Acting Associate Administrator (Director, Census and Survey Division)

Barbara Rater

Picture of Barbara Rater, Director of Census and Survey Divison

Barbara Rater has been named as the Acting Associate Administrator. She previously served as the director of the Census and Survey Division where she provided leadership and oversight to sustaining the high quality of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) census and survey data collection processes. She has a wide range of professional experiences and has led national programs and spearheaded international initiatives related to the collection, evaluation, and dissemination of agricultural statistics.

Previously, Rater served as branch chief of NASS’s Survey Administration Branch. In this capacity, she led policy and programs related to data collection and guided the agency’s strategic initiatives and operations affecting agricultural statistics used to measure food production and farm income.

Prior to moving into her role as branch chief, Rater served as the director of the Maryland Field Office in Annapolis. As state director, she interacted on a daily basis with growers, producers, and trade organizations; state and federal government agencies; community-based organizations; and other stakeholders to build relationships and garner support for better decision making in support of American agriculture.

Growing up in a military family, she is a native of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Rater received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland College Park and is a graduate of the Key Executive Leadership Program from American University’s School of Public Administration. She and her husband live Prince George’s County, Maryland and have one adult son. She has a passion for producing timely, quality results that can readily be used by decision makers to assess markets and policies and improve organizational performance and productivity.

Last Modified: 04/04/2024