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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EA — Environmental Assessment.
Earmark — Any designation in an annual appropriations bill or its accompanying committee report, which allocates a portion of the appropriation for a specific project, location or institution. In the annual appropriations bill that funds USDA and related agencies, the vast majority of the earmarks are contained within the two largest research agencies within USDA, the Cooperative State, Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) and the Agriculture Research Service (ARS). A number of earmarks also can be found in accounts within the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and various rural development programs.
Easement — A landowner sells or surrenders a right to a portion of the property for some purpose, usually in return for a payment or some other benefit. In agriculture, conservation easements receive the most attention, but easements are more common for other purposes, including access and utility strips. Easements may be permanent or temporary (for some specified period of time). Easements are registered as part of the deed for the property. Some local and state governments, and land trusts and other non-governmental organizations, have programs to acquire development easements from landowners to prevent conversion of farmland to other uses.
EBT — Electronic benefit transfer.
EC — European Communities.
ECARP — Environmental Conservation Acreage Reserve Program (replaced by the Comprehensive Conservation Enhancement Program (CCHP).
Economic Research Service (ERS) — USDA's in-house agricultural economics analysis and research agency. It employs about 600 people and has an annual budget of about $53 million. www.ers.usda.gov.
Economies of scale — See Economies of size.
Economies of size — The concept that the average cost of production per unit declines as the size of the operation grows. One reason farms have been growing in size is to make more economical use of machines capable of covering more ground with less labor, to capture economies of size. Larger sized farms can typically get volume discounts on such inputs as chemicals and seed. They also are more likely to be more vertically coordinated with buyers and processors.
Ecosystem — A functioning community of nature that includes fauna and flora together with the chemical and physical environment with which they interact. Ecosystems vary greatly in size and characteristics; an ecosystem can be a mud puddle, a field or orchard, or a forest. An ecosystem provides a unit of biological study and can be a unit of management.
ECP — Emergency Conservation Program.
EDF — Environmental Defense Fund. www.environmentaldefense.org.
Edward R. Madigan U.S. Agricultural Export Excellence Award — An award established by the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) to recognize companies' and other entities' entrepreneurial efforts in the food and agricultural sector for advancing U.S. agricultural exports.
EEP — Export Enhancement Program.
EFAP — Emergency Feed Assistance Program (see Emergency livestock feed programs).
EFAP — Emergency Food Assistance Program (formerly the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP). See Emergency Food Assistance, and Soup Kitchen-food Bank Program.
Effective price — Under the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 101-171, Sec. 1104), for crop years 2002 through 2007, counter-cyclical payments are made when the effective price of a covered commodity is below the target price. The effective price is the sum of: 1) either a) the average price received by farmers over the marketing year, or b) the national average loan rate, whichever is higher; and 2) the payment rate in effect for making fixed direct payments. The difference between the higher target price and the lower effective price is the payment rate. The payment amount to a producer is the product of the payment rate, the payment acres on the farm, and the payment yield of the farm.
Effluent guidelines for feedlots and other point sources — These are national regulations that set numerical or narrative limits for specific pollutants in wastewater from various types of point sources, including concentrated animal feeding operations, which specify "zero discharge except as a result of storms exceeding catastrophic or chronic rainfall." The limits are based on the application of specific processes or treatment technologies within a given industrial category (e.g., food processing, flour mills, etc.), although dischargers may meet their requirements using whatever combination of treatment technologies and process changes they choose. Since guidelines were first issued in 1974, EPA has promulgated limitations and standards for 51 industrial categories. On December 12, 2002, EPA released a final rule on concentrated animal feeding operations, which includes effluent limit guidelines (68 Federal Register 7176-7274).
Effluent limitation — An EPA "standard of performance reflecting the maximum degree of discharge reduction achievable by the best available technology for various categories of sources of water pollution. These categories include feedlots, grain mills, and several kinds of food processing.
Effluent — Waste, usually liquid, released or discharged to the environment. Generally the term refers to point source discharges of sewage or contaminated waste waters into surface waters.
EFNEP — Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.
EFP — Emergency Feed Program (see Emergency livestock feed programs).
EI — Erosion index.
EIA — Environmental impact assessment; economic impact assessment.
EIP — Export Incentive Program.
EIS — Environmental impact statement.
Elasticity — See Price elasticity of demand.
