1997 Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

A Change for the Better

Contents

Foreword, by Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture
USDA--Year at a Glance

1. Increasing Production, Trade, and Opportunities for Family Farmers

2. Providing More Tools for the Wise Stewardship of the Land

3. Feeding More Children and Families in Need

4. Raising Consumer Confidence in Food Safety

5. Creating Jobs and Revitalizing the Economy in Rural Areas

6. Investing in the Future Through Research, Education, and Economics

7. Promoting Quality and Fair Trade Through Marketing and Regulatory Services

8. Setting a Sweeping Civil Rights Agenda

9. Providing Administrative and Executive Support to the Department and Its Clients

*   List of USDA program agencies and acronyms

Foreword

by Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture

As a public servant--whether on the local school board in Wichita, or during my 18 years in the Congress, or now in my fourth year as Agriculture Secretary--I have always impressed upon everyone I work with that at the end of each policy, program, and decision are people.

Regular folks--young, old, and in-between--people who work hard everyday, or go to school, raise families, make ends meet, and enjoy time off--are the beneficiaries of the work we do in government. Making life better for individuals is what public service is all about.

Abraham Lincoln called USDA the “people’s department” because our work was so closely tied to the people, most of whom were farmers at the time. One hundred and thirty six years later, our scope is much broader, but improving people’s lives remains the truest measure of our success.

In 1997, USDA made significant strides in advancing the fight against hunger, taking America’s conservation efforts to new levels, modernizing and improving food safety, and creating a new day for civil rights at USDA.

We worked to expand trade, enhanced opportunities for family farmers; protected our natural resources; fed hungry children and families in need; made food recovery a national priority; instituted a sweeping overhaul of meat and poultry inspections; made scientific discoveries that help farmers, ranchers and all Americans; protected crops and livestock from diseases and pests; and helped farmers and ranchers do their work in a more sustainable way.

As the department of rural America, we improved living standards in our rural communities by helping create jobs, improve housing, strengthen education, and assure wider availability of safe running water and quality health care.

In 1997, USDA’s efforts had a positive impact on the people to whom our service is dedicated. But our work is not just about the present. It’s also about building on a strong foundation to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to pursue their American dream. This report shows how the work of “the people’s department” has improved the lives of the American people today and set us on a positive course for tomorrow.

USDA--Year at a Glance

Here is a brief rundown of some key USDA accomplishments in 1997:

Increased Production, Trade, and Opportunities for Family Farmers

• Helped ensure that U.S. agricultural exports reached $57.3 billion, the second highest ever. New markets for U.S. agricultural products were opened around the world, including rice to Honduras, pork to Venezuela, grapes to China, and tomatoes to Japan. The export surplus remained a robust $21.5 billion.
• Worked with farmers to ensure strong harvests in 1997. The wheat crop, featuring record yields in winter wheat, was the largest overall wheat crop of the 1990's. The corn crop was the third largest ever, and soybean yields were at a record high.
• Enrolled 17 million acres of America’s most environmentally sensitive lands for protection in the CRP.
• Extended the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to build on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) efforts and combine them with the goals and funding of State governments.
• Provided direct operating and farm ownership loans totaling $233 million to 4,247 beginning farmers--a 20-percent increase over fiscal year (FY) 1996.
• Responded to natural disasters, including blizzards, droughts, flooding, and tornadoes, with emergency relief and funding.
• Approved expansion of Crop Revenue Coverage (CRC), a privately developed revenue insurance product, for corn, cotton, grain sorghum, and wheat. CRC is now available on almost 90 percent of the corn, wheat, cotton, soybean, and grain sorghum acres in the United States.

Provided More Tools for the Wise Stewardship of the Land

• Accepted over 23,000 contracts, totaling $171 million, providing cost-share assistance for conservation enhancements as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
• Announced the new National Conservation Buffer Initiative to help landowners install 2 million miles of conservation buffers by the year 2002.
• Sponsored the Lake Tahoe Summit to improve Federal, State, and tribal agencies’ ability to coordinate programs that protect the environment.

Fed More Children and Families and Made Food Recovery a National Priority

• Hosted the first National Food Recovery and Gleaning Summit to bring together public interest groups, the private sector, farmers, and others to discuss hunger and food recovery. Summit participants set a national goal of increasing food recovery by 33 percent.
• Reached full funding for WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), assisting 7.5 million mothers and their young children with healthful food and nutrition advice.
• Obtained rebates for WIC State agencies on infant formula through cooperative bidding, permitting 1.6 million additional participants and $1.2 billion in savings.

Proposed Food Safety Regulations That Will Better Protect the Public Health

• Required all federally inspected meat and poultry processing plants to implement the first two elements of the new Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point inspection system to reduce human exposure to meat- and poultry-borne pathogens.
• Promoted efforts to address food safety risks on the farm and during transportation and distribution.
• Intensified research efforts into foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli.
• Developed a mixture of microorganisms that, when added to feed for young chickens, prevent Salmonella from thriving. This technology, called competitive exclusion, represents another important tool to assure a safe food supply for U.S. and export markets.
• Unveiled “Fight BAC,” a new national food safety education campaign developed and supported by a public-private partnership of industry, government, and consumer groups.
• Proposed Food Safety legislation that would authorize civil penalties for violations rather than relying on closing plants.

Created Jobs and Economic Revitalization in Rural Communities

• Provided more than $2.6 billion in loans, loan guarantees, or grants in rural housing and issued rental assistance to 40,000 rural, low-income households.
• Financed the start-up or expansion of 1,183 rural businesses or cooperatives, creating or preserving more than 53,000 jobs.
• Provided more than $1.3 billion in loans and grants for 1,125 rural water or wastewater projects that serve 8.5 million people.
• Made a down payment on an information superhighway for rural America by loaning $380 million for 79 rural telecommunications projects providing service to 211,000 rural households and businesses, to make advanced telecommunications services such as the Internet available to more rural families.
• Provided almost $17 million in loans and grants for distance learning and telemedicine projects, to expand educational and medical opportunities to America’s rural communities.
• Invested more than $60 million in the Nation’s 3 rural Empowerment Zones and 33 rural Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC), creating or saving over 7,000 jobs. More than 700,000 rural citizens now receive additional services in the EZ/EC’s as a result of USDA loans, grants, and programs.

Invested in the Future Through Research, Education, and Economics

• Developed highly specific and sensitive antibodies for detecting E. coli. New commercial diagnostic tests based upon this technology detect the E. coli of greatest concern--the pathogenic 0157:H7 serotype that can be fatal. Previous tests for identifying E. coli 0157:H7 and related pathogens were generally regarded as lacking adequate specificity.
• Built a machine that kills Salmonella on raw poultry surfaces, where Salmonella contamination of raw poultry is most likely to be found.
• Estimated food losses by retailers, food service establishments, and consumers at 96 billion pounds or 26 percent of the edible food supply.
• Awarded more than $1.4 million in grants to 13 Hispanic-serving institutions for programs to attract and retain students to work in the Nation's food and agricultural scientific and professional workforce.
• Made almost $2 million in grant awards to 29 tribal colleges under the new Tribal Colleges Extension Program. The awards will support training and education in a wide variety of areas, including production agriculture, business management, community and family development, 4-H and youth leadership, natural resources and conservation, nutrition, diet, and health.
• Analyzed the effects of climate change and the possible implications of climate change mitigation policies. These analyses showed that there is considerable ability for the agricultural sector to adapt to climate change.
• Released 59 new varieties and 89 new germplasm lines of agricultural and horticultural crops for use by farmers, ranchers, and home gardeners. These new varieties and germplasm lines will aid in increasing U.S. agriculture’s worldwide competitiveness.

Promoted Quality and Fair Trade Through Marketing and Regulatory Services

• Proposed the first Federal regulations governing national organic agriculture standards. These rules strengthen one of the fastest growing segments of the agriculture economy, and will expand market opportunities for small and medium-sized farmers.
• Worked quickly to control newly established pests such as the Asian longhorned beetle and Karnal bunt, and to reduce the incidence of animal diseases such as brucellosis and tuberculosis.
• Hosted 10 farmers markets with vendors from 7 States at USDA in Washington, DC, and helped establish another 23 farmers markets in coordination with the U.S. Departments of Energy, Transportation, and Labor.
• Awarded 47 percent of Agricultural Marketing Service purchase awards to small business firms (of the $285 million obligated for Federal meat and fish purchases), exceeding the Government’s goal of 20 percent.
• Resolved unjustified trade barriers with 16 countries. These efforts were worth $7 billion in agricultural exports.
• Prompted the Surface Transportation Board to take unprecedented emergency action to alleviate problems of agricultural shippers.
• Pilot-tested a project to find ways for farmers to sell directly to school districts in Georgia; these direct sales methods emphasized small and limited-resource farmers’ access to direct sales outlets.
• Proposed regulatory reform for milk marketing orders.

