Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services

United States Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services
Incumbent Vacant since January 20, 2017
Formation	1969
First holder	Clarence Palmby
Website	Official website

The Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services is the third-ranking official in the United States Department of Agriculture. The incumbent heads a mission area of USDA that "helps to keep America's farmers and ranchers in business as they face the uncertainties of weather and markets..." and that "...deliver[s] commodity, credit, conservation, disaster, and emergency assistance programs that help improve the stability and strength of the agricultural economy." The Under Secretary is traditionally appointed to serve as the President of the Commodity Credit Corporation.

The Under Secretary is appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate to serve at the pleasure of the President. The position of Under Secretary, FFAS is currently vacant.

The Under Secretary is the principal officer of the United States Department of Agriculture charged with administering programs and providing services which focus on supporting a sustainable and competitive American agricultural system. The Under Secretary administers agricultural commodity insurance, farm loans, conservation, environmental, emergency assistance, and domestic and international food assistance programs. These programs are intended to provide cost-effective means of managing risk for agricultural producers in order to improve the economic stability of agriculture. The Under Secretary's mission area also represents the diverse interests of the U.S. food and agricultural sector abroad by managing the Department's international activities, addressing market access constraints, and working to expand markets for U.S. agricultural, fish and forest products overseas.

The Under Secretary provides leadership and oversight for the Farm Service Agency, the Risk Management Agency, and the Foreign Agricultural Service. The President normally appoints the Under Secretary as President of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), though in the past this latter responsibility has sometimes been held by other USDA officials. The Under Secretary for FFAS also normally chairs the interagency Food Assistance Policy Council and is a member of the interagency Trade Policy Review Group (TPRG).