve corps of approximately

3,000 private veterinarians, animal health

technicians, and veterinary students. APHIS also

facilitates planning sessions with major commodity

groups to develop plans that would ensure the

continuous movement of livestock products during

an animal health emergency.

Control and Eradication: USDA works closely

with State and industry partners to address

ongoing agricultural pest and disease issues and to

mitigate wildlife damage to agricultural resources.

These cooperative programs target economically

signiﬁcant pests and diseases through a variety of

methods and techniques. Additionally, APHIS

works in conjunction with State, tribal, and

industry cooperators to eradicate harmful pests

and diseases or, where eradication is not feasible,

minimize their impact through management

activities and facilitating the development of

industry best practices. The Agency monitors

endemic pests and diseases, and partners with

State Departments of Agriculture to prevent

spread to new areas. APHIS also continually

improves and develops new methods of managing

pests and diseases.

Outcomes

By employing prevention and mitigation

strategies, USDA reduces or mitigates the impact

of agricultural pests and diseases, as well as wildlife

damage, ensuring that U.S. farms and ranches

remain healthy and productive. The impacts of

pests and diseases can be staggering. For example,

highly pathogenic avian inﬂuenza (HPAI) alone

cost Federal taxpayers over $950 million in just

1 year. To this end, the Department’s work to

protect the health of American agriculture begins

by preventing harmful pests and diseases from

entering the United States. Our efforts include

quickly detecting foreign pests and diseases that

may have evaded our prevention measures. To

ensure this early detection, USDA works with its

partners to conduct monitoring and surveillance

efforts, including early detection surveys,

throughout the country. This rapid response

results in minimal impact to U.S. producers and

disruptions to trade. One of the Department’s

targets is to conduct early detection surveys for

93 percent of the country’s high-risk plant pests,

as identiﬁed on the priority pest list. As for those

pests and diseases already established in the

country, USDA eradicates or controls the spread,

minimizing the impacts to U.S. producers and

customers.

To identify successes under this objective, APHIS

will continue to use a variety of operational

measures for key programs and initiatives and

will routinely solicit feedback from partners and

stakeholders to improve program performance.

Strategic

Goal 2

Strategic

Goal 2

APHIS also reviews a selection of business

line processes on an annual basis to improve

efﬁciencies with service delivery to customers, and

in some cases, reduce the cost of providing these

services to customers.

Evidence Building

To measure the effectiveness of our strategies, the

Department meets annually with the National

Plant Board and the United States Animal Health

Association to discuss new and emerging threats,

opportunities, and challenges related to existing

program strategies. These discussions often lead to

the creation of working groups to further explore

issues and recommend changes or modiﬁcations

to practices and/or policies related to animal and

plant health. USDA also holds routine meetings

with industry sectors to solicit feedback on high-

priority programs and initiatives.

Human Capital Management

To ensure our workforce meets the objective

of preventing and mitigating the spread of

agricultural pests and diseases, we are developing

new strategies and tools to improve managing

talent across the Agency. To help create new

markets and support a competitive agricultural

system, our workforce is working closely with

industry to identify marketing trends and data

needs to equip our employees with the necessary

skills to meet changing demands.

Key Performance Measures

Strategic

Goal 2

Baseline

Data

FY 2017

FY 2018

Target

FY 2022

Target

The annual normalized value of risk protection provided to

agricultural producers through the Federal Crop Insurance

program ($ Billion)

$62.1

(FY12)

$64.0 $65.2

Average number of days to process direct loans (Farm

Service Agency)

31 31 31

New markets established or expanded through technical

assistance

100 104 112

Percent of high-risk plant pests for which early detection

surveys are conducted

92%

(FY16)

93% 95%

Number of National Animal Health Laboratory Network

participating labs able to electronically message animal

disease testing results to USDA

31 35 53

Number of hours it takes to mobilize resources once it is

determined that a Federal emergency response is needed

to manage an agricultural outbreak

24 24 24

A high-risk pest will have a high probability of causing signiﬁcant impacts through crop lost, habitat modiﬁcations, and/or signiﬁcant

mitigation costs. A high-risk pest can be deﬁned as one that is likely to enter the United States, establish a viable population, and spread

in the environment, and in doing so, would cause serious economic, and/or environmental impacts.

Strategic

Goal 3

Strategic Goal 3:

Promote American Agricultural Products and Exports

xpanding international marketing

opportunities for U.S. farmers and

exporters is critical to business and income

growth across rural America. It is essential

for USDA to continue its efforts to promote

American agricultural products and exports

through promotion activities, development

of international standards, removal of

trade barriers by monitoring and enforcing

existing trade agreements, and negotiation

of new trade agreements that beneﬁt the

U.S. agricultural economy. USDA will

also partner with developing countries to

move them along the agricultural market

continuum from developing economies

to developed economies with promising

demand potential. Ultimately, this work will

build the foundations for future markets and

create long-term international relationships

that further advance U.S. agriculture’s

export.

Objective 3.1:

Expand International Marketing

Opportunities

USDA links U.S. agriculture to the world by

promoting agricultural exports, which are vital to

the American agricultural sector. USDA’s Foreign

Agricultural Service (FAS) conducts export

promotion activities, which help U.S. food and

agricultural exporters take advantage of market

opportunities created by removing barriers to U.S.

exports and by capacity-building successes that

increase demand for exports. USDA administers

trade programs and activities, working in

partnership with private-sector associations, land-

grant universities, State regional trade groups,

U.S. food and agricultural exporters, and U.S. and

foreign ﬁnancial institutions.

The Department expands international market

opportunities in numerous ways. USDA connects

agricultural exporters to customers and ensures a

level playing ﬁeld for U.S. farmers and ranchers.

It provides timely information on agricultural and

food markets in the United States and abroad,

and it facilitates trade though the unique network

of overseas ofﬁces around the world. It also

facilitates the availability of ﬁnance, particularly

in developing and emerging markets, which is

essential for a healthy trading system.

External factors play a role in expanding

international marketing opportunities. These

factors include environmental conditions, such

as variability in domestic and overseas crop

production, natural disasters, disease outbreaks,

pest infestations, and food contamination.

Certain international macroeconomic factors

Strategic

Goal 3

are important, including changes in the relative

strength of the U.S. dollar to foreign currencies,

the rate of growth of the global economic middle

class, and political instability that undermines

demand in key importing countries.

Strategies

USDA will achieve this objective by continuing

to implement trade programs and activities that

focus on assisting food and agricultural exporters.

The Foreign Agricultural Service will provide

timely and efﬁcient delivery of foreign market

development programs that leverage private-

sector resources to expand U.S. exports by

communicating the value of its export promotion

programs and trade capacity-building programs to

U.S. stakeholders.

USDA will increase public awareness of export

opportunities through education and outreach

efforts, including reaching out to new-to-export

companies and new-to-market agriculture-related

companies to encourage active participation in

foreign trade shows and a wide variety of exporter-

assistance education tools. These efforts could

include providing credit guarantees to facilitate

U.S. exports in developing markets and improving

or establishing infrastructure that facilitates

U.S. exports. Finally, USDA will strengthen the

development of agricultural market information

systems in emerging economies to provide U.S.

exporters accurate and timely commodity data on

potential market opportunities.

Outcome

An increase in food and agricultural exports

remains a principal goal for USDA. The

investments made with our market promotion

programs and the work with small- and medium-

sized enterprises will play an essential role in the

overall goal of increased agricultural exports.

The contributions from the market promotion

programs will be used to help farmers, ranchers,

and food and agricultural exporters succeed in new

and old markets.

Evidence Building

The establishment of the Under Secretary

for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs

(TFAA), which is dedicated to the promotion

and expansion of U.S. agricultural exports, is a

crucial development in meeting the Department’s

trade goal. The TFAA mission area will develop

and execute the strategies and priorities needed

to expand U.S. agricultural and food exports.

Measures will be identiﬁed or developed to

evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy. USDA

conducts studies every few years to quantify

the value of our trade promotion programs. For

example, an Informa study released in 2016

concluded that market development programs

(2002-2014) boosted agricultural export revenue,

adding $12.5 billion annually, supported farm

income by $2.1 billion annually, and increased

economic output by $39.3 billion annually,

enhancing the overall economy. A new study is

expected in 5 years.

Strategic

Goal 3

Objective 3.2:

Prevent or Resolve Barriers to Trade

That Hinder U.S. Food and Agricultural

Exports

Agricultural exports are crucial to the economic

viability of U.S. farmers and ranchers. USDA

strives to ensure that U.S. exporters can sell

safe, wholesome U.S. food and agricultural

products around the world. To maintain a level

playing ﬁeld for U.S. food and agricultural

exporters who compete internationally, USDA

provides technical and scientiﬁc expertise to

successfully address animal and plant health

issues and prevent and resolve barriers to U.S.

food and agricultural exports. USDA monitors

and enforces trade agreements, uses its market

development programs to support the trade-

policy efforts of industry partners, and works with

other government agencies, trade associations,

and regional and international organizations to

establish transparent, science-based standards

for U.S. agricultural products. To foster fair

and open trade, USDA ofﬁcials ensure animal

and plant health requirements put in place are

proportional to the risk without being excessively

restrictive. The Department will also ensure,

through its monitoring and enforcement efforts,

that we obtain the anticipated beneﬁts when new

agreements are implemented.

USDA relies on its worldwide network of

agricultural attachés and scientists, frequent

communication with private-sector stakeholders,

and the formal World Trade Organization

notiﬁcation procedures to monitor foreign trade

and regulatory actions that have the potential to

affect exports. Removing existing barriers while

ensuring new ones are not introduced will directly

help U.S. food and agricultural producers thrive.