Set a Sweeping Civil Rights Agenda for the Department

As indicators of Secretary Glickman’s commitment to eradicating the vestiges of discrimination at USDA and ensuring equal opportunity for all, USDA achieved the following civil rights accomplishments in 1997:

• Restaffed the civil rights enforcement unit and began work on the backlog of discrimination complaints--resolving 187 program discrimination complaints, including 11 major settlements.
• Initiated new foreclosure and lending policies at USDA to help assure that no one will lose his or her farm because of discrimination.
• Provided direct operating loans totaling $65 million to 1,927 socially disadvantaged farmers and direct farm ownership loans totaling $15.5 million to 184 socially disadvantaged farmers, exceeding by 176 percent the targeted allocation that Congress had set.
• Increased minority representation on Farm Service Agency (FSA) State committees by 10 percent over the past year--46 percent of the 222 FSA State committee members are now women and minorities.
• Established an Office of Outreach to reach customers that USDA has not traditionally served.
• Provided $4.5 million from the Fund for Rural America for outreach to socially disadvantaged farmers.
• Created the Small Farms Commission to address the critical needs of small and socially disadvantaged farmers.
• Increased direct farm ownership and farm operating loans made to minority and women farmers from $46.5 million to $81 million (a 74-percent increase), between FY 1993 and FY 1997.
• Established the new division of civil rights in the Office of the General Counsel. This office is charged with providing legal counsel and guidance to the Department on civil rights issues.
• Hosted two procurement conferences targeting American Indian and Alaska Native Corporations, resulting in an increase in contract awards to American Indian firms.

Provided Administrative and Executive Support to the Department

• Developed regulations and initiated a Welfare-to-Work Program, for taking people off the welfare rolls and putting them on USDA’s employment rolls. Exceeding the Departmental goal of 100, USDA hired 126 employees under this program in FY 1997.
• Established a Nursing Mothers Room, to provide employees who are nursing mothers the privacy to express their breast milk at work, and thus allow them to return to work earlier after delivery.
• Successfully bid against other Federal and private data processing centers to provide data processing for the Federal Aviation Administration.
• Established a Department-level Year 2000 (Y2K) Project Team to ensure that the Department’s hundreds of information systems will be capable of handling the challenge of the year 2000 date change.
• Appointed the first Chief Information Officer for USDA. The Office of the Chief Information Officer oversees the design, acquisition, maintenance, use, and disposal of information technology by USDA agencies, and monitors the performance of the Department’s information technology programs.

1. Increasing Production, Trade, and Opportunities for Family Farmers

Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services mission area includes three agencies: the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the Risk Management Agency (RMA). This mission area serves production agriculture, helping to keep America’s farmers and ranchers in business as they face the uncertainties of weather and markets.

These agencies deliver commodity, credit, conservation, and emergency assistance programs that help improve the stability and strength of the agricultural economy, expand overseas markets for U.S. agricultural products, and promote world food security. They also sanction the provisions by the private sector of a broad-based crop insurance program and other risk management tools.

The ongoing evolution of the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services mission area, through reorganization, crop insurance reform, and farm program changes, has profoundly altered the way it operates. The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 replaced the traditional Federal role in some farm programs with the economic forces of the marketplace. The management of risk in this volatile setting has moved more fully to an emerging partnership between Government and the private sector.

The public interest calls for a dynamic, efficient agriculture that provides a sustainable, safe, and affordable food and fiber supply. The challenge is to serve this public interest at a time of diminishing resources and a decreased role for the Federal Government.

Accomplishment Highlights

WTO Victory Expands Beef Exports
The United States won a major victory in the first case brought to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement. In August, the WTO upheld the claims of the United States and Canada that the European Union’s (EU) import ban on meat from hormone-treated animals was inconsistent with the EU’s commitments under the WTO’s SPS Agreement. This ban, initiated in 1989, has stopped over $100 million in U.S. beef exports annually.

Education, Technical Assistance, and Training Assist U.S. Exports
USDA continued to alert American farmers and exporters about foreign sales opportunities. In 1997, USDA continued to target cooperatives and small, socially disadvantaged, and minority firms. New partnerships were formed with vocational agriculture teachers, 4-H, and FFA representatives to inform more of the public--particularly young farmers--of the dynamics of agricultural exports and the need to get more producers and companies exporting. In addition, the Foreign Agricultural Service worked with the FFA and United Negro College Fund to organize an international intern program offering interested students an opportunity to gain international experience by working in FAS overseas offices.

Funding and Payment Guarantees Support U.S. Exports
In 1997, export programs and services were refined and expanded to meet the changing demands of the international marketplace and to keep pace with the competition. For the first time, funding offered under the Foreign Market Development Program was provided to export organizations through a competitive process. Under the 1997 Market Access Program allocations, 84 percent of the brand promotion funds will assist small companies and cooperatives. Funding has been cut significantly for large companies and will be eliminated entirely in the 1998 allocation process. In 1997, U.S. exporters reported the first sales under the Supplier Credit Guarantee Program. In addition, a new Facilities Credit Guarantee Program was launched. The program provides payment guarantees to help finance exports of U.S. goods and services for agricultural facilities and emerging markets.

USDA Training Promotes International Trading
Through a variety of training experiences throughout the United States, the Cochran Fellowship Program gave 707 participants from 45 countries exposure to U.S. economic policies, business practices, and products. New programs were initiated in Kenya, Namibia, and Brazil. In Ukraine, USDA, through the Commercial Agriculture Development Project, provided technical assistance and training to develop a system of grades and standards to facilitate domestic and international commerce.

Trade in Biotechnology Products
In 1997, USDA took a leadership role to ensure that farmers and consumers around the world have access to approved products resulting from biotechnology. USDA worked tirelessly in EU countries to convince policymakers of the need for food safety decisions to be based on sound science. Two biotechnology-derived products were cleared for importation by most European countries. The United States is a key proponent of a biotechnology initiative under the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The United States is sponsoring educational workshops aimed at harmonizing regulatory approaches to biotechnology products among APEC members. USDA worked with Egyptian officials to continue to keep the Egyptian market open to approved agricultural biotechnology products. USDA worked to assure Brazilian officials of the safety of approved biotechnology products, and Brazilian officials approved the importation of 1.5 million metric tons of biotechnology-derived soybeans. The establishment of the U.S.- Indonesia Food and Agricultural Forum ensured continued dialog among senior-level public and private sector officials of both countries on issues related to food safety, genetically engineered products, and trade. This is envisioned as a model to engage the leadership of other countries in a continuing discussion of these important issues.

Monitoring Compliance With Trade Agreements
USDA aggressively monitored foreign countries’ compliance with Uruguay Round Agreement commitments during FY 1997, the second year of the agreement’s implementation. USDA efforts helped safeguard negotiated trade benefits and set a favorable precedent for other countries to implement their agreement commitments. USDA efforts resulted in the Philippines taking major steps to fully open its market for U.S. pork and poultry. Other issues addressed by USDA include Egypt’s import restriction on beef and their ban on poultry, Switzerland’s export subsidies for beef, and Turkey’s import ban on various agricultural products. USDA work also contributed to the opening of formal dispute settlement proceedings by the U.S. Government that challenge Canada’s milk price pooling scheme, a practice that may constrain U.S. dairy exports.

Record-High Exports to North American Neighbors
In FY 1997, U.S. exports to Mexico reached a record $5.2 billion, while U.S. exports to Canada continue to expand and reached a record $6.8 billion. The North American Free Trade Agreement continues to provide the framework for expanded growth in U.S. agricultural exports to our North American neighbors.

International Scientific Cooperation Bears Fruit
USDA scientific cooperation with foreign countries continues to pay off in practical ways for U.S. agriculture. USDA uses science to help solve critical problems such as trade barriers and phytosanitary issues, food safety, and exotic diseases and pests. To help tear down trade barriers to commodities susceptible to the fruit fly, scientists working on postharvest technology have collaborated with Malaysian counterparts to develop quarantine treatments. A Chinese team visited the United States to exchange information on viral diseases of animals, laying the groundwork for the exportation of U.S. Shorthorn cattle and diagnostic equipment to China.

Scientists are also promoting new industrial uses for U.S. agricultural products overseas. Initiatives include collaboration with Hungary on biodegradable plastics from cornstarch, with Argentina on hypoallergenic latex from guayule, and with Mexico on pulp and paper products from crop wastes. Such projects help open new markets for U.S. products and diversify the U.S. export portfolio.

Conservation Reserve Program
USDA conducted several Conservation Reserve Program signups during 1997. Signup 14, a continuous signup, ended September 30, 1997. This allowed automatic enrollment in the CRP of acreage deemed suitable for environmentally valuable practices or located in an Environmental Protection Agency wellhead protection area. More than 20,000 contracts were accepted and over 300,000 acres were enrolled. In addition, Signup 15 was conducted during the period March 3- 28, 1997. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) processed over 250,000 offers to enroll over 23 million acres in the CRP. This was the largest signup in the history of the CRP. More than 16 million acres were accepted for contracts. Software was developed and distributed nationwide to facilitate this signup. Signup 16 was held during the period October 14-November 14, 1997, giving landowners an additional opportunity to participate in a cost-effective, voluntary program to improve their land, water, and wildlife resources. USDA accepted 5.9 million acres into the reserve, with a 13-percent increase in environmental benefits compared to acres accepted in the 15th signup. Signup 17, another continuous signup, began October 1, 1997, and runs until September 30, 1998.

Emergency Livestock Programs
Several emergency livestock programs provided timely relief to livestock producers suffering the effects of severe winter storms and spring flooding, primarily in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The Emergency Feed Grain Donation Program provided $3.5 million to nearly 4,000 farmers in North and South Dakota whose livestock was in danger of perishing due to severe winter storms. The Foundation Livestock Relief Program provided over $22 million in cost share assistance for emergency livestock feed to approximately 30,000 farmers in North and South Dakota and Minnesota. The Livestock Indemnity Program provided relief for livestock losses resulting from natural disasters that occurred between October 1, 1996, and June 12, 1997. FSA County Offices took 36,000 applications in 334 counties in 22 States; as a result, $50 million was disbursed to producers affected by the severe winter storms of 1997. In support of the President’s Action Plan to provide long-term recovery for Minnesota and the Dakotas, over 30,000 livestock producers in those three States received nearly $41 million of the $50 million.

