INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — While the USDA didn’t have any direct involvement in the creation of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), ISDA officials said Hoosiers have benefited greatly due to the partnership between the ISDA and the USDA.

“(Through) a wide variety of programs and initiatives involving everything from soil conservation, to grant funding to rural development and beyond – all in an effort to strengthen Indiana agriculture,” the ISDA said in a statement last Thursday about the federal agency’s 150-year milestone.

Upon assuming office in 2005, both Gov. Mitch Daniels and Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman decided Indiana needed a department of agriculture. “They reached that decision following input from the Indiana Farm Bureau and input from numerous Hoosiers during listening sessions that took place throughout the state,” ISDA officials added.

The USDA marked its 150th anniversary May 15, a milestone that designates the department as the oldest single representative of agriculture and the American farmer in U.S. history.

“For 150 years, the USDA has supported our nation’s economic prosperity and touched the lives of generations of Americans,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Whether improving domestic and international access to food, promoting nutrition and safety of our food supply, conserving our natural resources, advancing agricultural exports or developing the rural economy, the USDA helps Americans to lead better lives.”

Established in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln in his last address before Congress, the USDA subsequently created public land grant universities on July 2, 1862, when he signed the Morrill Act.

“Lincoln understood the importance of agriculture to America and, as importantly, he realized science and technology played a major role in the farming industry,” said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).

“The federal government was, from the beginning of its involvement in agriculture, dedicated to scientific progress in farming. This commitment continues today at the USDA and is shared by farmers and ranchers across the country, regardless of the methods of food and fiber production they use – organic or conventional.”

Nicknamed “The People’s Department” by Lincoln, Garry Niemeyer – president of the National Corn Growers Assoc. (NCGA) – said the USDA has become “an outstanding example of innovation and technology.

“Created during a time when nearly half of all Americans lived on farms, the USDA today touches the lives of every American through their work on food technology, natural resource conservation and economic development,” he said, “even though less than 2 percent of our population resides on farms.

“The NCGA applauds the work the USDA has done over the last 150 years to support advancement and success of our industry. We look forward to continued efforts to progress as the demands from American agriculture change both here and throughout the world.”

The Arden Hills, Minn.-based Land O’Lakes board of directors recently passed a resolution commending the USDA for its leadership on a wide variety of policies, issues and programs that “benefit American farmers and the food and agricultural industry throughout the country and internationally.”

Some examples outlined in the resolution include working with Vilsack and other policy leaders on agricultural policy, as well as the Rural Development Cooperative Programs and the Capper Volstead Committee on issues that affect the ability of American farmers to form cooperatives.

The USDA’s 150th-year celebration came on the heels of the department’s Jan. 9 announcement that it would close 259 domestic offices, facilities and labs across the country, as well as seven foreign offices, impacting the USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C., and in 46 states and 1 U.S. territory.

In his speech at the AFBF’s 93rd Annual Meeting, called the USDA’s “Blueprint for Stronger Service,” Vilsack claimed the cuts were part of “a plan that will create optimal use of the USDA’s employees, better results for USDA customers and greater efficiencies for American taxpayers.”