When shipments are held up at foreign ports,

USDA works with its agricultural counterparts in

other countries to resolve the issues and secure the

release of the shipments. USDA works to ensure

that the same rules apply to countries around the

world through international standard setting, and

it works to ensure scientiﬁc principles are the basis

for international agricultural trade decisions.

Strategies

USDA will achieve this objective by negotiating,

monitoring, and enforcing trade agreements and

responding to barriers to U.S. exports; building

and sustaining coalitions and partnerships;

promoting and improving international standard

setting; providing technical and regulatory

expertise to support U.S. food and agricultural

exports; and building technical and regulatory

capacity in other countries.

Monitor and Enforce Trade Agreements:

USDA will continue to strengthen its ability

to monitor and enforce trade agreements,

support trade-related technical assistance, and

provide coordinated and rapid responses to

urgent and emerging barriers to U.S. exports

through the establishment of the Interagency

Trade Policy Committee (ITPC), which will

serve as a decision-making body on export issues

and strategies. Coordination among policy and

regulatory agencies will provide consistent and

effective solutions to export issues, including U.S.

import policies raised by trading partners. USDA

will continue to protect international markets by

Strategic

Goal 3

negotiating bilateral, regional, and multilateral

trade agreements.

Build and Sustain Coalitions and Partnerships:

USDA will continue to build coalitions by

cultivating bilateral and regional relationships

to oppose unnecessary technical barriers to

trade. We help developing country partners

implement internationally recognized Sanitary

or Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers

to Trade (TBT) standards and resolve speciﬁc

trade issues through technical assistance, training,

and exchanges.

Promote and Improve International Standard

Setting: Through its leadership and involvement

in international standard setting bodies, USDA

will continue to help promote and improve

international animal and plant health standards

that provide a basis for countries around the world

to use in setting their import policies. By providing

its technical and regulatory expertise in animal

and plant health issues, USDA helps ensure that

international standards are based on scientiﬁc

information and adequately address risk while

not being overly restrictive. The Department

advocates globally for the development and

adoption of science-based, international standards

and policies, including those guiding the

development of new and emerging technologies

such as biotechnology.

Provide Technical and Regulatory Expertise

To Support U.S. Agricultural Exports: USDA

will continue to use its technical and regulatory

expertise to provide information such as

pest and disease surveillance data and U.S.

regulatory practices to address trading partners’

concerns related to SPS issues that affect export

opportunities for U.S. farmers and ranchers. The

Department provides technical support to Federal

partners negotiating for U.S. access to foreign

markets through bilateral and multilateral trade

negotiations. In addition to providing information

related to animal and plant health concerns,

USDA also assists in resolving SPS issues when

individual shipments are held up at foreign ports

of entry. The Department provides guidance and

technical information to U.S. exporters as they

implement measures to meet foreign animal and

plant health requirements as well as certiﬁes that

shipments meet foreign countries’ requirements

as needed. These actions ensure that U.S. exports

keep moving to global markets.

Build Technical and Regulatory Capacity: USDA

will continue to strengthen the openness in

emerging economies for agricultural trade with

the United States through positive examples of

technical collaboration and capacity-building

programs. USDA works with many foreign

countries that lack the capacity to conduct

required risk assessments and other activities

needed to engage in agricultural trade to build

animal and plant health regulatory capacity.

Helping other countries strengthen regulatory

capacity allows them to participate in safe

agricultural trade and prevent the spread of pests

and diseases beyond their borders. Ultimately,

these activities will help protect the United

States from foreign pests and diseases as well as

potentially lead to new export opportunities in the

future.

Outcome

Ensuring access to international markets will be

the main outcome of the objective, which will

be achieved by negotiating, monitoring, and

enforcing trade agreements that improve access

to key markets and by providing technical and

scientiﬁc expertise that address animal and plant

health issues associated with trade. In FY 2016,

USDA preserved more than $5 billion in trade

by opening new markets or restarting ones that

were shut down and assisting with individual

commodity shipments that were held up at

foreign ports of entry. USDA also issued more

than 600,000 export certiﬁcates for agricultural

shipments, with a total value in the billions of

dollars.

USDA provides leadership in the international

standard-setting organizations such as the

World Organization for Animal Health and the

International Plant Protection Convention.

USDA’s expertise in international standard

setting, results in the promotion of safe trade and

encourages reciprocities from the U.S. trading

partners. These efforts led to the safe trade of

agricultural products worth an estimated market

value of $2.6 billion. In addition, the USDA’s

capacity-building efforts in other countries

promote safe agricultural trade and ultimately

reduce the risks from these countries of pest and

disease spread.

Evidence Building

The establishment of the Under Secretary

for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs

(TFAA), which is dedicated to the promotion

and expansion of U.S. agricultural exports, is a

crucial development in meeting the Department’s

trade strategic goal. The TFAA mission area

will identify strategies and set clear priorities

to minimize all factors that hinder trade and to

maximize opportunities for U.S. ranchers, farmers,

and processors. The TFAA will use the ITPC

to develop a uniﬁed trade strategy. Improved

coordination and strategic decision-making will

generate export opportunities for producers and

exporters and improve customer service. This

effort responds directly to external stakeholders’

concerns about getting rapid resolution on

detained shipments, application of non-science-

based trade barriers, and other urgent situations

that affect U.S. exports.

Strategic

Goal 3

Strategic

Goal 3

USDA routinely monitors key program activities

and initiatives, conducts program reviews,

and works collaboratively with partners and

stakeholders to solicit feedback on program

operations and policies. For example, USDA holds

routine meetings with industry sectors to solicit

feedback on high-priority programs and initiatives.

Stakeholders continually stress the importance of

exports to their producers. USDA works closely

with the ofﬁce of the U.S. Trade Representative

to maintain a coordinated, strategic approach

to resolving SPS trade-barrier issues and other

trade-policy challenges facing the Department.

USDA’s technical support is key to ensuring that

U.S. agricultural exports can move around the

world. The Department provides pest and disease

analyses to document the status or absence of

pests and diseases of concern to trading partners,

works with exporters to ensure their products meet

the requirements of trading partners, and certiﬁes

that individual shipments meet foreign countries’

import requirements (as needed).

Objective 3.3:

Build Demand in Developing Countries

Through Trade Capacity Building

USDA advances global trade and food security

with food assistance, agricultural training,

and technical assistance for developing

economies worldwide. USDA programs foster

market-based, economic growth along the full

agricultural development spectrum, and they

build the capacity of countries to integrate

into the global economy and become trading

partners with the United States. The adoption

of import and regulatory policies aligned with

international standards and the dissemination

of new agricultural technologies are priorities.

USDA works with these countries to move them

along the agricultural market spectrum from

developing economies to developed economies

with promising demand potential. USDA’s trade

capacity-building and food-security programs aim

to build the foundations for future markets and

create long-term international relationships that

further advance U.S. agriculture’s export interests

in developing countries.

These services strive to strengthen the capacity

of foreign countries to import and participate in

international markets fully, which could expand

demand for U.S. agricultural products and also

enhance global food security. USDA works with

U.S. agricultural industries, host-government

ofﬁcials, agricultural scientists, and overseas

farmers and businesses in promoting long-term

market growth, food security, and trade capacity

building. USDA conducts trade and scientiﬁc

exchange programs, notably the Cochran and

Borlaug Fellowship Programs, to develop markets

and achieve food-security objectives. The

Cochran and Borlaug Fellowship Programs assist

in opening markets, decreasing or eliminating

trade barriers for U.S. agricultural exports.

USDA is just one partner in this objective.

Initiatives are undertaken by many U.S.

Government agencies, other governments,

international ﬁnancial institutions, and private

development organizations, as well as the

local governments. Natural disasters, political

instability, and inconsistent economic and

import policies have the potential to hamper the

effectiveness of these initiatives.

Strategies

USDA looks to improve food security, nutrition,

and literacy by providing food assistance to food-

insecure countries and leveraging partnerships

with U.S. Government agencies, land-grant

universities, the private sector, and other

institutions to conduct technical assistance and

training for food insecure nations.

We support trade capacity building, research and

technical training, and food assistance activities

to expand economic growth and opportunities,

to open markets and eliminate trade barriers to

Strategic

Goal 3

help strengthen agricultural systems and markets

in developing countries for U.S. agricultural and

food exports. This will be done by working with

other U.S. Government agencies and foreign

counterparts to develop and adopt market-based

policies and institutions to create demand for

U.S. exports through trade capacity building in

strategically targeted markets.

Outcome

Developing new markets is the main goal of the

objective. USDA will continue to provide food

assistance, training and technical assistance, and

technical exchanges that build foreign country

capacity to grow, buy, use, and process U.S.

agricultural products. USDA’s trade capacity

building and food security programs build the

foundation for future markets and create long-term

demand for U.S. agricultural and food products

in developing countries. The adoption of U.S.

trade and regulatory policies and new agricultural

technologies will move the developing counties

along the agricultural continuum from developing

economies to developed economies, where market

expansion is the primary focus.

Key Performance Measures

Evidence Building

Improved coordination and strategic decision-

making will generate export opportunities for

producers and exporters and improve customer

service. USDA had a Lean Six Sigma assessment

to look at the review and award processes for the

Food Assistance Programs. The goals included

reducing the application timeframe and improving

customer service. This effort responds directly to

external stakeholders’ concerns about application,

review, and the award process of the programs.

USDA has included improvements in the review

and award processes based on recommendations

from this assessment.

Human Capital Management

USDA’s human capital efforts will focus on

ensuring our workforce is prepared to assist our

customers in an ever increasingly competitive

market place. USDA will work to close competency

and stafﬁng gaps to meet customers’ demands, thus

better positioning USDA to support a competitive

agriculture system. Equipped with the proper

knowledge, skills, and abilities, USDA employees

will be well suited to work with its industry partners

to advance agricultural trade opportunities.