Emergency Conservation Program
FSA allocated over $102 million during 1997 to respond to disaster requests from 36 States. Disaster conditions included hurricane, flood, and drought. The Emergency Conservation Program was implemented at the local level by 488 FSA County Committees in response to these disasters.

Farm Loan Programs
Farm loan programs provided loans and loan guarantees totaling $2.3 billion to 27,512 farm families. Direct operating loans totaling $65 million were provided to 1,927 socially disadvantaged (SDA) farmers, including minority and women farmers. Direct farm ownership loans totaling $15.5 million were provided to 184 SDA farmers. These levels exceeded the targets set by Congress and represent a 74 percent increase over 1993. Further, direct operating and farm ownership loans totaling $233 million were provided to 4,247 beginning farmers. This represents a 20-percent increase over the FY 1996 levels. FSA also developed and implemented a training program for 300 new Agricultural Credit Officers.

FSA Reduces Number of Inventory Farms
From September 30, 1996, to September 30, 1997, FSA reduced the number of outstanding inventory farms from 1,603 to 1,131, a reduction of 29 percent. This represented 164,225 acres of inventory property and a cost savings to the Government of $15.2 million.

Reduction in FTE’s
From 1993 to 1997, FSA reduced its total employment by nearly 5,100 staff years, with over 3,400 being non-Federal county staff years. FTE (full-time equivalent) reductions in 1996 and 1997 and those proposed for 1998 are partly the result of the major program changes made by the 1996 Farm Bill, which is projected to reduce FSA’s workload. FSA’s total FY 1997 FTE reduction of 1,255 (254 Federal and 1,001 non-Federal county) was achieved through buyouts (229 Federal and 697 non-Federal county) and reductions in force (RIF’s) (25 Federal and 304 non-Federal county employees). FY 1997 separation costs for this agency totaled $42.1 million.

Farm Automated Records Management System
Major portions of the Supervised Credit Initiative were completed and implemented. These portions include enhanced automation of the Farm and Home Plan (FHP), Farm Automated Records Management System (FARMS), and the Debt and Loan Restructuring System (DALR$). Laptop computers and software have improved delivery of farm loan programs by bringing the office directly to the customers.

Helping Youth Understand Agriculture
FSA offered several youth initiatives that were funded in FY 1997. These initiatives encouraged low-income rural youths to consider careers in agriculture through training, mentoring, workshops, and career fairs; trained unemployed high school youths in farming, from production to market; introduced agriculture as a vocation to urban youths via workshops and farm work experience; and created an inner-city farmers market owned and managed by youths.

State Committee Appointments
The nomination and reappointment of FSA State Committee members emphasized diversity. Diversity was increased in all categories. For example, the percentage of women and minority members climbed 10 percent from 1996 to 1997.

Total Quality Systems Audit
FSA successfully conducted a pilot program of the Total Quality Systems Audit (TQSA), a customer-focused quality management system which ensures that the commodities purchased for domestic and export food assistance programs meet both U.S. and international quality standards. TQSA uses a numerically based scoring system whereby contracts are awarded only to those suppliers who have thoroughly demonstrated the ability to produce goods that fully meet customers’ expectations. This concept is consistent with the Blair House papers, which encourage program operation and the purchase of goods in accordance with international standards. Those participating in the pilot program included a small and a large grain processor, as well as a bakery mix vendor who employs the mentally disabled.

Commodity Credit Corporation Reevaluates Cooperative Agreements, Saves Money
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) ended a program of cooperative agreements with 16 State licensing authorities, whereby CCC contracted for examination work for CCC-approved warehouses licensed in those States. Projected annual savings from this action are $400,000.

Risk Management Education
On March 21, 1997, Secretary Glickman assigned the Risk Management Agency (RMA) with leadership for the risk management education initiative. He established a steering committee consisting of RMA, the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and these participating agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding April 8. On April 9, the Secretary announced a $5 million commitment for risk management education, and on September 16-17, RMA convened a forum of nearly 500 agricultural leaders to formally kick off its risk management education outreach efforts. The goals of this summit were to (1) raise national awareness of the need for risk management education, (2) establish a national network of those with a major stake in risk management education, (3) expose participants to training in a broad range of risk management issues, and (4) provide a model for State and local efforts.

The summit provided a model for regional, State, and producer-level risk management education training and activities. With the valuable support of CSREES, the National Office of Outreach, and the CFTC, risk management education efforts are sweeping through the States and regions. The impact of these efforts should begin reaching most producers by mid-1998.

Standard Reinsurance Agreement
The Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA), which had been in effect from 1995 to 1997, was revised and renegotiated for the 1998 reinsurance year. The resulting 1998 SRA has increased program integrity and accountability while continuing to provide private sector business partners with a reasonable opportunity to generate a profit. The new SRA helps RMA to address the continued development and delivery of risk management tools to the agricultural community. The administrative and operating subsidy paid to the reinsured companies was reduced from 29 percent of premium to 27 percent, and the companies' share of potential underwriting losses was substantially increased. Provisions to improve and simplify operations were also added.

Expansion of Covered Crops
For the 1997 crop year (1998 citrus), 29 different crops with permanent programs established were added to the crop insurance program in 343 counties in 25 States. For crop year 1998 (1999 citrus), coverage will be expanded on 25 different crops in 144 additional counties in 16 States. Producers will have access to crop insurance which provides more protection than the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP).

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved the expansion of Crop Revenue Coverage for the 1997 and 1998 crop years for corn, cotton, grain sorghum, and wheat. CRC is now available on almost 90 percent of the corn, cotton, grain sorghum, wheat, and soybean acres in the United States. As a result, a greater number of producers will have access to this important risk management tool.

Single Delivery System for Crop Insurance
On May 23, 1997, the Secretary announced that crop insurance will be available exclusively through crop insurance agents, beginning in the 1998 crop year. This decision was made after the Secretary obtained a commitment from the private insurance companies to reach out to all of America's farmers and to assure that the highest level of risk management service is extended to everyone. The use of a single delivery system for the crop insurance program will allow USDA to provide better service to producers while maximizing the usefulness of its scarce resources. It also strengthens the ability to partner with the private sector.

Loss Ratios
FCIC tentatively closed its books for the 1997 fiscal year with a loss ratio of 0.56 for the 1997 crop year. The estimate is subject to revision as the crop year develops and more information becomes available. With the loss ratio at 0.56, losses paid to insured producers represent 56 cents for each dollar of premium. This permits FCIC to accumulate reserves against probable future losses.

Revised Regulations for Prevented Planting
In response to concerns from producers, RMA is revising rules on prevented planting. For the past 3 crop years, prevented planting coverage has been a subject of controversy. Producers, commodity groups, and insurance companies have voiced concerns ranging from the levels of prevented planting payments to the difficulties in determining eligible prevented planting acreage. The regulations will also provide improved late and prevented planting coverage, provide more benefits to insureds, eliminate provisions that previously created moral hazard, and simplify the administration of late and prevented planting coverage.

Simplification Saves Money and Time
In response to requirements of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994, RMA identified and evaluated more than 100 simplification suggestions designed to reduce the administrative and operating costs of reinsured companies. Among the actions that have been implemented, RMA restructured actuarial documents to provide pertinent information on fewer pages, which reduced the number of pages printed each year by one-third, or approximately 2 million pages. RMA also approved combined forms and policy dates where possible to make it simpler for producers, agents, and others to perform all required tasks in a timely manner.

Dairy Options Pilot Program
RMA announced a new program for dairy producers that was developed with assistance from two commodity exchanges. Through a liberal cost-share arrangement, the program provides eligible producers valuable commodity trading experience over an 8-month timespan. Under the program, when milk prices fall, producers can offset losses with profits on options positions. The program is scheduled to begin in the summer of 1998. If successful, this approach may serve as a prototype for helping producers of other commodities.

2. Providing More Tools for the Wise Stewardship of the Land

USDA's Natural Resources and Environment mission area plays a vital role in the management and conservation of the Nation's land, natural resources, and natural heritage. The USDA Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service share responsibility for fostering sound stewardship on 75 percent of the country's total land area.

The phrase “Caring for the Land and Serving People” captures the spirit of the Forest Service mission in its management of public land. The Forest Service mission is to achieve quality land management under sustainable, multiple-use management concepts to meet the diverse needs of people. The Forest Service oversees the management of 191.6 million acres of public lands, made up of 155 forests and 20 national grasslands in 44 States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) mission, “to provide leadership and administer programs to help people conserve, improve, and sustain our natural resources and environment," provides the foundation for the conservation leadership role it has earned. For six decades the Natural Resources Conservation Service has worked side by side with landowners, conservation districts, State and local governments, and urban and rural partners to restore and enhance the American landscape. The agency provides direct technical assistance and conducts a broad range of programs to address farmers' and ranchers' natural resource concerns on millions of acres of private lands.

Although the programs of these agencies differ, both are defined by profound land and service ethics which guide their common mission: to promote diverse, healthy, and sustainable ecosystems by restoring and sustaining the integrity of soil, air, water, biological diversity, and ecological processes. By making resource management decisions in the context of the full system, the agencies ensure that products, values and services, and uses desired by people are produced in ways that sustain a healthy and productive Nation and environment.

Accomplishment Highlights

Farm Bill Tools
In 1997, USDA reconfirmed its commitment to locally led conservation--a process for local people, usually led by conservation districts, to assess their communities’ natural resource conditions and needs, set goals, identify programs and other resources to solve specific community problems, and measure their success. The locally led process was the key to effective use of the following 1996 Act programs on private lands throughout the country.

Environmental Quality Incentives
On March 10, 1997, USDA announced preliminary State funding allocations for USDA’s $200 million Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which helps farmers and ranchers address agriculture’s priority natural resource and environmental problems. In May, USDA published the final rule for implementing the program. During 1997, over 58,000 applications were received and over 23,000 contracts were accepted, totaling $171 million. The new program offers flexible, effective, and voluntary conservation programs for farmers and ranchers. It emphasizes State priority areas, including watersheds or geographic regions with special sensitivity or significant soil, water, or related natural resource concerns. Under EQIP, USDA can provide cost-share assistance to family-sized farms and ranches for up to 75 percent of the cost of environmental protection practices such as grassed waterways, filter strips, manure management facilities, capping abandoned wells, and wildlife habitat enhancement.

Wetlands Reserve Program
Under the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), more than 750 separate projects involving approximately 130,000 acres were voluntarily enrolled. The program provides for restoration and protection of wetlands and associated buffer lands under permanent easements, 30-year easements, or 10-year cost-share agreements. All WRP projects involve partnerships between USDA and private landowners.

Improving Wildlife Habitat
Implementation of the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program has begun to provide technical and cost-share assistance to landowners to develop and restore wildlife habitat. The program offers 5- to 10-year contracts, with a total cost-share amount not to exceed $10,000 per contract. A wide range of upland and wetland conservation practices are available.

Protecting Farmland
Under the Farmland Protection Program, USDA gave nearly $2 million to 10 States to help keep productive farmland in use. When the easement acquisitions are completed, 29 farms on 5,000 acres--with an estimated $18 million easement value--will be permanently protected from urban development.

Installing Conservation Buffers
In April, 1997, USDA officially launched the new National Conservation Buffer Initiative and committed to helping landowners install 2 million miles of conservation buffers by the year 2002. Agricultural producers and other landowners who install buffers can improve soil, air, and water quality; enhance wildlife habitat; restore biodiversity; and create scenic landscapes. Seven major agribusinesses pledged nearly $1 million total over the next 3 years to complement USDA’s efforts to promote buffers. About 90 agricultural and environmental groups are supporting this national initiative. To date, approximately 350,000 acres of buffers have been established using the Conservation Reserve Program’s continuous signup authority.

Preserving America’s Private Land
Early in 1997, the Natural Resources Conservation Service released America’s Private Land, a Geography of Hope, a new booklet that presents a conservation vision for the 21st century. This booklet is a call to renew America’s public commitment to conservation on private land. About 100,000 copies were distributed through a joint effort of USDA, other Federal agencies, conservation organizations, and the National Association of Conservation Districts.

Emergency Watershed Protection
Over $166 million in emergency threat-reduction assistance was provided to 25 States in 1997 in response to remnants of Hurricane Fran, floods of the Red River Valley, blizzards in Montana and the subsequent flooding in the Northwest, and destructive tornadoes in Arkansas and the Ohio River Valley States. Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program funds help local sponsors control threats to life and property by controlling erosion, reducing runoff, repairing levees, and removing critical stream obstructions. Under the pilot authority in the 1996 Farm Bill, $15 million in EWP funds will be utilized for voluntary floodplain easements to reduce long-term threats of flooding to agricultural land.

Taking Inventory of Our National Resources
A special National Resources Inventory, completed in 1997 and geared toward assessing the 1996 Farm Bill’s impacts on conservation, showed that although cropland acreage increased from 1995 to 1996 by about ½ million acres (acreage that is generally of lower quality and more vulnerable to erosion than existing cropland acreage), erosion rates remained steady and, in fact, decreased slightly on highly erodible land. This demonstrates that farmers are both maintaining existing conservation systems and applying conservation systems to land that is coming into production. Nevertheless, total erosion increased because the total pool of land in production was increased, including more erosive land.

Lake Tahoe Summit
USDA affirmed its commitment to ecosystem management and its role in caring for the national treasure of the Lake Tahoe Basin by sponsoring the Lake Tahoe Summit. The summit improved coordination among Federal agencies and with the States of California and Nevada, the Washoe Tribe, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and other local units of government. New actions on water quality, transportation, forest management, and recreation and tourism have been initiated.

The USDA Forest Service will burn 1,000 acres of hazardous fuel, such as grass, brush, and fallen trees, annually to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and it will treat another 2,000 acres by mechanical means. In addition, the Forest Service will perform maintenance and monitor conditions on 3,500 acres of environmentally sensitive and valuable lots adjacent to private homes and property, and it will acquire environmentally sensitive parcels of land in the Lake Tahoe Basin through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Urban and Community Forestry
Through the Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) Program, the Forest Service contributes directly to the improvement, management, and expansion of forest resources in cities and towns throughout the United States. Through the Urban Resources Partnership, the Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, along with four other Federal agencies and other public agencies and community organizations, work to improve the natural environment while addressing social and economic issues in urban areas.

The Forest Service, in cooperation with USDA and other Federal and local agencies, launched the Urban Environmental Resource Initiative and created a plan of action for the District of Columbia to assist neighborhoods in improving their environment. Through the initiative, citizens, employees from Federal and local government, and neighborhood residents planted 408 trees, taught 1,600 children aquatic ecology and fishing how-to’s, and established an environmental laboratory with computers at an elementary school. One hundred thirty-four employees contributed 490 hours and 385 individuals contributed 3,060 hours on 6 projects.

FS--a Leader in Ecosystem Management
In 1997, the Forest Service helped lead the implementation of the President’s Northwest Forest Plan; accomplished salvage sales to improve forest health and reduce fire danger; completed endangered species consultations; and produced ecological assessments of the Sierra Nevada, Columbia River Basin, and southern Appalachians. It coordinated the above efforts with numerous other Federal land management and regulatory agencies. The Forest Service completed development of the “decision protocol” process that reduced by 20 to 40 percent the time needed to complete National Environmental Policy Act requirements. In 1997, six forest plan revisions were completed. The agency is now working with a Committee of Scientists to review the implementing rules for the National Forest Management Act.

Silver Screen Award
The television documentary On the Fireline, produced by the Forest Service in partnership with State foresters, won a Silver Screen award at the International U.S. Film Festival in 1997. The film, which was shown by more than 60 major television stations, shows relationships between fires and healthy forests, illustrates the benefits of prescribed burning, and describes what homeowners can do to protect themselves against wildfires in the wildland-urban interface.

Partnerships Expand Wildlife Programs
The Forest Service joined with State wildlife agencies, conservation organizations, and other groups last year to supplement appropriated funds by $28 million for a combined total of $44 million for habitat improvement projects for wildlife, fish, and plants on national forest lands. This program, called the Challenge Cost-Share Program, included 1,832 partners and 2,157 projects in 1996. Since 1986, the Challenge Cost-Share Program has grown from $2 million to its current level of $44 million.

Recreation Fees Improve Service
The Forest Service collected over $8.8 million from 40 recreation fee demonstration test projects on national forests and grasslands in the first year of the fee program. Most of the funds collected are returned to the sites where collected, to improve services and facilities for our visitors. About 859 million people visited the national forests and grasslands in 1997. This is a 45-percent increase in just 10 years. The agency expects the number of people who visit the national forests and grasslands to exceed 1 billion by the year 2000.

3. Feeding More Children and Families in Need

USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services (FNCS) mission area is responsible for administering the Department’s domestic nutrition assistance programs, designing and disseminating nutrition education information, and developing and promoting dietary guidance.

The mission of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is to ensure access to nutritious, healthful diets for more Americans in need of food assistance. Through food assistance and nutrition education for consumers, FNS encourages consumers to make healthful food choices. FNS administers 15 food assistance programs, including the Food Stamp Program; the Child Nutrition Programs; and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). These programs make up the Federal nutrition safety net. In 1997, they served about one in six Americans, most of them children.

FNS programs provide those in need with access to a more nutritious diet, improve the eating habits of the Nation’s children, and help America’s farmers by providing an outlet for the distribution of food purchased under farmer assistance authorities. FNS works in partnerships with the States in all its programs. States determine most administrative details regarding distribution of food benefits, and FNS provides funding to cover certain of the States’ administrative costs.

The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) develops and coordinates nutrition policy in USDA; assesses the cost-effectiveness of Government-sponsored nutrition programs on food consumption, food expenditures, food-related behavior, and nutritional status; prepares periodic updates on the cost of family food plans and of raising children; investigates techniques for effective nutrition communication for Americans; and evaluates the nutrition content of the U.S. food supply. In conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CNPP publishes the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Accomplishment Highlights

Gleaning Becomes a Priority
Noting that a USDA study showed the United States wastes 96 billion pounds of food each year, Secretary Glickman made food recovery and gleaning a USDA-wide priority. He hosted the first- ever National Summit on Food Recovery and Gleaning September 15-16 in Washington, DC, which featured remarks by Vice President Al Gore. At the summit, downlinked to 150 sites nationwide, the Secretary announced government, community, volunteer, and business efforts to help feed the hungry. The Federal Government will lead a public-private partnership to work toward increasing food recovery by 33 percent by the year 2000, providing sufficient additional food to feed 450,000 people a day. The Vice President released a report on Household Food Security in the United States for 1995, and Secretary Glickman announced that USDA employees had donated over 500,000 pounds of food for distribution to local food banks around the country.

Implementing Welfare Reform
After the 1996 welfare reform law eliminated food stamp benefits for most legal immigrants, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) worked with several States to establish State-funded programs that provided nutrition support for the most vulnerable of those who lost their Federal benefits. Eight States implemented their own programs, and more were expected to follow suit.

Improving Management of the Food Stamp Program
Continuing its commitment to fighting fraud, the Food and Nutrition Service implemented tough new integrity provisions for food stamp retailers, including pre-authorization screening, tougher post-authorization controls, and stiffer penalties for violators. During FY 1997, the Food Stamp Program investigated 4,627 retailers, and fined or disqualified 1,584 for program violations. Of those, 712 retailers, with redemptions of $79.5 million, were identified as having engaged in trafficking (the exchange of food stamps for cash). A 3-week intensive effort--dubbed "Operation Five Points"--focused on retailers in Detroit, Jersey City, Los Angeles, Miami, and New Orleans and uncovered 403 retailers, with redemptions of $54 million, who had committed violations. The anti-fraud sweeps uncovered violations serious enough that criminal cases would be pursued against some retailers and others would be warned, fined, or face possible permanent disqualification from the Food Stamp Program.

Food stamp issuance error rates declined in each of the last 3 years, saving taxpayers $660 million. FNS announced that the 1996 error rate declined to 9.22 percent from the previous year’s 9.72 percent, for a single-year savings of more than $85 million.

FNS continues to use Federal income tax offsets to collect claims owed by former food stamp recipients for overpayment of benefits stemming either from intentional program violations or inadvertent household errors. FNS collected $56 million using tax offsets in 1997.

WIC Program Approaches Full Participation
The year 1997 saw a long-awaited milestone reached in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children--the WIC Program. Full participation was achieved through a 30-percent expansion in the program to almost 7.4 million by the end of 1997. The expansion was made possible partly by WIC State agencies obtaining rebates on infant formula--a practice that saved $1.2 billion in 1997, permitting WIC to provide services to an additional 1.6 million participants without increasing the WIC appropriation.

Improving Child Nutrition
FNS has worked actively to promote healthy menus for schools participating in the school meals programs. Public affairs and program staffs at Headquarters and in the regional offices have coordinated dozens of Team Nutrition events in schools across the country, promoting good nutrition to school children, teachers, administrators, and school foodservice professional staffs. FNS arranged for professional chefs to participate in many Team Nutrition events; introduced schools to new foods, new recipes, and new professional techniques; and provided new publications to help school food authorities promote healthy menus.

In recognition of its dedication and innovations in nutrition education for children, Team Nutrition received national honors from three major professional organizations: The Public Relations Society of America, the Society for Nutrition Education, and the American Dietetic Association.

Targeting Benefits to Those Most in Need
FNS implemented the two-tiered reimbursement structure mandated by the welfare reform law of 1996 for family day care homes participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The new reimbursement plan better targets benefits to low-income children.

Ensuring Safe, Nutritious, Affordable, and Accessible Food for the Hungry
USDA worked vigorously in 1997 to continue the momentum generated by the November 1996 World Food Summit. USDA is coordinating the Federal Government’s follow-up to the summit, with emphasis on strengthening the U.S. contribution to alleviating hunger and malnutrition both at home and abroad. Central to that effort is the development of a U.S. Action Plan on Food Security, to serve as a blueprint for future U.S. policies and programs.

WIC/Farmers Market Nutrition Program
The Farmers Market Nutrition Program of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provided $9 million in revenue to 8,250 farmers through purchases by benefit recipients in 1996. Additional funding will expand the program and gain more WIC customers at farmers markets. Many farmers markets are also authorized to redeem food stamps.

FNS Provides Emergency Food Aid After Natural Disasters
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service springs into action at the first sign of a devastating natural disaster. For example:

• Within hours after Hurricane Fran, which plagued coastal communities in North Carolina in September 1996, FNS deployed national and regional office staff to Raleigh, North Carolina. They worked with State and county officials to develop an emergency food response. Within a day or two, USDA commodity foods were provided to 134 American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other shelters serving meals to hurricane victims. At the request of the North Carolina Governor’s office, Secretary Glickman approved a Disaster Food Stamp Program for 34 North Carolina counties, resulting in the distribution of $48.7 million in emergency and replacement benefits to approximately 185,000 households. Secretary Glickman noted that, “One of USDA's top priorities is always to ensure that no one goes hungry as a result of a natural disaster.”
• During the week of April 14, 1997, USDA released over 78,000 pounds of USDA commodities to provide congregate meals to flood victims in Minnesota and North Dakota. USDA recovery efforts in the Red River Valley included truckloads of canned fruit, meat, cheese, and juice shipped to shelters and feeding centers. In Minnesota, the Disaster Food Stamp Program provided 1,411 households with $408,500 in disaster food stamp assistance. In North Dakota, the Disaster Food Stamp Program ended May 6 in eight counties, where nearly 3,012 households had received disaster food stamp assistance totaling more than $712,900.
• In Guam, USDA approved more than 27,218 households for over $8.4 million in disaster food stamp assistance following Typhoon Paka in late December 1997. USDA also worked to provide housing assistance to 25 families left homeless by the typhoon.

4. Raising Consumers’ Confidence in Food Safety

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), a public health agency in USDA, protects consumers by ensuring that meat, poultry, and egg products are safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged. FSIS regulates meat, poultry, and egg products.

FSIS regulates all raw beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey, as well as processed meat and poultry products, including hams, sausage, soups, stews, pizzas, and frozen dinners (any product that contains 2 percent or more cooked poultry or 3 percent or more raw meat). Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act, FSIS inspects all meat, poultry, and eggs prepared for distribution in commerce, including imported products. More than 7,500 Federal inspectors carry out inspection laws in about 6,000 plants. There are 104 inspectors in 76 federally inspected egg plants.

Foodborne illness is recognized as a significant public health problem in the United States. Precise data on the incidence of illness attributable to meat, poultry, or egg products are limited, but data from varied sources suggest that foodborne microbial pathogens may account for up to 81 million cases of foodborne illness each year.

FSIS develops and improves analytical procedures for detecting microbiological and chemical adulterants and infectious and toxic agents in meat and poultry products. The agency also develops new methods of inspection to better protect the public health, and it responds to microbiological, residue, and other contamination incidents and, when appropriate, seeks voluntary recall of products by firms. FSIS works closely with other Government entities (such as USDA’s Agricultural Research Service) in a multi-agency effort to improve food safety.

FSIS is carrying out a broad and long-term, science-based strategy to improve the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products and to better protect public health. FSIS is undertaking a farm-to-table approach by taking steps to improve the safety of meat, poultry, and eggs at each step in the food production, processing, distribution, and marketing chain. These steps are designed to focus more attention on the risk of microbial contamination, the Nation’s most significant food safety problem.

Accomplishment Highlights

Safe Food Campaign Urges Americans To Fight BAC! Secretary Glickman joined with U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Donna Shalala to announce a new national food safety education campaign October 24, 1997, calling on Americans to “Fight BAC!” and reduce foodborne illness by confronting the invisible enemy of foodborne bacteria. The campaign will be the cornerstone of one of the most far-reaching and ambitious public education campaigns ever focused on safe food handling using new, innovative approaches to teach basic sanitation and food handling steps. Developed by the Partnership for Food Safety Education, a coalition of industry, government, and consumer groups, the campaign will use innovative approaches to teach basic sanitation and food handling steps that will greatly reduce the risk for food-related illness.

President’s Food Safety Initiative
The Department of Agriculture participated in the development and implementation of the President’s Food Safety Initiative, the government-wide effort to enhance the safety of America’s food supply. This initiative includes using effective interventions to prevent foodborne hazards and innovative approaches to food safety research and education. As part of the initiative, USDA announced the expansion of food safety research, training, and education and the broadening of the early warning system for foodborne illnesses.

Tougher Food Safety Enforcement Proposed
USDA proposed legislation to Congress to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act to increase food safety enforcement authorities--the Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act of 1997.

HACCP Now a Requirement
A final rule on Pathogen Reduction/HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) was published, requiring all meat and poultry slaughtering and processing establishments to implement HACCP systems and to adopt and follow written Standard Operating Procedures for sanitation. Slaughter plants are also required to conduct microbial testing for generic E. coli.

USDA Helps Fight for Safe Food
USDA made strides in the important area of food safety during 1997 through the following significant accomplishments:

• Participated in the development of a Presidential Directive that directs USDA, HHS, and the Environmental Protection Agency to take action to strengthen the safety of all foods, including imported fruits and vegetables, from farm to table.
• Held a public meeting to discuss the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) policy on recalls of meat, poultry, and egg products, including public notification procedures.
• Identified more than 400 pages of burdensome and unnecessary regulations as candidates for elimination or change so that inspectors and plants could better focus their resources on food safety.
• Developed public information programs and educational materials about safe food handling, targeting specific audiences such as school children, day care centers, pediatricians, fast food restaurant workers, senior citizens, and State and local health departments.
• Established an FSIS liaison at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to assist in tracking foodborne illness trends and causes, and established a program to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks.
• Elevated food safety responsibilities to a new Subcabinet Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety. The Under Secretary's role is to focus on long-term planning, policy development, and the legislative agenda required to ensure food safety.
• Increased funding for food safety research, including the development of methods to detect and enumerate E. coli 0157:H7.
• Initiated review of process controls used for fermented dry sausage and recommended revisions to industry’s Good Manufacturing Practices.
• Accelerated the review of requests for trials of technologies designed to improve food safety in meat and poultry plants.

Promoting International Cooperation for Food Safety
• In 1997, FSIS inspected 2.5 billion pounds of imported meat and poultry from 33 countries; inspectors refused entry of 9.5 million pounds of imported meat and poultry products.
• On-site reviews of inspection programs were conducted in 21 countries that export meat and poultry to the United States.
• Residue control programs of 37 exporting countries were given certification.
• A total of 4.l million pounds of egg products were imported from Canada. Joint reviews were conducted with officials of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada of two accredited laboratories and the four egg products plants approved to export to the United States to verify that the Canadian and U.S. systems remain equivalent.
  Exports to over 75 countries were facilitated by FSIS in 1997, with a total of 3.1 billion pounds of meat and 4.3 billion pounds of poultry exported by the United States.

International Cooperation
Food safety is an important component of global food security, and USDA has ongoing efforts to transfer existing food safety technologies to foreign cooperators, and to develop new technologies in cooperation with them. One successful technology transfer is a project that allowed USDA to provide relevant information to the Bulgarian government concerning health risks associated with rice grown in a region contaminated with arsenic. Subsequent efforts have focused on developing new phytoremediation techniques using plants to detoxify contaminated soils.

Meat and Poultry Hotline
The toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline continues to provide answers to specific consumer and media questions about food safety issues, and addresses concerns about the safety of the Nation’s food supply. In 1997, the Hotline received more than 185,000 calls. The two highest volume periods were late August (during a beef patty recall), and Thanksgiving week (when consumers are very concerned about safe preparation of their holiday meals). People can receive recorded information 24 hours a day on food safety and handling; on the busiest days in 1997, Hotline food safety specialists spoke with about 400 callers per day. The Hotline also issues news feature stories, fact sheets, and video news releases on food safety. The Meat and Poultry Hotline number is 1-800-535-4555 (in the Washington, DC, area call 202-720-3333).

5. Creating Jobs and Revitalizing the Economy in Rural Areas

The mission of USDA Rural Development is to enhance the ability of rural communities to develop, to grow, and to improve their quality of life by targeting financial and technical resources in areas of greatest need through activities of greatest potential.

By working in partnership with the many public and private organizations involved in rural development, USDA Rural Development is increasing its focus on community development while continuing to fund development projects aimed at creating quality jobs, housing, and services in rural areas.

These facts illustrate the condition of rural America:

• Of the 53 million people who live in rural America, 1 out of 6 live in households with income below the Federal poverty level.
• Some 535 rural counties endure persistent poverty, with more than 20 percent of their residents living below the poverty level.
• The importance of production agriculture as a source of employment is diminishing. In the last 20 years, the number of rural workers employed on farms has been cut in half, and 80 percent of all rural Americans now earn their living from nonfarm sources.

To sustain the economic viability of rural areas, jobs lost due to more efficient farming methods need to be replaced with jobs in new businesses or industries. Utilities and services similar to those found in urban areas must be available to attract and support new businesses. Safe and sanitary housing is a minimum requirement for a family to have a reasonable standard of living.

USDA's Rural Development mission area includes these agencies: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) addresses rural America's need for such basic services as clean water, sewers, waste disposal, electricity, and telecommunications. The Rural Housing Service (RHS) addresses rural America's need for single-family and multi-family housing for its low-income families, and also helps rural communities build or improve essential community facilities such as health clinics, fire and police stations, schools, and day care centers. The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) helps meet the need for new economic opportunities in rural America, and helps rural businesses and cooperatives remain viable in a changing economy.

In addition, the Office of Community Development (OCD) administers the rural Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities program--a Presidential initiative designed to provide economically depressed rural areas and communities with real opportunities for growth and revitalization.

Accomplishment Highlights

USDA Helps More People Own Their Own Home
The Department provided financing to help 40,000 rural residents buy single-family homes, including the construction of 14,000 homes under the Self-Help Housing program, in which people with low incomes gain “sweat equity” by participating in the construction of their own homes. USDA also financed the building of 7,900 units of multiple-family housing. In total, USDA’s Rural Housing Service invested more than $2.6 billion either as loans, guaranteed loans, or grants in rural housing last year. More than 58,000 jobs were created as a result of housing construction generated by USDA programs.

USDA Loans, Grants Help With New Facilities, Rental Assistance, Business Expansion
USDA helped build new or improved community facilities--such as day care centers, health care clinics, schools, fire stations, and libraries--in 568 rural communities by providing more than $226 million in loans, guaranteed loans, or grants. These facilities serve a rural population of more than 9 million.

The Department provided $540 million in rental assistance to help nearly 40,000 rural, low- income households obtain well-built, safe housing. Half of the rental program beneficiaries were elderly, with an average annual income of less than $7,300.

The Department financed the start-up or expansion of 1,183 rural businesses or cooperatives, creating or preserving more than 53,000 jobs in the process. USDA’s Rural Business- Cooperative Service (RBS) extended about $936 million in the form of loans, guaranteed loans, or grants to rural businesses and cooperatives. USDA also provided technical services to 100 cooperatives.

Loans and Grants Help Ensure Safe Water and Create New Jobs
USDA provided more than $1.3 billion in loans and grants for 1,125 rural water or wastewater projects that serve 8.5 million people, creating 30,000 jobs.

The Department extended more than $824 million in loans and loan guarantees to help 136 rural electric cooperatives construct electric facilities serving rural areas in 32 States. These projects, funded by USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS), provided new service to 151,000 rural families and businesses and created 19,000 new jobs. These funds leveraged an additional $2.1 billion in private investments in electric systems.

Extending Telecommunications Capability
USDA loaned $380 million for 79 rural telecommunications projects that provided improved service to more than 211,000 rural households and businesses, including more than 43,000 new customers. Improvements included installation of new digital switching technology and nearly 50,000 miles of fiber and copper cable. These and other system enhancements are making advanced telecommunications services available to more rural Americans than ever before. These investments created 8,711 new jobs.

USDA Supports Distance Learning and Telemedicine
The Department provided $8.6 million in grants and $1.6 million in loans for distance learning and telemedicine projects that serve more than 1.5 million rural people. In addition, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman used $6.5 million from the Fund for Rural America to finance additional distance learning and telemedicine projects.

Fund for Rural America Helps Rural Development
Secretary Glickman announced his FY 1997 priorities for the Administration’s Fund for Rural America, providing $300 million over 3 years for various rural development programs. About $6.5 million will provide rural business grants, while another $6.5 million will fund distance learning or telemedicine projects to serve 175,000 students and allow health care access for 400,000 rural residents. The fund will provide $20 million for single-family housing, part of the Homeownership initiative, and will provide $9.1 million for the Water 2000 initiative to help provide clean water for rural America

USDA Improves Its Home Loan Servicing Operations
The Department automated the system it uses to originate and service $18 billion in home loans held by 565,000 rural Americans. This project will reduce operating costs for USDA’s Rural Housing Service by $250 million over a 5-year period, and by $100 million per year thereafter. By centralizing the loan-servicing system, USDA was able to reduce staff by about 600 positions and to consolidate its network of rural housing offices from over 1,200 to about 800 nationwide.

Cooperative Development
During FY 1997, USDA funded 18 projects with $1.7 million to promote cooperatives and also funded 17 projects targeted at value-added cooperative development. The National Commission on Small Farms recommended increased funding and assistance for cooperative development.

Quality Telecommunications and Telemedicine Service Reaches Southwest Louisiana
Cameron Parish, Louisiana, a very rural and isolated area, is only several feet above sea level and its location on the Gulf Coast leaves it subject to frequent flooding and hurricanes. The 9,000 residents of Cameron Parish’s six communities now have good telecommunications and health care services, thanks to funding from RUS and advanced telecommunications services provided by Cameron Telephone Company. Cameron is using RUS funds to improve its telecommunications services by constructing a redundant fiber-optic ring through its service area. This state-of-the-art equipment assures that in the event of an emergency, telecommunications services will remain uninterrupted by redirecting the transmission through other parts of the network. The improved telecommunications service also provides the first telemedicine hook-up in the entire State. Residents of Cameron Parish can now be treated through “electronic house calls” by medical personnel in Lake Charles and New Orleans who evaluate transmitted CAT scans, radiography, ultrasound, and nuclear images.

Water Loan and Grant Program Helps Mississippians
The Taylor Water Association in Mississippi will upgrade its existing system, extending service to 135 families who now haul water or use shallow, untreated wells that are subject to contamination. This project, which includes a new well and an elevated storage tank, will also benefit 172 existing customers. The current system is overloaded, and many of the distribution lines are leaking due to aging and deteriorating pipe joints. Due to health hazards and low median household income, this project will qualify for the poverty line interest rate and will be funded as part of USDA's Water 2000 initiative. Funding for the $1.445 million project will be provided by a $650,000 USDA Rural Development loan and a $650,000 grant. Additional funding will be provided by the State of Mississippi through a $145,000 Community Development Block Grant.

Rural Water System Replaced in California
The water system in Cache Creek, a small, low-income community in the Mojave Desert in California, has inadequate storage (20,000 gal.) and an inadequate distribution system (undersized metal lines that are severely corroded and leaking profusely); it has been shut down 37 times in the last 4 years to repair leaks. Some of these lines are so shallow they freeze in the winter. In 1997 USDA provided this Water 2000 project with a RUS loan of $34,600 and a grant of $400,000 to replace the water distribution system, add storage capacity, and tie in to the Mojave Public Utility District's existing water main. With the completion of this project, the 96 residents of the community will have a safe, reliable water supply.

New Sanitation System Improves Health in Kotlik, Alaska
Kotlik, Alaska, is an Eskimo village where 97 percent of the 543 residents live on fishing and trapping. It has a sub-arctic climate and no roads into the community (passengers, mail, and cargo arrive by air and by barge during the short summer season). This community uses surface water; 95 percent of the residents haul water by hand and have never had household plumbing. Human waste is collected in 5-gallon "honey buckets" in each home and the city provides the collection service. Negative health effects, such as outbreaks of hepatitis, have resulted from these sanitation facilities and lack of treated water. In 1997, RUS announced a $533,000 Alaska Village Grant that will be matched by a similar $533,000 Alaska Village Safe Water Grant. This project will provide a 4,000-foot utilidor containing a vacuum sewer main and a circulating water main to serve 190 people in 45 homes.

Water 2000
About a million residents of rural America lack safe, clean drinking water in their homes. USDA has been spearheading the Water 2000 initiative to provide this basic resource that most Americans take for granted. RUS conducted a State-by-State needs assessment and determined that 25 million rural residents experience water-related health problems, are forced to haul water, or are under orders to boil water. In the first 2 years of this program, RUS invested more than $580 million in loans and grants to the Nation’s highest priority Water 2000 projects.

Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities
During 1997, USDA invested more than $60 million in the Nation’s 3 rural Empowerment Zones and 33 rural Enterprise Communities (areas of persistently high poverty designated for special assistance under a Presidential initiative). This was a historic step in USDA’s effort to eliminate rural poverty. As a result of these efforts, over 7,000 jobs have been created or saved, 1,100 public service facilities have been built or renovated, and more than 700,000 rural citizens are now receiving additional services in rural Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities.

6. Investing in the Future Through Research, Education, and Economics

Four USDA agencies make up the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area. They are the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), the Economic Research Service (ERS), and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Together, these agencies have the Federal responsibility to discover and disseminate knowledge that spans the biological, physical, and social sciences related to agricultural research, economic analysis, statistics, extension, and higher education.

USDA leads the world in basic and applied research on problems challenging America’s food and fiber production system, and on ways to improve food supply, safety, and quality. How do research findings translate into results that benefit Americans? USDA research is an important tool for stimulating the Nation’s economy. For example, USDA research advances in agricultural biotechnology can help improve crop quality and yields of rice as well as reduce losses from pest damage. This helps this country build an agricultural system that is highly competitive in the global economy. Studies demonstrate that consumers reap the benefits of investing in agricultural research; every tax dollar invested in the U.S. agricultural system has paid back at least $1.35. These returns have been broadly shared through lower prices for American consumers, increased international competitiveness for farmers, jobs for working families, and increased profitability in agricultural industries.

REE works with land-grant institutions and industry to move research results into the marketplace to boost economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for all Americans. REE works with the State agricultural experiment stations at the land-grant universities to carry out a balanced program of fundamental and applied research.

To build an informed citizenry, and to provide the information base for market decisions, REE coordinates economic and social research. This research supports programs and policies across the Department, providing data, information, and economic and statistical analyses on topics such as rural development, the environment and natural resources, food safety, food prices, farm labor, farm income, financial conditions, commodity markets, and international trade. REE serves American agriculture and rural communities by providing meaningful, accurate, and objective statistical information. Forecasts and estimates for over 165 different crop and livestock commodities are provided annually to farmers, ranchers, and other agribusinesses. This information helps policymakers, Congress, and the public make informed decisions about issues related to food and fiber production.

REE also focuses on practical education that Americans can use in dealing with critical issues that affect their lives and the Nation’s future by linking research, science, and technology to the needs of people where they live and work. REE offers information on issues ranging from community economic development and health care concerns to food safety; water quality; children, youth, and families; and sustainable agriculture. For example, CSREES’ Families, 4-H, and Nutrition programs empower youth to become responsible contributing members of their communities.

The National Agricultural Library is the largest agricultural library in the world and one of three national libraries of the United States. As the Nation’s chief resource and service for agricultural information, NAL offers researchers, educators, policymakers, farmers, consumers, and the general public about 48 miles of bookshelves to peruse in a 14-story building or access to the library’s 2 million volumes through its computerized network or electronic bulletin board.

Accomplishment Highlights

Reducing America’s Food Losses
More than one-fourth of all food produced in the United States is wasted. An Economic Research Service (ERS) study, Estimating and Addressing America’s Food Losses, estimated food losses by retailers, food service establishments, and consumers at 96 billion pounds--or 26 percent of the edible food supply. Secretary Glickman released the study--the first of its kind in 20 years to examine and quantify food loss--in July, 1997, and its findings were widely disseminated in the national media, including USA Today, CNN Headline News, and ABC World News Tonight. This national attention helped generate public awareness and support for Secretary Glickman’s Food Recovery and Gleaning Initiative and the recent National Summit on Food Recovery and Gleaning.

New Machine Able To Kill Salmonella
ARS engineers in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, have built a machine that kills Salmonella on raw poultry. The machine heats the bird’s surface to 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 400 milliseconds and then cools it rapidly. This process works because Salmonella contamination of raw poultry is normally on the surface.

Vaccine Prevents Brucellosis
A vaccine for preventing brucellosis in cattle has been developed and evaluated for use in bison and elk in and around Yellowstone National Park. The new vaccine was evaluated and shown to be safe and effective in preventing and eradicating brucellosis in bison calves under experimental and field conditions.

Cooperation Helps Control Costly Noxious Weed
ARS researchers, in cooperation with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, have identified, safety-tested, and released several beneficial leafy spurge feeding insects into North America. Ranchers, farmers, and land mangers are now using these insects to control leafy spurge. This non-native noxious weed has infested an estimated 5 million acres in 29 States and is estimated to cost the economies of North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana $144 million annually.

Ag Census Moves to USDA
After over 150 years of being separate, the census of agriculture has been consolidated with the current agricultural statistics program at USDA. Nearly 70 full-time employees transferred from the Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau to become part of the Census Division at USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The consolidation of census and NASS resources benefits the Government, respondents, and data users. Farmers and ranchers incur less burden because they will no longer be reporting information to two separate Federal Departments (Agriculture and Commerce).

Farmers on the Information Superhighway
Thirty-one percent of U.S. farms own or lease computers, and 20 percent use computers for their farm business, according to the first-ever farm operator survey conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to determine farm access to computers and the Internet. Some 13 percent of all farms in the United States have Internet access, ranging from 4 percent in Louisiana and Mississippi to 31 percent in New Jersey.

Special Survey Enumerates Minority-Owned Farms
NASS conducted a special survey to accurately enumerate minority-owned farm operations by contacting minority operators from the 1992 census to request their help in improving the mailing list for the 1997 Census of Agriculture. Extra outreach efforts were extended to American Indian operators and the 1997 census will count the number of American Indian operations on reservations for the first time.

Fund for Rural America Grants for Research, Education, and Extension
CSREES developed and carried out the $36.1 million competitive research, education, and extension grants component of the Fund for Rural America, including the award of $852,000 for 35 center planning grants in September 1997. Standard grants for an integrated, multi-functional approach to community-identified problem areas have been awarded beginning in early 1998.

Assisting Hispanic-Serving Institutions
CSREES awarded more than $1.4 million in grants to 13 Hispanic-serving institutions to carry out programs needed to attract and retain students capable of enhancing the Nation's food and agricultural scientific and professional workforce. These awards are the first to be made under the new competitive grants program designed to promote and strengthen Hispanic-serving institutions. The awards will be used for faculty preparation, curriculum design, library resources, student programs, and the use of technologies such as video conferencing to enhance learning.

Extension Grants for Tribal Colleges
USDA awarded $2 million for new extension work at 1994 land-grant institutions authorized in the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994. The 1994 Native American land-grant institutions are located in 12 States that have 1862 land-grant universities. The Tribal Colleges Extension Program supports training and education in a wide variety of areas, including production agriculture, business management, community and family development, 4-H and youth leadership, natural resources and conservation, nutrition, diet, and health.

Small Farm Program Helps Improve Income
The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service’s Small Farm Program is designed to improve income levels and the economic viability of small farms through public/private partnerships with universities and community organizations, encouraging research and education programs that meet these farmers’ specific needs.

Demand for and Availability of Credit in Rural America
Section 650 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 instructed USDA to complete a study of the demand for and availability of credit in rural areas for agriculture, housing, and economic development. ERS was given the responsibility for drafting this report, with assistance from the Office of Policy and Planning in USDA’s Rural Development mission area. ERS instituted an advisory panel to provide outside advice and counsel, designed the study, and acquired and analyzed difficult-to-obtain data from a variety of Federal agencies. While localized financial market problems do exist in some rural communities, the report concludes that, in general, rural financial markets work reasonably well in serving the needs of rural America. The report was well received by Congress and the financial community and has been cited as support for a number of legislative proposals.

