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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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Agricultural Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: A number of issues affecting U.S. agriculture are receiving attention during the 109th Congress. Some are related to new initiatives or to unfinished legislation from the 108th Congress; others have been the focus of ongoing congressional oversight. Although the current (2002) farm bill (P.L. 107-171) generally does not expire until 2007, the agriculture committees could begin hearings on a new measure later this year. Meanwhile, the agriculture committees are required by the adopted FY2006 bud… more
Date: May 13, 2005
Creator: Chite, Ralph M. & Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Animal Agriculture: Issues in the 107th Congress

Description: A variety of animal agriculture issues, including prices, the impact of consolidation in the meat production/packing industry, trade, and the environmental impacts of large feedlots, continue to generate interest in Congress. This issue brief discusses these issues, as well as the 2002 farm bill, which contains several provisions affecting animal agriculture, including protections for contract growers, disaster assistance, country-of-origin labeling, and increased funding for conservation purpo… more
Date: May 24, 2002
Creator: Heykoop, Jerry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Conservation Reserve Payments and Self-Employment Taxes

Description: Farmers enrolling their land in the Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) receive payments for refraining from farming their property and for engaging in certain conservation practices mandated by the Department of Agriculture. These payments are described in the contract with the Department of Agriculture as "rental payments." Farmers would like to treat the income as "rental income" because it would not be subject to self-employment taxes, but the Internal Revenue Ser… more
Date: May 1, 2000
Creator: Morris, Marie B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and FY2006 Budget Reconciliation

Description: On April 29, 2005, Congress completed action on the FY2006 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 95, H.Rept. 109-62). This measure contains reconciliation instructions that require authorizing committees to report legislation to reduce spending on mandatory programs within each committee’s jurisdiction. To reduce spending in mandatory U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, conferees instructed the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to reduce mandatory spending by $173 million in FY2006 an… more
Date: May 4, 2005
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fruits and Vegetables: Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the Issues for Congress on Fruits and Vegetables.The primary law that exclusively serves the produce industry is the perishable agriculture commodities act in the 1930(PACA).
Date: May 29, 2002
Creator: Branaman, Brenda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector

Description: This report is organized in three parts. First, it discusses the extent of GHG emissions associated with the U.S. agriculture sector, and cites current and potential estimates for U.S. agricultural soils to sequester carbon and partly offset national GHG emissions. Second, the report describes the types of land management and farm conservation practices that can reduce GHG emissions and/or sequester carbon in agricultural soils, highlighting those practices that are currently promoted under exi… more
Date: May 5, 2008
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture-Based Renewable Energy Production

Description: Since the late 1970s, U.S. policy makers at both the federal and state levels have enacted a variety of incentives, regulations, and programs to encourage the production and use of agriculture-based renewable energy. Motivations cited for these legislative initiatives include energy security concerns, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and raising domestic demand for U.S.-produced farm products. This report provides background information on farm-based energy production and how this fits in… more
Date: May 18, 2006
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture Conservation Programs: A Scorecard

Description: This report provides basic information on several agriculture conservation programs, primarily drawn from agency budget presentations and websites, about each program using a consistent format. This information should help respond to basic questions and resolve many common sources of confusion about the purposes of the program, program participation and policy topics.
Date: May 9, 2008
Creator: Cowan, Tadlock & Johnson, Renée
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture as a Source of Barge Demand on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers: Background and Issues

Description: This report provides background on the linkage between U.S. agriculture and the UMR-IWW navigation system. In addition, it explores several of the key issues and uncertainties behind evolving trade patterns and projections for future agricultural freight traffic on the UMR-IWW navigation system.
Date: May 26, 2004
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture in the WTO Doha Round: The Framework Agreement and Next Steps

Description: Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) reached agreement on July 31, 2004 on a framework for negotiating agricultural trade liberalization in the multilateral trade round known as the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). The framework, part of a work program for all negotiating issues in the DDA (nonagricultural market access, services, trade facilitation, etc.), sets the stage for negotiations, now underway, to determine specific targets or formulas (“modalities”) for curbing trade-d… more
Date: May 3, 2005
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture Conservation Programs: A Scorecard

Description: This report provides basic information on several agriculture conservation programs, primarily drawn from agency budget presentations and websites, about each program using a consistent format. This information should help respond to basic questions and resolve many common sources of confusion about the purposes of the program, program participation and policy topics.
Date: May 9, 2008
Creator: Cowan, Tadlock & Johnson, Renée
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Appropriations for FY2004: 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 passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture.
Date: May 21, 2003
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fiscal Year 2017 Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations: In Brief

Description: This report outlines the fiscal year 2017 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture which were enacted on May 5, 2017 as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The discretionary total of the enacted appropriation is $20.877 billion, which is $623 million less than enacted in FY2016 (-2.9%). The appropriation also carries mandatory spending--largely determined in separate authorizing laws--that totaled about $132.5 billion. The overall total therefore exceeded $153 billion (Table … more
Date: May 11, 2017
Creator: Monke, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture in the WTO: Limits on Domestic Support

Description: Most provisions of the current “farm bill,” the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-171), do not expire until 2007. However, hearings on a 2007 farm bill could begin in late 2005. At that time, Congress will begin to examine farm income and commodity price support proposals that might succeed the programs due to expire in 2007. A key question likely to be asked of virtually every new proposal is how it will affect U.S. commitments under the WTO’s Agreement on Agricu… more
Date: May 10, 2005
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture-Based Biofuels: Overview and Emerging Issues

Description: This report reviews the evolution of the U.S. biofuels sector and the role that federal policy has played in shaping its development. In addition, it highlights emerging issues that are critical to the biofuels sector and of relevance to Congress.
Date: May 1, 2013
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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