Baseline

Data

FY 2017

FY 2018

Target

FY 2022

Target

Value of agricultural exports resulting from participation in

foreign food and agricultural trade shows ($ Billion).

$1.52

(FY15)

$1.70 $1.73

Value of trade preserved through resolution of foreign

market access issues such as U.S. export detainment,

restrictive SPS and TBT issues, and trade regulations

($ Billion).

$3.6

(FY15)

$4.0 $6.0

Percentage of Food for Progress projects that increase a

project participant’s value of sales by 9% or higher

33% 35% 43%

SPS – Sanitary and Phytosanitary

TBT – Technical Barriers to Trade

FY 2022 targets are based on the assumption that this program will continue to be appropriated at current levels. Measures and targets

will be revisited and revised as Appropriations bills are drafted and enacted.

Strategic

Goal 4

Strategic Goal 4:

Facilitate Rural Prosperity and Economic Development

SDA promotes rural prosperity and

economic development by ﬁnancing

investments in rural utilities, housing, and

businesses. When rural Americans share the

same level of infrastructure services as the

country’s urban areas, rural communities can

make even greater economic contributions

with healthy businesses and families. Just

as economic and social science research

informs decision-makers regarding current

trends in rural America and gaps in existing

markets, USDA may then provide beneﬁts

to rural American businesses and citizens.

USDA will leverage funds, stimulate

private-public partnerships, and engage in

collaboration to build rural infrastructure

including: broadband, community facilities,

safe and affordable housing, health services

and facilities, and provide capacity building

to help underserved communities become

thriving communities.

Objective 4.1:

Expand Rural Business Opportunity

and Rural Quality of Life With Access

to Capital; Improved Infrastructure,

Broadband Access, and Connectivity; and

Support for Workforce Availability

USDA’s Rural Development serves a leading

role in facilitating rural prosperity and economic

development by ﬁnancing investments in rural

utilities, housing, and business investments.

Building and modernizing rural America’s

infrastructure will be a critical pillar of the

Administration’s efforts to create jobs and increase

our country’s productivity of vital goods and

services. Likewise, communities that do not invest

in critical infrastructure upgrades risk losing their

ability to provide clean, safe, and reliable water;

electric, broadband, health, other community

services; and business growth.

A strategic economic development approach

will be required for rural communities to succeed

today, for tomorrow, and for these communities

to become economic hubs of the future economy.

Continued investment will be required to close

infrastructure gaps and connect rural residents and

businesses to nationwide and global commerce.

Infrastructure investment has historically been

an appropriate and effective role for the Federal

Government. Such investments expand the

private sector’s access to markets while enhancing

opportunity for small businesses, which are the

backbone of rural communities. Infrastructure

investments strengthen the job market by making

workforce participation more accessible through

improved access to transportation, education,

Strategic

Goal 4

health care, broadband, and other services

essential to maintaining a robust commercial

environment and labor force. USDA works

to engage local leaders, business partnerships,

and local and State governments to facilitate

self-driven efforts to improve quality of life and

economic prosperity.

Finally, these investments can help address

signiﬁcant challenges for rural economies, such as

providing for the care and residential needs of an

aging population. Building water treatment plants,

hospitals, businesses, schools, homes, and other

infrastructural components not only creates jobs

but also increases long-term aggregate demand for

goods and services within a community.

USDA is committed to ensuring small towns

beneﬁt from economic recovery. The Secretary

is leading the President’s initiatives, along with

other Federal departments and agencies, to

promote agriculture and rural prosperity through

the Agriculture and Rural Prosperity Task Force.

The strategies implemented by the Task Force

will empower rural communities and help their

economies to thrive.

USDA’s Rural Development (RD) programs

are delivered by a ﬁeld-based workforce with

program delivery system and back-ofﬁce servicing

operations that responds to the unique challenges

and opportunities in rural areas. USDA’s

stewardship of taxpayer funds and historically

low-cost programs enable robust rural investments

in infrastructure for business success and quality of

life.

Under Secretary Perdue’s leadership, Rural

Development has been tasked with ﬁnding

opportunities to reform regulations and policies to

improve program access and reduce administrative

burden on rural customers. To further improve

the customer experience, the Department is

modernizing its technology and tools, as well

as developing system-wide outcomes-driven

management structures to ensure optimal impact

of Federal resources.

Strategies

The strategies below will position Rural

Development for faster, friendlier, and easier

Government service and improved rural prosperity

through updated infrastructure, improved business

opportunities, and enhanced quality of life.

Broadband Infrastructure: Working with private

and public-sector partners, design and implement

an integrated role for USDA in the Federal

Government’s strategy to facilitate access for all

of rural America to modern data connectivity. A

connected rural America enables global commerce

for small businesses, precision agriculture, just-in-

time manufacturing, efﬁcient transportation, and

multiple other productivity beneﬁts. A connected

rural America also ensures modern education,

remote training for workforce development, and

cost-efﬁcient and effective healthcare.

Community Infrastructure: Facilitate and leverage

direct investment in community and commercial

infrastructure that supports rural economies.

Investment in rural human-services transportation,

utilities, and commercial infrastructure addresses

primary business needs, fosters entrepreneurship,

attracts corporate investment, and reduces

unemployment. Much-needed investments in

broadband high-speed internet connectivity for

schools and libraries, healthcare and wellness

facilities, as well as power, telecommunications,

water, and waste management systems will be

prioritized and measured for outcomes.

Housing Infrastructure: An increased workforce

often requires increased support for rural housing

infrastructure. These projects also help rural

citizens build equity, improve quality of life, and

supplement residential cost burdens for limited-

income rural communities. Housing infrastructure

is also an important asset for economic

development and agriculture production. Federal

policies, programs, and partnerships can encourage

cost-effective investments that will appropriately

situate Federal investment in rural housing.

Health Infrastructure: Improve access to

healthcare by assisting in the development of

local response capacity for health challenges.

Investment in community infrastructure can

support health education, provision of specialty

health care, as well as improve mental and

behavioral health facilities.

Capacity-Building Infrastructure: Assist rural areas

in developing the planning, leadership, technical,

and professional expertise needed to sustain and

grow rural economies, leverage multi-sector or

multi-jurisdictional partnerships, and advance

regional collaboration. When strategically targeted

and leveraged, USDA’s portfolio of programs

can assist community leaders in pursuing their

economic development vision by providing

the tools they need to build local capacity and

improve the quality of life in their community.

Strategic Partnerships: Leverage strategic

partnerships with other Federal agencies, State

and local governments, non-proﬁts, and the

private sector to increase USDA efﬁciency and

effectiveness at facilitating rural prosperity and

promoting economic development and growth.

Program Delivery: Reform, innovate, and better

align Rural Development operations to deliver

more effective service to our customers, partners,

and stakeholders. Rural Development can leverage

technology and expand tools to enhance mission

area services, and it will continue to implement

enterprise risk management activities and

effectively address internal and external risks that

could impact the success of Rural Development

programs.

Strategic

Goal 4

Strategic

Goal 4

Outcomes

The primary outcome is enhanced economic

prosperity, supported by robust rural infrastructure.

By ﬁnancing the most effective rural infrastructure

investments, USDA seeks to promote the

sustainable growth and diversiﬁcation of local

rural economies, as well as their increased capacity

to participate successfully in regional, national,

and global economies. To achieve this outcome,

USDA intends to build a body of work which

will help us better understand the impact of the

programs in rural communities.

Evidence

Understanding and documenting the impacts

of USDA’s economic development effort

through community, telecommunications,

water, transportation, energy, and residential

infrastructure programs will be priorities of this

Strategic Plan. Current program performance

metrics are dependent on estimated data provided

by the applicants on long-term projections of

outcomes, pending funding approval. Since

community needs vary widely, the speed to

economic improvements may vary depending on

applicants’ capacity, industry sectors, data sharing,

and performance reporting by program and/or

community. Therefore, USDA staff will continue

to collaborate with each applicant to determine

customized project metrics.

Going forward, Rural Development will strive to

develop outcome-based measures to improve data-

driven investment selection and evaluate project

performance. Additionally, new methodologies

and institutional capabilities and capacities will

be required to measure the aggregated success

of projects within each agency, across multiple

programs, and for the entire mission area.

USDA’s Rural Development will explore

economic indicators that could be used to

correlate USDA’s contribution to the country’s

success and growth. Potential indicators include:

• Broadband: Increased access to new and

improved broadband services to rural

households, businesses, and farms

• Community: Increased local economic

stimulus (as based upon changes in

aggregate demand or other measures) and

job creation from ﬁnancing support of

rural entrepreneurial, minority, and small

business

• Housing: Affordable housing market in

rural communities

• Health: Increased health care access

(reduced average distance to health care

facilities)

• Capacity Building: Improved employment

rate, new business creation, and job

growth

• Program Delivery: Attract more

applicants to programs and improve

procedures for lowering loan/grant

processing times

Human Capital Management

USDA’s commitment to the future of rural

communities and our goal of increasing rural

prosperity will be achieved by ensuring we have

a skilled, well-trained, and customer-focused

workforce. To assist in the identiﬁcation of skills

gap analysis, Rural Development will initiate

a Training Needs Survey to assess applicable

training needs and incorporate into organization

training plans as appropriate. Rural Development

will work to align employee development needs

with key competencies to achieve success in

meeting our goals of implementing multi-agency,

multi-jurisdictional, and multi-sectoral activities

to improve the delivery of services and programs

for our customers in rural America. To meet

this strategic goal, we will focus our work on

three speciﬁc priorities: (1) infrastructure, (2)

partnerships, and (3) innovation.

