Richard G. Lugar, United States Senator for Richard G. Lugar, United States Senator for Indiana
Richard G. Lugar, United States Senator for Indiana
Home > Senator Lugar's Farm Bill > Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws

Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws

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CAA — Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.).
Cabotage — Trade or transport in coastal waters between ports within the same country. U.S. cabotage legislation, notably the so-called Jones Act (Sec. 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920) is designed to support the maritime industry.
CACFP — Child and Adult Care Food Program.
CAFO — Concentrated animal feeding operation.
Cairns Group — A coalition of 17 agricultural exporting countries, formed in 1986 at Cairns, Australia, for the purpose of influencing the outcome of agricultural negotiations in the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations. During those negotiations and subsequently in the Doha Development Agenda negotiations, the Cairns Group has pressed WTO member countries to eliminate agricultural export subsidies, and to substantially reduce agricultural tariffs and trade-distorting farm subsidies. Members are Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Paraguay, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Uruguay.
Call option — A contract that entitles the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase an underlying futures contract at a stipulated basis or strike price at any time up to the expiration of the option. The buyer pays a premium to the seller for this contract. A call option is bought with the expectation of a rise in prices. See Put option.
Campylobacteriosis — A diarrheal disease caused by the type of bacteria known as Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) associated with poultry, raw milk, and water. There are an estimated 2.5 million cases annually in the United States with 13,000 hospitalizations and more than 100 deaths. Campylobacteriosis has been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome (a disease which paralyzes limbs and breathing muscles). USDA has estimated that this disease costs the United States between $1.2 to $1.4 billion annually in medical costs, productivity losses, and residential care.
Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) — A Crown corporation established under the Canadian Dairy Commission Act (1966-1967) and accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Agriculture. The CDC has dual responsibilities: (1) the dairy support program operations financed by the government through parliamentary appropriation; and (2) marketing operations financed by milk producers under the provisions of the National Milk Marketing Plan. The CDC also chairs the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee, which coordinates the management of industrial milk and cream supplies in Canada. www.cdc.ca.
Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) — A quasi-governmental self-financed agency, established in 1935, that markets Canadian wheat, oats, and barley on behalf of producers. Commercial grain is put into annual marketing pools by grade, with the pool period lasting 12 months and ending July 31. The CWB markets the grain to domestic and foreign buyers, with unsold grain transferred to the pool established for the next year. The overall procedure ensures a uniform per-bushel return, excluding storage costs, to all producers for each grade, regardless of the time they deliver their grain to elevators. The flow of grain from farm to terminal is closely regulated. The CWB also works to develop new markets for Canadian wheat and has authority to enter into long-term supply contracts with foreign countries. www.cwb.ca/en/index.jsp.
Cancellation — Refers to an action taken under Section 6(b) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA;7 U.S.C. 136d) to cancel a pesticide registration for one or more specific uses when the EPA finds the use results in unreasonable adverse effects to the environment or public health when a product is used according to widespread and commonly recognized practice, or if its labeling or other material required to be submitted does not comply with FIFRA provisions.
Caneberries — The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 10601) authorizes marketing orders for caneberries, which the Act defines to include "raspberries, blackberries, and loganberries."
Canola — Canola is one of the "other oilseed" crops eligible for support from marketing assistance loans and loan deficiency payments, direct payments and counter-cyclical payments under the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Title I). North Dakota accounts for about 98% of national production (based on 2003 crop data). Canola is the name used in Canada and the United States for a rapeseed with low levels of two anti-nutritional compounds, erucic acid in the oil and glucosinolates in the meal, that were present in all rapeseed at one time. Canola oil was granted GRAS status in 1985. Canola oil is widely used as a cooking oil, salad oil, and for making margarine. Of all edible vegetable oils widely available today, it has the lowest saturated fat content, making it appealing to some health-conscious consumers. In contrast to this edible rapeseed, industrial rapeseed has a high content of erucic acid in the oil.
CAP — Common Agricultural Policy.
Capper-Volstead Act — P.L. 67-146 (February 18, 1922), the Co-operative Marketing Associations Act (7 U.S.C. 291, 292). The law was passed in response to challenges made against cooperatives using the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), the Clayton Antitrust Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.), and the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). It gave "associations" of persons producing agricultural products certain exemptions from antitrust laws. The law carries the names of its sponsors, Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas and Representative Andrew Volstead of Minnesota. It is sometimes called the Magna Carta of Cooperation.
Captive supply — Products that manufacturers or processors own or contract to purchase for future delivery to have a predictable source of raw materials for their plants. In agriculture, the term often is used, for example, to refer to the cattle that beef packers own or contract to purchase 2 weeks or more before slaughter. Examples of such contracts include an exclusive agreement with an individual feedlot in which the price is based on market prices at time of slaughter; or a contract in which the price is specified in advance or is based on some other formula. At issue is the effect that captive supplies have on prices paid to cattle producers in cash markets.
Carbon sequestration — Retention of carbon through physical or biological processes that prevent or delay its emission to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide by holding it in a carbon sink. This may help mitigate climate change by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Silvicultural practices that encourage rapid, long term tree growth are an example. Crop residue retention practices designed to prevent erosion and improve the productivity of soil, such as conservation tillage, also retain larger amounts of carbon compared to many traditional cultivation practices.
Carbon sink — A process or activity that absorbs, or takes up, released carbon from another part of the carbon cycle. The four types of sinks, within which carbon behaves in a systematic manner, are the atmosphere, the terrestrial biosphere (including agricultural, forest, and freshwater systems); oceans, and sediments (including fossil fuels).
Carcass weight — The weight of an animal after slaughter and removal of most internal organs, head, and skin. On average the carcass weight of beef is about 60% of the live animal weight, for hogs it is about 73%.
Carcass-by-carcass inspection — See continuous inspection.
Carcinogen — Any substance that produces or promotes cancer. This is a key consideration in evaluating the safety of pesticides and other chemicals.
CARD — Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University. www.card.iastate.edu.
Cargo preference — The Cargo Preference Act (P.L. 83-664) requires that whenever the federal government pays for equipment, material, or commodities shipped to other countries, a minimum percentage of the gross tonnage shipped by sea must go by U.S. flag vessels. Cargo preference requirements have been an issue in U.S. international food aid and export subsidy programs. Because U.S. vessels generally cost more to use, agricultural and food aid groups contend that resources otherwise available for commodities must be diverted to transportation costs.
Cargo Preference Act — P.L. 83-644 (August 26, 1954), as amended, contains permanent legislation concerning the transportation of waterborne cargoes in U.S.-flag vessels. The Act requires that 75% of the volume of U.S. agricultural commodities financed under P.L. 480 and other concessional financing arrangements be shipped on privately owned U.S.-registered vessels. Maritime interests generally support cargo preference, but proponents of P.L. 480 argue that it increases the costs of shipping U.S. commodities to poor countries and potentially reduces the volume of food aid that is provided.
Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act of 1983 (CBERA) — P.L. 98-67 (August 5, 1983), Title II, authorized unilateral preferential trade and tax benefits for eligible Caribbean countries, including duty-free treatment of eligible products. Often referred to as the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI). Amended several times, the last substantive revisions were made in the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Expansion Act of 1990 (P.L. 101382, Title II, August 20, 1990). This made trade benefits permanent (repealing the September 30, 1995 termination date). The law gives preferential trade and tax benefits for eligible Caribbean countries, including duty-free entry of eligible products. To be eligible, an article must be a product of a beneficiary country and imported directly from it, and at least 35% of its import value must have originated in one or more CBERA beneficiaries. Slightly different import value rules apply to articles entering from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The duty-free import of sugar and beef products is subject to a special eligibility requirement intended to ensure that increased production of sugar and beef will not adversely affect overall food production. Preferential tariff treatment does not extend to imports of: textiles and apparel subject to textile agreements, specified footwear, canned tuna, petroleum and its products, and watches and watch parts containing any material originating in countries denied normal trade relations (most-favored-nation) trade status. Special criteria applied to the duty-free import of ethanol through FY2000. Import-sensitive products, not accorded duty-free tariff treatment, are eligible to enter at lower than normal trade relations tariff rates. These products include handbags, luggage, flat goods (such as wallets, change purses, and key and eyeglass cases), work gloves, and certain leather wearing apparel.
Carrier — An inert material added to an active ingredient in a pesticide to enhance its delivery or effectiveness.
Carrying capacity — The maximum stocking rate for livestock possible without damaging vegetation or related resources. Carrying capacity may vary from year to year on the same area, due to fluctuating forage production. Used by the government in decisions about how many livestock will be allowed on an allotment on public lands. This term also is used in ecology, wildlife management, recreation facility planning, and other subjects to describe the maximum use level that can be sustained without resulting in an unacceptable deterioration in quality.
Carryover — The supply of a farm commodity not yet used at the end of a marketing year and carried over into the next marketing year. An excessively large carryover is typically described as a surplus condition that causes prices to fall. When the carryover falls below normal, there may be concerns of a shortage contributing to price escalation.
Cartagena Biosafety Protocol — See Biosafety Protocol.
Cartagena Protocol — See Biosafety Protocol.
Cartel — An alliance or arrangement among industrial or commercial enterprises or nations aimed at limiting competition or exercising monopoly power in a market.
Casein — The major portion of milk protein, manufactured from skim milk and used in processed foods (such as dessert toppings and coffee whiteners) and in industrial products such as glue, paint and plastics. Casein may be blended with nonfat dry milk to produce milk protein concentrate.
Cash commodity — The physical or actual commodity as distinguished from the futures contract. Sometimes called spot commodity, or actuals.
Cash forward sale — See Forward contracting.
Cash grain farm — A farm where corn, grain sorghum, small grains, soybeans, or field peas and beans account for at least 50% of the value of farm products sold.
Cash in lieu of commodities — Refers to cash provided to food program operators (e.g., elderly nutrition programs, child care food programs, and some school food programs) in lieu of mandated commodity assistance. Meal program operators receive funding in lieu of commodities to buy whatever foods they need to operate their meal service programs.
Cash market — The market for the cash commodity (as contrasted to a futures contract), taking the form of; (1) an organized, self-regulated central market (e.g., a commodity exchange); (2) a decentralized over-the-counter market; or (3) a local organization, such as a grain elevator or meat processor, which provides a market for a small region.
Cash price — The price in the marketplace for actual cash or spot commodities to be delivered via customary market channels.
Cash settlement — A method of settling certain futures contracts or option contracts whereby the seller (or short position) pays the buyer (or long position) the cash value of the commodity traded according to a procedure specified in the contract.
CAST — Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. www.cast-science.org.
CAT — Catastrophic crop insurance.
Catastrophic crop insurance (CAT) — A component of the federal crop insurance program, originally authorized by the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (P.L. 103354). CAT coverage compensates farmers for crop yield losses exceeding 50% of their average historical yield at a payment rate of 55% of the projected season average market price. CAT coverage requires that a farmer realize a yield loss of more than 50% and only makes payments on losses exceeding the 50% threshold. Producers pay no premium for CAT coverage, but except for cases of financial hardship must pay an administrative fee of $100 per crop. A producer has the ability to purchase additional insurance coverage (or buy-up coverage) beyond CAT coverage, but must pay a premium, partially subsidized by the government.
