Congressional Research Service Reports - 40 Matching Results

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The 2008 Farm Bill: A Summary of Major Provisions and Legislative Action

Description: The report discusses the 2008 farm bill (H.R. 2419), covering a wide range of programs including The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, farm credit, agricultural conservation, research, rural development, and foreign and domestic food programs, among others.
Date: June 19, 2008
Creator: Johnson, Renée; Becker, Geoffrey S. & Capehart, Tom
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Export Programs: Background and Issues

Description: This report considers U.S. agricultural imports and predicts that FY2010 will be the second highest on record at 77.5 billion. The report also discusses the farm bill of 2008 in relation to this information. Moreover, the report provides data on the U.S. agricultural exports.
Date: April 19, 2010
Creator: Ho, Melissa D. & Hanrahan, Charles E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Trade Issues In the 106th Congress

Description: This report considers the fall in agricultural exports between 1996 and 1999 in the United States. To solve this issue, much of the debate surrounds changing U.S. trade policies. The problem with this solution is that countries have not always honored existing trade agreements.
Date: May 19, 2000
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.; Hanrahan, Charles & Jurenas, Remy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2006 Appropriations

Description: This report is a guide to one of the 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. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant. The report lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related CRS products.
Date: July 19, 2005
Creator: Monke, Jim
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 America’s agriculture from a deliberate bio… more
Date: December 19, 2001
Creator: Segarra, Alejandro E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA’s Air Compliance Agreement

Description: This report discusses a plan announced by EPA in January 2005, called the Air Compliance Agreement, that would produce air quality monitoring data on animal agriculture emissions from a small number of farms, while at the same time protecting all participants (including farms where no monitoring takes place) through a “safe harbor” from liability under certain provisions of federal environmental laws.
Date: June 19, 2007
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP): Status and Issues

Description: The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246, 2008 farm bill) created the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). This report discusses the two main purposes of BCAP, which are (1) to support the establishment and production of eligible crops for conversion to bioenergy in selected areas, and (2) to assist agricultural and forest land owners and operators with collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible material for use in a biomass conversion facility.
Date: April 19, 2011
Creator: Stubbs, Megan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector and Congressional Action

Description: The debate in Congress over whether and how to address possible future climate change is intensifying. Often, the role of the U.S. agriculture sector is invoked in this debate. Agriculture is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which many scientists agree are contributing to observed climate change. Congress is considering a range of climate change policy options, including GHG emission reduction programs that would either mandate or authorize a cap-and-trade program to reduce GHG emiss… more
Date: June 19, 2009
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Comparison of the 2008 Farm Bill Conference Agreement with the House and Senate Farm Bills

Description: This report compares the major provisions in the House- and Senate-passed bills and the conference agreement with each other and with the 2002 law, and provides a brief description of all individual sections or subsections within each title.
Date: June 19, 2008
Creator: Johnson, Renée; Becker, Geoffrey S.; Richardson, Joe; Marples, Donald J. & Jickling, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Conservation Reserve Program: Policy Issues for the 1995 Farm Bill

Description: The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enacted in 1985, enables producers to bid to retire highly erodible or environmentally sensitive crop land for 10 years (or longer under certain circumstances). Successful bidders receive annual rental payments, and cost-sharing and technical assistance to install approved plantings. The program was to enroll between 40 and 45 million acres before 1996. Program goals are to reduce erosion and excess production, and more recently, to provide other environm… more
Date: December 19, 1994
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EDB and the Agriculture Community: A Background Discussion

Description: EDB is being removed from major agricultural uses because of concerns about possible adverse effects on human health. Regulatory actions to remove EDB from the food system will have impacts on the agricultural community. Uses of EDB in agriculture, regulatory actions to remove EDB from the food system quickly, and possible impacts of those regulatory actions on domestic and international markets are discussed.
Date: March 19, 1984
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Funding for Agriculture: A Brief History of Congressional Action, 1988-June 1999