Key Performance Measures

Strategic

Goal 4

Baseline

Data

FY 2017

FY 2018

Target

FY 2022

Target

Health Facilities: Percent of customers who are provided

access to new and/or improved essential community

facilities.

5.0% 6.8% 7.1%

Safety Facilities: Percent of customers who are provided

access to new and/or improved essential community

facilities.

3.7

(FY14)%

4.5% 4.7%

Number of borrowers’ subscribers receiving new and/or

improved electric facilities (Million)

4.6

(FY14)

5.1 5.3

Number of borrowers’ subscribers receiving new and/

or improved telecommunication services (Million, Non-

cumulative)

0.158 0 .17 5 0.182

Amount of targeted RD investments that leverage private-

sector funding (Billion).

7.0 7.5 7.5

RD – Rural Development

The Secretary will update the performance measures used to manage the Rural Development programs based on the ﬁndings and

guidance in the Agriculture and Rural Prosperity Task Force recommendations. This update will ensure that the performance metrics

more accurately measure the efﬁciency, effectiveness, customer focus, and impact on rural prosperity of these programs. When outcome

measures are further developed, USDA will add these to the Annual Performance Plans and future budget documents.

Strategic

Goal 5

Strategic Goal 5:

Strengthen the Stewardship of Private Lands Through

Technology and Research

he world population is expected to

reach 9.6 billion by 2050. Feeding

this population will require adoption

of new science and technologies and

the implementation of science-based

conservation plans to sustainably increase

agricultural production. To ensure

U.S. private working lands and public

agricultural landscapes are conserved,

the Department will provide technical

and ﬁnancial assistance using the latest

technology and research available. New and

improved practices result from fundamental

and applied research to understand the

complex interactions between human

systems and the environment, and

transferring the resulting knowledge into

the hands of producers and land managers

through information, tools, and decision

support.

Objective 5.1:

Enhance Conservation Planning With

Science-Based Tools and Information

USDA is the world leader in delivering science-

based conservation planning. The Department

has a unique system of more than 3,000 service

delivery points that offer technical and ﬁnancial

assistance to producers on their farms, ranches,

and woodlands. The technical staff across the

country provide assistance to clients on the

adoption of the latest science and technology

that is critical to help sustain economically sound

operations.

Private-sector investment in natural resources

conservation has grown signiﬁcantly over the

last few decades, and USDA’s Natural Resource

Conservation Service (NRCS) continues to

engage with private partners in carrying out

conservation planning and activities. It is critical

that such investments achieve the conservation

outcomes that meet producer and societal

expectations. USDA’s conservation planning

process results in conservation-system solutions

based on the most recent science and technology

standards. The quality criteria that underpin

conservation systems based on USDA-assisted

conservation plans will ensure conservation

investments achieve desired outcomes while

meeting consumer needs.

Strategic

Goal 5

Strategy

Enhance Technical Assistance: The Department

delivers conservation technical assistance to

American producers that utilizes current science

and technology, providing economically and

environmentally sustainable solutions to natural

resource issues. USDA will continue to develop

and streamline its technical tools and assistance

by partnering with scientiﬁc research institutions

and private industry experts to enhance the

conservation planning process and results.

Outcome

Accessible and relevant conservation

tools and technologies deliver value to our

customers through improved engagement and

implementation of their customized, site-speciﬁc

conservation plans. The short-term outcome is

to have highly qualiﬁed and trained conservation

planners that directly interact with customers. The

long-term outcomes, after customers implement

their science-based conservation systems, are

reductions in soil erosion, improvements in air

and water quality on the farm and downstream,

and enhanced wildlife habitat as measured by

programmatic trends and State, regional, and

national conservation statistics. Additionally,

NRCS hopes producers will leverage knowledge

gained from conservation planning to change

management practices and implement

conservation improvements without the need for

additional technical and ﬁnancial assistance.

Evidence

In the coming years, USDA will utilize several

avenues to ensure progress. One of those avenues

will be to utilize the Conservation Effects

Assessment Project (CEAP), which is a multi-

agency effort to quantify the environmental

effects of conservation systems and programs and

further develop the science base for managing

the agricultural landscape for environmental

quality. Assessments in CEAP are carried out

at national, regional, and watershed scales on

cropland, grazing lands, wetlands, and for wildlife.

The three principal components of CEAP—the

national assessments, the watershed assessment

studies, and the bibliographies and literature

reviews — all contribute to building the science

base for conservation. That process includes

research, modeling, assessment, monitoring and

data collection, outreach, and education. Project

ﬁndings will be made readily available in a timely

manner so they can be used to guide USDA

conservation policy and program development and

help conservationists, farmers, ranchers, and forest

managers to make more informed conservation

decisions that will allow them to increase their

production sustainably. Other datasets developed

at USDA, including the Census of Agriculture,

Agricultural Resource Management Survey,

National Resources Inventory, and Forest

Inventory and Analysis, can be used to quantify

the adoption and outcomes of a variety of

agricultural and forestry conservation practices.

Another avenue will be to utilize existing

authorities, which provides USDA broad strategic

assessment and planning authority for the

conservation, protection, and enhancement of

soil, water, and related natural resources. Through

these authorities, USDA appraises the status and

trends of soil, water, and related resources on non-

Federal land and assesses its capability to meet

present and future demands; evaluates current and

needed programs, policies, and authorities; and

develops a national soil and water conservation

program to give direction to USDA soil and

water conservation activities. USDA is currently

exploring development of survey instruments to

systematically gather information on factors that

lead producers to adopt or to discontinue using

conservation practices. Looking ahead, USDA

will utilize these authorities to consistently report

on trends in conservation and resource conditions.

This will provide USDA with the capability to

examine interrelated issues that have implications

for U.S. agriculture and forestry, such as quality

and availability of water, changing climate, and

invasive species.

Objective 5.2:

Promote Productive Working Lands

Stewardship of private working lands and forests

helps to conserve natural resources and sustain

the health and vitality of rural America. The

Department leads the public and private effort

to ensure proven technologies and resources

are available to foster productive working land

through locally led conservation and direct

customer service.

USDA’s leadership is essential to develop and

deliver science-based, conservation solutions

in a timely, responsive manner. Conservation

programs are continually evaluated to help

private land owners and producers build greater

resiliency in soils, cropping systems, and wooded

landscapes through conservation systems that help

them adapt to current and future environmental

and market conditions. NRCS goals are to

provide technical and ﬁnancial assistance to

improve conservation of natural resources and

sustainably increase agricultural productivity and

farm incomes. NRCS works with producers to

help them understand the vulnerabilities posed

to agricultural systems from variable natural

conditions and implement conservation systems

on private lands that build resilience to extreme

weather and events.

Science-based conservation systems help working

lands provide healthy, plentiful food and clean

water and air. USDA provides the necessary

technical and ﬁnancial assistance in partnership

with Conservation Districts and other local

entities. USDA also helps to establish technical

and programmatic criteria that ensure fair,

efﬁcient, effective, and timely customer service in

a manner that best serves customer needs.

Strategy

Individualize Technical Assistance: USDA

will continue to provide targeted voluntary

conservation programs and individualized

technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, and

forest managers that facilitates the sustainability

and economic viability of their operations while

enhancing soil health, water resources, and

habitat for ﬁsh and wildlife species. Agricultural

production that includes resource conservation

involves not only the voluntary participation of

farmers, ranchers, and forest managers, but also

diverse groups at the State and local level.

Outcome

Through voluntary conservation programs, the

short-term results are that farmers, ranchers, and

forest managers apply conservation practices that

are custom-designed for their farm and facilitate

operations and production. The medium to long-

term outcomes are improvements in soil health,

water resources, and critical wildlife habitat.

Evidence

Conservation programs are continually evaluated

to ensure effectiveness, incorporate the latest

science, and adapt to changing conditions. The

Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP)

ﬁndings and other monitoring, assessment, and

evaluation will be used to improve efﬁcacy of

programs by quantifying conservation effects and

providing tools for understanding what suites of

practices are most effective and where resources

will have the greatest impact.

Strategic

Goal 5

Strategic

Goal 5

Updates to the soils and ecological site inventory

provide farmers, ranchers, forest managers, and

conservationists with the best available data for

decision-making, enhancing the effectiveness

of conservation systems and programs. A new,

national inventory of soil health will further

enhance our ability to assess the effectiveness of

conservation programs in providing improved on

and off-farm beneﬁts.

Objective 5.3:

Enhance Productive Agricultural

Landscapes

Productive working agricultural lands are critical

to the vitality of rural communities where the

majority of the economic opportunities are

derived from land-based production such as

forestry, livestock growing, cropping, as well as

tourism and recreation. Balancing land-based

production activities in rural communities requires

a landscape approach to conservation. Productive

agricultural landscapes that are also inviting

for tourism and recreation include: clean and

available water, healthy wetlands, streams and

rivers, abundant ﬁsh and wildlife, and productive,

healthy soils for crops, livestock, and forestry. In

many cases, the economic drivers of production for

one purpose may put pressure on the rural assets

in another sector, which can be mitigated through

USDA assistance. Sustainable forestry or grazing

practices based on good conservation systems

can enhance the local economy and continue to

provide the landscape views that attract other

opportunities. In some cases, there is an asset in

the landscape that is an anchor for both economic

and environmental vitality. When these key

rural assets are conserved through prioritized and

focused USDA program assistance, the entire

agricultural landscape beneﬁts, both in terms of

land-based production activities in one sector and

recreational activities in another.