Cattle cycle — The approximately 10-year period in which the number of U.S. beef cattle is alternatively expanded and reduced over several consecutive years in response to perceived changes in profitability by producers. Generally, low prices occur when cattle numbers (or beef supplies) are high, precipitating several years of herd liquidation. As cattle numbers decline, prices gradually begin to rise, causing producers to begin adding cattle to their herds. The cycle is relatively long due to the long period of time it takes between the time a cow-calf operator decides to expand a cow herd to breed more beef cattle and the time those animals reach slaughter weight.
CBI — Caribbean Basin Initiative.
CBT — Chicago Board of Trade. www.cbot.com.
CCA — See U.S.-Canada Consultative Committee on Agriculture.
CCC — Commodity Credit Corporation.
CCHP — Comprehensive Conservation Enhancement Program, which replaces ECARP in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171).
CCI — Cotton Council International. www.cottonusa.org/cci.htm.
CCP — Counter-cyclical payments.
CD — Conservation district.
CDC — Canadian Dairy Commission. www.cdc.ca.
CDC — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov. Canadian Dairy Commission. www.cdc.ca/cdc/index.asp.
CED — County Executive Director.
CEFTA — Central European Free Trade Agreement.
Census of Agriculture — A comprehensive set of quantitative information on the agricultural sector of the U.S. economy, broken down to the state and county levels (i.e., number of farms, land in farms, crop acreage and production, livestock numbers and production, production expenses, farm facilities and equipment, farm tenure, value of farm products sold, farm size, type of farm, among other data). Special reports are issued on such subjects as irrigation, land ownership, economics, and an atlas of agriculture. The Census, conducted every 5 years, was the responsibility of the Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. However, the FY1997 USDA appropriations act (P.L. 104-180) transferred funding for the Census of Agriculture to USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Data from the 2002 Census was released throughout 2004. www.nass.usda.gov/census.
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) — The agency within the Food and Drug Administration responsible for developing and overseeing enforcement of food safety and quality regulations and coordinating FDA and states' surveillance and compliance programs, among other activities. FDA's roughly 800 field inspectors (located administratively within FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs) enforce CFSAN's food safety regulations at 53,000 processing facilities. Among other activities, this center is engaged in surveillance of imported fruits and vegetables, investigating the risk of Listeria, approving additives to safeguard the nation's food supply and adopting HACCP rules for manufacturers of fruit juices, seafood and shell eggs. www.cfsan.fda.gov.
Center for Veterinary Medicine — An agency within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that is responsible for assuring that all animal drugs, feeds (including pet foods), and veterinary devices are safe for animals, are properly labeled, and produce no human health hazards when used in food-producing animals. www.fda.gov/cvm.
Center pivot irrigation — A self-propelled irrigation system in which a single pipeline supported on towers rotates around a central point. These systems are typically about one-quarter mile long and serve 128- to 132-acre circular fields.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention — An agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that monitors and investigates foodborne disease outbreaks and compiles baseline data against which to measure the success of changes in food safety programs. The CDC operates the FoodNet and PulseNet survey systems for tracking and identifying the causal organisms of foodborne disease outbreaks. www.cdc.gov.
CEQ — Council on Environmental Quality. www.whitehouse.gov/CEQ.
Cereals — Generally, grains suitable for human or animal food. The EU Common Agricultural Policy, for example, recognizes the following cereals as eligible for support under its arable crops program: durum wheat, rye, barley, oats, maize, grain sorghum, buckwheat, millet, and canary seed.
Certificates (commodity) — Legal instruments, entitling a qualified bearer to a specific dollar value of USDA surplus commodities. Payment-in-kind (PIK) "certs" either can specify the types of commodities or be generic. Certificates were heavily used during the 1980s as a means of meeting financial obligations and simultaneously disposing of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)-owned commodities. The USDA, in 1999, approved the sale to farmers of commodity certificates at posted county prices that could be used to pay off marketing assistance loans. This administrative action was followed by explicit legislative authority in P.L. 106-78 (Sec. 812). The use of commodity certificates to repay commodity loans is not subject to payment limitations that otherwise constrain the amount of marketing loan gain or loan deficiency payments persons may receive each year.
Certified crop consultant (advisor) — Individuals who are certified by a professional group as having the expertise needed to advise producers on how to improve production of a crop, whether a crop is threatened by pests or disease, or how to protect a crop from pests and disease. Crop consultants are paid by producers for their services. They are likely to be third party providers for USDA programs requiring such technical expertise when Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) implements the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107171, Sec. 1242).
Cervid — A member of the cervidae family of animals that includes deer, elk, moose, caribou, reindeer, and related species (those with solid deciduous antlers). As more producers begin to raise these animals in livestock enterprises, they have sought to include them among the other livestock species as eligible for federal aid, such as disaster payments, federally-funded meat inspection, and animal health programs. Deer, elk, and reindeer, which currently are considered exotic species under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Exotic species are eligible for a voluntary, fee-for-service inspection program under the Agricultural Marketing Act.
CFCs — Chlorofluorocarbons.
CFO — Conservation farm option; Chief Financial Officer.
CFR — Code of Federal Regulations. www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr.
CFSAN — Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. vm.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html.
CFTC — Commodity Futures Trading Commission. www.cftc.gov.
Channelization — Modifying watercourses by straightening, widening, or deepening them. Agricultural benefits include improving drainage and removing water from nearby farm land faster, and improving navigation so that farm products can be shipped by boat more efficiently. While improving drainage, this process can interfere with waste assimilation capacity, disturb fish and wildlife habitats, and aggravate flooding in other areas.
Charter Act — See Commodity Credit Corporation.
Check-off program — Usually, a reference to the generic research and commodity promotion programs for farm products that are financed by assessments applied to sales of those products by producers, importers, or others in the industry. See Generic advertising and promotion.
Chemigation — The application of a pesticide and/or fertilizer through any irrigation system. This delivery technique raises some concern that it may increase pollution.
Chemosterilant — A chemical that controls pests by preventing reproduction, thereby causing the population to collapse. This contrasts with chemicals that directly kill pests.
Chicory — Chicory (Cichorium intybus, and called succory by some) is a hardy perennial that has a variety of uses but is best known for its association with coffee. When coffee has become unavailable or very costly, as during World War II, roasted chicory root has been used as a substitute or a blend, though there is no caffeine in chicory. Chicory also is said to offer health benefits and is used as a dietary supplement by some people. The young leaves can be used in salads, and the root can also be boiled and eaten like a vegetable (it is related to endive and radicchio). It is also grown for cattle food in Europe. Farmers in Nebraska and Wyoming began commercial production of chicory as and alternative crop in 2003.
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) — This child nutrition program provides cash and commodity assistance to support meal service programs in child care centers, headstart facilities, outside of school programs, and family and group home day care homes for children, the elderly, and disabled. It is permanently authorized under Section 17 of the National School Lunch Act (P.L. 79-396), administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), and funded annually by agricultural appropriations. www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Care/CACFP/cacfphome.htm.
Child nutrition programs — A grouping of programs funded by the federal government to support meal and milk service programs for children in schools, residential and day care facilities, family and group day care homes, and summer day camps, and for low-income pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children under age 5 in local WIC clinics. Programs include school lunch, school breakfast, summer food service, special milk, commodity distribution, after-school care and Department of Defense overseas dependents school programs, and the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC). These programs are authorized under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (P.L. 79-396, as amended) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; (P.L. 89642, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) are financed by annual agricultural appropriations laws; and are administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of USDA. Changes to the authorizing statutes generally are made by the Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry Committee in the Senate. In the House, the Education and the Workforce Committee deals with most changes to child nutrition program authorizing statutes, although the Agriculture Committee usually is involved when proposed changes concern agricultural interests such as commodity distribution, food restrictions, and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 — P.L. 89-642 was an anti-hunger initiative begun by the Johnson Administration (1963-69) as part of its War on Poverty. The Child Nutrition Act (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) permanently authorizes the special milk program and the school breakfast program. Programs with temporary (usually 3-5 year) authorizations include the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC), which provides federal grant funds to states for monthly food packages and nutrition education for low-income mothers and young children; federal spending for state administrative expenses (SAE) associated with the operation of child nutrition meal service programs; and the nutrition education and training (NET) program. This law has been amended numerous times, and its expiring provisions generally are reauthorized in conjunction with those in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (P.L. 79-396, as amended).
Chlorinated hydrocarbons — Also known as organochlorines, these synthetic organic compounds contain chlorine. They tend to be persistent in the environment and to biomagnify in the food chain. Chlorinated hydrocarbons that are pesticides include DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, chlordane, lindane, endrin, mirex, hexachloride, and toxaphene. Most chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide uses have been canceled because of their persistence, propensity to bioaccumulate, and toxicity to nontarget species.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) — Non-toxic, non-flammable chemical containing atoms of carbon, chlorine and fluorine used in many aerosol sprays, blowing agents for foams, packing materials, solvents and refrigerants. Although safe to use in most applications and inert in the lower atmosphere, CFCs undergo significant reaction in the upper atmosphere that has been linked by some scientists to depletion of the ozone layer. The ozone layer protects the earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation that can cause biological damage to plants and animals.
Chlorophenoxy herbicides — A class of pesticides that includes 2,4-D. They mimic plant hormones. Uses of some have been canceled because of concerns about adverse health effects.
Cholinesterase inhibitors — A class of chemicals that includes numerous insecticides, such as parathion or carbaryl. They inhibit an enzyme found in animals that regulates nerve impulses. Cholinesterase inhibition is associated with a variety of acute symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, stomach cramps, and rapid heart rate.
Chronic toxicity — The capacity of a substance to cause long-term or delayed adverse health effects. For example, a cancer resulting from exposure to a carcinogen may not appear for years or decades.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) — A fatal neurological disease of farmed and wild deer and elk that belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Scientific experiments suggest that the disease cannot be transmitted to cattle that come in contact with infected wild animals, and likely is not transmissible to humans who consume meat from wild deer or elk that have been killed by hunting, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that such meat be avoided. USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has been working cooperatively with state agriculture and wildlife agencies to eliminate farmed elk and deer herds that have tested positive. A joint working group of USDA and Department of the Interior officials exists to develop and operate a coordinated plan of federal and state activities.
CIF (or cif) — Cost, insurance, and freight.
CIGAR — Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. www.cgiar.org.
CIPs — Commodity import programs.
Circuit breaker — Commonly-used term for Section 1601 of the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107171). Under this section, if the Secretary of Agriculture determines that U.S. commodity program expenditures will exceed allowable levels under the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture domestic subsidy limits, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent feasible, make adjustments in such expenditures to ensure they remain within limits. (For the United States, the current annual level of trade-distorting subsidies permitted is $19.1 billion.) Prior to such actions, a report to Congress is required on such a determination and the extent of such adjustments.
CIS — Commonwealth of Independent States.
CJD — Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (see Bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
CLA — CropLife America. www.croplifeamerica.org.
