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United States Department of Agriculture
Branche: Government
Number of terms: 41534
Number of blossaries: 0
Company Profile:
A set of standards developed in the early 1970s to describe how information should be used and protected; usually stated as eight principles in this country and including openness, individual access, collection limitations, data quality, use limits, disclosure limits, security, and accountability. The agriculture community is starting to consider whether it needs such a set of standards, and whether this set is the best model.
Industry:Agriculture
The amount in cash, or on terms reasonably equivalent to cash, for which in all probability something might be sold by a knowledgeable owner to a knowledgeable purchaser. Several federal statutes state that the federal government should receive fair market value when exchanging or selling federal lands and resources.
Industry:Agriculture
Cropland left idle during the growing season, sometimes called summer fallow. It may be tilled or sprayed to control weeds and conserve moisture in the soil. The amount of cultivated summer fallow has ranged between 22 and 32 million acres over the past 10 years, or 7 to 10% of the cropland used for crops.
Industry:Agriculture
As defined by USDA regulations, a farm that (1) produces agricultural commodities for sale in such quantities so as to be recognized in the community as a farm and not a rural residence; (2) produces enough income (including off-farm employment) to pay family and farm operating expenses, pay debts, and maintain the property; (3) is managed by the operator; (4) has a substantial amount of labor provided by the operator and the operator’s family; and (5) may use seasonal labor during peak periods and a reasonable amount of full-time hired labor.
Industry:Agriculture
As defined for purposes of the Census of Agriculture since 1978, a farm is any place that has, or has the potential to produce, $1,000 or more in annual gross sales of farm products. According to the 1992 Census of Agriculture, there are about 1.925 million farms in the United States. This number includes all farm sizes and ownership structures, including corporate farms, partnerships, and family farms.
Industry:Agriculture
The total of the crop acreage bases (wheat, feed grains, cotton, and rice) for a farm for a year, the average acreage planted to soybeans and other non-program crops, and the average acreage devoted to conserving uses (excluding Acreage Reduction Program land). The FAIR Act of 1996 eliminated the need to calculate a farm acreage base.
Industry:Agriculture
A proposal that would permit farmers and ranchers to put aside money in good (higher-income) years without having to pay taxes on the savings until it is withdrawn at a later time, presumably in lower-income years when taxable income also would be lower. Bills to create these accounts have been introduced in Congress in recent years.
Industry:Agriculture
A phrase that refers to a multi-year, multi-commodity federal support law. It usually amends some and suspends many provisions of permanent law, reauthorizes, amends, or repeals provisions of preceding temporary agricultural acts, and puts forth new policy provisions for a limited time into the future. Beginning in 1973, farm bills have included titles on commodity programs, trade, rural development, farm credit, conservation, agricultural research, food and nutrition programs, marketing, etc. These are referred to as omnibus farm bills. The following is a generally agreed chronological list of farm bills: (1) Food and Agriculture Act of 1965, P.L. 89-321; (2) Agricultural Act of 1970, P.L. 91-524; (3) Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973, P.L. 93-86; (4) Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, P.L. 95-113; (5) Agriculture and Food Act of 1981, P.L. 97-98; (6) Food Security Act of 1985, P.L. 99-198; (7) Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, P.L. 101-624; (8) Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, P.L. 104-127.
Industry:Agriculture
This Act is P.L. 92-181 (December 10, 1971) which recodified all previous acts governing the Farm Credit System (FCS, or System), a cooperatively owned government sponsored enterprise that provides credit primarily to farmers and ranchers. The Act eliminated earlier provisions relating to government capitalization of the System, and expanded the lending authorities of many System institutions. The Act, as amended, currently serves as the authorizing statute for the Farm Credit System. Major legislation that has modified the 1971 Act in recent years include: Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-233, January 6, 1988) authorized up to $4 billion in federal financial assistance to FCS institutions to assist in their recovery from the agricultural credit crisis of the 1980s. The Act created a System entity to issue up to $4 billion in federally guaranteed bonds, required the U.S. Treasury to pay a portion of the interest on these bonds, and also required the FCS to ultimately repay the Treasury for this assistance. The Act also mandated the merger of certain System banks within each farm credit district and expanded other merger authorities, and gave delinquent FCS borrowers certain rights. A separate System institution was established by the Act to insure the timely repayment of principal and interest on consolidated Systemwide debt issues. Farm Credit Banks and Associations Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-552, October 28, 1992) was designed to enhance the financial safety and soundness of FCS banks and associations by establishing new mechanisms to ensure repayment of Farm Credit System debt resulting from federal financial assistance provided to the System under the 1987 Act. The Farm Credit System Reform Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-105, February 10, 1996) includes numerous provisions that provide regulatory relief for the FCS.
Industry:Agriculture
The independent federal regulator responsible for examining and insuring the safety and soundness of all Farm Credit System institutions. The FCA is governed by a 3-member, Presidentially-appointed board of directors, one of whom serves as chairman.
Industry:Agriculture