Strategy

Promote Agricultural Landscapes: Using the

landscape approach, NRCS programs and

partnerships link the multiple resource concerns of

both urban and rural societies. Holistic, landscape-

based conservation focuses resources on the most

critical areas to maximize conservation impact and

allow producers to be natural resource stewards.

The process combines landscape-scale data and

community knowledge to drive decisions for

implementation.

Outcomes

Through a landscape approach for delivering

targeted conservation solutions, USDA leverages

sound science and partner capacities to support

meaningful and measurable outcomes. In the

short term, these efforts result in evidence-based

strategies to address natural resource challenges.

Based on local needs, the medium and long-

term outcomes of this landscape strategy can be

measured or quantiﬁed through cleaner water

for drinking and increasing the abundance of

indicator species.

Evidence

Like the previously mentioned Promotion of

Productive Working Lands evidence techniques

under this strategic goal, NRCS will use the

Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP)

ﬁndings and other monitoring, assessment, and

evaluation tools to improve efﬁcacy of programs.

These tools will allow NRCS to quantify

conservation effects to understand what suites of

practices are most effective and where resources

will have the greatest impact.

Strategic

Goal 5

Human Capital Management

To achieve these objectives, NRCS will develop

stafﬁng plans based on the operational demands

of delivering science-based conservation planning

and implementation of planned conservation

systems. Moreover, USDA will conduct a

workforce competency gap analysis to establish

speciﬁc priorities to recruit, retain, and train

Key Performance Measures

the workforce so critical skill gaps are addressed.

Speciﬁc strategies, actions, and performance

measures will be outlined in the USDA Human

Capital Operating Plan and USDA’s Human

Capital Action Plans. These actions will be

evaluated on a quarterly basis to ensure effective

and efﬁcient management of the efforts to address

critical skill gaps.

Baseline

Data

FY 2017

FY 2018

Target

FY 2022

Target

Soil carbon retained on cropland to improve yields and

sequester carbon (Tons)

140,000

(FY16)

140,000 140,000

Cropland with conservation

applied to improve soil quality

(Million Acres)

Environmental Quality

Incentives Program (EQIP)

3.0 3.0 3.0

Conservation Technical

Assistance (CTA)

5.9 5.9 5.9

Tons of sediment prevented from leaving cropland and

entering waterbodies (Million Tons)

4.6

(FY16)

4.6 4.6

Working land protected by conservation easements

(Thousand Acres)

60.7 80.0 80.0

Acreage enrolled in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

riparian and grass buffers (Cumulative, Million Acres)

1.6 1.6 1.6

CRP restored wetland acreage (Million Acres) 1.9 (FY15) 1.9 1.9

The Agricultural Act of 2014 authorizes all of these programs until the end of 2018 (except the CTA program, which is not a Farm Bill

program). FY 2022 targets are based on the assumption that the programs will be reauthorized at current levels. Measures and targets will

be revisited once the next Farm Bill is signed into law.

Strategic Goal 6:

Strategic

Goal 6

Ensure Productive and Sustainable Use of our National Forest

System Lands

he Nation’s forests and grasslands are

a fundamental part of the American

landscape and are a legacy that the USDA

Forest Service holds in trust for present and

future generations. Forests provide clean air

and water, forest and rangeland products,

mineral and energy resources, jobs, quality

habitat for ﬁsh and wildlife, recreational

opportunities, and memorable experiences.

The Forest Service plays a critical role in

making America’s forests and grasslands

resilient to threats and disturbances while

mitigating wildﬁre risk. The Department

also manages the National Forests and

grasslands to ensure that they are healthy

and sustainable – while also allowing rural

communities to access and beneﬁt from

economic opportunities that our Nation’s

forests offer. This work is complemented

with USDA’s research in forestry, ecology,

and economics to ensure world-class science

guides effective policies and management

practices.

Objective 6.1:

Contribute to the Economic Health of

Rural Communities Through Use and

Access Opportunities

The USDA mission includes serving the

American people who live in and around national

forests and helping these communities thrive

economically. The agency manages approximately

193 million acres of public land, much of it rural

and remote. Land management activities can

inﬂuence rural economies, and USDA is in a

unique position to help enable economic recovery

and growth on multiple fronts. Analysis shows that

in FY 2014, Forest Service programs and projects

contributed nearly 360,000 jobs and more than

$30 billion in gross domestic product. Timber sales

from National Forests beneﬁt forest health and

provide raw material for local timber industries,

sustaining local jobs. National Forest System lands

include the Nation’s largest trail system, more

than 5,000 campgrounds, 30,000 recreation areas,

2 million acres of lakes, 200,000 miles of ﬁshable

streams, and 120 downhill ski areas – some of the

most diverse outdoor recreation opportunities in

the world. Outﬁtters and guides support recreation

activities on the National Forests, contributing to

local economies across the country and helping

millions of forest visitors enjoy their experience.

The agency permits over 7,000 outﬁtter and guide

businesses – many of these special-use permittees

are small and family-owned businesses with deep

ties to the land.

Strategic

Goal 6

Strategies

Improve Customer Experience: Complex and

potentially competing demands on the land

require USDA to work collaboratively and

practice shared stewardship to sustain the

beneﬁts that people receive from these natural

areas—maintaining local cultures and traditions,

connecting people to the land, and contributing

to quality of life. The agency maintains strong

community relationships and works to improve

the customer experience on national forests and

grasslands.

Streamline Permitting Process: As the public’s

recreation preferences change, USDA adapts

to provide high-quality recreation access.

USDA is streamlining the recreation special-

use permitting process to improve accessibility

and customer service, including piloting an

online permitting system to expedite permit

processing and expanding the suite of available

recreation opportunities. This could encourage

new businesses to support these outdoor activities,

which could drive rural economic growth.

Increase Recreational Opportunities: Studies have

shown that rural counties near Federal land fare

better on several key measures of economic growth

than counties far from Federal land, and USDA is

using this insight to maximize beneﬁts and reduce

risks to rural economies. For example, the agency

is working with many winter recreation-dependent

communities to enable year-round recreation-

related income to mitigate risks from being reliant

on one season. Helping skiing communities add

low-snow and off-season recreation opportunities,

like zip lines, mountain bike terrain parks and

trails, disc golf courses, and rope courses, provide

more ways for an increasingly urbanized and

demographically diverse population to connect

with nature and help the communities become

more economically resilient.

Streamline Environmental Analysis and Decision-

Making Processes: USDA is working to streamline

its environmental analysis and decision-making

processes. This will help the agency upgrade

staff capacity toward improving the condition of

forests and rangelands, reduce the time to process

minerals permits, and allow projects to proceed

more quickly. This work will also restore ecosystem

function, deliver dependable energy, and provide

jobs and economic beneﬁts for rural communities.

The Agency is also identifying ways to improve

and modernize our policies, practices, and tools

that produce forest products to more effectively

address forest health conditions, create sustainable

landscapes, and increase the amount of forest

products coming from National Forests.

Outcome

More people will visit National Forest lands as

customer service and facilities improve, increasing

our economic contribution to rural communities.

Evidence Building

Robust socio-economic research helps the agency

understand the contribution of public lands to

community well-being and rural revitalization

and helps the agency assess community needs and

expectations. There are three key research areas.

First, USDA research explores traditional and

emerging economic opportunities on National

Forests and grasslands that may reinvigorate

local communities while ensuring environmental

sustainability. USDA also examines barriers to

accessing economic opportunities, and methods

for facilitating participation.

Second, research can help the agency understand

how to create, sustain, and monitor effective

collaborative processes and partnerships that

engage local community members in planning and

management efforts. Building rural community

capacity to access and participate in these

processes, and shape their future, is central to

developing partnerships that support proﬁtability

of resource-based livelihoods and environmental

sustainability.

The third stream of research focuses on developing

meaningful ways to measure public beneﬁts.

Locally signiﬁcant indicators identify and capture

the social and economic outcomes of management

decisions, and help the agency understand

the impacts of our engagement efforts. These

indicators also help calculate the return on public

funds invested in research for better management

and partnerships. Ongoing monitoring of

recreational visitor use analyzes public satisfaction

with recreation resources and helps the agency

assess visitor contributions to local economies.

Strategic

Goal 6

Objective 6.2:

Ensure Lands and Watersheds Are

Sustainable, Healthy, and Productive

USDA manages about 20 percent of the Nation’s

forests and nearly 10 percent of the Nation’s

rangelands. These forests and grasslands are

essential to the environmental, economic,

and social well-being of the country. However,

these lands are suffering increasingly adverse

impacts from severe wildﬁres, insects and

disease infestations, human inﬂuences, and

extreme weather events, leaving them unable to

provide critical natural resources and recreation

opportunities for the public. The Forest Service’s

ongoing objective is to improve forest and

grassland conditions to make them healthier and

more resilient to extreme events, be responsive to

public needs, and ensure that lands and watersheds

are sustainable, healthy, and productive so current

and future generations can continue to use and

enjoy these lands.

Strategies

Increase Partnerships: The Forest Service is

pursuing several strategies to restore forests and

grasslands in the most efﬁcient and effective

way. First, USDA is emphasizing landscape-scale

restoration objectives that achieve multiple

restoration goals at once – restoring watersheds,

improving wildlife habitat, and combating

invasive insects and disease while reducing wildﬁre

risk and providing a steady supply of timber to the

American economy. Second, the Forest Service is

relying on lessons learned from collaborative pilot

efforts and working with partners across disciplines

and boundaries. Collaborating with partners to

address the large-scale landscape restoration needs

allows the Forest Service to focus on high-priority

work, address unexpected challenges, conduct

larger projects, leverage resources, reduce litigation

risk, and enter into multi-year contracts.

