Daniel Robinson was appointed to serve as State Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Alabama by President Barack Obama in October 2009. He served in the same capacity from 1998 to 2001 under the Clinton Administration.
Agriculture is Alabama's largest industry, contributing nearly $5 billion to the State's economy each year. With over 48,000 farms covering nine million acres, wherever you look in Alabama, you see agriculture. Some of the best agricultural products in the world are grown in Alabama, from poultry and peanuts to sweet potatoes and catfish. At least fifty different commercial crops and livestock are produced in Alabama.
USDA FSA's primary mission is to assist Alabama’s farmers and ranchers to secure the greatest possible benefit from programs administered by FSA, such as farm loans, commodity price support, disaster relief, conservation, and other available resources. The hard working men and women of Alabama’s 45 county offices are at the forefront of our efforts, and they remain the primary contact for program participation and related questions.
As Alabama began to dig out from deadly tornadoes that ripped through the Southeast, the state’s agricultural leaders met with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack about programs to help farmers whose lives and livelihoods were impacted by the storms. Vilsack joined Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills on a tour of tornado-ravaged Pratt City near Birmingham where USDA FSA was at the forefront helping farmers obtain federal aid for removal, fence repair and livestock and crop losses.
Mr. Robinson brings a lifetime of agriculture experience to USDA.Mr. Robinson began his career with Alabama Farm Service Agency in 1970 and has served in various positions, including County Program Operations Specialist Trainee, County Operations Program Specialist, Agricultural Program Specialist, Chief Agricultural Program Specialist, State Civil Rights and Appeals Coordinator and State Executive Director.
During a brief period of retirement from USDA, between 2001 and 2009, Robinson
served as Assistant Marketing Director for the Alabama Department of Agriculture &
Industries, where he was responsible for within-house day-to-day operations of the
Agriculture Promotions Division. Robinson was also the Program Coordinator for the
Department’s Farmland Protection Program, whereby Federal matching dollars from
USDA/FSA were used to purchase from landowners the development rights of prime
farm land as conservation easements in perpetuity.
Robinson was born and reared on a small family farm in Coosa County, Alabama, where his family grew the traditional row crops (cotton and corn), including vegetable crops the latter years, which were marketed by way of U-Pick and “peddling.” He attended Alabama A&M University where he earned a B.S. Degree in Agriculture Education with a minor in General Science. Robinson taught junior high Science and Aerospace prior to his career with USDA.
Robinson lives in Montgomery with his wife. They have one daughter, two sons, and
three grandchildren.
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Source:USDA FSA website
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