Class I differential — Under federal milk marketing orders, the minimum price a processor must pay for milk used for fluid consumption (Class I milk) is a monthly base price plus the Class I differential. The Class I differential varies by about $3.00/cwt. between the Upper Midwest and Southeast Florida. The Class I differential accounts for the costs of transporting milk, the added costs of marketing milk going into fluid milk products, and the higher cost of producing Grade A milk required for fluid products.
Class I equivalency — The amount of less productive land in a water district receiving Bureau of Reclamation water (Classes 2, 3, and 4) that would be necessary to be equivalent in productive potential to Class I land. This equivalency rating is made to adjust the number of acres that may be irrigated (see Acreage limitation) so that less productive lands are equivalent in productive potential to 960 acres of Class I land.
Class I land — For agriculture, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) uses a land capability (classification), in which Class I lands are the best soils with few limitations restricting their use. Under reclamation law, Class I land is defined as irrigable land within a particular agricultural economic setting that is productive enough to yield the highest level of suitability for continuous, successful irrigation farming, and has the highest relative productive potential as measured in net income per acre.
Class I Railroad — Any railroad with annual gross revenues of at least $255.9 million (in 2001), according to the Surface Transportation Board. These are the largest long-distance U.S. railroad systems and include Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Burlington Northern-Santa Fe, and Kansas City Southern, which own most of the track in the United States. Since passage of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, aimed at deregulating the once highly regulated industry to make it more efficient and cost-competitive, the number of Class I railroads has declined through consolidation and merger, from more than 30, to seven currently, including the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. This consolidation has concerned many agricultural shippers (particularly those who lack access to nearby markets or to water transportation) fearful of higher freight rates due to lack of competition. See Regional railroad, and Short line railroad.
Classified pricing — The pricing system of federal milk marketing orders, under which milk processors pay into a pool for fluid grade (Grade A) milk. The price that processors have to pay into the pool is based on how the milk ultimately is used. Milk used for fluid (Class I) consumption generally receives the highest price and lower minimum prices are paid for the three classes of milk used for manufactured dairy products: Class II (yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, and other soft manufactured products), Class III (cheese), and Class IV (butter and nonfat dry milk).
Clayton Act — A 1914 law (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.) that supplemented the Sherman Act of 1890 (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) by clarifying market activities (including those in agriculture) considered to be monopolistic or trade-restraining. The Capper-Volstead Act (7 U.S.C. 291, 292) later exempted agricultural cooperatives from certain Clayton and Sherman Act provisions.
Clean Air Act — The primary federal law governing efforts to control air pollution (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). Federal legislation addressing air pollution was first adopted in 1955 (Air Pollution Control Act, P.L. 84-159) to provide research and technical assistance. Subsequent amendments, most notably the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 (P.L. 91-604), 1977 (P.L. 95-95), and 1990 (P.L. 101-549), strengthened the federal role. The Clean Air Act seeks to protect human health and the environment from emissions that pollute the air. The Environmental Protection Agency is required to establish minimum National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), while states are assigned primary responsibility for developing compliance. Areas not meeting the standards (nonattainment areas) are required to implement specific control measures. There is no direct federal regulation of agriculture under the Clean Air Act. Two of the NAAQS (for particulates and ozone) could affect agriculture: particulates, because certain agricultural practices, such as prescribed burning and tilling, create airborne particles that might be targeted for control in State Implementation Plans; and ozone, because concentrations of ozone above the standard can adversely affect crop yields. Ozone is formed in the atmosphere when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (from manufacturing, transportation, and utilities) react in the presence of sunlight (agriculture rarely if ever represents significant sources of ozone precursors).
Clean Water Act — This is the principal law governing pollution of the nation's rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters (33 U.S.C. 1251-1387). Originally enacted in 1948 as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (P.L. 80-845), it was totally revised by amendments in 1972 that gave the Act its current name and shape (P.L. 92-500). The objective of the Act is the restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters. The Act is implemented by the EPA in partnership with state and local governments. Programs in the Act have been primarily directed at managing point source pollution (wastes discharged from industrial facilities, sewage treatment plants, and municipal storm sewer systems). Agricultural activities are generally exempt from the Act's regulatory requirements, but some may be affected. Large confined animal feeding operations are treated like industrial sources and are subject to permit requirements. Programs in the Act to manage nonpoint source pollution (rainfall runoff from farms, rangelands, forests, etc.) may affect agriculture, especially where nonpoint sources are determined to contribute to water quality impairment. However, irrigation return flows are specifically exempt from regulation. A program in the Act that regulates discharges of dredged and fill material into wetlands (Section 404) requires permits for activities on agricultural wetlands.
Climate change — Changes in the climate that are alleged to be the result of the changing concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere, most predominantly carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by about one third over the past 150 years, due in part to increased emissions of greenhouse gases from growing energy use. A warming of Earth's average global temperature of nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit has been measured over the past 100 years, and climate models have predicted additional warming of between 3 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century. As the over-all climate warms, regional and national impacts will vary widely, as weather responds to a wide array of feedback mechanisms, and to the rate of change, which is currently very rapid by historical standards. Among the possible projected impacts that would be relevant to agriculture are increased droughts in some areas, heavier and more intense rainfall in others, stronger storms, more volatile weather patterns, continuing rise in sea levels, and greater melting of ice caps and glaciers. Among measures discussed to mitigate future climate change are carbon sequestration through greater planting of trees and soils management, and appropriate changes in forest and land use management.
CLOC — Commodity letters of credit.
CME — Chicago Mechantile Exchange. www.cme.com.
CMS — Conservation management system.
CNMP — Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan.
CNP — Child nutrition programs.
CNPP — Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. www.usda.gov/cnpp.
CO — Conservation operations.
COAP — Cottonseed Oil Assistance Program.
Coarse grains — Generally refers to cereal grains other than wheat and rice (i.e., those used primarily for animal feed or brewing, including corn, barley, grain sorghum, oats, rye). In the United States, coarse grains usually are referred to as feed grains.
Coastal Zone Management Program — P.L. 92-583 (October 27, 1972) created the Coastal Zone Management Program in 1972 to provide grants to eligible states and territories as an incentive to prepare and implement plans guiding the use of coastal lands and resources. Thirty-four of the 35 eligible states and territories are implementing federally-approved plans. Amendments in 1990 require participants to develop agricultural nonpoint pollution programs. These programs must specify and implement management measures to restore and protect coastal waters. Management measures are specified for erosion, sediments, nutrients, pesticides, grazing, and animal waste. Participants must implement these management measures after they have been approved by whatever means necessary, including regulation. EPA and NOAA have conditionally approved all these programs; only a few states have received final approval.
CoBank — National Bank for Cooperatives. www.cobank.com.
COC — County Office Committee (sometimes referred to as the County Farm Committee).
COD — Chemical oxygen demand.
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) — The codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the Executive departments and agencies of the federal government. The Code is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to regulation. Most regulations directly related to agriculture are in title 7. Each title is divided into chapters that usually bear the name of the issuing agency, followed by subdivisions into parts covering specific regulatory areas. For example, 7 CFR 1410 are the regulations that apply to the Conservation Reserve Program. www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr.
Codex Alimentarius Commission — A joint commission of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization, comprised of some 146 member countries, created in 1962 to ensure consumer food safety, establish fair practices in food trade, and promote the development of international food standards. The Commission, often referred to simply as Codex, drafts nonbinding standards for food additives, veterinary drugs, pesticide residues, and other substances that affect consumer food safety. It publishes these standards in a listing called the Codex Alimentarius. Codex, which is explicitly cited in the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, can play an important advisory role when issues of food health and safety arise in WTO negotiations or dispute settlement. www.codexalimentarius.net.
Coliform index — A rating of the purity of water based on a count of fecal coliform bacteria. The presence of fecal coliform bacteria, which are harmless bacteria that live in the intestines of humans and other vertebrate animals, indicates contamination by human or animal feces, and hence the potential presence of disease pathogens.
Colonia — A substandard housing area defined in the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1479) as any identifiable community that: (1) is in the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas; (2) is in an area that is within 150 miles of the border between the United States and Mexico (except for standard metropolitan statistical areas that have a population exceeding 1 million); (3) is designated by the state or county as a colonia; and, (4) is determined to be a colonia based on criteria such as lack of potable water supply, lack of adequate sewage systems, and lack of decent, safe, and sanitary housing.
Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program — This program was authorized in the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act and was repealed and replaced by the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127). Administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, it was used to implement salinity control measures, primarily to manage irrigation water using financial and technical assistance to landowners. This program supported U.S. efforts to meet international treaty obligations for downstream water quality in Mexico. The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation administers its own Colorado River Salinity control Program.
Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act — P.L. 93-320 (June 24, 1974), and the laws authorizing three other conservation cost-sharing programs, were repealed in the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) and replaced by a new cost-sharing program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Until it was replaced, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program provided cost-sharing assistance to producers to install on-farm irrigation system improvements to prevent irrigation water heavily charged with salts and minerals from reentering the Colorado River. Participating farmers received up to 70% of total project costs and technical assistance. Participation was concentrated at sites where problems existed. This program was available to producers in the seven states of the Colorado River watershed. The law was administered by the Farm Service Agency until FY1996, when management was transferred to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Combine — A self-propelled combination grain harvester. In one operation it combines cutting, threshing, separation, cleaning, and straw dispersal.
Commingling — The mixing of crops or other commodities from multiple fields or farms in the distribution and marketing system. Commingling is viewed as an efficient, cost-competitive method for shipping and exporting large quantities of U.S. grains. However, with commingling, marketers cannot segregate individual crops in order to preserve any unique characteristics that may enhance their market value or meet other goals, such as segregating crops produced through biotechnology from those produced conventionally.
Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture — An 11-member panel authorized by Title I-G of the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) was directed to conduct a comprehensive review of the farm economy, including the impact of the 1996 law; and a follow-up review that included recommendations for changes in federal agricultural policy. The commission submitted its final report to Congress in January 2001. www.usda.gov/oce/21st-century/index.htm.
Commission on the Application of Payment Limitations for Agriculture — The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 1605; 7 U.S.C. 7993), required the creation of a commission to study various economic consequences from a further tightening of the limits on per person farm subsidy payments. The Commission was directed to deliver its report within one year, making it due in May 2003.
Committee on Surplus Disposal (CSD) — Known formally as the Consultative Subcommittee on Surplus Disposal (CSSD). A subcommittee of the Committee on Commodity Problems of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the CSSD monitors international shipments of agricultural commodities provided as food aid in order to minimize any adverse effects of these shipments on commercial trade and agricultural production.
Commodity absorption arrangements — A type of nontariff barrier used by some Central and South American countries that requires domestic end users and processors to buy the domestic output of key agricultural commodities before they can obtain a license to import such commodities.
Commodity assistance, Commodity distribution — The USDA contributes food commodities to a variety of food assistance programs. They include school meal programs, child and adult care food programs, summer programs for children, the Emergency Food Assistance program, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and Older Americans Act nutrition programs. These commodities are of two types-- entitlement commodities and bonus commodities. This aid is authorized at various places in law --primarily the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, the Emergency Food Assistance Act, the Food Stamp Act, the Older Americans Act, and the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973.