Strategic

Goal 6

Modernize Policies and Practices: The Forest

Service is also streamlining environmental review

and decision-making processes to be more effective

and efﬁcient, allowing the agency to upgrade staff

capacity toward improving the condition of forests

and rangelands. The Agency is also identifying

ways to improve and modernize our policies,

practices, and tools, such as using the following

expanded authorities from the 2014 Farm Bill to

increase ﬂexibility, get work done efﬁciently and

effectively, reduce risk, and promote enduring

relationships with Federal, State, local, tribal, and

private-sector partners:

(1) Good Neighbor Authority, which allows the

agency to enter into agreements with States

to restore watersheds and manage forests on

Federal and non-Federal lands;

(2) Stewardship contracting, which helps the

Forest Service achieve the objective while

promoting closer public-private working

relationships by using the value of timber

or other forest products to offset the cost of

restoration activities;

(3) Designation by prescription, where USDA

designates trees for removal by describing the

desired end result of the treatment and allows

the contractor to select the trees to be cut or

left, saving the agency the time and labor of

marking trees for a timber sale; and,

(4) Streamlined environmental review

procedures for treatments mitigating risk

in designated insect and disease infestation

areas.

Outcome

The Forest Service’s ecological restoration

projects will improve the condition of forests

and grasslands and support the growth and

development of healthy ecosystems and vibrant,

resilient communities. By focusing restoration

efforts on maintaining functional ecosystems,

USDA protects water quality; reduces the adverse

impacts from insects, diseases, and wildﬁres;

and increases USDA’s capacity to sustain rural

communities. Long-term conservation enhances

the natural functions of the land and helps

maintain healthy, resilient, and productive forests

and grasslands for future generations.

Evidence Building

USDA prioritizes restoring the areas of greatest

concern as it works to improve the resilience of

all forests and grasslands amidst ongoing stresses

and disturbances. To support their decisions, land

managers use the best available science to show

how forests provide clean, secure water supplies,

and how environmental disturbances and climate

inﬂuence water resources. USDA also evaluates

“best management practices” to determine their

effectiveness in reducing impacts to water quality

while threat assessment centers monitor the

outbreaks and spread of insects and disease.

USDA has multiple strategies and decision tools

to characterize current ecological conditions,

monitor ecological trends over time, evaluate

the effectiveness of restoration efforts, and

measure success amidst changing environmental

conditions. These tools help land managers

incorporate climate science into real world

natural resource management and conservation

projects and address the ecological, social, and

economic demands on the landscape. Successes

include the Adaptation Workbook; Watershed

Condition Framework; USDA Climate Hubs;

Threat Assessment Centers; and the Joint

Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership. In

addition, the agency researches how international

competition, global economic development, and

changing economic and societal values deﬁne

and impact emerging technologies, products and

markets, and the goods and ecological services

forests provide.

Objective 6.3:

Mitigate Wildﬁre Risk

As the premier ﬁreﬁghting organization in the

country, the Forest Service is uniquely qualiﬁed

to mitigate wildﬁre risk. Wildﬁres can threaten

public safety, destroy property, and damage natural

resources, especially in the vulnerable wildland-

urban interface where developed lands mix

with ﬁre-prone forests. Wildﬁres often cross the

boundaries of Federal, State, local, and private

lands. The risk of uncharacteristically severe

wildﬁres rises when fuels like dense vegetation

and dead trees accumulate in forests and coincide

with drought conditions. The agency’s priority is

to proactively reduce risk of uncharacteristically

severe wildﬁre. When a wildﬁre response is

necessary to protect life, property, or forest health,

the agency works with partners to control ﬁres in

a safe, efﬁcient, cost-effective, and coordinated

manner.

Wildﬁres often play a natural and beneﬁcial role

in ecosystems and can help the agency maintain

healthy forests and grasslands. Applying the

best available science and land management

techniques, the agency works closely with

landowners and partners to assess the various risks

and means to restore the natural role of ﬁre in

sustaining a healthy forest ecosystem. The agency

uses the latest technologies to decide whether

to suppress a wildﬁre or use the ﬁre to achieve

long-term objectives for ecosystem health and

resilience. The agency also provides education to

reduce the incidence of human-caused wildﬁre

and assists at-risk communities in adapting to and

minimizing wildﬁre hazards.

Strategies

Increase Collaboration: The National Cohesive

Wildland Fire Management Strategy guides

collaborative wildﬁre management among

stakeholders and across landscapes, working

together towards common goals. This long-

term strategy, developed and implemented

in partnership with Federal, State, and local

governments, has three main components: (1)

restoring ﬁre-adapted ecosystems; (2) helping

communities become safer when threatened

by wildﬁre; and (3) responding appropriately

to wildﬁre. The agency promotes the Cohesive

Strategy as a national priority, and continues broad

educational and awareness efforts targeted towards

communities, potential partners, and internal and

external ﬁre personnel.

USDA, in collaboration with multiple partners,

will continue ongoing reduction of the risk

of catastrophic wildﬁres in priority areas near

communities, often through hazardous fuels

reduction, which is an effective way to protect

community values, restore forest and grassland

health, improve ﬁreﬁghter and public safety, and

negate the need for costly ﬁre response operations.

USDA also strives to educate people on ways

to reduce the incidence of human-caused ﬁres

through programs like Firewise.

Strategic

Goal 6

Strategic

Goal 6

Strengthen Initial Wildﬁre Response: Effective,

timely, and safe initial response to wildﬁre

threatening priority areas near communities

protects human lives. By working with States

to increase local capacity for the prevention

and suppression of wildﬁres, the Forest Service

strengthens the Nation’s capacity to respond

because the ﬁrst responders on almost 75 percent

of wildﬁres nationwide are local ﬁre departments

or State agencies. The Forest Service commits

responders where and when they can be successful

and under conditions where property can be

protected with minimal exposure. State and

local ﬁreﬁghters also provide critical capacity on

Incident Management Teams that respond to ﬁres

on Federal lands, including National Forests.

Outcome

The agency deﬁnes success as healthy and

resilient forests and communities that are

prepared for wildﬁre and that minimize exposure

to our ﬁreﬁghters and ﬁrst responders while still

protecting important values. USDA will work

with partners to respond to wildﬁres in ways that

protect human life, property, and prosperity. The

agency will control ﬁres in a coordinated manner

that is safe, efﬁcient, and cost effective, resulting

in healthy, resilient forests and grasslands while

bolstering thriving communities.

Evidence Building

USDA develops and uses tools and assessments

that help reduce risks to communities, the land,

and most importantly, human life and safety.

USDA works to understand how complex patterns

of landscape ownership inﬂuence risk, how

communities organize around adoption of Firewise

home and community ﬁre prevention principles,

and how to collaboratively plan forest restoration

strategies that are more implementable and cost-

effective.

Agency researchers coordinate their efforts with

landowners and managers to be more responsive

to stakeholder needs. For example, in the Paciﬁc

Northwest, the transmission of ﬁre from National

Forests to the wildland-urban interface is a

common problem. Mapping risk transmission

uncovered conﬂicts and opportunities that led to

improved Federal policies regarding restoration,

resilience, and wildﬁre protection opportunities.

Forecasting risks from wildﬁres is critical to

the success of reducing wildﬁre impacts. The

Prescribed Fire Combustion and Atmospheric

Dynamics Research Experiment (RxCADRE)

models predictions of ﬁre and smoke behavior

to support decision-making to ﬁght wildﬁres and

to reduce the air quality impacts of prescribed

burns. Researchers have developed short-term

assessments of wildﬁre risk, ranging from next-day

ﬁre danger ratings to 28-day wildﬁre potential

risks. A new model, Fire and Smoke Model

Evaluation Experiment, will augment RxCADRE,

focusing on additional parameters at larger spatial

and temporal scales.

The Forest Service continues to develop tools

and models for longer term forecasting of wildﬁre

risk that help in decision-making and evaluating

how decisions are made. USDA is developing

mid-term (months to a year) forecasts that may

inform strategic planning of large prescribed ﬁre

events and prioritization of wildﬁre-suppression

resources. The agency has also developed a wildﬁre

Risk Index based on the probability and intensity

of wildﬁre, and the exposure and susceptibility of

highly valued resources and assets. The Risk Index

will track changes in risk over time and will be

used at a national scale to help monitor outcomes

related to mitigating wildﬁre risk. Application

of these tools before, during, and after the ﬁre

season will increase preparedness, reduce hazards,

improve sustainability, and promote partnerships

with the public and other land-managing entities.

Strategic

Goal 6

Human Capital Management

The Forest Service will position itself to ensure

the productive and sustainable use of our National

Forest System lands by using quantitative and

qualitative analysis to support and develop its

workforce. Workforce demographics, hiring

trends, attrition, and retirement inﬂuence human

capital strategies and actions. Streamlined human

resource process-improvement strategies will

enable USDA to ﬁll mission-critical positions.

USDA recognizes the need for a trained and

Key Performance Measures

skilled workforce of timber sale administrators,

ﬁre planning specialists, ﬁre management ofﬁcers,

forestry technicians, rangeland management

specialists, natural resource specialists, foresters,

ecologists, and recreation specialists, among

others. Externally, engaging with State and local

partners provides opportunities for recruitment of

new talent and allows us to share our knowledge

and expertise. Revamping and strengthening our

educational programs will help increase interest in

mission-critical career ﬁelds.

