- Branche: Government
- Number of terms: 41534
- Number of blossaries: 0
- Company Profile:
An enterprise or organization owned by and operated for the benefit of those using its services. In agriculture, such an organization is owned and used by farmers mainly to handle the off-farm part of their businesses - buying farm supplies, marketing their products, furnishing electric and telephone service, and providing business services - at cost. Essential features are democratic control, limited return on capital, and operation at cost, with distribution of financial benefits to individuals in proportion to their use of the services made available by the cooperative (called patronage refunds). In 1997, there were 3,884 farmer cooperatives in the United States. As a variation from the traditional design, so-called "new generation cooperatives" are characterized by limited membership, require substantial investment, and include delivery contracts. Producers are increasingly using this model to create their own value-added business enterprises. The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) assists in forming new cooperative businesses and improving the operations of existing cooperatives through technical assistance, research, information products. Cooperatives are afforded certain antitrust exemptions by the Capper-Volstead Act.
Industry:Agriculture
A federal-state-local cooperative education system that provides continuing adult education based on the academic programs of the land grant colleges of agriculture and their affiliated state agricultural experiment stations. The system employs approximately 32,000 people located on land grant campuses and offices in virtually every county in the nation. About half of Extension’s education programs focus on agriculture and natural resources, one-quarter on youth development (including the vocational 4-H program), and the balance on home economics and community resource development work.
Industry:Agriculture
The Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 allows industry to enter into research contracts with government laboratories. In exchange for this cooperation, the company involved is entitled to first rights to obtain an exclusive license to any inventions that may emerge as a result of the CRADA. USDA’s in-house research agency, the Agricultural Research Service has developed more than 800 CRADAs with industry since the law was enacted.
Industry:Agriculture
The USDA agency that administers federal funds appropriated for agricultural and forestry research, extension, and education programs at eligible institutions, including the land grant colleges of agriculture in the states, selected veterinary schools, and other institutions with capabilities in the food and agricultural science arena. The agency administers formula funds to the 1862 land grant colleges under the Hatch Act of 1887, the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 and the McIntire-Stennis Act of 1962; Evans-Allen funds for research programs at the 1890 land grant colleges; the National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants program; the Special Grants program; grants for higher education; and the research portion of the Fund for Rural America.
Industry:Agriculture
Officially known as the Foreign Market Development Program (FMDP). One of the agricultural export promotion programs operated by the Foreign Agricultural Service. This program consists of joint government/agri-industry efforts to develop markets by acquainting potential foreign customers with U.S. farm products. Activities under this program include providing technical assistance to prospective foreign buyers, overseas food exhibits, product demonstrations and advertising aimed at foreign consumers. FAS shares the financing of these projects with the "cooperators," which are nonprofit commodity trade associations primarily composed of producer-based farm groups.
Industry:Agriculture
Food and Consumer Service reviews of the National School Lunch Program conducted in cooperation with state agencies to improve the management of the programs, evaluate meal data accuracy, and provide training and technical support to schools to help improve local program accountability.
Industry:Agriculture
That area of the United States where corn is a principal cash crop, including Iowa, Indiana, most of Illinois, and parts of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Industry:Agriculture
A byproduct of wet milling of corn. Corn gluten is used as a medium-protein (20-24%), medium-fiber (10%) feedstuff. The European Union is the major market for U.S. corn gluten feeds.
Industry:Agriculture
A form of farm ownership which is a separate legal entity from the owners of the farm. Changes in the tax law in the 1970s encouraged the incorporation of farms as corporate tax rates declined while individual tax rates rose, mainly because of inflation. The 1992 Census of Agriculture reports that less than 4%, or nearly 73,000, of the 1.925 million farms in the nation were corporate farms. By contrast, more than 1.653 million (86%) were individual or family-owned operations and 186,000 (10%) were partnerships.
Industry:Agriculture
Section 1351 of the FACT Act of 1990 defines the term as "the exterior appearance of an agricultural commodity, including changes to that appearance resulting from superficial damage or other alterations that do not significantly affect yield, taste, or nutritional value." The Agricultural Marketing Service sets grades and standards for many agricultural commodities. Some consumer and environmental groups have argued that some of these standards are harmful because they encourage excessive pesticide use merely to make fruits and vegetables "attractive." Agricultural interests disagree, countering that consumers prefer blemish-free produce and that cosmetic standards are no less important than other grading factors.
Industry:Agriculture