Description: Between 1988 and June 1999, thirteen emergency supplemental or farm disaster acts provided a total of $17 billion in emergency funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs. The vast majority of this amount has gone directly to farmers, primarily in the form of disaster payments ($12.2 billion) to any farmer suffering a significant crop loss caused by a natural disaster, and "market loss" payments ($3.1 billion) to help grain, cotton, and dairy farmers recover from low farm commodi… more
Date: July 19, 1999
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy Use in Agriculture: Background and Issues

Description: This report provides information relevant to the U.S. agricultural sector on energy use, emerging issues, and related legislation. This report provides background on the relationship between energy and agriculture in the United States. The first section provides background information on current and historical energy use in the U.S. agricultural sector and how this fits into the national energy-use picture. Energy’s role in agriculture’s overall cost structure is detailed both for present circu… more
Date: November 19, 2004
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Estimates of Carbon Mitigation Potential from Agricultural and Forestry Activities

Description: Numerous theoretical and empirical studies estimate the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential of farm and forestry activities, and suggest that the potential for carbon uptake in agricultural soils and forest lands is much greater than current rates. Following a discussion of the estimated current emissions and carbon sequestration by the agricultural and forestry sectors, this report presents a brief overview of the available estimates from USDA and EPA carbon mitigation studies, and then … more
Date: June 19, 2009
Creator: Johnson, Renée; Gorte, Ross W.; Yacobucci, Brent D. & Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Exempting Food and Agriculture Products from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Status and Implementation

Description: Falling agricultural exports and declining commodity prices led farm groups and agribusiness firms to urge the 106th Congress to pass legislation exempting foods and agricultural commodities from U.S. economic sanctions against certain countries. In completing action on the FY2001 agriculture appropriations bill, Congress codified the lifting of unilateral sanctions on commercial sales of food, agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical products to Iran, Libya, North Korea, and Sudan, and … more
Date: December 19, 2002
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The "Farm Bill" in Brief

Description: Federal farm support, food assistance, agricultural trade, marketing, and rural development policies are governed by a variety of separate laws. Many of these laws periodically have been evaluated, revised, and renewed through an omnibus, multi-year farm bill. This report discusses the "farm bill" and it's components.
Date: December 19, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Legislation in the 108th Congress

Description: This report provides information about the Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Legislation in the 108th Congress. fish and marine are important resources in the open ocean and nearshore coastal areas.
Date: August 19, 2003
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
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 … more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Vogt, Donna U. & Parish, Mickey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Food Safety on the Farm: Federal Programs and Selected Proposals

Description: This report discusses bills introduced into the 110th Congress pertaining to food safety that could affect farmers and ranchers. Several of these bills would expressly have required enforceable on-farm safety standards. Others that focused primarily on post-harvest food safety measures nonetheless might have led to changes in on-farm practices if the regulated sectors (handlers and processors of agricultural products) placed new demands on their suppliers in order to comply. Similar proposals a… more
Date: March 19, 2009
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Food Safety on the Farm: Federal Programs and Selected Proposals

Description: This report discusses bills introduced into the 110th Congress pertaining to food safety that could affect farmers and ranchers. Several of these bills would expressly have required enforceable on-farm safety standards. Others that focused primarily on post-harvest food safety measures nonetheless might have led to changes in on-farm practices if the regulated sectors (handlers and processors of agricultural products) placed new demands on their suppliers in order to comply. Similar proposals a… more
Date: December 19, 2008
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Funding Plant and Animal Health Emergencies: Transfers from the Commodity Credit Corporation

Description: This report examines the Secretary of Agriculture's authority to transfer funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for emergency control programs. The Secretary’s use of this authority has increased in recent years, and has become an issue within government concerning the method for funding plant and animal health programs.
Date: October 19, 2005
Creator: Monke, Jim & Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Grazing Fees: Overview and Issues

Description: This report gives an overview and current issues related to Grazing fees.
Date: June 19, 2012
Creator: Vincent, Carol Hardy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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