Baseline

Data

FY 2017

FY 2018

Target

FY 2022

Target

Percent of customers satisﬁed with recreation facilities,

services, and settings on National Forests

95% 95% 95%

Timber volume sold (Billion Board feet) 2.9 3.4 5.0

Percent of National Forest Systems (NFS) watersheds in a

functioning condition

53% 53% 53%

Annual acreage of NFS lands where ﬁnal treatment

effectively mitigates wildﬁre risk

741,765 1,100,000 1,300,000

Annual acreage treated to reduce or maintain fuel

conditions on NFS and non-Federal lands

2,776,486 3,000,000 3,400,000

Strategic Goal 7:

Strategic

Goal 7

Provide All Americans Access to a Safe, Nutritious, and Secure

Food Supply

SDA has critical roles in preventing

foodborne illness and protecting

public health while also ensuring Americans

have access to food, a healthful diet, and

nutrition education in a manner that

supports American agriculture and inspires

public conﬁdence. The Department will

take a number of actions to achieve this

goal. First, to ensure the food supply is safe

the Department will continue to prevent

contamination and limit foodborne illness

by expanding its modernization of food

inspection systems, and USDA’s research,

education, and extension programs will

continue to provide information, tools,

and technologies about the causes of

foodborne illness and its prevention.

Second, USDA will continue to develop

partnerships that support best practices in

implementing effective programs to ensure

that eligible populations have access to

programs that support their food needs.

This includes research on nutritional

quality of American’s food and diets, as

well continuing to discover the drivers of

poor diets and nutritional choices. Lastly,

USDA will collaborate with partners

and stakeholders on strategies to reduce

foodborne illness and childhood obesity and

to improve diets. USDA ensures agriculture

production incorporates the best available

science into its modernization efforts to

produce food that is safer, more nutritious,

and secure.

Objective 7.1:

Prevent Foodborne Illness and Protect

Public Health

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is

committed to protecting public health by ensuring

the safety of the Nation’s commercial supply

of meat, poultry, and processed egg products.

Thousands of inspectors across the United States

work to achieve this mission every day by carrying

out tasks to verify industry compliance with

applicable U.S. food safety regulations. As of

the end of ﬁscal year 2017, USDA ensured food

safety requirements were met in establishments

that slaughtered or processed 155 million head of

livestock and 9.45 billion poultry carcasses, as well

as 3.1 billion pounds of processed egg products.

USDA’s regulatory oversight and enforcement

extends to both imported and domestically

produced food products and assures consistent

application of regulations and statutes. To verify

compliance with U.S. regulatory requirements

prior to distribution in commerce, USDA also

re-inspected more than 300,000 lots representing

4.1 billion pounds of imported meat and poultry

products and 22.5 million pounds of imported

processed egg products.

The U.S. food safety system is one of the most

reliable and well documented in the world,

and USDA continues to invest in modernizing

its approaches to inspection so ultimately

fewer people in the United States become ill

from foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella,

Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, and Listeria

monocytogenes. To further efforts to prevent

contamination and limit illness from the

Strategic

Goal 7

250,000 food products that USDA regulates, the

Department will expand its modernization of

food inspection systems, which was initiated with

the new poultry inspection system, to include

other product categories, such as market hogs and

processed eggs, as the food industry landscape

evolves. USDA’s diverse workforce dedicated to

food safety continues to use data-driven, science-

based approaches to target and tighten food safety

requirements for establishments, where necessary,

to enhance consumer and partner engagement and

foster innovation.

Strategies

Prevent Contamination: A core mission of USDA

is preventing illnesses attributed to the foods

produced in the approximately 6,400 domestic

meat, poultry, and egg products establishments

that USDA regulates. USDA continues to drive

greater industry compliance to keep food safe

and reduce the risk of contaminated food from

reaching consumers. For example, USDA is

using updated methods to assess how domestic

establishments are implementing their food safety

programs and maintaining process control that

facilitates the identiﬁcation and mitigation of

potential hazards before food is sold and consumed

by the public. USDA is using pathogen-reduction

performance standards for Salmonella and

Campylobacter to drive down the occurrence of

these pathogens across the food product processing

cycle, and it is expanding its sampling programs

to cover more products and to test samples for a

broader spectrum of microbiological and chemical

residues. To reduce the risk of intentional or

non-intentional adulteration of food products,

USDA is also continuing to promote and assess

the adoption and implementation of food defense

practices and preparedness at establishments.

All of these key strategy components can help

inﬂuence establishments to decrease the presence

of hazards in food and further improve their food

safety systems and programs.

Limit Illness From Regulated Products: In addition

to the daily work of its food safety inspectors,

USDA proactively conducts investigation

and compliance activities at in-commerce

facilities, including warehouses, distributors,

food transporters, and retail delicatessens.

When illnesses associated with USDA-regulated

products do occur, these investigations work to

limit the impact of any outbreaks and reduce

the number of people who may be exposed to a

contaminated product. USDA will continue to

rely on and improve its strategic and operational

partnering and communication with Federal,

State, local, and industry partners to quickly and

accurately identify the contaminated products,

the source establishment from which the product

was produced, and if possible, the contributing

causes of the outbreak to prevent recurrence of

a similar event in the future. In coordination

with our Federal and State partners, USDA

works continuously to respond to outbreaks more

effectively and efﬁciently. USDA also engages

in public education and outreach to ensure

awareness of recalls and to increase safe food-

handling practices by providing targeted and

general information through a broad range of

communications channels, including with Federal

partners, to educate consumers and to share best

practices with industry.

Modernizing Scientiﬁc Techniques and

Inspection Procedures: USDA will continue to

focus on how to best use and adapt innovative

scientiﬁc techniques, and modernize inspection

practices and methods to protect public health.

For example, USDA is increasingly employing

Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), which

characterizes bacterial genomes with greater

precision and granularity than previous methods.

This will aid USDA agencies and their partners

in outbreak response, trace back,

and studying

the environmental harborage and movement

of pathogens—and facilitate an in-depth

understanding of harmful traits, such as bacterial

“Trace back” is a method used to determine the source and

scope of the product/processes associated with the outbreak and

document the distribution and production chain of the product

that has been implicated in a foodborne illness or outbreak.

virulence and antimicrobial resistance, to aid in

making inspection decisions and driving future

policy development. Over the next 5 years, USDA

also aims to deploy tools for inspectors and to

update its inspection analysis and reporting to

more quickly alert inspectors and the industry

of trends of noncompliance or loss of process

control. These steps will further reduce the risk of

contaminated product leaving establishments and

entering into commerce.

Enhancing Access to Food Safety Data and

Information: Over the past decade, the

Department has increasingly relied on science,

data, and risk analysis to develop well-supported

and implementable food safety regulations,

policies, and procedures. USDA is accomplishing

this, in part, by increasing the amount of data

collected and analyzed and by developing new

reporting and analytical tools for analysts to

disseminate timely and actionable information

to food inspectors and establishment personnel

so they can mitigate risks and issues that arise.

Similarly, to help ensure that the right information

gets in the right hands at the right time to inform

day-to-day inspection decisions through to

headquarters decision-making, USDA is making

improvements to increase and improve data and

information ﬂow across the food safety enterprise.

As the volume and quality of available data

increases, USDA will increasingly use advanced

analytics and tools to provide more targeted, real-

time information for use in both operational and

policymaking activities, in a manner that is easier

to access, understand, monitor, and act on by

internal and external stakeholders.

Outcomes

The Department uses several measures

that collectively work toward preventing

contamination and foodborne illness from USDA-

regulated products. Key performance measures

to assess outcomes are adherence to pathogen-

reduction performance standards, and responses

to early warning alerts related to establishment

performance. These are among the most central

indicators for ensuring contaminated product

does not enter commerce, leading to fewer people

getting sick from USDA-regulated products.

Evidence Building

USDA engages in a range of analytic and

evaluation activities to support operational

effectiveness, rulemaking, performance

measurement, and agency decision-making on

food safety. USDA will continue to explore

methods for identifying higher risk establishments

and products that may require greater attention

and resources, including using the Public Health

Regulations approach that USDA recently

implemented to prioritize Public Health Risk

Evaluations and Food Safety Assessments. USDA

will also conduct risk assessments and economic

impact assessments to support FSIS’s regulatory

agenda and rule-making process.

The Department will also continue to conduct

numerous analyses to assess the effectiveness of

FSIS notices and directives, monitor for adverse

trends in agency inspection and sampling data,

inform agency decision-making, and to evaluate

outcomes of those decisions. Similarly, USDA

continues to identify areas where conducting

internal evaluations would be useful to program

and process efﬁcacy. USDA partner agencies will

also continue to collaborate on crosscutting and

speciﬁc planning and analysis projects together, as

well as with other Federal partners, such as with

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on

achieving the national food safety/public health

goals of Healthy People 2020 and 2030. This also

includes collaborations such as the Interagency

Food Safety Analytics Collaboration and with the

National Institutes of Health National Center for

Biotechnology Information through the Whole

Genome Sequencing Workgroup to better inform

our understanding of foodborne illness, strengthen

our outbreak investigations, and many other

activities.

Strategic

Goal 7

Strategic

Goal 7

Objective 7.2:

Provide Access to Safe and Nutritious

Food for Low-Income People While

Supporting a Pathway to Self-Sufﬁciency

For more than 70 years – beginning with the

original Food Stamp program in the 1930s – the

Nation has gradually built an array of nutrition

assistance programs designed to help ensure that

all Americans can meet their food needs. Taken

together, these programs form a nationwide

safety net supporting low-income families

and individuals in their efforts to escape food

insecurity and hunger; achieve healthy, nutritious

diets; and improve the well-being of families.

Currently, the programs administered by USDA’s

Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) touch the lives

of one in four Americans over the course of a year.

The Department is committed to making beneﬁts

accessible to those eligible to participate in the

nutrition assistance programs, including the

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

(SNAP), the Child Nutrition Programs, and

the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), among

others. At the same time, our ultimate objective is

for strong economic opportunity to make nutrition

assistance unnecessary for as many families as

possible. We will focus on strategies that support

and encourage work and self-sufﬁciency, while

ensuring that in difﬁcult times, food is available to

all people in need.

