Search Results

open access

The 2002 Farm Bill: Overview and Status

Description: The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform, or FAIR, Act of 1996 (commonly known as the "farm bill"), which was due to expire in 2002, is expected to be extended for another six years when President Bush signs the bill into law. This report discusses the provisions of the new "farm bill," including the federal spending involved.
Date: May 3, 2002
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Womach, Jasper
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Hog Prices: Questions and Answers

Description: This report discusses price changes in the pork industry. In late 1998, the lowest hog prices in decades created a crisis in the pork industry and prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Congress to take a series of actions to assist producers, including direct cash payments, and the purchase of extra pork products to reduce market supplies. The industry sought additional aid as low prices persisted into 1999.
Date: December 15, 1999
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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 (now about $5.7 billion per year) is simply transferred directly into the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) child nutrition account to fund school feeding and other programs.
Date: June 22, 1999
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

IMF and World Bank: U.S. Contributions and Agency Budgets

Description: This paper shows how much the United States has contributed to these international agencies in recent years. It also shows how much the international agencies budget (and the source of those funds) for their administrative expenses and their operational budgets. This report will be updated periodically.
Date: December 9, 1999
Creator: Sanford, Jonathan E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Grazing Regulations: Public Lands Council v. Babbitt

Description: This report discusses new regulations on livestock grazing on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management became effective August 21, 1995. Many aspects of the new regulations were challenged in Public Lands Council v. Babbitt. A federal district court upheld many of the regulations, but struck down four of them and enjoined their implementation. At the appellate level, only the new regulation allowing conservation use to the exclusion of livestock grazing for the full term of a permit was h… more
Date: February 1, 2000
Creator: Baldwin, Pamela
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm Program Spending: What's Permitted Under the Uruguay Round Agreements

Description: This report discusses farm income and commodity price support proposals that might succeed the programs due to expire in 2002. A key question being asked of virtually every new proposal is how it will affect U.S. commitments under the 1994 Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (URAA), which commitsthe United States to spend no more than $19.1 billion annually on domestic farm supports most likely to distort trade. The URAA spells out the rules for countries to determine whether their policies … more
Date: March 13, 2001
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm Commodity Programs: A Short Primer

Description: This report briefly discusses programs designed to provide income support, price support, and/or supply management for approximately 20 specified agricultural commodities. USDA farm support programs represent the heart of U.S. farm policy, by virtue of their longevity – they have existed since the early 1930s – and their cost.
Date: September 14, 2001
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm Commodity Programs: A Short Primer

Description: This report briefly discusses programs designed to provide income support, price support, and/or supply management for approximately 20 specified agricultural commodities. It specifically addresses the proposed farm bill legislation, meant to expand existing services and add new programs, in part to avert ad hoc measures to fill gaps.
Date: June 20, 2002
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm "Counter-Cyclical Assistance"

Description: This report discusses the reauthorization of major farm income and commodity price support programs that expire after crop year 2002. Many agricultural interests expect that a new “counter-cyclical assistance” program will be an integral component of future farm policy. The intent of counter-cyclical assistance is to provide more government support when farm prices and/or incomes decline, and less support when they improve.
Date: March 7, 2002
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Womach, Jasper
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm "Counter-Cyclical Assistance"

Description: This report discusses recently approved legislation reauthorizing major farm income and commodity price support programs through crop year 2007. This legislation includes new “counter-cyclical assistance” programs for grains, cotton, oilseeds, peanuts, and milk. The intent of counter-cyclical assistance is to provide more government support when farm prices and/or incomes decline, and less support when they improve. In fact, farmers have, for many years, been eligible for various forms of coun… more
Date: May 31, 2002
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Womach, Jasper
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm Bill Trade and Food Aid Provisions

Description: This report discusses the trade provisions of omnibus farm legislation, passed 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: May 8, 2002
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm Commodity Payment Limits: Comparison of Proposals

Description: This report discusses U.S. policy regard farm commodities. Greater public awareness of the size of commodity program payments reaching a comparatively small number of very large farms has focused the attention of Congress on payment limits. Limits on commodity program payments have been imposed since 1970. As part of the emergency economic assistance packages enacted each of the past three years, the payment limits have been doubled. In addition, a mechanism has been developed that allows farms… more
Date: April 26, 2002
Creator: Womach, Jasper
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Specialty Crop Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses the U.S. specialty crop issues in the 109th Congress. This sector is comprised of producers, handlers, processors, and retailers of fruit, vegetable, tree nut, and nursery crops.
Date: August 19, 2005
Creator: Rawson, Jean M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA's Air Compliance Agreement

Description: In an effort to collect scientifically credible data regarding the effect of animal agriculture on water resources (specifically animal waste and emissons from animal feeding operations (AFO), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in January 2005 announced the Air Compliance Agreement. The agreement is intended to produce air quality monitoring data on AFO emissions during a two-year study, while at the same time protecting participants through a “safe harbor” from liability under certain p… more
Date: July 12, 2005
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Humane Treatment of Farm Animals: Overview and Issues

Description: Animal protection activists in the United States have long sought legislation to modify or curtail some practices considered by U.S. agriculture to be both acceptable and necessary to animal health. Some Members of Congress over the years have offered various bills that would affect animal care on the farm, during transport, or at slaughter. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees from time to time have held hearings on farm animal welfare issues, but their members generally express a prefe… more
Date: November 19, 2004
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Humane Treatment of Farm Animals: Overview and Issues

Description: Animal protection activists in the United States have long sought legislation to modify or curtail some practices considered by U.S. agriculture to be both acceptable and necessary to animal health. Some Members of Congress over the years have offered various bills that would affect animal care on the farm, during transport, or at slaughter. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees from time to time have held hearings on farm animal welfare issues, but their members generally express a prefe… more
Date: November 18, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm Commodity Policy: Programs and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses farm commodity programs, which represent the heart of U.S. farm policy. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) establishes farm income support and commodity price support programs for the 2002-2007 crop years. The 109th Congress is facing several issues regarding farm commodity programs, including budget reconciliation that could reopen the farm bill, payment limits (S. 385), dairy program extension (H.R. 1260, S. 273, S. 307), international trade, and planting flexibility (S.… more
Date: March 15, 2005
Creator: Monke, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm Commodity Policy: Programs and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses issues for Congress regarding farm commodities. Farm commodity programs represent the heart of U.S. farm policy. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) establishes farm income support and commodity price support programs for the 2002-2007 crop years.
Date: September 22, 2005
Creator: Monke, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

FDA Regulation of Tobacco Products: A Policy and Legal Analysis

Description: This report examines the legislative debate over giving FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products and provides some analysis of S. 2461/H.R. 4433. It begins with an overview of the FDA’s 1996 tobacco rule that includes a summary of the agency’s arguments for asserting jurisdiction over tobacco products. That is followed by an analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in FDA v. Brown & Williamson, which overturned the FDA tobacco rule. The report then reviews the 1997 proposed national to… more
Date: December 3, 2004
Creator: Redhead, C. Stephen & Feder, Jody
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm Commodity Programs: Direct Payments, Counter-Cyclical Payments, and Marketing Loans

Description: Commodity support provisions in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171, the 2002 farm bill) include three primary types of payments: (1) annual direct payments unrelated to production or prices, (2) counter-cyclical payments which are triggered when prices are below statutorily-determined target prices, and (3) marketing assistance loans that offer interim financing and, if prices fall below statutorily-determined loan prices, additional income support. This report des… more
Date: February 10, 2006
Creator: Monke, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen