The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) faces critical challenges in supporting the profitability and productivity of farming, protecting the environment, ensuring food safety, improving the well-being of rural America, promoting the domestic marketing and the export of food and farm products, and providing food assistance to Americans in need. USDA has taken a number of actions to address its program and management weaknesses, including actions taken to improve the farm loan program. However, there are still a number of challenges that USDA faces in carrying out its responsibilities. Congress has a key role in ensuring that USDA effectively addresses these challenges. The challenges are listed below and are discussed in more detail in the GAO Performance and Accountability Series report entitled Major Management Challenges and Program Risks: Department of Agriculture. 2 Additional information about program and management challenges at USDA and other federal agencies is available on GAO's Transition Web site at http://www.gao.gov/transition.