Congressional Research Service Reports - 996 Matching Results

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Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture: Status and Current Issues

Description: This report discusses the status and current issues regarding animal agriculture that is being transformed by rapid advances in biotechnology. This report will be updated as significant developments in agricultural biotechnology occur and as Congress develops legislation addressing emerging agricultural biotechnology issues.
Date: March 27, 2006
Creator: Cowan, Tadlock & Becker, Geoffrey S.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Grazing Fees: An Overview and Current Issues

Description: This report briefly discusses charging fees for grazing private livestock on federal lands, which is a long-standing but contentious practice. Generally, livestock producers who use federal lands want to keep fees low, while conservation groups and others believe fees should be raised to approximate "fair market value."
Date: February 8, 2005
Creator: Vincent, Carol H.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Commodity Programs: Honey

Description: This report discusses the honey price support program, which was first created by the Agricultural Act of 1949 (P.L. 81-439) to provide market price stability for honey producers and to encourage maintenance of sufficient bee populations for pollination
Date: December 3, 2004
Creator: Canada, Carol
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP): Status and Issues

Description: The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides farmers with financial and technical assistance to plan and implement soil and water conservation practices. EQIP was enacted in 1996 and most recently amended by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Section 2301 of P.L. 107-171). It is a mandatory spending program (i.e., not subject to annual appropriations), administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). EQIP is guaranteed a total of $6.1 billion f… more
Date: February 3, 2005
Creator: Canada, Carol & Zinn, Jeffrey A.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Animal Identification and Meat Traceability

Description: U.S. animal agriculture is seeking to improve its ability to trace the movement of livestock from their birthplace to slaughter. The livestock and meat industries are working with the U.S. government to develop a national animal identification (ID) plan for livestock disease tracking purposes. This report focuses on animal ID and, to a lesser extent, on meat traceability.
Date: March 7, 2006
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Animal Identification and Meat Traceability

Description: U.S. animal agriculture is seeking to improve its ability to trace the movement of livestock from their birthplace to slaughter. The livestock and meat industries are working with the U.S. government to develop a national animal identification (ID) plan for livestock disease tracking purposes. This report focuses on animal ID and, to a lesser extent, on meat traceability.
Date: September 2, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Avian Influenza: Agricultural Issues

Description: Since the fall of 2003, a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) has spread throughout Asia, infecting mostly poultry but also a limited number of humans. The virus reached Europe in 2005, and the Middle East and Africa in 2006. Avian flu is highly contagious in domestic poultry. Strict biosecurity measures are practiced by commercial poultry farms and encouraged by governments. The economic effects of avian flu outbreaks can be significant, especially given international trade rest… more
Date: March 10, 2006
Creator: Monke, Jim
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Avian Influenza: Agricultural Issues

Description: Since the fall of 2003, a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) has spread throughout Asia, infecting mostly poultry but also a limited number of humans. The virus reached Europe in 2005, and the Middle East and Africa in 2006. Avian flu is highly contagious in domestic poultry. Strict biosecurity measures are practiced by commercial poultry farms and encouraged by governments. The economic effects of avian flu outbreaks can be significant, especially given international trade rest… more
Date: November 21, 2005
Creator: Monke, Jim
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Trade in the Free Trade Area of the Americas

Description: Leaders of Western Hemisphere countries have agreed to negotiate a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement by 2005. FTAA’s objective is to promote economic growth and democracy by eliminating barriers to trade in all goods (including agricultural and food products) and services, and to facilitate investment. If diplomats reach agreement, free trade in the hemisphere could occur by 2020. Negotiations on FTAA’s agriculture component have become contentious. This report discusses the cont… more
Date: October 31, 2003
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture: U.S.-China Trade Issues

Description: With China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2001, U.S. agricultural interests were hopeful that longstanding barriers to trade with that vast and growing market would begin to fall. However, critics charge that China is failing to honor commitments to open its markets, affecting U.S. exports of grains, oilseeds, meat and poultry, and other products. U.S. agriculture and trade officials have been working to resolve these differences.
Date: October 16, 2002
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Hanrahan, Charles E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Foot and Mouth Disease: A Threat to U.S. Agriculture

Description: An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) among livestock in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe that began in February 2001 has raised concerns about the United States’ ability to prevent the disease from spreading to this country and readiness to eradicate it should an outbreak occur. This report describes the characteristics of the FMD virus and disease, the current measures the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is taking to prevent its importation, and the authorities USDA has to a… more
Date: April 16, 2001
Creator: Segarra, Alejandro E. & Rawson, Jean M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Payment-in-Kind (PIK) Program

Description: Despite Federal efforts last year to curb production and dispose of surpluses, record production and continued high carryover stock levels for most commodities have depressed farm prices and significantly increased expected Federal outlays for agricultural price support programs. In an attempt to bring supply in line with demand, President Reagan announced on January 11, 1983, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would implement a payment-in-kind (PIK) program for the 1983 wheat, rice… more
Date: November 9, 1983
Creator: McMinimy, Mark
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The "Farm Bill" in Brief

Description: Federal farm support, food assistance, agricultural trade, marketing, and rural development policies are governed by a variety of separate laws. Many of these laws periodically have been evaluated, revised, and renewed through an omnibus, multi-year farm bill. This report discusses the "farm bill" and it's components.
Date: December 19, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Livestock Price Reporting: Background

Description: This report summarizes how the Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting (LMPR) law expired on September 30, 2005. And after considering all the approaches they took in the past, the house agreed to the bill to extend LMPR for Five more years while Senate agreed to one-year extension. Updated December 14, 2005.
Date: December 14, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and FY2006 Budget Reconciliation

Description: During the week of December 18, 2005, both the House and Senate approved the conference agreement on the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (H.Rept. 109-362, S. 1932), which includes net reductions of $2.7 billion over five years for USDA mandatory programs. Included in the agreement is a $1.7 billion reduction in farm commodity support programs, a $934 million reduction in conservation spending, a $620 million reduction in a mandatory research program, and $419 million cut in rural development prog… more
Date: December 23, 2005
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Conservation Reserve Program: Status and Current Issues

Description: The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enacted in 1985, provides payments to farmers to take highly erodible or environmentally sensitive cropland out of production for ten years or more to conserve soil and water resources. It is the federal government’s largest private land retirement program. The program is administered by the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with technical assistance provided by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Date: February 4, 2005
Creator: Johnson, Barbara
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Bill Trade and Food Aid Provisions

Description: This report discusses the trade provisions of omnibus farm legislation, passed and signed into law in May 2002. The measure includes a trade title reauthorizing, through 2007, the major foreign food aid and agricultural export programs. It also contains other provisions affecting agricultural trade, including new country-of-origin labeling requirements for meat, seafood, and produce; and increased domestic farm subsidies with possible implications for U.S. trade relations.
Date: January 28, 2003
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm and Food Support Under USDA's Section 32 Program

Description: This report discusses "Section 32", which is a permanent appropriation that since 1935 has earmarked the equivalent of 30% of annual customs receipts to support the farm sector through a variety of activities. Today, most of this sizeable appropriation (totaling approximately $6 billion each year) is transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) child nutrition account.
Date: August 26, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Ethylene Dibromide (EDB)

Description: Much attention has recently been focused on the chemical ethylene dibromide (EDB). This chemical has been widely used in leaded gasoline, and has also been used to treat grains, citrus and other crops. It has been found in foods and in groundwater. This paper examines the possible health effects of exposure to EDB, as well as its regulation. The possible health effects and regulation of various chemical and physical alternatives to EDB are also examined. This paper concludes with some policy co… more
Date: January 31, 1985
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Exempting Food and Agriculture Products from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Status and Implementation

Description: Falling agricultural exports and declining commodity prices led farm groups and agribusiness firms to urge the 106th Congress to pass legislation exempting foods and agricultural commodities from U.S. economic sanctions against certain countries. In completing action on the FY2001 agriculture appropriations bill, Congress codified the lifting of unilateral sanctions on commercial sales of food, agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical products to Iran, Libya, North Korea, and Sudan, and … more
Date: April 18, 2006
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biotechnology: Commercialization of Academic Research

Description: This report provides an overview of the commercialization of academic research h in the field of biotechnology. It offers a brief definition, background and policy analysis, as well as legislation and hearings regarding the topic.
Date: October 26, 1981
Creator: Johnson, Judith A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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