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Agricultural Trade Issues in the 107th Congress

Description: The 107th Congress will consider and seek to influence trade issues with implications for the U.S. agricultural sector. Trade in agricultural commodities and food products affects farm income and rural employment, and it also generates economic activity beyond the farm gate. With agricultural export sales accounting for one-quarter of farm income, policymakers view U.S. efforts to develop market opportunities overseas as vital to the sector's financial health. Decisions taken by the Bush Adminiā€¦ more
Date: May 25, 2001
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.; Jurenas, Remy & Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Export and Food Aid Programs

Description: This report discusses projected agricultural imports and exports for FY2001, as well as legislation that deals with federal programs in support of agricultural exports and federal aid dedicated to farms and agricultural reform.
Date: May 30, 2001
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Support Programs and World Trade Commitments

Description: Congress is now debating reauthorization of omnibus farm legislation, as most commodityprice support provisions expire in 2002. This report discusses this debate, specifically aspects relating to commitments that the U.S. has as a World Trade Organization (WTO) member. Because of the interrelationships between trade and domestic support policies, lawmakers are interested in what the Agreement on Agriculture stipulates with regard to domestic supports, and how not only the United States but alsoā€¦ more
Date: July 20, 2001
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture: Previewing the 2002 Farm Bill

Description: This report discusses what a farm bill is and the process of renewing one every year. This report specifically covers the farm bill for 2002 and the issues that come with it. Moreover, the report highlights the importance of exports within the U.S. agricultural economy and how this is a key interest in the renewal of farm bills.
Date: April 9, 2001
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.; Chite, Ralph M.; Jones, Jean Y.; Rawson, Jean M.; Womach, Jasper; Zinn, Jeffrey A. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture: Prospective Issues for the 107th Congress

Description: Persistent low farm prices and 3 years of multi-billion dollar ad hoc additions to federal spending for farmers are expected to put pressure on the 107th Congress for an early review of federal farm policy. Farm policy is governed by a variety of laws, many of which are incorporated into an omnibus, multi-year farm bill. Most of the provisions of the current farm bill, the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act of 1996, expire after the 2002 crop year. Key issues are the responsā€¦ more
Date: January 29, 2001
Creator: Jones, Jean Yavis
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, enables producers to retire highly erodible or environmentally sensitive cropland, usually for 10 years. Congress reauthorized and amended the CRP in the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act (P.L. 104-127; 16 U.S.C. 3811, et seq.). The law caps enrollment at 36.4 million acres and makes funding mandatory through the commodity Credit Corporation.
Date: May 8, 2001
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Dairy Policy Issues

Description: Three major dairy policy issues captured the attention of the 106th Congress, and are expected to remain issues of concern to the 107th Congress-- federal financial assistance for dairy farmers; implementation by USDA of changes to federal farm milk pricing regulations; and regional debates over the market effects of dairy compacts.
Date: April 2, 2001
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy Costs and Agriculture

Description: U.S. agriculture is not an especially energy-intensive industry, but energy does account for about 6% of farm production costs. Additionally, farming is a highly mechanized industry and requires timely energy supplies at particular stages of the production cycle in order to achieve optimum yields. A substantial part of energy use by agriculture is indirect ā€”embodied in the chemicals applied and machinery used on farms.
Date: April 24, 2001
Creator: Heykoop, Jerry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture: A List of Websites

Description: This list provides a sampling of the rapidly proliferating number of agricultural resources available on the Internet. It is not intended to be exhaustive. It is divided into 24 main categories and 15 subcategories.
Date: February 8, 2001
Creator: Canada, Carol
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Peanuts: Policy Issues

Description: The 1996 omnibus farm bill (P.L. 104-127) authorizes a peanut program for the 1996-2002 crops. The program supports the incomes of producers and aims to ensure that ample supplies of peanuts are produced for the U.S. market. To accomplish this, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supports the farm price of peanuts primarily by limiting the amount of peanuts each eligible farm can sell for domestic food use ("quota" peanuts) at a specified "high" price level. Farmers are free to sell peanuā€¦ more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Merger and Antitrust Issues in Agriculture

Description: A sustained period of low farm prices has generated legislative interest in the effect of concentration and consolidation on U.S. agriculture. Questions have been raised about the federal government's role in pursuing cases of unfair competition or violations of antitrust laws. Legislative interest has risen because, while regulations target business practices, important issues associated with concentration and consolidation may not be adequately addressed by existing antitrust laws. Recent revā€¦ more
Date: January 10, 2001
Creator: Heykoop, Jerry & Segarra, Alejandro E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting

Description: This report summarizes the steps taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to execute the Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting (LMPR) law which was enforced to provide more information and disclosure on pricing. Updated August 15, 2001.
Date: August 15, 2001
Creator: Heykoop, Jerry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Animal Agriculture: Current Issues

Description: A variety of animal agriculture issues, including low livestock prices, the impact of consolidation in the meat packing industry, trade, and the environmental impacts of large feedlots, generated interest in the 106th and 107th Congresses. This report addresses this issues in detail.
Date: April 16, 2001
Creator: Heykoop, Jerry & Segarra, Alejandro E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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What Is a Farm Bill?

Description: A farmbill is a collection of new laws and amendmentsto longstanding lawsthat sets the overall direction of federal food and farm policy for a specified number of years. Farm bills typically contain not only commodity price and income support provisions, but also provisions on agricultural trade, rural development, domestic food assistance, foreign food aid, conservation, crop insurance, farm credit, forestry, and agricultural research. The many issues covered by farm bills make it possible to ā€¦ more
Date: May 5, 2001
Creator: Jones, Jean Yavis; Hanrahan, Charles E. & Womach, Jasper
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agroterrorism: Options in Congress

Description: Although U.S. intelligence agencies have not identified any terrorist acts targeting agricultural production (i.e., agroterrorism) in the United States to date, the events of September 11, 2001 have awakened the nation to their possibility. Some experts estimate that a single agroterrorist attack using a highly contagious livestock disease could cost between $10 billion and $30 billion to the U.S. economy. This report examines the potential threats to Americaā€™s agriculture from a deliberate bioā€¦ more
Date: December 19, 2001
Creator: Segarra, Alejandro E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Food Biotechnology in the United States: Science, Regulation, and Issues

Description: This report discusses the science of food biotechnology, and the federal structure by which it is regulated. Because U.S. farmers are adopting this technology at a rapid rate, some observers advocate a more active role for the federal government to ensure that farmers have equal access to this technology. Others believe that federal officials should play a more active role in protecting the environment, funding more research, and participating in international trade negotiations to ensure that ā€¦ more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Vogt, Donna U. & Parish, Mickey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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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 ā€¦ more
Date: March 13, 2001
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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