Elderly and disabled — For food stamp purposes, elderly persons are age 60 or older; and disabled persons are beneficiaries of disability-based governmental assistance, such as social security disability payments and certain veterans disability payments.
Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems — Food stamp benefits are provided through EBT systems under which recipients use an EBT card (similar to a debit card) to access their food stamp benefit "account" (replenished monthly) to buy food items. Using an EBT card allows retailers to deduct the amount of the purchase from the recipient's food stamp account; recipients receive a receipt showing the remaining balance. In some states, EBT cards are also used to provide benefits under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (the WIC program). Food stamp EBT cards also may include cash benefits from other government programs, and thus be used to access cash.
Elevator — A tall warehouse facility that uses vertical conveyors to raise or elevate grain, generally owned privately or by an agricultural cooperative, where grain is stored before being marketed. The term elevator often refers to any grain storage facility, even if the grain is not elevated. The county elevator is where a farmer delivers grain; a terminal elevator is a major transshipment facility; while an export elevator is at a port facility.
ELISA — Enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (test).
ELS cotton — The abbreviation for extra-long staple cotton.
ELS — Extra-long staple (cotton).
EM — Emergency disaster loans.
EMAP — Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program.
Embargo — A government-ordered prohibition or limitation on trade with another country. Under an embargo, all trade, or selected goods and services, may be restricted. The 1985 farm bill (P.L. 99-198) requires that any prohibition or limitation on such exports should be imposed only when the President declares a national economic emergency under the Act and protects prior contracts to export agricultural commodities and products. The 1990 farm bill (P.L. 101-624) contains contract sanctity provisions that place constraints on the embargo of agricultural commodities from the United States. It also provides for compensation to agricultural producers if the President suspends or restricts exports of a commodity for national security or foreign policy reasons, and requires USDA to develop plans to alleviate the adverse effects of embargoes if imposed. The 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) requires compensation to producers if the U.S. government imposes an export embargo for national security or foreign policy reasons, and if no other country joins the U.S. embargo within 90 days. Under this law, compensation may take the form of payments to producers or as increased funding for agricultural export and food aid programs. The Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA) of 2000 (P.L. 106-386) codified the lifting of U.S. sanctions on commercial sales of food, agricultural commodities, and medical products to Iran, Libya, North Korea, and Sudan, and extended this policy to apply to Cuba, but with financing and licensing conditions. Those applicable to Cuba are more restrictive than for the other countries, and are permanent under TSRA , which also gives Congress authority to veto a President's proposal to impose sanctions on the sale of agricultural or medical products to a designated country.
Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) — A program administered by the Farm Service Agency to help farmers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters by sharing in the cost of rehabilitation. It is almost always funded in supplemental appropriations that provide federal assistance to deal with a natural disaster.
Emergency Disaster (EM) Loan Program — When a county has been declared a disaster area, by either the President or the Secretary of Agriculture, farmers in that county may become eligible for low-interest emergency disaster (EM) loans available through the Farm Service Agency (formerly Farmers Home Administration). EM loan funds may be used to help producers recover from production losses (when the producer suffers a significant loss of an annual crop) or from physical losses (such as repairing or replacing damaged or destroyed structures or equipment, or for the replanting of permanent crops such as orchards). A qualified producer can then borrow up to 80% of the actual production loss or $500,000, whichever is less, at a subsidized interest rate.
Emergency feeding organization — This term refers to organizations serving the food needs of the poor, elderly, and unemployed that are designated by states as eligible for aid under the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). They include soup kitchens, food banks, churches, welfare agencies, and other providers of food aid to the poor.
Emergency Food Assistance Act / Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) — The Emergency Food Assistance Act (P.L. 98-92, as amended) authorizes The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides food commodities and aid for administrative/distribution expenses to states and local emergency feeding organizations serving the poor, elderly, and unemployed. Federal assistance is in the form of donated food commodities--both "entitlement" and "bonus" food items--and funds to cover administrative/distribution costs. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees have jurisdiction over this Act.
Emergency Food Assistance and Soup Kitchen-Food Bank Program (EFAP-Soup kitchens) — This program provides USDA commodities to emergency feeding organizations to help with the food needs of low-income populations. It also authorizes grants to states to help with the state and local costs of transporting, storing, and distributing the commodities. The program is authorized under the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (P.L. 98-92, as amended; 7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.). In addition to authorizing funding to buy commodities, the program also requires that $100 million of food stamp funds be used annually for that purpose. Eligible agencies include food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, and public and private charitable agencies serving the poor. States determine the agencies eligible to participate and set low-income standards for eligibility.
