Short answers, pulled from the story.
The United States Department of Agriculture sent Edmund Moffat to London in 1882 as its first employee abroad. He held the title of statistical agent and carried the status of Deputy Consul General on the State Department roster.
The Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations managed food aid programs authorized by President Roosevelt in 1941. Congress approved $1.35 billion in assistance for Great Britain, marking the start of large-scale international food distribution.
Trade tensions erupted in 1962 when the European Economic Community imposed protective tariffs on U.S. poultry meat. This conflict became known as the Chicken War after President Kennedy raised tariffs on textiles, carpets, glass, and bicycles.
A short grain crop in the USSR during 1972 led to what critics called the Great Grain Robbery. FAS attachés missed observing severe drought conditions because mid-spring surveys had suggested normal yields, which prompted the creation of a satellite imagery unit within FAS for remote sensing of foreign crops.
FAS has managed food assistance programs since 1941 using various statutory authorities including Section 416(b) of the Agricultural Act of 1949. Public Law 480 authorized concessional sales allowing agreements to bypass Senate advice and consent procedures.