United States Department of Agriculture

The mission of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is to enhance the quality of life for the American people by supporting production of agriculture; ensure a safe, affordable, nutritious, and accessible food supply; care for agricultural, forest, and range lands; support sound development of rural communities; provide economic opportunities for farm and rural residents; expand global markets for agricultural and forest products and services; and work to reduce hunger in America and throughout the world.

Each day, the USDA touches the lives of 260 million Americans and billions of people around the world. USDA's activities include improving food safety; helping to bring running water to the homes of rural Americans; managing our national forests; protecting our soil and water; keeping foreign plant and animal diseases out of our country; increasing agricultural exports; providing nutritious meals for 25 million schoolchildren each day; and conducting research to improve agricultural practices and human nutrition.

Among its activities, the USDA runs cooperative extension programs at land-grant colleges and universities. Cooperative extension programs are funded by several sources and deliver knowledge-based community education programs; land-grant colleges and universities teach agriculture and mechanical arts and are funded through a perpetual endowment fund.

Partnership Activities

CDC and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have identified communities at high risk for cervical cancer mortality. In response, CDC has forged a partnership with USDA; USDA Cooperative Extension Agents (educators or administrators appointed jointly to the USDA and a Cooperative Extension program) and the Program Directors of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) are collaborating to increase the probability that women in areas of persistently high cervical cancer mortality will receive cervical (and, if appropriate, breast) cancer screening services and follow-up. Through this initiative, USDA Cooperative Extension Agents, local NBCCEDP program staff, and key community partners will establish outreach plans for these high-risk communities. These outreach plans are designed to recruit women to screening services and to assure adequate follow-up in the event of an abnormal screening result by referring them, when necessary, to the nearest NBCCEDP site.

United States Department of Agriculture
14th and Independence Avenue SW
Washington, D.C. 20250
Telephone: (202) 720-2791
www.usda.gov