Emergency livestock feed programs — The USDA was given permanent authority by the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-387) to implement an array of emergency livestock feed programs. These programs were designed to assist livestock producers who lost a significant amount of feed grown on the farm due to a natural disaster. The primary livestock feed programs implemented by USDA were: (1) the Emergency Feed Assistance Program (EFAP), which provided farmers who experienced a large loss of feed production with government-owned grain at a subsidized price; and, (2) the Emergency Feed Program (EFP), a cost-share program for farmers affected by a disaster who purchased their needed feed in the marketplace. To meet mandated budget savings requirements, the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) suspended these programs from the law through 2002. However, ad hoc livestock assistance programs have been implemented periodically since 1996 to provide emergency assistance to livestock growers, most notably, the Livestock Assistance Program, Livestock Indemnity Program, and a Livestock Compensation Program.
Emergency Watershed Program (EWP) — A program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service to respond to floods, fires, windstorms and other types of natural disasters. Types of work this program funds include: removing debris; reshaping and protecting eroded banks; correcting damaged drainage facilities; repairing levees and other water conveyance structures; and purchasing flood plain easements. For construction activities, it provides up to 75% of the project cost. It is almost always funded in supplemental appropriations that provide federal assistance to deal with a natural disaster.
Emergency Wetlands Reserve Program (EWRP) — Authorized in 1993 under emergency supplemental appropriations to respond to widespread floods in the Midwest, EWRP provided payments to purchase easements and partial financial assistance to landowners who permanently restored wetlands at sites where the restoration costs exceeded the land's fair market value. EWRP was administered by Natural Resources Conservation Service as part of its Emergency Watershed Program and operated in seven midwestern states. Land in this program is considered to be a part of the land enrolled in the Wetland Reserve Program.
Emerging market — For purposes of administering USDA's Emerging Markets Program and Facility Credit Guarantee Program, an emerging market is a country that the Secretary of Agriculture determines: (1) is taking steps toward a market-oriented economy through the food, agriculture, or rural business sectors; and, (2) has the potential to provide a viable and significant market for U.S. agricultural commodities or products.
Emerging Markets Program — A program originally authorized by the 1990 farm bill (P.L. 101-624) and titled the Emerging Democracies Program. The program was authorized to promote U.S. agricultural exports by providing technical assistance and credits or credit guarantees to emerging democracies annually for fiscal years 1991-95. Funds could be used to establish or provide facilities, services, or U.S. products to improve handling, marketing, storage, or distribution of imported agricultural products. The program initially focused on central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) reauthorized the program through 2002 and renamed it the Emerging Markets Program; the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) extended it through 2007. The program in 1996 was retargeted to emerging markets (defined as countries that USDA determines have the potential to provide viable and significant markets for U.S. agricultural products). The law requires the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to make available not less than $1 billion annually of direct credit or credit guarantees to emerging markets for fiscal years 1996-2002, in addition to the amounts authorized for GSM-102 and 103.
Emission — Waste released or emitted to the environment. The term is commonly used in referring to discharges of gases and particles to the atmosphere (i.e., air pollutants), and also is used in referring to particles or energy released radioactively. Sometimes the term is used broadly, encompassing any polluting discharge.
Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Communities Program (EZ/EC) — A grant-making initiative to revitalize low-income rural communities (and low-income urban areas) in a way that attracts private sector investment. Selection as an EZ/EC is competitive. Criteria for designation as an EZ/EC are based on physical size of the area, various economic indicators of economic distress (pervasive poverty, unemployment, and general socioeconomic distress), and population. Urban sites can be no larger than 20 square miles, but may include up to 2,000 acres in areas called developable sites located outside the 20 square mile limit. Rural EZ sites can encompass an area up to 1,000 square miles. Maximum population of an urban EZ/EC site is the lesser of (1) 200,000 or (2) the greater of 50,000 or 10% of the population of the most populous city located. In short, nothing larger than 200,000 but at least 50,000. For rural EZ/EC sites, population of towns and cities must be 30,000 or less.
EMU — European Monetary Unit.
END — Exotic Newcastle disease.
End-use certificate — The North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (P.L. 103-182) mandates end-use requirements for wheat and barley imported from any country requiring end-use certificates for imports of U.S. produced commodities. Canada is the only nation that requires such certificates, and U.S. wheat is the only commodity subject to the restriction. Regulations implementing the End-Use Certificate Program, implemented February 27, 1995, are found at 7 CFR 782.
Endangered species — Species of animals or plants likely to go extinct in the foreseeable future unless current trends are altered. They are listed by regulation under the Endangered Species Act (P.L. 93-205, as amended) and assigned the Act's highest level of protection. Only scientific factors may be taken into account in deciding whether to list a species as endangered, though economic factors may be taken into account at other stages of the Act. See also Threatened species. For the legal definition, see Section 3 of the Act.
Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 — P.L. 93-205, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), protects species and the ecosystems on which they depend The ESA is administered primarily by the Fish and Wildlife Service (and by NOAA Fisheries, formerly the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), for certain marine species). These agencies list species of domestic plants and animals at risk of extinction as either "endangered" or "threatened" according to the degree of risk. Over 1,000 species have been listed. The ESA has been controversial because: (1) its standards of protection are substantive rather than procedural, and have occasionally prevented activities that would jeopardize a designated species; or (2) because other laws often lack strict substantive provisions the ESA often becomes a battleground by default over larger controversies concerning resource scarcities or altered ecosystems. How the ESA affects farmers and others depends on the listed species, the locale, the nature and health of the ecosystem, the ownership of the land, etc. On private land, ESA prohibits takings of individuals of protected species and requires agencies providing any federal service (such as permitting, increasing irrigation flows, or loans) to ensure the action will not adversely affect critical habitat.
Endocrine disruptor — A chemical agent that interferes with natural hormones in the body. Hormones are secreted by endocrine glands (such as the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, ovary, and testis), are transported through the body in the bloodstream, and regulate body growth and metabolism, other endocrine organs, and reproductive functions. There is emerging concern that endocrine disruptors may be causing human health or ecological effects, such as abnormal thyroid function, decreased fertility, and alteration of immune and behavioral function. This concern arises from demonstrated instances (an example is the ability of diethylstilbestrol (DES) to disrupt female reproductive function throughout the lifespan in laboratory animals and humans) and the fact that hormones are biologically active at very low concentrations (at parts per billion or less), so low levels of disruptors may similarly be biologically active. In amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (P.L. 104-182) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act in 1996 (P.L. 104-170), Congress directed the EPA to study endocrine disruptors. The outcome of this research will be of consequence to agriculture because some pesticides and animal growth stimulants have been hypothesized to act as endocrine disruptors.
Enlargement — The process of adding new countries to membership in th European Union. Ten countries (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) became members on May 1, 2004. Bulgaria and Romania are slated to complete enlargement negotiations and become member countries in 2007. Croatia and Turkey are due to begin enlargement negotiations in 2005.
Entitlement — A legal obligation on the federal government to make payments to a person, business, or unit of government that meets the criteria set in law. Entitlement spending is a subset of mandatory spending. Most entitlement spending is authorized by laws that provide all eligible individuals with financial assistance or other benefits based upon some formula or criteria set out in law. What distinguishes an entitlement from other mandatory spending is that in an entitlement program, eligible individuals retain a legal right to benefits, regardless of the cost. USDA programs such as the commodity price and income support programs and crop insurance would fall into the category of an appropriated entitlement, since participants are legally entitled to benefits, but an appropriation ultimately is required to the Commodity Credit Corporation (the funding source of the commodity programs) and the Federal Crop Insurance Fund (the funding source of crop insurance subsidies).
Entitlement commodities — These are food commodities purchased by the USDA for the purpose of meeting legislatively mandated levels of commodity assistance for various food assistance programs (e.g., school meal programs, the Emergency Food Assistance program). They generally are bought based on recipient organization's preferences, but purchases also take into account the needs of agricultural markets. www.commodityfoods.usda.gov
Environment — The totality of the surrounding external conditions (biological, chemical, and physical) within which an organism, community, or object exists. The environment can be defined at any scale. The term is not exclusive in that organisms can be and usually are part of another organism's environment. Thus one can speak of the environment as that within which humankind lives (i.e., separate and external) or, of humankind as a component of the environment.
Environmental Assessment — Under implementing regulations of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-190) a document used by agencies to determine whether the environmental effects are sufficient to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Environmental Benefits Index — An index that has been used by the FSA since 1990 to rank farmers' requests to enroll land into the Conservation Reserve Program during each general sign-up period. The only enrollment mechanisms that do not use the index are the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and continuous enrollment, for which a total of 4 million acres has been reserved. The index, as currently structured, assigns points for cost to the government and 6 other factors; 1) wildlife benefits, up to 100 points; 2) water quality benefits, up to 100 points; 3) on-farm erosion control, up to 100 points; 4) enduring benefits, up to 50 points; 5) air quality benefits, up to 35 points; and 6) in a state or national priority area, 25 points. Bids only are accepted if they exceed a threshold level that is determined after the total value of the benefits that each bid would provide are compared. The index continues to be adjusted from general signup to general signup.
Environmental Conservation Acreage Reserve Program (ECARP) — An umbrella program authorized by the 1990 farm bill (P.L. 101-624) that includes the Conservation Reserve Program, and the Wetland Reserve Program. The 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) continued the CRP and WRP and created the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The goal of the ECARP was to provide long-term protection of environmentally sensitive land. Contracts, easements, and cost-share payments were used to assist landowners and operators of farms and ranches to conserve and enhance soil, water, and related natural resources, including grazing land, wetland, and wildlife habitat. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 2006) replaced ECARP with the Comprehensive Conservation Enhancement Program (CCHP).
Environmental equity / justice — Equal protection from environmental hazards for individuals, groups, or communities regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic status. This applies to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies, and implies that no population of people should be forced to shoulder a disproportionate share of adverse impacts of pollution.
Environmental impact statement (EIS) — A document required of federal agencies by the National Environmental Policy Act (P.L. 91-190) for major projects or administration-initiated legislative proposals significantly affecting the environment. A tool for decision making, it describes the positive and negative effects of the undertaking and assesses alternative actions.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — An independent federal government agency established in 1970 and charged with coordinating effective governmental action concerning the environment, including setting standards, promulgating and enforcing regulations, and initiating and implementing environmental programs. Two areas of jurisdiction that most directly affect agricultural production are the registration of pesticides required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA; P.L. 80-104, as amended; 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.) and implementation of the Clean Water Act (P.L. 92-500, as amended; 33 U.S.C. 1251-1387). www.epa.gov.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) — A program created by the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) to provide primarily cost-sharing assistance, but also technical and educational assistance, aimed at promoting production and environmental quality, and optimizing environmental benefits. The program replaces the Agricultural Conservation Program, the Water Quality Incentives Program, the Great Plains Conservation Program, and the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. EQIP is reauthorized in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 1241) at $0.4 billion in mandatory spending in FY2002 and rising to $1.3 billion in FY2007. The funding each year is to be divided, with 60% targeted to environmental concerns associated with livestock production and the remainder to crop production. Producers enter into contracts of 1 to 10 years. Participants can receive no more than $450,000 between FY2002 and FY2007. Two new sub programs were created; one provides matching grants for innovative conservation efforts, such as using market systems to reduce pollution and promoting carbon sequestration in soil; and, the second is the Ground and Surface Water Conservation Program (GSWP).
Enzyme linked immunosorbant assay — A tool for the detection of specific proteins and macromolecules in biologic systems.
EPA — Environmental Protection Agency. www.epa.gov.
Epidemiology — Study of the distribution of disease, or other health-related conditions and events in human or animal populations, in order to identify health problems and possible causes.
EQIP — Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
Equivalence — A term applied by the Uruguay Round Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures. WTO Member countries shall accord acceptance to the SPS measures of other countries (even if those measures differ from their own or from those used by other Member countries trading in the same product) if the exporting country demonstrates to the importing country that its measures achieve the importer's appropriate level of sanitary and phytosanitary protection.
Erosion (erodibility) index (EI) — The erosion (sometimes called erodibility) index is created by dividing potential erosion (from all sources except gully erosion) by the T value, which is the rate of soil erosion above which long term productivity may be adversely affected. The erodibility index is used in conjunction with conservation compliance and the Conservation Reserve Program. For example, one of the eligibility requirements for the CRP is that land have an EI greater than 8.
Erosion — The wearing away of the land surface. Unconsolidated materials, such as soil, erode more rapidly than consolidated materials, such as rock. Rates of erosion vary widely across the landscape, depending on numerous physical factors, so a large portion of all erosion associated with agriculture is concentrated in several relatively small producing areas, such as the Palouse region in eastern Washington. The two most common causes of erosion are wind and moving water. Water causes sheet, rill, and gully erosion. The total annual erosion rate from all cropland and land enrolled in the CRP was 1.9 billion tons in 1997, a significant decline from 3.1 billion tons in 1982, according to the National Resources Inventory.
ERS — Economic Research Service. www.ers.usda.gov.
ESA — Endangered Species Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-205; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
ESA — Environmentally sensitive area.
Escape Clause — See Safeguards, import.
Essential oil — An essential oil is a highly concentrated liquid (typically clear) that is generally distilled (most frequently by steam or water) from the leaves, stems, flowers, bark, roots, or other elements of a plant. Essential oils, contrary to the use of the word oil, are not oily-feeling. Essential oils contain the true essence of the plants they are derived from. They are used for their aromatic value as flavorings in foods and beverages, as fragrances in pharmaceutical and industrial products, and for aromatherapy. Essential oils are not the same as perfume or fragrance oils, which are artificially created fragrances or contain artificial substances. In the United States, the most economically important sources of domestically produced essential oils are industrial by-products from citrus, balsam fir, pine, and cedarwood while the most important crops grown in the U.S. for the oils are peppermint and spearmint. Essential oils have become an important import, valued at $1.9 billion in 2005.
Estuary — Regions of interaction between rivers and near-shore ocean waters, where tidal action and river flow mix fresh and salt water. Such areas include bays, mouths of rivers, salt marshes, and lagoons. Estuaries typically include adjoining wetlands. These brackish water ecosystems shelter and feed marine life, birds, and wildlife, but also are sites where commerce and industry are concentrated. The two major federal programs addressing estuarine resource management problems are EPA's National Estuary Program and NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System.
Ethanol — C2H5OH; the alcohol product of carbohydrate fermentation used in alcoholic beverages and for industrial purposes (also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol). It is blended with gasoline to make gasohol. When blended with gasoline, ethanol can reduce emissions of carbon monoxide and other ozone-forming pollutants. Ethanol can be produced from many feedstocks, including plants, agricultural residues, and municipal waste. Corn is the primary feedstock for U.S. ethanol production. In the 2005/06 corn marketing year, about 1,500 million bushels (13.8% of the corn crop and 13.9% of domestic corn use) is expected to go into the production of about 4 billion gallons of ethanol (October 2005 estimates). One 56-pound bushel of corn yields about 2.7 gallons of ethanol; conversely, 1 gallon of ethanol requires about 0.4 bushels of corn. Brazil uses sugarcane to manufacture what is called sucrose ethanol.
EU — European Union. www.eurunion.org.
EUP — Experimental use permit.
Euro — The single currency of the 12 countries that are members of the European Monetary Union, one of the institutions of the European Union. The participating countries are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal. The exchange rates for the currencies of these 11 countries were irrevocably fixed in terms of the euro on December 31, 1998. The transition to the euro occurred in two phases. For financial transactions, the euro replaced national currencies on January 1, 1999, but for notes and coins, it replaced national currencies in 2002. EU members not in the Monetary Union are Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the 10 new member states (Cyprus (Greek part), the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia).
European Economic Community (EEC) — A regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome (1957) that provided for the gradual elimination of customs duties and other interregional trade barriers, a common external tariff, and gradual adoption of other integrating measures, including the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and guarantees of free movement of labor and capital. Of the current 25 member countries, the original six were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Membership expanded to include Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom in 1973; Greece in 1981; Spain and Portugal in 1986; Austria, Finland, and Sweden in 1995; and Cyprus (Greek part), the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia in 2004. In 1993, with establishment of the European Union (EU), the EEC became the customs union component of the EU.
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) — An agency charged with providing the European Commission of the European Union with independent scientific advice on all matters with a direct or indirect impact on food safety. It's status is that of a separate legal entity independent from other EU institutions. EFSA was established (by regulation 178/2002/EC) in January 2002. Its work covers all stages of food production and supply, from primary production to the safety of animal feed through to the supply of food to consumers. It collects and analyzes information, carries out risk assessments, and can carry out scientific assessments on any matter bearing on the safety of the food supply including matters relating to animal health, animal welfare, and plant health. EFSA also provides scientific advice on non-food and feed GMOs, and on nutrition in relation to EU legislation. In contrast to the United States' FDA, EFSA is strictly an advisory not a regulatory body. It can, however, communicate directly with the public on any issue within its area of responsibility.
European Free Trade Association (EFTA) — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are members of EFTA. The EFTA Convention established a free trade area among its Member States in 1960. In addition, the EFTA States have jointly concluded free trade agreements with a number of countries worldwide. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway entered into the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) in 1992, which entered into force in 1994. The current contracting parties are, in addition to the three EFTA states, the European Community and the 25 EC Member States. EFTA is served by three institutions: the EFTA Secretariat, the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court. http://www.efta.int/.
European Monetary Union (EMU) — As agreed in the Maastricht Treaty, 11 (later 12) European Union members began participating in the EMU on January 1, 1999. The 12 countries are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Under the EMU, the 12 countries have a common central bank (the European Central Bank), and thus a common monetary policy, similar to that of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, and a single currency, called the euro.
European Union (EU) — Since 1993, the term used to describe the European Communities and related institutions. The entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty of European Union on November 1, 1993, introduced this change in terminology regarding the EC and many of its institutions. The EU included 15 member countries prior to its recent enlargement (Austria, Belgium,, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). Ten new members joined the EU in May 2004 (Cyprus (Greek part), the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia). Bulgaria and Romania are slated to complete enlargement negotiations and become member countries in 2007. Croatia and Turkey are due to begin enlargement negotiations in 2005.
Eutrophication — The process by which a body of water acquires a high concentration of plant nutrients, especially nitrates or phosphates. This nutrification promotes algae growth that, when it dies, can lead to the depletion of dissolved oxygen, killing fish and other aquatic organisms. While eutrophication is a natural, slow-aging process for a body of water, human activities can greatly accelerate the process.
Evans-Allen funds — Federal funds distributed to the 1890 (historically black) land grant colleges of agriculture under a provision in the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-113, Title XIV), to support research programs. The provision became known by the names of two of its primary proponents in Congress, Representative Frank Evans of Colorado and Senator James Allen of Alabama. These funds are now more commonly referred to in budget documents as Payments to 1890 colleges.
Evapotranspiration — The loss of water from the soil both by evaporation and by transpiration from the plants growing in the soil.
EWG — Environmental Working Group. www.ewg.org.
EWP — Emergency Watershed Program.
Excess land — Irrigable land, other than exempt land, owned by any landowner in excess of the maximum acreage limitation (ownership entitlement) under the applicable provision of reclamation law.
Exotic Newcastle disease (END) — A contagious and fatal viral disease that can kill birds without their showing any signs of respiratory, digestive, and nervous system problems. Smuggled pet birds, especially Amazon parrots from Latin America, pose a great risk of introducing the disease into U.S. poultry flocks. This disease is also known as Velogenic Viserotropic Newcastle Disease (VVND). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) personnel who are now part of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Border and Transportation Security division are responsible for preventing introduction of the disease; APHIS responds to outbreaks, generally by destroying flocks and making indemnity payments to producers for their losses.
Exotic species — A term used in USDA meat and poultry inspection regulations to mean livestock or fowl not covered by the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), and for which federal inspection is not mandatory, even though the animals may be processed for human consumption. Deer, elk, reindeer, antelope, buffalo, bison, rabbit, migratory water fowl, game birds, quail, and pheasants currently are defined as exotic species. They are eligible for voluntary, fee-for-service inspection at federally inspected meat and poultry slaughtering facilities (that have agreed to process them), under the authority of the Agricultural Marketing Act. Slaughtering and processing facilities operating under a cooperative state inspection program also can accept exotic species for the voluntary program (and some states require it for certain species), but the finished product can be marketed only within that state. Any of the above-listed exotic species that have not undergone voluntary inspection, but are sold for human consumption, are under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA, under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act (21 U.S.C. 321 et seq.).
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) — EFNEP is a program of the Cooperative Extension System that operates in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Started in 1965, its purpose is to provide low-income individuals, particularly youth and families with young children, with the knowledge, skills, and desire to adopt and maintain a nutritious diet. www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/food/efnep/efnep.html
Experimental use permit — A permit under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136c) that authorizes the testing of new pesticides or uses thereof in experimental field studies on 10 acres or more of land or one acre or more of water. Such tests provide data to support registration of pesticides.