Commodity certificates — Payments issued by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) in lieu of cash payments to participants in farm subsidy or agricultural export programs. Holders of certificates are permitted to exchange them for commodities owned by the CCC. Alternatively, farmers may buy certificates and use them to settle marketing assistance loans as a way of avoiding per person payment limits on marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments (LDPs). See Certificates, and Payment limitation.
Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) — A wholly owned government corporation created in 1933 to stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices (federally chartered by the CCC Charter Act of 1948 (P.L. 80-806)). The CCC, which has no staff, is essentially a financing institution for USDA's farm price and income support commodity programs, and agricultural export subsidies. It 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 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) expanded the CCC mandate to include funding for several conservation programs (including the Conservation Reserve Program) and made conservation one of the purposes of the CCC. The programs funded through CCC are administered by employees of the Farm Service Agency. The CCC has the authority to borrow up to $30 billion from the U.S. Treasury to carry out its obligations. Net losses from its operations subsequently are restored through the congressional appropriations process.
Commodity distribution — Direct donation of food products by the federal government to states for distribution to needy persons, schools, and food service institutions. This may include bonus commodities or entitlement commodities, or both.
Commodity Distribution Program — This program under Section 14 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) (P.L. 79-396, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) requires the Secretary of Agriculture to use agricultural surplus removal funds (Section 32) and Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds to buy commodities for child and elderly nutrition programs. The Secretary is directed to use Section 32 funds not needed for other purposes and CCC funds (if stocks are not available) to buy commodities for donation to maintain the annually programmed level of commodity assistance for Child and Elderly Nutrition programs mandated by the School Lunch Act, Child Nutrition Act (P.L. 89-642, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), and Older Americans Act (P.L. 89-73; 42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.).
Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987 — P.L. 100-237 (January 8, 1988) established a free-standing law requiring the USDA to improve the distribution and quality of commodities donated to child nutrition programs. It also established a foodbank demonstration project making use of Section 32 agricultural surplus commodities, amended the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (P.L. 79-396) to permit certain pilot projects receiving cash in lieu of commodities or commodity letters of credit to continue receiving them, and amended the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-642)to make a variety of changes to the WIC program to expand coordination with other programs, conduct studies, and convert certain food funding to use for administrative costs.
Commodity exchange — An organization operating under a set of bylaws aimed at promoting trade in one or more commodities by providing services and rules for the conduct of trade. Commodity exchanges may deal in cash and/or futures contracts. Commodity futures contracts are regulated federally by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The National Futures Association is the industry's self-regulatory institution. Major active agricultural commodity exchanges include the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the Chicago Merchantile Exchange (CME), the Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT), and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (ME).
Commodity Exchange Authority — A former regulatory agency of USDA established to administer the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936; the predecessor to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — The independent federal regulatory agency established by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-463) to administer the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, as amended. It regulates trading on the futures exchanges in the United States. The CFTC also regulates the activities of numerous commodity exchange members, public brokerage houses, commodity trading advisors, and commodity pool operators. www.cftc.gov.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Act of 1974 — P.L. 93-463 created the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to replace the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Exchange Authority, as the independent federal agency responsible for regulating the futures trading industry. The Act made extensive changes in the basic authority of Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, which itself had made extensive changes in the original Grain Futures Act of 1923. (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.). www.cftc.gov/cftc/cftchome.htm.
Commodity Import Programs (CIPs) — The U.S. Agency for International Development uses a small portion of U.S. foreign aid funds to make grants and loans to countries judged important to U.S. foreign policy objectives. These CIPs, by making dollars available, help these countries finance purchases of U.S. commodities (which have included agricultural commodities) or other inputs needed to meet their development objectives and also provide balance-of-payments support to countries with very limited foreign exchange.
Commodity letters of credit (CLOC) — These are food instruments issued in lieu of commodity assistance to certain designated schools participating in the School Lunch Program. They specify the types of foods that schools must buy (similar to those that would have been donated by the USDA as entitlement commodities).
Commodity loan rate — Price per unit (pound, bushel, bale, or hundredweight) at which the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) provides commodity loans to farmers to enable them to hold commodities for later sale, to realize marketing loan gains, or to receive loan deficiency payments (LDPs). Marketing assistance loan rates for the "loan commodities" and peanuts for crop years 2002 through 2007 are specified in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 1202, 1307). Nonrecourse loans also are available from the Commodity Credit Corporation for refined beet and raw cane sugar.
Commodity programs — This term is usually meant to include the commodity price and income support programs administered by the Farm Service Agency and financed by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The commodities now receiving support are: (1) those receiving Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) payments, specifically wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, upland cotton, rice, soybeans and other oilseeds, and peanuts; (2) those eligible for nonrecourse marketing assistance loans, which includes the previous mentioned commodities plus wool, mohair, honey, dry peas, lentils, and small chickpeas; and (3) those having other unique support, including sugar, and milk. A broader phrase that includes these commodity programs and other assistance is farm programs. (See also Target price, and Loan commodity.).
Commodity promotion programs — Programs that advertise and promote an agricultural commodity or product without reference to the specific farmer, brand name, or manufacturer. Producers can and do organize voluntary commodity promotion programs, but most are operated under the authority of either federal or state laws, frequently with the objective of requiring that all members of the industry participate. At the federal level, the programs are authorized by law, implemented by industry groups (after USDA review, rulemaking and approval), and financed by assessments (also called check-offs) of industry members such as producers, importers, and/or handlers. In the past, Congress enacted separate laws permitting producers of specifically-designated commodities to create such programs. The 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) also gives USDA general authority to create programs for any commodity at the request of a group of producers. In 2002, 16 federal promotion programs were operational: beef, blueberries, cotton, dairy products, eggs, fluid milk, hass avocados, honey, lamb, mushrooms, peanuts, popcorn, pork, potatoes, soybeans, and watermelons. In addition to the federally authorized programs, there are hundreds of state-legislated promotion programs covering a wide variety of farm commodities. Nine out of ten U.S. farmers contribute to one or more of these efforts, which, collectively, raise and spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) — The CSFP funds food packages delivered through local agencies serving low-income older persons and low-income women, infants, and children. It is not a nationwide program and operates under appropriations constraints; the bulk of recipients are elderly. It also provides money for local agencies' administrative/distribution costs.
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) — The set of legislation and practices jointly adopted by the nations of the European Union (EU) in order to provide a common, unified policy framework for agriculture. Its stated purposes are to increase farm productivity, stabilize markets, ensure a fair standard of living for farmers, guarantee regular supplies, and ensure reasonable prices for consumers. The CAP rests upon four basic principles: common import restrictions, common financing, common pricing, and common treatment of surpluses.
Common carrier — A freight or passenger carrier that offers transportation services to the general public in exchange for compensation.
Common external tariff (CXT) — A tariff rate applied by a group of countries organized as a common market or customs union to imports from non-member countries. For example, the European Community allows free trade among member countries, but applies common external tariffs against many farm products imported from non-member or third countries. Countries that are members of a free trade agreement (FTA) do not usually maintain a common external tariff.
Community Development Corporation (CDC) — Tax-exempt, non-profit organizations whose primary mission is the economic and social revitalization of distressed urban and rural areas. A CDC is a community-based organization carrying out its activities within a geographically defined area. CDCs may support or undertake such activities as housing development and rehabilitation, job training and counseling, and business development activities.
Community Facilities Program (CFP) — Administered by the Rural Housing Service (RHS) of USDA, the CFP provides grants, loans, and loan guarantees to local governments, federally recognized native tribes, and nonprofit organizations. Funds are used to construct, expand, or rehabilitate such community facilities as hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, ambulatory care centers, police and fire stations, rescue and fire vehicles, communication centers, telecommunications, distance learning and telemedicine, child and adult care centers, jails, courthouses, airports, and schools. The program is now one of the funding accounts administered under the Rural Community Advancement Program (RCAP).
Community Fire Protection Program — Enacted in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 8003), as an amendment to the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-313), to provide assistance to communities for fire protection, especially in the wildland-urban interface.
Community food program / projects — The Community Food Projects competitive grant program funds local initiatives that are designed to (1) meet the needs of low-income people by increasing their access to fresher, more nutritious food supplies, (2) increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for their own food needs, (3) promote comprehensive responses to local food, farm, and nutrition issues, (4) meet specific states, local, or neighborhood food and agriculture needs for infrastructure improvement, (5) include plans for long-term solutions to local needs, and (6) create innovative marketing activities that mutually benefit agricultural producers and low-income consumers. The program was originally established in the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) and is funded with entitlement/mandatory funding. Grants are administered under the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.
Community supported agriculture — A form of risk management whereby a farmer supports his (usually small) operation by selling shares in the farm's annual production. Share-holders pay a certain amount of money at the beginning of the growing season and are entitled to a portion of each week's harvest until the end of the season. Share-holders are not refunded their money if some or all of the crops fail. Also known as subscription farming.
Comparative advantage — Refers to the economic theory that in international trade it is more advantageous for a country to devote its resources not to all lines of production in which it may have superiority (least cost production), but to those in which its relative superiority is greatest. Two countries may find trade mutually profitable even if one of the countries could produce all goods at lower cost than the other.
Compensatory payments — See Area compensatory payments.
Competitive advantage — A situation in which one country, region, or producer can produce a particular commodity more cheaply than another country, region or producer.
Competitive bidding / Cost containment for WIC — Under the rules governing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (the WIC program), state WIC agencies must solicit bids for formula paid for by WIC program vouchers. This competitive bidding system is aimed at containing WIC program costs by granting the winning low bidder the right to provide all the formula covered by the WIC program (a substantial portion of the market). Competitive bidding systems to contain WIC program costs are authorized, but not required, for other WIC food items (e.g., juices).
Competitive foods (in meal service) — Term used in reference to a provision in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (P.L. 79-396, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) that prohibits the sale of some foods of in competition with federally subsidized school lunch and breakfast programs. They can include a la carte foods offered by the local authority operating school meal programs and items sold through vending machines. Rules bar a limited set of "foods of minimal nutritional value." However, the offering of most competitive foods is left to the judgement of states and individual schools.
Competitive imports — A term used by the Economic Research Service to describe imports that are similar to and therefore competitive (in contrast to non-competitive) with those produced in the United States. Examples are beef, wheat, cotton, and sugar.
Composting — The controlled biological decomposition of organic material, such as sewage sludge, animal manures, or crop residues, in the presence of air to form a humus-like material. Controlled methods of composting include mechanical mixing and aerating, ventilating the materials by dropping them through a vertical series of aerated chambers, or placing the compost in piles in the open air and mixing or turning them periodically.
Comprehensive Conservation Enhancement Program (CCHP) — The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 2006) created CCHP, the new name for the Environmental Conservation Acreage Reserve Program (ECARP). Like ECARP, the CCHP is not a program, but an umbrella authority that encompasses the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetland Reserve Program, and Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Good faith provisions (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 1613), first established by the Agriculture Appropriations Act for FY2001 (P.L. 106-387, Sec. 755), apply to conservation programs as well.
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 (P.L. 96-510) — See Superfund.
Comprehensive nutrient management plan (CNMP) — Comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) have become an integral part of the regulatory permitting and environmental stewardship for large, and in some cases medium and small, animal feeding operations (AFOs). A CNMP is developed to assist an AFO owner/operator in meeting applicable local, tribal, state, and federal water quality goals or regulations. CNMPs are developed in accordance with NRCS conservation planning policy and EPA guidance. The CNMP fits within the total resource management objectives of the entire farm/animal feeding operation. Itxbgnxidentifies management and conservation actions necessary to meet clearly defined nutrient management goals aimed at reducing excess nutrients in soil and water. Conservation practices may include manure and wastewater handling and storage, land treatment practices, and feed practices. www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/afo/cnmp_guide_index.html
Con Act — Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-419; 7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.).
Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) — Generally, a facility where large numbers of farm animals are confined, fed, and raised, such as dairy and beef cattle feedlots, hog production facilities, and closed poultry houses. The EPA has developed a specific regulatory definition of CAFO for the purposes of enforcing the Clean Water Act (P.L. 92-500, 33 U.S.C. 1251-1387). The Act requires individual places that are potential sources of water pollution to obtain point source discharge permits that specify the allowable levels of effluent from each of these places. The regulations define animal feeding operations as those confining livestock or poultry for 45 days or more in a 12-month period in a facility that has no vegetative ground cover. Such places are further considered concentrated, and therefore required to have an EPA permit, if they exceed a size threshold or meet other criteria specified in the EPA regulations. The thresholds are 700 mature dairy cattle, 1,000 beef cattle, 125,000 chickens, 55,000 turkeys, 2,500 swine, or 10,000 sheep. In some regions, CAFO-size farms are called megafarms, confinements, or advanced farms.
Concentration (economic) — A measure of the degree to which a few large firms dominate total sales, production, or capacity within an industry or market. The concern is that the more concentrated an industry, the greater the likelihood of price and market manipulation. For example, meat packer concentration has long been a concern of cattle producers. It is common to express concentration as a ratio, by stating the share (%) held by the top 4, 8, or 12 firms.
Concessional (export) sale — A sale in which a foreign buyer is allowed loan payment terms that are more favorable than those obtainable in the commercial market. Under P.L. 480, the concessional provisions (compared to the commercial market) may include a lengthy credit period, a grace period before repayment begins, and a low interest rate.
Conditional registration — Under special circumstances, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA; 7 U.S.C. 136a) permits registration of pesticide products conditionally upon the submission of additional data. These special circumstances include a finding by the EPA that a new product or use of an existing pesticide will not significantly increase the risk of unreasonable adverse effects. A product containing a new (previously unregistered) active ingredient may be conditionally registered only if the EPA finds that such conditional registration is in the public interest, that a reasonable time for conducting the additional studies has not elapsed, and the use of the pesticide for the period of conditional registration will not present an unreasonable risk.
Conditionality — Most often refers to the set of terms and conditions attached to lending to a country by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), involving agreements and adjustment policies aimed at restoring a sustainable balance-of-payments position within a one-to-three year period. More broadly, any set of conditions attached to bilateral or multilateral aid or used to establish eligibility for trade preferences as, for example, in the case of African beneficiary countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (P.L. 106-200).
Conjunctive use — Often used in discussing water supplies and water conservation. This phrase usually is used to describe the practice of storing surface water in a groundwater basin in wet years and withdrawing it from the basin in dry years.
Conservation (cross) compliance — A program authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198) that requires farmers who operate on highly erodible land to manage this land under an approved conservation system in order to maintain eligibility in specified federal farm programs, including commodity payments and many conservation programs. It has been amended in more recent farm bills. NRCS reviews show that 97% to 98% are meeting compliance requirements, while other reviews, such as a 2004 study by the GAO suggest the rate may be lower, but still is over 90%.
Conservation buffer — Small strips or areas of land in permanent vegetation, designed and strategically placed to intercept pollutants, provide wildlife habitat, and help manage other environmental concerns. Also called buffer strips. Examples of buffers include: riparian buffers separating upland areas from water bodies; filter strips; grassed waterways; shelter belts; windbreaks; and vegetative barriers. Conservation buffers are emphasized in the Buffer Initiative, as well as several other conservation programs.
Conservation Corridor Demonstration Program — This program, enacted in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 2602-2604) authorizes one or more states on the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia) to develop and implement a conservation corridor plan to improve the economic viability of agriculture and environmental integrity of watersheds. Appropriations are authorized at such sums as may be necessary from FY2002 through FY2007, and the federal share will be up to 50% of the total amount.
Conservation district (Soil and Water Conservation District) — A legal subdivision of a state government, with an elected governing body, which develops and implements soil and water conservation programs within a certain area, usually coinciding with county lines. The nearly 3,000 districts in the United States have varying names (i.e., soil conservation district, soil and water conservation district, natural resources district, resource conservation district, resources district, or conservation district).
Conservation easement — Acquisition of rights and interest to a property to protect identified conservation or resource values, using a reserved interest deed. Easements can range from permanent to a multi-year period. A few states prohibit permanent easements. The largest federal programs using conservation easements on private lands are the Farmland Protection Program and the Wetland Reserve Program. Many state governments, especially in the northeast, and local government and nonprofits have been buying conservation easements on agricultural lands. Nonprofit organization have been very active in recent years. More than 1,250 land trusts around the country are using easements to protect about 2.6 million acres of land, according to a 2000 survey by the Land Trust Alliance.
Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) — A national multi-year assessment of the environmental benefits of conservation practices nationally and in selected watersheds initiated in 2003 by NRCS and FSA. www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/nri/ceap.
Conservation Farm Option Program — A provision of the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) authorized a pilot program for producers who received production flexibility payments to enter into a contract to consolidate payments at rates that were equivalent to payments that would otherwise be received from the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, and/or the Environmental Quality Incentives Program in exchange for implementing practices to protect soil, water, and wildlife.
Conservation Innovation Grants — A new component of EQIP enacted in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 2301) to provide an unspecified portion of EQIP funds for competitive matching grants of up to 50% for innovative approaches to conservation. Examples of such approaches specified in the statute include market systems for pollution reduction, promoting carbon sequestration in soils, and leveraging these funds with money from other sources to promote environmental accomplishments in connection with agricultural production.
Conservation of Private Grazing Lands — Enacted in the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) and most recently amended by the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 2502), this program provides coordinated technical, educational, and related assistance to preserve and enhance privately-owned grazing lands. It authorizes the creation of 2 grazing management demonstration districts. Appropriations are authorized at $60 million annually from discretionary funds for FY2002 through FY2007.
Conservation plan — A combination of land uses and farming practices to protect and improve soil productivity and water quality, and to prevent deterioration of natural resources on all or part of a farm. Plans may be prepared by staff working in conservation districts and must meet technical standards. For some purposes, such as conservation compliance, the plan must be approved by the local conservation district. Under the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127, Sec. 315) conservation plans for conservation compliance must be both technically and economically feasible.
Conservation practice — Any technique or measure used to protect soil and water resources for which standards and specifications for installation, operation, or maintenance have been developed. Practices approved by the Natural Resources Conservation Service are compiled at each conservation district in its field office technical guide. Practices can be structural or land management.
Conservation Reporting and Evaluation System (CRES) — The system used by Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to collect and compile information about staff activities, conservation program implementation, and program accomplishments.
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) — A sub-program of the Conservation Reserve Program, CREP is a state-federal multi-year land retirement program developed by states and targeted to specific state and nationally significant water quality, soil erosion, and wildlife habitat problems. CREP uses the state funds to offer higher payments per acre to participants than the CRP. States may enroll up to 100,000 acres through an approved CREP, and at least three states have more than one CREP. USDA has reserved 4 million acres from the authorized 39.2 million acre total to enroll through either this option or the continuous enrollment option. Currently, 26 states have approved CREPs, and through March 2005, more than 645,000 acres had been enrolled under this option. As of June 2005, proposals are pending for 7 additional states.
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) — A program created in the Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198), to retire from production up to 45 million acres of highly erodible and environmentally sensitive farmland. Landowners who sign contracts agree to keep retired lands in approved conserving uses for 10-15 years. In exchange, the landowner receives an annual rental payment, cost-share payments to establish permanent vegetative cover, and technical assistance. The CRP reportedly has reduced erosion by up to 700 million tons per year. The 2002 farm bill extends authorization to enroll land through FY2007 and caps maximum total CRP acreage at 39.2 million acres. The Act adds a new subprogram to enroll up to 1 million acres of wetlands individually smaller than 10 acres and associated buffers. The Act continues to make the program spending mandatory and finances it through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), adding that the CCC should fund technical assistance in support of the program. As of February 2005, more than 262,000 farms had enrolled 34.8 million acres; states with the greatest participation include Texas, Montana, and North Dakota, each with more than 3 million acres.
Conservation Security Contract — Participants in the Conservation Security Program (CSP) sign a contract stating which of the three levels (also referred to as tiers) of conservation they will maintain on lands in production in return for annual payments. Level I is a 5-year contract of up to $20,000 annually to address at least one conservation problem on a portion of a farm. Level II is a 5- to 10-year contract of up to $35,000 annually to address at least one conservation problem on an entire farm. Level III is a 5-to 10-year contract of up to $45,000 annually to address all conservation problems on an entire farm.
Conservation Security Plan — Producers who wish to participate in the Conservation Security Program (CSP) must prepare a plan that identifies: (1) the land to be enrolled; (2) the level at which the producer will participate and the resources to be protected; (3) the conservation practices to be installed, maintained or improved; and (4) an implementation schedule.
Conservation Security Program (CSP) — The CSP, enacted in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 2001) and administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), enrolls land and assists producers in promoting resource conservation from FY2003 through FY2007 on lands producing agricultural crops. The law specifies but does not limit the program to 19 allowable conservation practices. The program receives mandatory funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). In response to the limited funding, NRCS limits the program to specified watersheds, which change from year to year. CSP was first enacted as an entitlement, but is currently capped at $6.0 billion over 10 years.
Conservation technical assistance (CTA) — CTA has been the central activity of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) since it was established in 1936. NRCS field staff help landowners and farm operators plan and implement soil and water conservation and water quality practices. The basis for much of this assistance is the conservation practices described in the field office technical guide. Each year, NRCS issues an accomplishments report. Examples of the accomplishments cited for FY2003 include: planning and applying resource management systems on almost 20 million acres of cropland and grazing land; helping landowners install conservation buffers on almost 500,000 acres; creating, restoring or enhancing 334,000 acres of wetlands; and helping producers apply nutrient management on 3.2 million acres.
Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) — A nonprofit center housed at Purdue University that works with public and private partners to promote soil quality by serving as a clearinghouse for information, a facilitator of activities, and a sponsor of meetings. It is associated with the promotion of conservation tillage. www.ctic.purdue.edu/CTIC/CTIC.html.
