For the farmers or for fun

Federal agencies have increasingly come under scrutiny for their lavish spending on conferences, and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is not an exception. USDA recently reported to Congress that it spent $19.4 million on conferences in 2006 - almost tripling the amount it spent in 2000. There are approximately 112,000 employees at USDA, and in 2006, the Agency sent 20,959 employees to 6,719 conferences and training events across the nation and around the world.