Export Administration Act (EAA) of 1979 — P.L. 96-72 provided legal authority to the President to control U.S. exports for reasons of national security, foreign policy, and/or short supply. However, the 1990 farm bill (P.L. 101-624) provided for contract sanctity by prohibiting the President from restricting the export of any agricultural commodity already under contract for delivery within 270 days from the date an embargo is imposed under the EAA, except during national emergency or war. With the expiration of EAA in 1994, the President declared a national emergency and exercised authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (P.L. 95-223; 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to continue the EAA export control regulations then in effect by issuing Executive Order 12924 on August 19, 1994. Presidents since then have each year extended these regulations by Presidential Notice.
Export allocations or quotas — Controls applied to exports by an exporting country to limit the amount of goods leaving that country. Such controls usually are applied in time of war or during some other emergency requiring conservation of domestic supplies, as well as to advance foreign policy and national security objectives of the exporting country. The European Union, in 1996, used a licensing system to allocate and restrict exports of wheat because of short supplies and high prices.
Export Enhancement Program (EEP) — A program that USDA initiated in May 1985 under the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act to help U.S. exporters meet competitors' subsidized prices in targeted markets. The program currently is authorized through 2007 under the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171). Under EEP, exporters are awarded cash payments that enable an exporter to sell certain commodities to specified countries at competitive prices. EEP program activity is constrained by annual dollar and tonnage limits on commodities that can be subsidized, as agreed to under the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, and these annual limits are incorporated into the EEP authorizing legislation. In practice, the program has been used very little since the mid-1990s.
Export incentive program — See Market Access Program.
Export PIK — A program used in the 1980s that made payment-in-kind to U.S. exporters as export subsidies for surplus commodities.
Export restitutions — A term in the EU for variable export subsidies given to traders to cover the difference between the higher internal Common Agricultural Policy price of a commodity and its lower world price.
Export subsidy — A direct or indirect compensation provided by government to private commercial firms to promote exports of domestic products. Article XVI of the GATT considers that export subsidies are unfair competition and allows countervailing duties to be imposed on subsidized products. Indirect methods of export subsidization include government subsidized financing for exports, export promotion and information activities, tax benefits, or other forms of assistance that may lead to lower than normal costs for exported products. The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture imposes limits on direct agricultural export subsidies.
Exporter Assistance Initiative — Directive, under of the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171 Sec. 3101), that the Secretary of Agriculture maintain an Internet website for U.S. agricultural exporters that will provide a "comprehensive source of information to facilitate exports" of U.S. agricultural commodities.
Exposure assessment — Identifying the pathways by which toxicants may reach individuals, estimating how much of a chemical various individuals are likely to be exposed to, and estimating the number likely to be exposed at each level.
Extension Service — Refers to a nationwide continuing education system that is based on the academic programs of the land grant colleges of agriculture (see Cooperative Extension System). The term also is the former name of the USDA agency that distributes federal funds to the states under the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 (7 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) to carry out Extension programs. The 1994 USDA reorganization merged this agency with the Cooperative State Research Service (CSRS) to form the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES).
Extra-long staple (ELS) cotton — ELS cotton, like upland cotton, is eligible for marketing assistance loans and loan deficiency payments (LDPs). The national loan rate for ELS cotton under the 2002 farm bill is $0.7977 per pound. ELS cotton, in contrast to upland cotton, does not qualify for direct payments or counter-cyclical payments. For purposes of federal support, the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 101-171, Sec. 1001) defines ELS cotton. ELS cotton also is called American Pima and was once called American Egyptian cotton, this cotton has a staple length of 1-3/8" or more, is characterized by fineness and high fiber strength, and is used in high-value products such as sewing thread and expensive apparel. The name Pima was applied in honor of the Pima Indians who helped raise the cotton on USDA experimental farms in Arizona in the early 1900s. ELS cotton accounts for less than 5% of U.S. cotton production. It is grown chiefly in California, with small acreages in west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
Extra-Long Staple Cotton Act of 1983 — P.L. 98-88 eliminated marketing quotas and allotments for extra-long staple cotton and tied its support to upland cotton through a formula that set the nonrecourse loan rate at not less than 150% of the upland cotton loan level.
Extralabel use in animals — Actual use or intended use in an animal of an FDA approved veterinary-prescribed drug that is not in accordance with the approved labeling, such as for indications (conditions) not listed on the label, use at other than labeled dosage levels, frequencies or routes of administration, and deviation from labeled withdrawal time. This practice is permitted by the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-396). FDA specifically prohibits extralabel use of a number of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and hormones in food producing animals. FDA also tightly controls the use of certain veterinary-prescribed drugs when administered in the feed of food-producing animals.