Conservation tillage — Any tillage and planting system that leaves at least 30% of the soil surface covered by residue after planting. Conservation tillage maintains a ground cover with less soil disturbance than traditional cultivation, thereby reducing soil loss and energy use while maintaining crop yields and quality. Conservation tillage techniques include minimum tillage, mulch tillage, ridge tillage, and no-till. Conservation tillage varies widely by crop and soil type, but more than 100 million acres is cropped using some form of conservation tillage, according to annual surveys conducted by the Conservation Technology Information Center.
Conservation — The management of natural resources to provide maximum benefits over a sustained period of time (see Sustainable agriculture). In farming, conservation entails matching cropping patterns and the productive potential and physical limitations of agricultural lands to ensure long-term sustainability of profitable production. Conservation practices focus on conserving soil, water, energy, and biological resources. Contour farming, no-till farming, and integrated pest management are typical examples of conservation practices, which can be divided into two categories; land management practices and structural practices.
Conserving use acreage — Farmland diverted from crop production to an approved cultural practice that prevents erosion or other degradation. Though crops are not produced, conserving use is considered an agricultural use of the land.
Considered planted — Under some previous commodity support laws, crop acreage bases were, in general, calculated as a 5-year average of planted and considered planted acreage. Acreage considered planted included acreage idled under production adjustment programs or idled for weather-related reasons or natural disasters; acreage devoted to conservation purposes or planted to certain other allowed commodities; and acreage USDA determined was necessary for fair and equitable treatment.
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1972 — P.L. 92-419 authorized a major expansion of USDA lending activities, which at the time were administered by Farmers Home Administration (FmHA). The legislation was originally enacted as the Consolidated Farmers Home Administration Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-128). In 1972, this title was changed to the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, and is often referred to as the Con Act. The Con Act, as amended, currently serves as the authorizing statute for USDA's agricultural and rural development lending programs. The Act includes current authority for the following three major Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm loan programs: farm ownership, farm operating and emergency disaster loans. Also the Act authorizes rural development loans and grants. (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.).
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1961 — P.L. 87-128 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. In 1972, this title was changed to the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, and is often referred to as the Con Act. The Con Act, as amended, currently serves as the authorizing statute for USDA's agricultural and rural development lending programs. Titles in the Act include current authority for the following three major FSA farm loan programs: farm ownership, farm operating and emergency disaster loans. Title III of the ConAct is the Rural Development Act of 1972 (P.L.92-419) authorizing rural development loans and grants.
Consolidation — In agriculture and other economic sectors, consolidation usually is a reference to the trend from numerous smaller-sized operations toward fewer and larger ones. Consolidation can lead to higher concentration. See Industrialization.
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) — An informal association of 56 public and private organizations that support 16 international agricultural research centers. All but three of the research centers are located in developing countries. The cosponsors of CGIAR are the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the World Bank (where the CGIAR Secretariat is headquartered). CGIAR's mission is to promote sustainable agriculture in developing countries, primarily by carrying out research and development of agricultural technologies, with the goal of creating food security, alleviating poverty, and preserving natural resources.
Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) — The Bureau of Labor Statistics' general measure of retail prices (for goods and services) paid by urban wage earners and clerical workers. Includes prices of about 400 items, including food, clothing, housing, medical care, and transportation. The CPI-U is commonly used to deflate time series data and is the most widely accepted measure of inflation.
Consumer support estimate (CSE) — An OECD indicator of the annual monetary value of gross transfers to (from) consumers of agricultural commodities, measured at the farm gate level, arising from policy measures which support agriculture, regardless of their nature, objectives or impacts on consumption of farm products. The CSE can be expressed in monetary terms; as a ratio to the value of consumption expenditure valued at farm gate prices, including budgetary support to consumers (percentage CSE); or as a ratio to the value of consumption expenditure valued at world market prices, without budgetary support to consumers. See Producer support estimate (PSE), General services support estimate (GSSE), and Total support estimate (TSE).
Consumer-oriented agricultural products — One of three broad categories of agricultural products used by the Foreign Agricultural Service to report export and import data under its BICO system. The others are bulk commodities and intermediate agricultural products. Consumer-oriented agricultural products are high value products that usually (but not always) are those ready, or easily made ready, for immediate use by consumers. Examples are snack foods, breakfast cereals, bakery mixes, eggs and products, dairy products, fresh or processed red meats and poultry, fresh or processed fruits, vegetables, nuts, pet foods, wine, and beer.
Consumptive water use — Water removed from available supplies without return to a water resources system (e.g., water used in manufacturing, agriculture, and food preparation that is not returned to a stream, river, or water treatment plant). Crop consumptive water use is the amount of water transpired during plant growth plus what evaporates from the soil surface and foliage in the crop area. The portion of water consumed in crop production depends on many factors, especially the irrigation technology.
Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 — See Byrd Amendment.
Continuous Coverage — Refers to the ability of farmers to select any level of crop insurance coverage between 50% and 85% of normal crop yield. Current crop insurance law prohibits continuous coverage. Instead, it requires a participating farmer to choose a coverage level in 5% increments to match the premium subsidy structure, which is set in law in 5% increments. The percentage of the crop insurance premium subsidized by the federal government falls as a producer selects higher levels of coverage. Hence, the continuous coverage prohibition is a federal cost-saving measure that prevents producers who would normally choose, for example, a 65% level of coverage, from dropping back to 64% coverage just to receive the higher subsidy level.
Continuous Enrollment — A subprogram of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Continuous enrollment rules allow producers to sign up land at any time without competition if they agree to install and maintain certain conservation practices that will provide greater environmental benefits. Eligible land is automatically accepted. Examples of high priority practices include riparian buffers, filter strips, and grass waterways. In April 2000, USDA announced it would provide enhanced financial incentives for 3 years to attract continuous enrollment participants. USDA has reserved 4 million acres from the authorized CRP total of 39.2 million acres to enroll through either this option or the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. Through November 2002, more than 1.8 million acres had been enrolled under this option.
Continuous inspection — USDA's meat and poultry inspection system is often called "continuous" because most commercial animal species destined for human food must be slaughtered and dressed while an inspector is continuously present to examine each one before slaughter (antemortem inspection), and its carcass and parts after slaughter (postmortem inspection). This also is sometimes referred to as "carcass-by-carcass inspection." In processing plants (as opposed to slaughter plants), inspectors need not be present at all times, but they do visit at least once daily. Thus, processing inspection also is considered to be continuous.
Contour farming — Field operations (such as plowing, planting, cultivating, and harvesting) at right angles to the natural slope to reduce soil erosion, protect soil fertility, and limit water runoff. Contour strip farming is a kind of contour farming in which row crops are planted in strips, between alternating strips of close-growing, erosion-resistant forage crops.
Contract — A written or oral agreement spelling out the parties' understanding of how a commodity is to be produced and/or marketed, possibly including specifications for quantity, quality, and price. Marketing contracts are commonly used for crops, while production contracts are more prevalent in the livestock industry. Contracts contrast to cash markets. Cash markets continue to dominate the agriculture sector, accounting for almost 70% of farm commodity sales in 1997. However, contracting likely will continue to grow as a risk management tool for farmers and a coordination tool for processors. Futures contracts provide a way to manage price risk that typically do not involve actual delivery of commodities.
Contract acreage — Base acres enrolled annually in the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) authorized by the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 1101-1108) for covered commodities during crop years 2002 through 2007. Previously, the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) authorized 7-year production flexibility contracts, which guaranteed fixed direct payments but not counter-cyclical target price deficiency payments. The new law uses the term agreement rather than contract, but farmers must sign a Direct and Counter-cyclical Program Contract (Form CCC-509).
Contract commodity — The commodities previously eligible for deficiency payments and subsequently eligible for production flexibility contracts under the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127)(wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, rice, and upland cotton). Under the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) authorized by the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 101-171, Sec. 1101-1108), the phrase "covered commodity" is used and includes wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, upland cotton, soybeans, canola, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sunflowers, and rice.
Contract crops — Crops eligible for production flexibility contract payments (wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, rice, and upland cotton) under provisions of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (AMTA, Title I of the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127)). Sometimes referred to as AMTA payments. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 101-171, Sec. 1101-1108) used the phrase "covered commodities" to refer to the crops eligible for Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) payments. Covered commodities include wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, upland cotton, soybeans, canola, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sunflowers, and rice.
Contract for future sale — A sales contract under which a farmer agrees to deliver products of specified quality and quantity to a buyer for a specified price within a prescribed time frame. Contract sales are a growing practice, recently accounting for 86% of poultry, over 80% of tobacco, more than 50% of fruits, and 43% of milk. The benefits to processors are greater uniformity and predictability resulting in lower costs of grading, processing, and packing. The benefits to farmers are more stable income from a guaranteed market and price, and possibly access to a wider range of production inputs and advanced technology. Critics are concerned about lack of accessible price information, and manipulation of markets to the disadvantage of producers.
Contract payments under AMTA — Some $36 billion in Production Flexibility Contract payments made to farmers for contract crops for fiscal years 1996-2002 under Title I of the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127), known as the Agricultural Market Transition Act (AMTA). The total amount made available for each fiscal year was specified in the Act and allocated to commodities each fiscal year using a set of percentages also specified in the Act. These percentages were based on CBO's February 1995 baseline forecast of what deficiency payments would have been if provisions in effect for the 1995 crop had been extended. For example, for fiscal 1997, the total allocation for wheat was 26% of total annual payments of $5.385 billion, or $1.414 billion. The annual payment rate for wheat equaled total spending ($1.414 billion) divided by the sum of all individual wheat payment contract quantities for the year. As with other program commodities, an individual farm's payment quantity equaled the farm's program payment yield multiplied by 85% of the farm's wheat contract acreage. Program yields under the 1996 Act were determined in the same manner as under the 1949 Act for 1995 crops. An individual farmer's PFC payment was the payment quantity times the annual payment rate. The payment was made by September 30 of each of the fiscal years 1996 through 2002. Producers also could choose to receive 50% of the contract payment in December or January of the fiscal year. Farmers had near total planting flexibility on the contract acres (the exception being fruits and vegetables) as well as on the remainder of the farm. PFC contract payments were replaced by Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) payments beginning with crop year 2002 under the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 101-171, Sec. 1101-1108).
Contract production — A form of vertical integration where a firm commits to purchase a commodity from a producer at a price formula set in advance of the purchase.
Contract sanctity — The concept that U.S. agricultural products already contracted to be exported should not be subject to government cancellation because of short supply, national security, and/or foreign policy reasons. The 1990 farm bill (P.L. 101-624) provides for contract sanctity by prohibiting the President from restricting the export of any agricultural commodity already under contract to be delivered within 270 days from the date an embargo is imposed, except during national emergency or war.
Convention on Biological Diversity — See United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
Conventional agriculture — Generally used to contrast common or traditional agricultural practices featuring heavy reliance on chemical and energy inputs typical of large-scale, mechanized farms to alternative agriculture or sustainable agriculture practices. Mold-board plowing to cover stubble, routine pesticide spraying, and use of synthetic fertilizers are examples of conventional practices that contrast to alternative practices such as no-till, integrated pest management, and use of animal and green manures.
Conventional tillage — Tillage operations considered standard for a specific location and crop and that tend to bury the crop residues; usually considered as a base for determining the cost effectiveness of erosion control practices. See Conservation tillage.
Converted wetland — Under the swampbuster program, these are wetlands that were drained or altered to improve agricultural production after December 23, 1985, the date swampbuster was enacted. (Lands converted before December 23, 1985 are called prior converted wetlands, and alterations to these lands are subject to less stringent requirements.) On lands with this designation, no drainage maintenance and no additional drainage are allowed.
Conveyance loss — Water loss in pipes, channels, conduits, ditches by leakage or evaporation.
COOL — Country Of Origin Labeling.
Cooperative — An enterprise or organization owned by and operated for the benefit of those using its services. In agriculture, such an organization is owned and used by farmers mainly to handle the off-farm part of their businesses (i.e., buying farm supplies, marketing their products, furnishing electric and telephone service, and providing business services) at cost. Essential features are democratic control, limited return on capital, and operation at cost, with distribution of financial benefits to individuals in proportion to their use of the services made available by the cooperative (called patronage refunds). In 2002, there were 3,140 farmer cooperatives in the United States. As a variation from the traditional design, so-called "new generation cooperatives" are characterized by limited membership, require substantial investment, and include delivery contracts. Producers are increasingly using this model to create their own value-added business enterprises. The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) assists in forming new cooperative businesses and improving the operations of existing cooperatives through technical assistance, research, and information products. Cooperatives are afforded certain antitrust exemptions by the Capper-Volstead Act. Many farming-related cooperatives are members of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.
Cooperative Extension System — A federal-state-local cooperative education system that provides continuing adult education based on the academic programs of the land grant colleges of agriculture and their affiliated state agricultural experiment stations (on the campuses of major state universities). The system employs approximately 32,000 people located both on campuses and in offices located in virtually every county in the nation. About half of Extension's education programs focus on agriculture and natural resources, one-quarter on youth development (including the vocational 4-H program), and the balance on home economics and community resource development work.
Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 — P.L. 95-313 revised authority (of the Clarke-McNary Act of 1924, and other statutes) for the Forest Service to provide financial and technical assistance to states and private landowners on a variety of forestry issues: forest management and stewardship, fire protection, insect and disease control, reforestation and stand improvement, urban forestry, etc., under State & Private Forestry.
Cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) — The Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-502) allows industry to enter into research contracts with government laboratories. In exchange for this cooperation, the company involved is entitled to first rights to obtain an exclusive license to any inventions that may emerge as a result of the CRADA. USDA's in-house research agency, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has developed more than 1,100 CRADAs with industry since the law was enacted.
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) — The USDA agency that administers federal funds appropriated for agricultural and forestry research, extension, and education programs at eligible institutions, including the land grant colleges of agriculture in the states, selected veterinary schools, and other institutions with capabilities in the food and agricultural science arena. The agency distributes formula funds to the 1862 land grant colleges under the Hatch Act of 1887 (for agricultural research; 7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.), the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 (for Extension programs; 7 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), and the McIntire-Stennis Act of 1962 (forestry research; 16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.); Evans-Allen funds (7 U.S.C. 3222) for research programs at the 1890 land grant colleges (historically black); the National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants program; the Special Grants program; grants for higher education; and the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems www.reeusda.gov.
Cooperator Program — Officially known as the Foreign Market Development Cooperator Program (FMDP). One of the agricultural export promotion programs operated by the Foreign Agricultural Service. This program consists of joint government/agri-industry efforts to develop markets by acquainting potential foreign customers with U.S. farm products. Activities under this program include providing technical assistance to prospective foreign buyers, overseas food exhibits, product demonstrations and advertising aimed at foreign consumers. FAS shares the financing of these projects with the cooperators, which are nonprofit commodity trade associations primarily composed of producer-based farm groups.
Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology — Proposed in 1984 by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and finalized in 1986, this framework spells out the basic federal policy for regulating the development and introduction of products derived from biotechnology. A key principle of the framework is that genetically engineered products would continue to be regulated according to their characteristics and unique features, and not according to their method of production. In other words, for example, if a food product produced through biotechnology is substantially the same as one produced by more conventional means, that food is subject to no additional (or no different) regulatory processes. The framework also maintains that new biotechnology products are regulated under existing federal statutory authorities and regulation. The U.S. policy framework contrasts with that of some of its major trading partners: the EU, Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, and New Zealand either have or are establishing separate mandatory labeling requirements for products containing genetically modified ingredients
Coordinated review effort (CRE) — The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act requires and funds periodic federal reviews of local school meal program operations, conducted in coordination with state agencies, in order to improve program management.
Cord — 1 cord = 128 cubic feet. This volume measure typically is used to measure pulpwood and cut and spilt firewood. A cord is a stack of logs 4 feet wide by 8 feet high by 4 feet deep. (Because of air spaces between logs, it contains less than 128 cubic feet of solid wood.) Many firewood dealers sell what they call a face cord, a stack 4 feet by 8 feet, but of indeterminate depth (usually about 18 inches).
Corn Belt — That area of the United States where corn is a principal cash crop, including Iowa, Indiana, most of Illinois, and parts of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Corn gluten — A byproduct of wet milling of corn. Corn gluten is used as a medium-protein (20-24%), medium-fiber (10%) feedstuff. The European Union is the major market for U.S. corn gluten feeds.
Corn/hog ratio — See Hog/corn ratio, and Feed ratio.
Corporate farm — A form of farm ownership that is a separate legal entity from the individual owners of the farm. Tax and other reasons have encouraged conversion of some family farms to Chapter S corporations, where stock is held by family members. The 2002 Census of Agriculture reports 3.5%, or about 74,000, of the 2.129 million farms in the nation were incorporated farms, and 90% of these were family held. By contrast, about 1.910 million (90%) were individual or family-owned operations and about 130,000 (6%) were partnerships.
Cosmetic appearance — The 1990 farm bill (P.L. 101-624, Sec. 1351) defines the term as "the exterior appearance of an agricultural commodity, including changes to that appearance resulting from superficial damage or other alterations that do not significantly affect yield, taste, or nutritional value." The Agricultural Marketing Service sets grades and standards for many agricultural commodities. Some consumer and environmental groups have argued that some of these standards are harmful because they encourage excessive pesticide use merely to make fruits and vegetables attractive. Agricultural interests disagree, countering that consumers prefer blemish-free produce and that cosmetic standards are no less important than other grading factors.
Cost/benefit analysis — See Benefit/cost analysis.
Cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) — In general, the commercial trade term cif means that the seller's price includes the cost of the goods, the marine insurance, and all transportation charges to the named point of destination. Similar terms include CFR, cost and freight; CFI, cost, freight, and insurance; CIF & C, cost, insurance, freight, and commission; CIFC & I, cost, insurance, freight, commission, and interest; and CIFI & E, cost, insurance, freight, interest, and exchange. CAF is the French form of CIF.
Cost of production — The average unit cost (including purchased inputs and other expenses) of producing an agricultural commodity. The Agricultural and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-86) requires USDA to make annual estimates of the average cost of producing selected commodities. These cost of production estimates have been used by Congress in considering farm policy options.
Cost-containment (for WIC) — Refers to statutory provisions in the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-642, as amended) that require state agencies to control WIC program costs, particularly with respect to the cost of infant formula sold through the program. See Competitive bidding, and Sole source bids.
Cotonou Agreement — A 20 year agreement between the European Union and 77 countries that together are referred to as ACP Countries (African, Caribbean and Pacific countries). The Cotonou Agreement was signed in June 2000 at Cotonou, Benin. In the area of trade cooperation and development aid, the objectives are to promote smooth and gradual integration of ACP economies into the world economy, to enhance production, supply and trading capacities, to create new trade dynamics and foster investment, and to ensure full conformity with WTO provisions. This partnership agreement is the successor to the Lome Convention, first adopted in 1975 and renewed at successive intervals.
Cotton competitiveness provisions — Provisions added by the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to the cotton program designed to keep U.S. cotton prices competitive in domestic and export markets. Sometimes referred to as the "three-step competitiveness" provisions. Step 1 is the discretionary authority for USDA to reduce the adjusted world price (used in the cotton marketing assistance loan program) when world prices are declining to near the adjusted world price, but U.S. prices are higher than world prices. Though rarely used, the Step 1 adjustment is intended to make marketing loans more effective in keeping U.S. cotton globally competitive. Step 2 payments, sometimes referred to as the "user marketing certificate program," are made to U.S. cotton users and exporters when U.S. prices are higher than world prices. Step 2 payments are intended to bridge price gap and keep U.S. cotton competitive. Step 3 mandates the opening of a "special import quota" when the differential between the higher U.S. price for cotton and the lower price for foreign cotton extends for a specified length of time. Its purpose is to allow imports to enter, acting to lower U.S. prices to bring them more in line with world prices. A step 3 quota cannot be established if a limited global quota for upland cotton is in effect, which operates differently and is triggered when other price conditions are met.
Cottonseed Oil Assistance Program (COAP) — Along with the Sunflower Oil Assistance Program (SOAP), COAP was one of two programs that awarded bonuses to exporters to assist in exports of U.S. vegetable oil to targeted markets. Funds for the programs were authorized to be made available under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935 (P.L. 74-320). The provision in the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-387) that authorized the COAP to begin in fiscal year 1989 expired at the end of fiscal year 1995. However, the USDA appropriations act for FY1996 (P.L. 104-37, October 21, 1995) provided authority to operate the program in fiscal year 1996. COAP was not reauthorized by the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127), although export subsidies for cottonseed oil can be financed under the Export Enhancement Program (EEP).
Counter-cyclical payment (CCP) — Under the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) created by the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 101-171, Sec. 1101-1108), counter-cyclical payments are made to participating producers when the marketing year average price received by farmers for a covered commodity is less than the target price. The total payment to a producer is the payment acres (85% of base acres) times the payment rate (target price minus average market price, except not more than the difference between the target price and the sum of the national loan rate and the direct payment rate).
Countertrade — A trade transaction of goods and services without the exchange of money. Forms of countertrade include barter, buy-back or compensation, counter-purchase, offset requirements, swap, or triangular trade.
Countervailing duty — A charge levied on an imported article to offset the unfair price advantage it holds due to a subsidy paid to producers or exporters by the government of the exporting country if such imports cause or threaten injury to a domestic industry. The countervailing provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 (P.L. 71-361), as added by the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (P.L. 96-39), provide for an assessment equal to the amount of the subsidy, in addition to other duties and fees normally paid on the imported article. Countervailing duties are permitted under the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
Country-of-origin labeling (COOL) — Federal law has long required most imports, including many food items, to bear labels informing the ultimate purchaser of their country of origin. Meats, produce, and several other raw agricultural products generally were exempt. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) contained a requirement that many retail establishments provide, starting on September 30, 2004, country-of-origin information on fresh fruits and vegetables, red meats, seafoods, and peanuts. Subsequent appropriation laws (P.L. 108-199, and P.L. 109-97) postponed mandatory COOL for these products (except seafoods) until September 30, 2008. At issue are whether consumers are more likely to buy the U.S. alternative if such labeling is more prevalent; the business and government costs of implementation and enforcement; and whether foreign countries might challenge the new law as an illegal trade barrier (although many have their own COOL rules).
