The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production, works to assure food safety, protects natural resources, fosters rural communities and works to end hunger in the United States and internationally. It is headed by the secretary of agriculture, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The current secretary is Tom Vilsack, who has served since February 24, 2021.
In agriculture, rotational grazing, as opposed to continuous grazing, describes many systems of pasturing, whereby livestock are moved to portions of the pasture, called paddocks, while the other portions rest. Each paddock must provide all the needs of the livestock, such as food, water and sometimes shade and shelter. The approach often produces lower outputs than more intensive animal farming operations, but requires lower inputs, and therefore sometimes produces higher net farm income per animal.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers.
Agricultural wastewater treatment is a farm management agenda for controlling pollution from confined animal operations and from surface runoff that may be contaminated by chemicals in fertilizer, pesticides, animal slurry, crop residues or irrigation water. Agricultural wastewater treatment is required for continuous confined animal operations like milk and egg production. It may be performed in plants using mechanized treatment units similar to those used for industrial wastewater. Where land is available for ponds, settling basins and facultative lagoons may have lower operational costs for seasonal use conditions from breeding or harvest cycles. Animal slurries are usually treated by containment in anaerobic lagoons before disposal by spray or trickle application to grassland. Constructed wetlands are sometimes used to facilitate treatment of animal wastes.
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.
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a cost-share and rental payment program of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the program, the government pays farmers to take certain agriculturally used croplands out of production and convert them to vegetative cover, such as cultivated or native bunchgrasses and grasslands, wildlife and pollinators food and shelter plantings, windbreak and shade trees, filter and buffer strips, grassed waterways, and riparian buffers. The purpose of the program is to reduce land erosion, improve water quality and effect wildlife benefits.
American Farmland Trust (AFT) is a non-profit organization in the United States with a mission to protect farmland, promote environmentally sound farming practices, and keep farmers on the land. AFT is staffed by farmers, policy experts, researchers, and scientists, and governed by a board of directors. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C., and it has regional offices throughout the country. AFT also runs the Farmland Information Center, an online collection of information on farmland and ranchland protection and stewardship established as a public-private partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) was 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.
In the United States, the farm bill is comprehensive omnibus bill that is the primary agricultural and food policy instrument of the federal government. Congress typically passes a new farm bill every five to six years.
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 Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) was established in 2002 to quantify the environmental impact of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) conservation program. The project focuses on how watersheds are affected. CEAP monitored 14 benchmark watershed sites. The CEAP's vision is to enhance "natural resources and healthier ecosystems through improved conservation effectiveness and better management of agricultural landscapes. The goal is "to improve efficacy of conservations practices and programs by quantifying conservation effects and providing the science and education base needed to enrich conservation planning, implementation, management decisions, and policy."
Private landowner assistance program (PLAP) is a class of government assistance program available throughout the U.S. for landowners interested in maintaining, developing, improving and protecting wildlife on their property. Each state provides various programs that assist landowners in agriculture, forestry and conserving wildlife habitat. This helps landowners in the practice of good land stewardship and provides multiple benefits to the environment. Some states offer technical assistance which includes:
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a United States government program designed to assist farmers in improving environmental quality, particularly water quality and soil conservation. Congress established the program in the 1996 farm bill to provide primarily cost-sharing assistance, but also technical and educational assistance, aimed at promoting production and environmental quality, and optimizing environmental benefits.
Conservation technical assistance (CTA) has been the central activity of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) since it was established in 1936.
Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) — The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) renamed the Farmland Protection Program (FPP) to the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program in 2003 to accurately reflect the resources eligible to participate in the program. The program established by the 1996 farm bill to fund the purchase of conservation easements of 170,000-340,000 acres of land having prime or unique soil or other desirable production qualities that are threatened by urban development. Eligibility depends upon already having a pending offer from a state or local government to protect qualifying land by limiting nonagricultural use. The 2002 farm bill reauthorized the program through FY2007 and provided mandatory funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) that was $50 million in FY2002 and will rise to $125 million in FY2004, then slowly decline to $97 million in FY2007. Other changes expanded the definition of eligible land to include cropland, rangeland, grassland, pasture land, incidental forest land, and historic and archeological sites; expanded the list of eligible participants to include Indian tribes and non profit organizations that meet specified qualifications; and directed an unspecified portion of the program funds to carry out a farm viability program. According to the NRCS FY2005 budget request document, more than 306,000 acres (1,240 km2) in 42 states have or soon will have easement contracts.
Swampbuster is a provision officially titled the Wetland Conservation provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985 that discourages the conversion of wetlands to cropland use. The purpose was a balance between attempting to reduce crop subsidies, and conserving wetlands.
A Limited Resource Farmer or Rancher is one of a larger group of “targeted farmers" that also includes beginning farmers and ranchers and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Limited Resource Farmers are characterized by having limited farm sales and income. The USDA created the Limited Resource Farmer and Rancher program to ensure that these farmers and ranchers can develop economically viable farms, have access to USDA support, and ensure that programs are in alignment with farmer and rancher needs and concerns.
The Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP) was a United States government program, administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, that provided financial assistance to farmers and landowners to restore grasslands. The 2002 farm bill authorized enrollment of 2 million acres (8,100 km2) of restored or improved grassland, range land and pastureland under temporary and permanent easements, or contracts of at least 10 years. Under the GRP enrolled land must be in parcels that exceed 40 acres (160,000 m2). Technical assistance was provided to restore grasslands. A total of $254 million in mandatory funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) was provided between Fiscal Years 2003 and 2007. It also provided cost sharing payments at 75% to restore disturbed grasslands and 90% to protect virgin grasslands.
The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County (LCSLO) is a non-profit land trust organization that has been operating in San Luis Obispo County, California since 1984. The LCSLO is dedicated to the voluntary and collaborative preservation and improvement of lands that hold significant scenic, agricultural, habitat, and cultural values. Their work aims to benefit both the local community and wildlife that depends on these lands.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is an alliance of over 130 member groups working to promote and enhance sustainable food and farm policy at the federal level. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NSAC aims to equally prioritize supporting, building, developing and engaging the grassroots of sustainable agriculture by researching, developing and advocating federal policies.
