The peanut, also known as the groundnut, goober, or monkey nut (UK), and taxonomically classified as Arachis hypogaea, is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, being important to both small and large commercial producers. It is classified as both a grain legume and, due to its high oil content, an oil crop. World annual production of shelled peanuts was 44 million tonnes in 2016, led by China with 38% of the world total. Atypically among legume crop plants, peanut pods develop underground (geocarpy) rather than aboveground. With this characteristic in mind, the botanist Linnaeus named the species hypogaea, which means "under the earth."
Boiled peanuts are popular in some places where peanuts are common. Fully mature peanuts do not make good quality boiled peanuts; rather raw or "green" ones are used. "Raw" denotes peanuts in a semi-mature state, having achieved full size, but not being fully dried, as would be needed for roasting or peanut butter use. After boiling in salt water they take on a strong salty taste and become softer with the length of cooking, somewhat resembling a pea or bean, to which they are related. The most flavorful peanuts for boiling are the Valencia type. These are preferred in the United States, being grown in gardens and small patches throughout the South. Green Virginia-type peanuts are also sometimes used.
The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, known informally as the Freedom to Farm Act, the FAIR Act, or the 1996 U.S. Farm Bill, was the omnibus 1996 farm bill that, among other provisions, revises and simplifies direct payment programs for crops and eliminates milk price supports through direct government purchases.
Senegal's economy is mostly driven by agriculture, fisheries, mining, construction and tourism. Most of Senegal lies within the drought-prone Sahel region, with irregular rainfall and generally poor soils. With only about 5 percent of the land irrigated, Senegal continues to rely on rain-fed agriculture, which occupies about 75 percent of the workforce. Despite a relatively wide variety of agricultural production, the majority of farmers produce for subsistence needs. Production is subject to drought and threats of pests such as locusts, birds, fruit flies, and white flies. Millet, rice, corn, and sorghum are the primary food crops grown in Senegal.
The Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 was the 4-year farm bill that adopted target prices and deficiency payments as a tool that would support farm income but reduce forfeitures to the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) of surplus stocks. It reduced payment limitations to $20,000 for all program crops. The Act might be considered the first omnibus farm bill because it went beyond simply authorizing farm commodity programs. It authorized disaster payments and disaster reserve inventories; created the Rural Environmental Conservation Program; amended the Food Stamp Act of 1964, authorized the use of commodities for feeding low income mothers and young children (the origin of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program; and amended the Rural Development Act of 1972.
In the United States, Tobacco quotas were a supply control feature of federal price support for tobacco. Burley tobacco was subject to marketing quotas and flue-cured tobacco was subject to marketing quotas and acreage allotments. Tobacco quota owners voted every three years on whether or not to continue with price support and marketing quotas. Producers of several minor tobaccos had disapproved federal support. The national marketing quota was calculated according to a formula specified by law that included consideration of intended purchases by domestic manufacturers, average exports over the preceding three years, and reserve stock requirements. The effective quota was the basic quota plus and minus temporary adjustments for allowable previous year under and over marketings. The Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 ended tobacco quotas for 2005 crop and subsequent years.
A tariff-rate quota (TRQ) is a two-tiered international trade tariff that combines two policy instruments used historically to protect domestic production by restricting imports−Import quotas and tariffs. The quotas set a quantitative threshold for a designated time period for imports of a protected domestic product. Under that threshold, tariffs applied to imports are either very low or nonexistent. Over that threshold, imports are subject to a significantly higher tariff that is intentionally prohibitive. TRQs have been required by the World Trade Organization (WTO) since the 1995 Uruguay Round Agreement.
The U.S. Sugar program is the federal commodity support program that maintains a minimum price for sugar, authorized by the 2002 farm bill to cover the 2002-2007 crops of sugar beets and sugarcane.