This is a mission that no one agency can meet

independently. USDA continues to partner with

State and local agencies and Federal, public,

and private partners to support best practices in

implementing effective programs and ensuring

eligible populations have access to programs that

support their food needs. Risks include limited

State budgets and constraints in administering the

major Federal nutrition programs and access to

beneﬁts and services in rural areas. We are poised

to mitigate these risks through a concerted effort

to maximize efﬁciencies and pursue opportunities

to improve processes across the enterprise,

including technical assistance for our State and

local partners.

Strategies

Improve customer service in SNAP: States have

struggled with the development, implementation,

and overall management of new eligibility systems,

leading to poor customer service and signiﬁcant

administrative challenges. USDA will proactively

provide technical assistance to facilitate access to

the program for eligible participants.

Increase Participation in SNAP Employment and

Training (E&T) Programs: In partnership with

State and local agencies and Federal, public, and

private partners, E&T programs are designed to

help able-bodied SNAP recipients ﬁnd work or

gain the skills, training, and experience that lead

to employment. USDA will continue to work

with State agencies to incorporate robust E&T

components into SNAP State plans. In addition,

USDA will disseminate best practices regarding

skills-based training components to State agencies.

Provide Nutritious Food in the Food Distribution

Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) That

Better Aligns With Client Choice: USDA will

continue to develop relationships with current

approved vendors to provide traditional foods (i.e.,

foods that are most desired and will not negatively

impact the nutrition proﬁle of the food package)

to FDPIR participants. In addition, USDA will

work with this community to identify additional

vendors and provide them with information

on becoming approved to provide traditional

foods through the FDPIR. USDA will develop

speciﬁcations for traditional foods and will partner

with the FDPIR workgroup to establish priorities

for procurement of traditional foods.

Support the Service of Nutritious and Appealing

Meals to Children: The Federal Child Nutrition

Programs administered by the Department will

Strategic

Goal 7

continue to implement school meals, child and

adult care feeding, and summer meals programs

that are correlated with a long-term improvement

in the nutritional content of American diets.

USDA will also continue to encourage the serving

of nutritious and appealing meals that encourage

student participation in the meal programs by

providing program operators with technical

assistance, sample menus, recipes, and partnering

with regional or local farms to incorporate locally

produced foods. USDA will also explore various

options that support State and local ﬂexibility in

menu planning.

Outcome

All efforts by USDA seek to ensure that

nutrition assistance programs positively impact

the communities they serve. The Department

uses all available opportunities, including new

communication mechanisms, to serve customers

innovatively, offer ﬂexibility to partners, and

administer programs as effectively as possible

to serve targeted populations. Success will be

measured in part by increases in the variety of

healthful foods offered via nutrition assistance

programs, participation rates among eligible

populations, as well the annual measure of the

proportion of households with ready and reliable

access to the food they need.

Evidence Building

USDA uses a combination of administrative data

and evaluation research to examine program

performance toward stated goals. The Food and

Nutrition Service tracks SNAP application

processing through administrative data and will

continue to do so to monitor States’ progress

toward improving customer service. Similarly,

FDPIR food package and school meals data

collected administratively and through evaluation

research projects examine food package price,

content, and alignment with nutrition standards.

Objective 7.3:

Support and Encourage Healthy Dietary

Choices Through Data-Driven, Flexible,

Customer-Focused Approaches

Strategic

Goal 7

Science has established clear linkages between

proper diet, adequate physical activity, children’s

ability to learn, and good health. Unfortunately,

for too many in the United States, poor dietary

habits and a lack of physical activity contribute

to devastating health conditions, including

overweight and obesity. The Department is

committed to working collaboratively with

other Federal agencies, State partners, and

other interested stakeholders on a wide array

of strategies to reduce childhood obesity and

improve diets. The Department is working to

ensure that schools and child care providers

have the resources and ﬂexibility to serve top-

quality, healthy, and appealing meals. Through

WIC, USDA is encouraging and supporting

participating mothers to breastfeed their infants

by strengthening breastfeeding policy and program

activities. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Program (SNAP) is working with various partners

to increase participants’ access to healthy food

choices.

The Food and Nutrition Service uses evidence-

based nutrition guidance, based on the Dietary

Guidelines for Americans (DGA), and tools

designed to give consumers the knowledge and

motivation they need to choose a diet that

supports a healthy future, including making such

choices on a low income. USDA is also working

to improve access to healthful, locally produced

food, especially for nutrition-assistance clients.

Americans’ food choices are strongly inﬂuenced by

the choices most easily available to them. Limited

access to nutritious food and relatively easier

access to less nutritious food may be linked to poor

diets. The Department is also working to increase

opportunities for farmers and food entrepreneurs

to retail their produce in low-access areas.

There is a reporting risk that could threaten

the achievement of this objective. We need

information from a variety of stakeholders on

current progress, needed support, and challenges to

inform decision making and to meet expectations.

We are actively mitigating this risk through our

technical assistance efforts and by involving a

myriad of stakeholders in the decision-making and

solution-development processes.

Strategies

Encourage and Support WIC Mothers To

Breastfeed Their Infants by Strengthening

Breastfeeding Policy and Program Activities: For

nearly all WIC families, breastfeeding can provide

positive health beneﬁts for both mother and her

infant, as breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk

of numerous health problems for both. It also

may have a protective effect against pediatric

overweight and obesity. Breast milk provides the

best source of infant nutrition and helps infants

get a healthy start in life. USDA will recognize

and reward State achievements in promoting

breastfeeding through performance awards, expand

the availability of peer-counseling in WIC clinics,

and continue its core promotion and support

activities.

Work With Schools To Improve Meals: Eating

healthy meals, at home or at school, is linked to

better educational performance and classroom

behavior and fewer visits to the school nurse.

The Department is working to improve access to

and the meal quality of these programs. These

moves ensure that healthful and appealing food

is available to every student to support growth

and learning. USDA will work with schools to

ensure ﬂexibilities in menu planning so that

they can serve nutritious and appealing meals

and encourage student participation in the meal

programs.

Ensure That SNAP Supports and Encourages

Healthy Choices: USDA will continue to support

Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grants

and other initiatives that incentivize clients to

purchase fruits and vegetables. The Department

will also work with local and private partners to

increase redemptions at farmers’ markets by SNAP

participants.

Outcome

USDA shapes programs and policies and develops

knowledge resources to give every consumer the

tools, skills, and motivation he or she needs to

choose a diet that supports a healthy future. The

Department further uses these tools to promote

fruit and vegetable consumption and other

healthy eating behaviors through public-private

partnerships and cutting-edge technologies. The

Department is also working to improve access to

healthful, locally produced food in underserved

communities through a multifaceted strategy that

focuses on food production, distribution, and both

traditional and non-traditional retail options.

USDA measures success in a variety of ways

to include increases in breastfeeding rates and

redemptions rates at farmers’ markets.

Evidence Building

USDA is committed to evidence-based decision-

making. The Food and Nutrition Service

engages in evaluation research, surveillance

studies to track indicators over time, and studies

on program operations to better understand

how nutrition assistance programs operate

through our partnerships. The WIC Participant

Characteristics study provides biennial

surveillance data on multiple WIC components,

including breastfeeding rates over time. The

School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study Series

provides data over time on the nutritional quality

and operational aspects of school meal service.

The FINI evaluation will provide policy-relevant

information for decision-makers at USDA on the

best use of incentives to support healthy eating in

SNAP.

Human Capital Management

USDA heavily relies on a diverse workforce

across the country with a broad range of skillsets

to accomplish the missions of its food safety and

nutrition assistance programs. An increasingly

vital part of our mission is to better equip

employees with what they need to perform their

jobs in an efﬁcient and effective way. As such,

USDA is working toward improving information

technology (IT) systems to support its large ﬁeld

workforce. USDA is committed to ensuring

the workforce is successful through recruitment

and retention strategies for mission-critical

positions; targeting separating veterans through

an apprenticeship program; and enhancing

training and development approaches. USDA

will continue to work collaboratively with State

and local agencies as well as Federal partners

and organizations to accomplish its objectives.

Intra-agency partnership will allow for strategic

realignment of resources as appropriate to ensure

the Department is poised to advance outcomes

associated with providing Americans with access

to a safe, nutritious, and secure food supply.

Strategic

Goal 7

Strategic

Goal 7

Key Performance Measures

Baseline

Data

FY 2017

FY 2018

Target

FY 2022

Target

Percentage of establishments that meet pathogen

reduction performance standards

75% 78% 85%

Percentage of establishments whose noncompliance rate

decreases 120 days after receiving early warning alert

70% 71.4% 73.8%

Percentage of American households with consistent,

dependable access to food

87.30%

(2015)

87.70% 88.10%

Annual percentage of eligible children participating in the

National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

58% 59% 59%

Percentage of SNAP Employment & Training participants

engaged in education and skills-based training

33%

(2016)

35% 40%

States have ﬂexibility to provide a wide range of E&T services but the most common are typically job search and workfare. This indicator

will measure an increase in the portion of all E&T participants engaged in more intensive skill-based training, such as vocational and

occupational training or on-the-job training.

Additional copies of this Strategic Plan can be downloaded from USDA’s Web site at: www.usda.gov

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and

policies, the USDA, its Agencies, ofﬁces, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA

programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity

(including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income

derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity,

in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and

complaint ﬁling deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille,

large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s

TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at

(800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To ﬁle a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form,

AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA ofﬁce or write a

letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a

copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ofﬁce of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intak[email protected].

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Issued May 2018