"Our Job Is People". This is the key driver behind the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services' (FFAS) Human Resources Strategic Plan. The Human Resources (HR) teams in Washington and Kansas City are dedicated and determined to "help FFAS attract, motivate, develop, retain and reward its most valuable resource -employees."

Our Strategic Plan adopts in total the USDA Human Capital Plan that embraces the Government-wide Initiatives articulated in the President's Management Agenda, especially the Strategic Management of Human Capital. Furthermore, to ensure FFAS Human Resources strategically supports the mission area and its Agencies, the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Risk Management Agency (RMA) and the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the HR goals are embedded into each of the Agencies' Strategic Plans and subsequent Annual Performance Plans.

The HR performance goals are long reaching and resilient; yet, they provide the necessary vision to establish specific annualized results-driven implementing projects. HR will support the Agencies' missions, strategic plans and annual performance plans by developing our employee talent-base, by developing our future leaders, by ensuring a high performing, diverse workforce and by promoting a knowledge-sharing culture.

HR will continue to become increasingly involved with our customers, stakeholders and employees. We will be increasingly recognized as a valuable business partner to our clientele. In our Services role, we will implement new or improved programs and processes to ensure timely, efficient and state-of-the-art systems and services. We will ensure applicable policies, procedures and practices support the effective and efficient accomplishment of the Agencies' missions; or we will change them. In our Business Partner and Consultative role, we will provide the critical support and information essential to help our managers and employees make better and faster decisions; decisions that deal with the present and decisions that guide us into the future; decisions that ensure we accomplish the continual challenges faced by the Agencies.

Remember, "Our Job Is People" and our Human Resources teams are dedicated to enhance the strategic management of human capital.