Congressional Research Service Reports - 28 Matching Results
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- The 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79): Summary and Side-by-Side
- This report provides various summaries of the 2014 Farm Bill such as but not limited to: conservation, trade, and nutrition. The report also describes the insurance and disaster relief provisions implemented within the bill. The report also summarizes the budgetary philosophy when constructing the bill and the estimated cost of it.
- Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2008 Appropriations
- This report considers the Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The report compares and contrasts the Senate and House versions of the bill in terms of budgeting. Both bills provide 7.5 billion dollars less than FY2007.
- Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2015 Appropriations
- This report discusses various policy aspects of the Agriculture appropriations bill for FY2015, which funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), except for the Forest Service.
- Agriculture in Pending U.S. Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea
- This report discusses pending U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. The bills to implement these agreements will now be debated under trade promotion authority, or fast-track rules, designed to expedite congressional consideration. The report includes an overview of agricultural issues regarding FTAs and pending FTA partners, as well as a closer breakdown of the specific issues for each of the countries.
- Agriculture, Nutrition, and Rural Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009
- This report analyzes the agriculture, nutrition, and rural provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L. 111-5). The ARRA boosts government spending on various infrastructure programs and government benefits programs, and offers individual and business tax benefits.
- Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA's Air Compliance Agreement
- In an effort to collect scientifically credible data regarding the effect of animal agriculture on water resources (specifically animal waste and emissions 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 provisions of federal environmental laws.
- Animal Agriculture: Selected Issues in the 113th Congress
- This report discusses about how congress might consider environmental regulations that impact livestock and poultry, and conservation programs that have benefited animal agriculture.
- Bee Health: The Role of Pesticides
- This report briefly describes recent scientific research and analysis regarding the potential role of pesticides among the factors affecting the health and well-being of bees.
- Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture: Status and Current Issues
- This report describes several scientifically emerging animal biotechnologies that are raising a variety of questions concerning risks to humans, animals, and the environment, as well as ethical concerns. The report examines applications of the technologies and discusses major issues that may arise.
- Emergency Assistance for Agricultural Land Rehabilitation
- This report discusses federal programs which provide emergency agricultural land rehabilitation funds.
- Farm and Food Support Under USDA’s Section 32 Program
- No Description Available.
- Farm Commodity Legislation: Chronology, 1933-98
- Farm commodity programs were a product of the Great Depression. This report discusses the history of farm commodity legislation. Since 1933, Congress has required the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to administer a variety of programs providing price support and income protection for the nations farmers.
- Farm Commodity Programs: Direct Payments, Counter-Cyclical Payments, and Marketing Loans
- 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 describes the payments for wheat, feed grains, cotton, rice, oilseeds, peanuts, wool, mohair, honey, and certain other small grains. These commodities have similar rules, and generally account for about two-thirds of USDA farm commodity program outlays.
- Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy
- This report first explains the connection made over the past several years between farm labor and immigration policies. It next examines the composition of the seasonal agricultural labor force and presents the arguments of grower and farmworker advocates concerning its adequacy relative to employer demand. The report closes with an analysis of the trends in employment, unemployment, time worked and wages of authorized and unauthorized farmworkers to determine whether they are consistent with the existence of a nationwide shortage of domestically available farmworkers.
- Farm Safety Net Programs: Background and Issues
- This report discusses several programs operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that supplement the income of farmers and ranchers in times of low farm prices and natural disasters. Federal crop insurance, farm programs, and disaster assistance are collectively called the farm safety net.
- The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer
- Numerous federal, state, and local agencies share responsibilities for regulating the safety of the U.S. food supply, which many experts say is among the safest in the world. Nevertheless, critics view this system as lacking the organization and resources to adequately combat foodborne illness, which sickens an estimated 76 million people and kills an estimated 5,000 each year in this country. The 110th Congress may face calls for a review of federal food safety agencies and authorities, and proposals for reorganizing them. Among the issues likely to arise are whether reform can improve oversight, and the cost to industry, consumers, and taxpayers. This report provides a brief introduction to the system and the debate on whether reorganization is needed.
- Federal Grazing Regulations: Public Lands Council v. Babbitt
- 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 held invalid. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case and argument has been set for March 1, 2000.
- Food Power: The use of U.S. Agriculture Exports as a tool in international affairs. 1976
- This report is about the importance of U.S agriculture productivity to the global community.
- The FY2007 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- This report discusses the FY2007 budget request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) includes $96.4 billion in budget authority.
- Garcia v. Vilsack: A Policy and Legal Analysis of a USDA Discrimination Case
- No Description Available.
- Grazing Fees: An Overview and Current Issues
- 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."
- Immigration of Agricultural Guest Workers: Policy, Trends, and Legislative Issues
- This report discusses the revision of U.S. immigration policy on agricultural guest workers that are coming from various perspectives, and several major bills have already been introduced in the 107th Congress
- Previewing the Next Farm Bill
- Congress periodically establishes agricultural and food policy in an omnibus farm bill. The 112th Congress faces reauthorization of the current five-year farm bill because many of its provisions expire in 2012. The 2008 farm bill contained 15 titles covering farm commodity support, horticulture, livestock, conservation, nutrition assistance, international food aid, trade, agricultural research, farm credit, rural development, bioenergy, and forestry, among others. Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees anticipate having a new farm bill completed before the end of this session. If the current farm bill expires without a new authorization or a temporary extension, it automatically would be replaced with permanent statutes for farm commodity support, which are not fully compatible with current national economic objectives, global trading rules, and federal budgetary or regulatory policies.
- The Role of Local and Regional Food Systems in U.S. Farm Policy
- This report provides background information on many of the type of operations engaged in the U.S. local and regional food system. A wide range of farm businesses are involved in local foods, such as direct-to-consumer marketing, farmers' markets, farm-to-school programs, community-supported agriculture,6 community gardens, school gardens, food hubs and market aggregators, kitchen incubators, and mobile slaughter units. This report also highlights some of the available resources within existing federal programs administered by USDA and other agencies.
- Status of the WTO Brazil-U.S. Cotton Case
- This report provides a description and status report on Brazil's challenge to certain aspects of the U.S. cotton program under the rules of the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) dispute settlement process in case DS267.
- U.S. Farm Income
- This report discusses the aggregate national net farm income and the farm debt-to-asset status as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It includes an overview of income and expenses for calendar year 2009, income projections through 2018, the average farm household income, and information about farm asset values and debt.
- U.S. Farm Income Outlook for 2015
- This report discusses national net farm income, which is a key indicator of U.S. farm well-being. The outlook for lower net farm income, coupled with record farm wealth, suggests a mixed financial picture heading into 2015 for the agricultural sector as a whole, with substantial regional variation.
- U.S. Farm Income Outlook for 2016
- This report discusses this the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) farm income outlook and its implications. According to USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS), national net farm income--a key indicator of U.S. farm well-being--is forecast at $54.8 billion in 2016, down 3% from last year. The 2016 forecast represents the third consecutive year of decline and would be the lowest since 2002 in both nominal and inflation-adjusted dollars.