United States Department of Agriculture

About NASS

Agricultural Statistics: A Historical Timeline

Congress establishes the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The first Commissioner of Agriculture, Isaac Newton, lists seven duties for the new Department. The most important is gathering agricultural statistics. Crop reporters and field agents begin to play a vital role in the collection of agricultural data.

U.S. Population 1860 - 31,443,321  |  Number of Farms 1860 - 2,044,077

Division of Statistics 1863–1903

Isaac Newton
Commissioner of Agriculture
1862

U.S. Population 1860 - 31,443,321  |  Number of Farms 1860 - 2,044,077

Division of Statistics 1863–1903

Lewis Bollman
Chief Statistician
1863–1865

U.S. Population 1860 - 31,443,321  |  Number of Farms 1860 - 2,044,077

Division of Statistics 1863–1903

Jacob R. Dodge
Chief Statistician
1866–1878

U.S. Population 1860 - 31,443,321  |  Number of Farms 1860 - 2,044,077

Division of Statistics 1863–1903

Jacob R. Dodge
Chief Statistician
1866–1878

Charles Worthington
Chief Statistician
1879-1881

U.S. Population 1870 - 38,558,371  |  Number of Farms 1870 - 2,659,985

Division of Statistics 1863–1903

Jacob R. Dodge
Chief Statistician
1881–1893

U.S. Population 1880 - 50,155,783  |  Number of Farms 1880 - 4,008,907

Division of Statistics 1863–1903

Jacob R. Dodge
Chief Statistician
1881–1893

U.S. Population 1890 - 62,947,714  |  Number of Farms 1890 - 4,564,641

Division of Statistics 1863–1903

Henry A. Robinson
Chief Statistician
1893–1897

U.S. Population 1890 - 62,947,714  |  Number of Farms 1890 - 4,564,641

Division of Statistics 1863–1903

John Hyde
Chief of the Bureau of Statistics
1897–1905

U.S. Population 1890 - 62,947,714  |  Number of Farms 1890 - 4,564,641

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