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The U.S. Department of Agriculture: Appropriations for FY1997

Description: The FY1997 agriculture appropriations act (P.L. 104-180) was signed into law on August 6, 1996. P.L. 104-180 provides $52.84 billion in FY1997 budget authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and related agencies, an amount which is $5.60 billion below the Administration's FY1997 request and $10.25 billion below the FY1996 enacted level. Much of the reduction in funding from FY1996 levels is attributable to an $8.9 billion reduction in the reimbursement for net realized losses of the Com… more
Date: November 12, 1996
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.; Zinn, Jeffrey A.; Hanrahan, Charles E.; Jones, Jean Yavis; Osbourn, Sandra S.; Rawson, Jean M. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Appropriations for FY2003: U.S. Department of Agriculture and Related Agencies

Description: Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture.
Date: July 12, 2002
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Meat and Poultry Inspection Issues

Description: This report discusses the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) responsibility for inspecting most meat, poultry, and processed egg products for safety, wholesomeness, and proper labeling while detailing the results of congressional action in reducing the presence of pathogens and food-borne illness in facilities and food products.
Date: May 12, 2003
Creator: Rawson, Jean M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Rural Abandoned Mine Program - A Fact Sheet

Description: The Rural Abandoned Mine Program (RAMP) was designed to restore agricultural land that has been disturbed by strip mining. The program is carried out by the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service at a current cost of about $10 million per year--a modest share of total Federal abandoned surface mining reclamation efforts that currently exceed $110 million per year, and that has been higher in the past. Critics contend that the RAMP program is inefficient and duplicate… more
Date: June 12, 1995
Creator: Thompson, Duane A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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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
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U.S. Agriculture After Hurricane Katrina: Status and Issues

Description: On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast region leaving behind widespread devastation. This report examines Katrina’s impact on three important factors affecting the U.S. agricultural sector: marketing infrastructure based on the Mississippi River waterway and Gulf ports; production losses for major crop and livestock producers in the affected region; and potential consequences for agricultural production as a result of high energy costs. It also discusses the federal governm… more
Date: September 12, 2005
Creator: Schnepf, Randy & Chite, Ralph M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture in the U.S.-Dominican Republic Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA)

Description: On August 2, 2005, President Bush signed into law the bill to implement the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement, or DR-CAFTA (P.L. 109-53, H.R. 3045). In DR-CAFTA, the United States and six countries will completely phase out tariffs and quotas — the primary means of border protection — on all but four agricultural commodities traded between them in stages up to 20 years. The four exempted products are as follows: for the United States, sugar; for Costa Rica, fresh onions a… more
Date: January 12, 2006
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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WTO Doha Round: The Agricultural Negotiations

Description: The pace of negotiations in the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations quickened in October 2005 as the December Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) approached. At Hong Kong, however, while WTO members agreed on a broad outline of negotiating objectives for further liberalizing global trade in agriculture, industry and services, they made only limited progress in determining precise numerical formulas (known as modalities) for meeting the Round’s aims. … more
Date: January 12, 2006
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E. & Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture in the WTO: Policy Commitments Made Under the Agreement on Agriculture

Description: This report provides a review of the major agricultural policy commitments made by members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations completed in 1994, and the legal text that underlies those commitments. Most agricultural support commitments are embodied in the Agreement on Agriculture and it is the essential focus of this review. However, references are made to additional supporting legal texts that emerged as part of the Uruguay Round A… more
Date: May 12, 2005
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture: Payment in Kind (PIK) Program

Description: On January 11, 1983, President Reagan announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would implement a payment-in-kind (PIK) program to help reduce Government grain surpluses and to improve farm income. The materials included in this report were compiled by Congressional Research Staff for Member of Congress desirous of more information on the subject.
Date: January 12, 1984
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Asian Soybean Rust: Background and Issues

Description: This report discusses the background and issues regarding Asian soybean rust (ASR) that was discovered in the United States in an experimental field in Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is coordinating a plan to deal with ASR that encompasses various USDA agencies, state land-grant universities, and industry participants. The arrival of ASR has implications for several public policies including pest control research (particularly the development of resistant varieties), pesti… more
Date: January 12, 2005
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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WTO Doha Round: The Agricultural Negotiations

Description: On July 24, 2006, the WTO’s Director General announced the indefinite suspension of further negotiations in the Doha Development Agenda or Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The principal cause of the suspension was that a core group of WTO member countries — the United States, the European Union (EU), Brazil, India, Australia, and Japan — known as the G-6 had reached an impasse over specific methods to achieve the broad aims of the round for agricultural trade: substantial reductio… more
Date: September 12, 2006
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E. & Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Legislation in the 108th Congress

Description: This report discusses policy and legislation regarding fish and marine mammals. These animals are important resources in open ocean and nearshore coastal areas. Commercial and sport fishing are jointly managed by the federal government and individual states. Many laws and regulations guide the management of these resources by federal agencies.
Date: March 12, 2004
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Legislation in the 108th Congress

Description: This report discusses policy and legislation regarding fish and marine mammals. These animals are important resources in open ocean and nearshore coastal areas. Commercial and sport fishing are jointly managed by the federal government and individual states. Many laws and regulations guide the management of these resources by federal agencies.
Date: March 12, 2003
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
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 FY2005, 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 12, 2005
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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WTO Doha Round: The Agricultural Negotiations

Description: This report assesses the current status of agricultural negotiations in the Doha Round of trade negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO); traces the developments leading up to the December 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial; examines the major agricultural negotiating proposals; discusses the potential effects of a successful Doha Round agreement on global trade, income, U.S. farm policy, and U.S. agriculture; and provides background on the WTO, the Doha Round, the key negotiating groups, and… more
Date: September 12, 2006
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles & Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sugar Policy and the 2008 Farm Bill

Description: This report discusses the provisions for sugar imports and the sugar price support program, which was reauthorized with some changes in the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act). It includes an overview of the sugar program as well as a breakdown of the issues from the 2008 farm bill including the level of sugar price support, controlling the sugar supply to protect sugar prices, sugar for ethanol, ang sugar program cuts. There is also an appendix comparing the 200… more
Date: September 12, 2008
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education: Farm Bill Issues

Description: This report discusses the farm bill (P.L. 110-234) that will authorize and direct the implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) major programs across the spectrum of its mission areas through FY2012. The enacted bill reorganizes the Department's research, extension, and economics mission area, which currently comprises four agencies that separately administer intramural and extramural programs supporting agricultural research and development (R&D).
Date: June 12, 2008
Creator: Rawson, Jean M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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What Is the Farm Bill?

Description: This report describes the Farm Bill (P.L. 110-246, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008), which was enacted into law on June 18, 2008.
Date: March 12, 2014
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Food and Agricultural Imports: Safeguards and Selected Issues

Description: The report provides background information in the increase of food and agricultural imports and federal oversight responsibilities. It discusses international trade considerations, import refusals by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), administration, and legislative proposals.
Date: June 12, 2008
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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