Chief Economist's Office

Sustainable Development and Small Farms

On  October 7, 1998,  Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, in his continuing effort to support small farms and to energize small farms activities within USDA, combined the existing responsibilities of the Director of Sustainable Development with responsibilities for small farms. The Director’s mission is to advance the principles and goals of sustainable development and small farms through partnerships, collaboration, and outreach.  Four objectives address issues related to sustainable development and small farms:

Objective 1:  Integrate the concepts of sustainable development and small farms into USDA’s  policies and programs.

Objective 2:  Ensure USDA participation in interagency efforts are relevant to sustainable development and small farms.

Objective 3:  Ensure USDA and the Secretary are represented on key international efforts.

Objective 4: Foster and /or maintain open dialogue with organizations about sustainable development and small farms and facilitate collaborative partnerships to deliver USDA’s  policy and programs to better serve constitutents.

The Director also coordinates:

• USDA's agencies' responses to the recommendations of the National Commission on Small Farms established by the Secretary in 1997.
• USDA's policies and programs in sustainable development, including sustainable agriculture, forestry, and rural communities.  USDA's sustainable development mission is established by Secretary's Memorandum 9500-6, issued on September 6, 1996.

The Director:

• Serves as chair of the USDA Council on Sustainable Development, which is the Department's forum for policy and program development, and serves as a liaison for federal sustainable development activities.
• Serves as Executive Director to the USDA Council on Small Farms.
• Chairs the Small Farms Coordinators group.

Adela Backiel is the Director of Sustainable Development and Small Farms. She can be reached at (202) 720-2456 or by e-mail at adela.backiel@usda.gov.  Al Drain is the acting Deputy Director of Small Farms and Ruth McWilliams is acting Deputy Director of Sustainable Development.  Al can be reached at (202) 720-3238 or by e-mail at adrain@nass.usda.gov.  Ruth can be reached at (202) 205-1373 or by e-mail at rmcwilliams/wo@fs.fed.

Last revised: January 18, 2001
URL http://www.usda.gov/oce/oce/sustainable/index.htm