When was the Foreign Agricultural Service created?
The Foreign Agricultural Service was created by the Foreign Agricultural Service Act of 1930, signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on the 5th of June 1930. The law citation is 46 Stat. 497.
Questions about Foreign Agricultural Service
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What was the Great Grain Robbery and how did it involve the Foreign Agricultural Service?
The Great Grain Robbery refers to a 1972 episode in which the Soviet Union secretly purchased massive quantities of grain after a drought, locking in low prices before the scale of the shortage became known. The FAS agricultural attaché in Moscow missed the drought by not making additional crop observation trips after an inconclusive spring survey. The incident led FAS to create a satellite imagery unit for remote crop sensing and to negotiate a long-term grain agreement with the Soviet Union.
What was the Chicken War and what role did the Foreign Agricultural Service play?
The Chicken War was a 1962 trade dispute in which the European Economic Community imposed protective tariffs on U.S. poultry imports in retaliation for President Kennedy's tariff increases on carpets, glass, and bicycles. FAS negotiators supported talks that resulted in the EEC paying $26 million in damages. Future FAS Administrator Rolland "Bud" Anderson described the outcome as winning the battle but losing the war, as American poultry exports to Europe quickly became negligible.
What is Public Law 480 and how does it relate to the Foreign Agricultural Service?
Public Law 480, also called the Food for Peace Act, was passed in 1954 and became the central legal authority for FAS food aid and market development programs. It authorized concessional sales of U.S. farm commodities to foreign countries on terms of up to 30 years, payable in the buyer's local currency, under a provision that allowed agreements to bypass the Senate's advice and consent process.
How many former Foreign Agricultural Service attachés have become U.S. Ambassadors?
Since 1953-12 former agricultural attachés have been confirmed as American Ambassadors. One of the most prominent was Philip Habib, who served as Ambassador to South Korea and later as Acting Secretary of State and Special Negotiator for the Middle East; he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1982.
What was the Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations and how did it differ from the Foreign Agricultural Service?
The Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations was the name used for the FAS headquarters staff from 1939 to 1953, after President Roosevelt transferred all diplomatic agricultural personnel to the State Department and abolished the original FAS. OFAR managed Washington-based policy and food aid work while the State Department controlled the field attachés. Secretary Ezra Taft Benson reconstituted the Foreign Agricultural Service on the 10th of March 1953, reunifying the agency.