County committees — Panels of three to five farmers, elected by other farmers, to oversee the local operation of commodity programs, credit, and other programs of the Farm Service Agency. County committees, established by the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1935 (P.L. 74-46), are so named because they have overseen USDA field offices for farmers that once existed in most rural farm counties throughout the United States. Today, the committees often oversee activities in multi-county areas, due to USDA reorganization and consolidation of its field office structure into a network of about 2,500 field service centers. The committees are responsible for hiring and supervising the County Executive Director (CED), who manages the day-to-day activities of the field service center and its employees. The director and most county office staff legally are employees of the farmer-elected committees rather than the federal government, although their salaries come from federal funds.
County Executive Director (CED) — The supervisor hired by the Farm Service Agency county committee to manage the day-to day activities of a field service center (formerly called the county office).
County loan rate — Nonrecourse loan rates vary from county to county to account for transportation cost differences to the nearest terminal elevator. The weighted average for all county loan rates (the actual loan levels received by farmers) in the United States must equal the national average loan rate, established by USDA according to limits set by Congress.
County office — Usually refers to the local office of the Farm Service Agency, where farmers go to conduct business associated with federal farm commodity and credit programs, and some conservation programs. As a result of reorganization in 1994, local offices are increasingly shared with other USDA agencies having local representatives, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Offices shared by several agencies are called field service centers.
County payments — Forest Service payments of 25% of gross revenues from each national forest to the states for use on road and school programs in the counties where the national forests are located. Technically known as Payments to States, because the states determine which road and school programs can be funded, but the payments are allocated to the counties based on the national forest acreage in each county. Commonly confused with payments in lieu of taxes. Also, modified temporarily by the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-393).
Cover crop — A close-growing crop, planted primarily as a rotation between regularly planted crops, or between trees and vines in orchards and vineyards, to protect soil from erosion and improve it between periods of regular crops.
Cow-calf operator — A ranch or farm where cows are raised and bred mainly to produce calves usually destined for the beef market. The cows produce a calf crop each year, and the operation keeps some heifer calves from each calf crop for breeding herd replacements. The rest of the calf crop is sold between the ages of 6 and 12 months along with old or nonproductive cows and bulls. Such calves often are sold to producers who raise them as feeder cattle.
Cowardin Classification System — A wetlands classification system used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to map and inventory wetlands. This system, which was developed in the late 1970s, classifies wetlands using a complex hierarchy that divides wetlands into numerous subcategories of 5 ecological systems.
CP — Contracting party.
CPI — Consumer Price Index.
CRADA — Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.
Crambe — Crambe (Crambe abyssinicia Hochst.) is also referred to as Abyssinan mustard, Abyssinian kale, colewart, or katran. It is a member of the mustard (Cruciferae) family, which includes crops such as rapeseed (canola and industrial oilseed rape) and tame mustard. Crambe is native to the Mediterranean region. It was first introduced into the United States during the 1940s. Commercial production of crambe in North Dakota began in 1990. Crambe seed yields an industrial oil that contains a high level of erucic acid (50 to 60 percent erucic acid by weight). Crambe meal may be used primarily as cattle protein supplement but also can be used for protein isolates and fertilizer. At times, crambe has been designated as eligible for federal oilseed support.
CRBSC — Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program.
CRC — Crop Revenue Coverage (see Revenue insurance).
CRES — Conservation Reporting and Evaluation System.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) — A sporadic, rare, but fatal human disease that usually strikes people over 65. It occurs worldwide at an estimated annual rate of one case per million population. About 10-15% of CJD cases are inherited. A small number of cases have occurred as the result of various medical treatments or procedures that inadvertently transferred the CJD agent. In March 1996, the British government announced a possible link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease) and CJD. The announcement was prompted by the discovery of several atypical cases of CJD in Great Britain.
Critical habitat — Under the Endangered Species Act (P.L. 93-205) critical habitat is an area essential to the conservation of a listed species, though the area need not actually be occupied by the species at the time it is designated. Critical habitat must be designated for all threatened and endangered species under the Act (with certain specified exceptions). If habitat land is nonfederal, there must be a federal connection for the ESA to be triggered; purely private actions are not covered. A federal agency with whom a landowner is dealing must ensure that its actions (which may include giving a loan, increasing irrigation flows, etc.) do not adversely modify these areas.
Crop acreage base — A crop-specific measure equal to the average number of acres planted (or considered planted) to a particular program crop for a specified number of years. The crop-specific nature of this measurement was important prior to the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127), which adopted an inclusive measure of base acreage and allowed planting flexibility among the program crops. The sum of the crop acreage bases for all program crops on a farm could not exceed the farm acreage. The acreage base was used in determining the number of acres a farmer, under an acreage reduction program, had to remove from normal crop production and devote to conserving uses in order to be eligible for USDA price and income supports. See also Base acreage.
Crop insurance — Insurance that protects farmers from crop losses due to natural hazards. A subsidized multi-peril federal insurance program, administered by the Risk Management Agency, is available to most farmers. The program is authorized by the Federal Crop Insurance Act (which is actually title V of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, P.L. 75-430), as amended. Federal crop insurance is available for more than 100 different crops, although not all insurable crops are covered in every county. With the amendments to the Federal Crop Insurance Act made by the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-354, Title I) and the Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-224), USDA is authorized to offer basically free catastrophic (CAT) coverage to producers who grow an insurable crop. For a premium, farmers can buy additional coverage beyond the CAT level. Crops for which insurance is not available are protected under the Noninsured Assistance Program (NAP). Federal crop insurance is sold and serviced through private insurance companies. A portion of the premium, as well as the administrative and operating expenses of the private companies, is subsidized by the federal government. The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation reinsures the companies by absorbing some of the losses of the program when indemnities exceed total premiums. Several revenue insurance products are available on major crops as a form of additional coverage.
Crop reports — Reports compiled by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) on various commodities that are released throughout the year. Information in the reports includes estimates on planted acreage, yield, and expected production, as well as comparison of production from previous years.
Crop residue — That portion of a plant, such as a corn stalk, left in the field after harvest. Crop residues are measured to determine whether farmers are properly implementing conservation tillage if that is a part of their conservation plans to meet conservation compliance requirements. These farmers are required to maintain at least 30% residue cover on the ground to successfully practice conservation tillage.
Crop Revenue Coverage (CRC) — A form of revenue insurance that protects a producer's revenue for an insurable crop whenever low prices, low yields, or a combination of both causes revenue to fall below a guaranteed level selected by the producer. It differs from other revenue insurance programs by allowing producers to use the higher of the planting price or the market price in determining a target level of revenue.
Crop rotation — The growing of different crops, in recurring succession, on the same land in contrast to monoculture cropping. Rotation usually is done to replenish soil fertility and reduce pest populations in order to increase the potential for high levels of production in future years.
Crop scouting — Precise assessments of pest pressure (typically insects) and crop performance to evaluate economic risk from pest infestations and the potential effectiveness of pest control interventions. Scouting is usually sold as a commercial service to farmers.
Crop share rent — In contrast to cash rent, the tenant farmer pays the landlord a share of the crop. This arrangement puts the landlord, like the tenant operator, at risk from variation in yields and prices. For the farm operator, crop share rent is a mechanism for sharing risks with the landlord. In relation to commodity programs for supporting prices and farm incomes, cash rent landlords do not have a beneficial interest in the commodity and are not eligible payments.
Crop year — The calendar year during which a crop is harvested. This contrasts with the marketing year, which is the 12-month marketing period after harvest.
Cropland — Land used primarily for the production of row crops, close-growing crops, and fruit and nut crops. It includes cultivated and noncultivated acreage, but not land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. Approximately 377 million acres are in cropland, and another 32.7 million acres are enrolled into the Conservation Reserve Program, according to the 1997 National Resources Inventory (NRI). Comparing data from NRIs over the past 20 years, the total amount of cropland (including CRP land) has declined by less than 3%. However, increases and decreases are far greater in many states; for example, Alabama's cropland (including CRP land) dropped from 4.5 million acres to 3.5 million acres, while South Dakota's grew from 16.9 million acres to 18.4 million acres. Cropland is 30% of all non-federal rural lands.
Cropping systems — A general term that describes how a producer might grow a crop. A basic distinction is between conventional tillage and conservation tillage.
Cross compliance — A no-longer-used requirement that a farmer who participates in a price support program for one crop must also participate in price support programs for other crops grown on the same farm. See Conservation compliance.
Cross subsidization — The practice of charging higher prices to one group of consumers in order to subsidize lower prices for another group. State trading enterprises with monopoly control over marketing agricultural exports are sometimes alleged to cross subsidize, but lack of transparency in their operations makes it difficult if not impossible to determine if that is the case.
CRP — Conservation Reserve Program.
Crush spread — In the soybean futures market, the simultaneous purchase of soybean futures and the sale of soybean meal and soybean oil futures to establish a processing margin. See Gross processing margin.
CSCE — Coffee, Sugar, and Cocoa Exchange, which merged with the New York Cotton Exchange in 1998, to become the New York Board of Trade. www.nybot.com.
CSE — Consumer support estimate.
CSFP — Commodity Supplemental Food Program.
CSP — Conservation Security Program
CSPI — Center for Science in the Public Interest. www.cspinet.org.
CSR — Coalition for Sugar Reform. www.sugar-reform.org.
CSREES — Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. www.reeusda.gov.
CSRS — Cooperative State Research Service (see Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service).
CU — Consumers' Union. www.consumersunion.org.
Cultural methods — Practices used to enhance crop and livestock health and prevent weed, pest or disease problems without the use of chemical substances. Examples include the selection of appropriate varieties and planting sites; selection of appropriate breeds of livestock; providing livestock facilities designed to meet requirements of species or type of livestock; proper timing and density of plantings; irrigation; and extending a growing season by manipulating the microclimate with green houses, cold frames, or wind breaks.
Custom feeders — Producers who feed animals (e.g., cattle, hogs) they do not own, in return for a fee paid by someone else (such as a packer or a cow-calf operator) who does own the animals. Custom feeding potentially provides packers with more control over supplies and prices of animals. Custom feeding is a form of vertical integration.
Customs union — An agreement between two or more countries to remove trade barriers between each other and to establish common tariff and nontariff policies with respect to other countries. The European Communities (EC) of the European Union (EU) is the best known customs union.
CVD — Countervailing duty.
CVM — Center for Veterinary Medicine. www.fda.gov/cvm.
CWA — Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act) (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).
CWB — Canadian Wheat Board. www.cwb.ca.
CWD — Chronic wasting disease.
cwt. — Hundredweight, or 100 pounds.
CXT — Common external tariff.
CY — Crop year; calendar year.
Cycle time — The length of time consumed by a freight railcar from one loading to the next.
CYFAR — Children, Youth and Families at Risk Program.
CZMA — Coastal Zone Management Act (see Coastal Zone Management Program).