In the United States, a production flexibility contract is a 7-year contract covering crop years 1996-2002, authorized by the 1996 farm bill between the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and farmers, which makes fixed income support payments. Farmers were given production flexibility and diversification options on their contract acres not previously allowed on base acres. Each farm’s total payment was the payment rate times the payment quantity for participating base acres. In exchange for annual fixed payments, the owner or operator agreed to comply with the applicable conservation plan for the farm, the wetland protection requirements currently in law, and the constraints on growing fruits and vegetables on contract acres. Land enrolled in a contract had to be maintained in an agricultural or related activity. The law stated that not more than $35.6 billion would be paid over the 7-year period, in declining annual amounts from $5.3 billion in FY1996 to $4.0 billion in FY in 2002. The annual payments were allocated among commodities similar to historical deficiency payments, with 53.6% going to feed grains, 26.3% for wheat, 11.6% for upland cotton, and 8.5% for rice. Target prices and deficiency payments, authorized in the 1973 farm bill, were eliminated. The 2002 farm bill replaced this 7-year contract with an annual producer agreement (contract) required for participation in the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP).
The Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment Program (DCP) of the USDA provides payments to eligible producers on farms enrolled for the 2002 through 2007 crop years. There are two types of DCP payments – direct payments and counter-cyclical payments. Both are computed using the base acres and payment yields established for the farm.
No net cost is a requirement that certain commodity programs operate at no net cost to the federal government. The No Net Cost Tobacco Act of 1982 required an assessment on 1982 and subsequent tobacco crops to cover potential tobacco price support program losses. The 1985 farm bill required that USDA operate the sugar program for the first time at no cost; a provision repealed by the 1996 farm bill and reinstated by the 2002 farm bill. The 1996 changes to the peanut price support program were designed to ensure that it also operated at no cost. Subsequently, the peanut program was completely changed by the 2002 farm bill, but not in a manner to make it no-net-cost.
The 2002 farm bill replaced the longtime (65-year) support program for peanuts with a framework identical in structure to the program for the so-called covered commodities. The three components of the Peanut Price Support Program are fixed direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, and marketing assistance loans or loan deficiency payments (LDPs). The peanut poundage quota and the two-tiered pricing features of the old program were repealed. Only historic peanut producers are eligible for the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP). All current production is eligible for marketing assistance loans and LDPs. Previous owners of peanut quota were compensated through a buy-out program at a rate of 55¢/lb. ($1,100/ton) over a 5-year period.
Marketing assessments are a term in United States agriculture policy. At times, producers and first purchasers of some supported commodities are required to pay assessments as a contribution toward achieving budget deficit reduction targets. Under the 1996 farm bill, assessments were imposed on sugar processors and on producers and first buyers of peanuts. However, the 1996 farm bill eliminated a milk marketing assessment. The 2002 farm bill eliminated the assessments for peanuts and sugar. Tobacco was subject to a no-net-cost assessment on all marketings to offset Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) losses on price support loan operations until support was ended in 2005 under the quota buyout provision.
The United States Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 was an omnibus farm bill. The S. 275 legislation was passed by the 95th U.S. Congressional session and signed into law by the 39th President of the United States Jimmy Carter on September 29, 1977.
In United States agricultural policy, additional peanuts refers to peanuts sold from a farm in any marketing year in excess of the amount of quota peanuts sold from that farm. Additional peanuts must be exported or crushed into oil and meal. Additionals are eligible only for the lower of two price support levels available under the peanut price support program. The lower additionals loan rate is set to ensure that the Commodity Credit Corporation does not incur losses on their sale and disposal.
In United States agricultural policy, Historic peanut producers are those producers who were actively involved in planting and harvesting peanuts in the 1998-2001 period. Under the 2002 farm bill, only these historic producers are eligible to receive fixed direct payments and counter-cyclical payments under the new peanut program, irrespective of whether or not they continue to produce peanuts. Payments made to these producers are based on past production on historical acreage.
A farm's acreage allotment, under provisions of permanent commodity price support law, is its share, based on its previous production, of the national acreage needed to produce sufficient supplies of a particular crop. Under the 2002 farm bill, acreage allotments are not applicable to the covered commodities, peanuts, or sugar. Subsequently, allotments and quotas and price support for tobacco were eliminated beginning in 2005.
