The Rural Business-Cooperative Service is one of three agencies within USDA Rural Development responsible for administering various economic development programs to rural communities in the United States and its territories. Because these three agencies are closely aligned, they are commonly referred to as the USDA Rural Development, Business & Cooperative Programs.
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a wholly owned United States government corporation that was created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices". The CCC is authorized to buy, sell, lend, make payments, and engage in other activities for the purpose of increasing production, stabilizing prices, assuring adequate supplies, and facilitating the efficient marketing of agricultural commodities.
Government cheese is processed cheese provided to welfare beneficiaries, Food Stamp recipients, and the elderly receiving Social Security in the United States, as well as to food banks. This processed cheese was used in military kitchens during World War II and has been used in schools since the 1950s.
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.
In different administrative and organizational forms, the Food for Peace program of the United States has provided food assistance around the world for more than 50 years. Approximately 3 billion people in 150 countries have benefited directly from U.S. food assistance. The Office of Food for Peace within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the U.S. Government's largest provider of overseas food assistance. The food assistance programming is funded primarily through the Food for Peace Act. The Office of Food for Peace also receives International Disaster Assistance Funds through the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) that can be used in emergency settings.
The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the program with funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation.
USDA Office of Rural Development (RD) is an agency with the United States Department of Agriculture which runs programs intended to improve the economy and quality of life in rural America.
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 was a $288 billion, five-year agricultural policy bill that was passed into law by the United States Congress on June 18, 2008. The bill was a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill. It continues the United States' long history of agricultural subsidies as well as pursuing areas such as energy, conservation, nutrition, and rural development. Some specific initiatives in the bill include increases in Food Stamp benefits, increased support for the production of cellulosic ethanol, and money for the research of pests, diseases and other agricultural problems.
The Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 was separate legislation that revised and reauthorized federally supported agricultural research, education, and extension programs from June 1998 through May 2002. The 1998 Act built upon reforms that were made in the research title of the farm law in effect at the time, the 1996 farm bill. Key provisions were new accountability measures for recipients of federal research funds, and a new competitive research grant program called the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems, for which mandatory funds were authorized. The 1998 law’s provisions, as well as new revisions of research, education, and extension policies, are included in Title VII of the 2002 farm bill.
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.
The 2002 farm bill directed the USDA to provide grants and to assist in the establishment of Agriculture Innovation Centers that provide information, training and direct assistance to agricultural producers in the production, processing, development and marketing of value-added agricultural commodities and products. In September 2003, the USDA announced $10 million in grants for the establishment of demonstration centers in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania.
The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, Public Law 93-320, and the laws authorizing three other conservation cost-sharing programs were begun June 24, 1974. In the 1996 farm bill, Public Law 104-127, they were repealed and replaced by a new cost-sharing program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1961 authorized a major expansion of USDA lending activities, which at the time were administered by Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), but now through the Farm Service Agency. The legislation was originally enacted as the Consolidated Farmers Home Administration Act of 1961.
The Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant and Loan Program (DLT) is a program authorized by the 1990 farm bill to provide grants to rural schools and health care providers to help them invest in telecommunications facilities and equipment to bring educational and medical resources to rural areas where the services otherwise might be unavailable. The 1996 farm bill reauthorized and streamlined the program.
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)'Program is a US based competitive grants and education program administered through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), and run by four regional councils that set policy and make grants. The four regions, North Central, Northeast, South and West, are each guided by a volunteer Administrative Council that sets regional priorities. These councils include farmers and ranchers, representatives from universities, government, agribusiness and nonprofit organizations. Since 1988, SARE has invested around $200 million in more than 5,000 initiatives. New York has had the most funded SARE projects, followed by Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Every US state has had at least 10 SARE grants since the program's inception.
The Sheep Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1994 enabled domestic sheep producers and feeders and importers of sheep and sheep products to develop, finance, and carry out a nationally coordinated program for sheep and sheep product promotion, research, and information.
The Farmers Market Promotion Program is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) program established by the 2002 farm bill to improve or expand existing farmers' markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture programs, and other direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities, and to develop or aid in the development of new farmers’ markets, etc. The farm bill authorized unspecified amounts of appropriations for FY2002 through FY2007 for this program.
The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is the department of the New York state government that enforces laws relating to agriculture, weights and measures, and the production, processing, transportation, storage, marketing and distributing of food. Its regulations are compiled in title 1 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
The Agricultural Act of 2014, formerly the "Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013", is an act of Congress that authorizes nutrition and agriculture programs in the United States for the years of 2014-2018. The bill authorizes $956 billion in spending over the next ten years.