Climate Change’s Effect on U.S. Agriculture
Climate change is a global phenomenon with important implications for U.S. agriculture. In 1997, ERS prepared analyses on the effects of climate change and the possible implications of climate change mitigation policies. These analyses were presented as briefings for the Deputy Secretary’s Office, White House agencies, and Senate staff, and showed that (1) there is considerable ability for the agricultural sector to adapt to climate change, (2) regional impacts will differ, with northern parts of the country more likely to benefit and southern areas more likely to suffer negative effects, and (3) many uncertainties remain, stemming from an incomplete understanding of extreme events and the ability of farmers to adapt to those events. With regard to mitigation, the analysis reported on various options to sequester carbon in soils and showed the U.S. farm sector to be relatively more energy-intensive than other industrial sectors.

Grant Program Increases Low-Income Households’ Access to Food
In FY 1997, CSREES awarded 18 grants totaling $2.5 million under the Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program. This program is intended to take a comprehensive approach to developing long-term solutions that help to ensure food security in communities by linking the food production and processing sectors to community development, economic opportunity, and environmental enhancement. The grant program will improve low-income households’ access to high-quality, affordable food and increase their self-sufficiency over their own food supply. The program will also expand economic opportunities for community residents through local business, job training, youth apprenticeship, school-to-work transition, and support for local food systems.

Study Analyzes Cost of Ensuring Safe Meat and Poultry
ERS conducted an economic analysis of the new meat and poultry inspection rules and published An Economic Assessment of Food Safety Regulations: The New Approach to Meat and Poultry Inspection, a report that shows the benefits and costs of reducing microbial pathogens and preventing foodborne illness. The new inspection rules require federally inspected processors and slaughterhouses to adopt Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) systems to identify potential sources of pathogen contamination and establish procedures to prevent contamination. The benefits of reducing pathogens, including lower medical costs of illness, lower productivity losses, and fewer premature deaths, range from $1.9 billion to $171.8 billion over 20 years, depending upon the level of pathogen control. These benefits will likely exceed the costs of HACCP, which are estimated at between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion over 20 years.

7. Promoting Quality and Fair Trade Through Marketing and Regulatory Services

The Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) mission area of USDA works to ensure a productive and competitive global marketplace for U.S. agricultural products. Each agency’s programs are planned in collaboration with stakeholders and customers. Programs are structured to achieve a unique cooperation of service delivery among Federal, State, and local governments and the private sector. Three agencies comprise this mission function: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), and Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

The mission of the Agricultural Marketing Service is to facilitate the strategic marketing of agricultural products in domestic and international markets, while ensuring fair trading practices and promoting a competitive and efficient marketplace, to the benefit of consumers of U.S. food and fiber products.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service leads the way in anticipating and responding to issues involving animal and plant health, conflicts with wildlife, environmental stewardship, and animal well-being. Together with our customers and stakeholders, we promote the health of animal and plant resources to facilitate their movement in the global marketplace and to ensure abundant agricultural products and services for U.S. consumers.

The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration facilitates the marketing of livestock, poultry, meat, cereals, oilseeds, and related agricultural products and promotes fair and competitive trading practices for the overall benefit of consumers and U.S. agriculture.

AMS, APHIS, and GIPSA collectively have more than 8,000 employees, primarily agricultural marketing and animal and plant health specialists, in all 50 States and many foreign countries. The agencies’ total funding for FY 1997 was $819 million, about 1 percent of USDA spending and a very small investment relative to the value of U.S. agricultural products. Many MRP programs are funded by fees paid by recipients of agency services.

Accomplishment Highlights

USDA Promotes Farmers Markets
On June 27, Secretary Glickman opened the 1997 Farmers Market season at USDA headquarters. These farmers markets, which were held at USDA through October, benefit small and limited- resource farmers while giving city customers a chance to meet the farmers who produce the food. Unsold food was recovered by the D.C. Central Kitchen and donated to the hungry. Emphasis was placed on attracting minority farmers’ participation, building on USDA’s commitment to help small and minority producers attract new sources of income. Other Federal Departments also organized farmers markets for their employees and other customers. To celebrate World Food Day October 16, USDA organized special farmers markets to promote food recovery, direct marketing, and increased consumption of produce. Farmers markets are now a tradition, allowing farmers to offer healthy foods to city customers every week during the summer and fall.

Promoting Fairness in Global Trade
APHIS efforts to promote global trade and establish science-based regulations have led to the successful application of regionalization, the concept that import requirements should be based on geography and science rather than politics. The final rule on regionalization, which passed in late 1997, represents a major step toward considering the importation of plant and animal products on a purely scientific basis. The agency resolved unjustified trade barriers with 16 countries. These efforts were worth $7 billion in agricultural exports.

Major regulatory initiatives allowed APHIS officials to shift the focus of Karnal bunt regulations from spores to actual bunted kernels, lessening the impact of the disease on the U.S. wheat industry. In addition, APHIS published a new final rule on genetically engineered organisms and products that expands the notification process and allows for extensions under the petitioning process.

Emergency Response Helps Control Pests
APHIS achieved numerous successes in the area of emergency response. As part of these efforts, APHIS officials worked quickly to control newly established pests and diseases such as the Asian longhorned beetle and Karnal bunt, and to reduce significantly the incidence of animal diseases such as brucellosis and tuberculosis. APHIS also worked to maintain a viable bison population in Yellowstone National Park during a harsh winter and has made great strides in reducing the incidence of rabies in Texas.

APHIS Streamlining Saves Money
APHIS has also moved forward with several initiatives designed to streamline operations and provide better service at less cost. Among these initiatives was an effort to consolidate regional offices, realign the agency’s Biotechnology, Biologics, and Environmental Protection staff, the Investigative and Enforcement staff, and the Animal Care staff, and place the Civil Rights Enforcement and Compliance and the Information and Technology Services staffs with the Office of the Administrator.

USDA Helps To Clear Railroad Bottlenecks
USDA appeared several times before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in 1997 to outline the Department’s concerns about the impact of the Western rail crisis on agricultural shippers and to indicate measures USDA was taking to help ease the traffic congestion. USDA testimony was instrumental in prompting the STB to take unprecedented emergency action to order service to alleviate the problems of shippers and their customers. At USDA’s urging, the STB also required service data to be reported, which demonstrated clearly that agricultural shippers were bearing the brunt of the Western rail crisis relative to shippers of nonagricultural traffic. This data is still being collected and reported, enabling USDA to closely monitor rail service for agricultural shippers relative to nonagricultural traffic.

USDA Responds to Concentration Concerns and the Lack of Market Information To Ensure Competitive Conditions
Since July 1996, the Agricultural Marketing Service has been working to improve competition in the livestock industry, both domestically and internationally. To address the initiatives recommended by Secretary Glickman’s Advisory Committee on Agricultural Concentration to improve meat and livestock price reporting, eight new market news reports were developed: Forward Contract Slaughter Cattle Summary Report, National Carcass Premium and Discount Report, Expanded Boxed Beef Reporting, Missouri Producer Based Lean Value Direct Hog Report, Import Meat and Poultry Passed for Entry into the United States by Country of Origin, Canadian Live Animal Imports by Destination, Canadian Live Animal Imports by State of Entry, and International Meat Review Report.

All market news reports provide timely and increased information for livestock and meat imports and exports and can be found on the Internet. In addition to the market news reports, AMS is working with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in its efforts to develop alternatives for the cattle industry relative to value-based marketing of slaughter cattle by providing marketing data for analysis in researching and developing a value-based marketing system.

In 1996, the Western Organization of Resource Councils had petitioned the Department, requesting rulemaking to restrict livestock procurement practices regarding forward contracting and packer-fed cattle. The Department published the petition in the January 14, 1997, Federal Register, seeking public input on the issues. USDA received 1,757 comments. GIPSA’s analysis of the petition is available from GIPSA’s home page on the World Wide Web.

USDA Publishes Proposed Rule on Organic Standards
On December 16, 1997, USDA announced the proposed rule governing national standards for organic food and fiber production. The proposed rule addresses the methods, practices, and substances used in producing and handling organic crops and livestock and their processed products, along with the requirements for mandatory certification of organic operations. Comments were accepted from the public through April 30, 1998, for consideration in formulating a final rule. Comments were accepted and displayed online, via the Internet--a USDA first. The national organic program is mandated by the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.

Federal Milk Marketing Order Reform
The 1996 Act mandated that Federal milk marketing orders be consolidated and reformed by April 4, 1999. After obtaining more than 3,700 comments from the public, the Department issued a comprehensive proposed rule on January 21, 1998, that revises the current order program. The proposed rule suggests consolidating the current 31 orders into 11, a replacement for the basic formula price, two options for Class I pricing, and streamlined order language and provisions. USDA accepted input on the proposed rule through April 30, 1998, and held four listening sessions to stimulate further input on the proposal. A final rule will be issued in 1998, and a referendum will be held to determine producers’ approval of the revised and consolidated orders. USDA anticipates meeting the congressionally mandated deadline of implementation by April 4, 1999.

AMS Civil Rights Accomplishments
The Agricultural Marketing Service supported civil rights through the following significant accomplishments during 1997:

• Provided technical assistance and guidance to several minority-owned businesses to prepare them to participate in the USDA Food Purchase Programs.
• Sponsored a workshop for Native Americans in Oklahoma on how to participate in the USDA Food Purchase Programs.
• Purchased 3.3 million pounds of ground beef, at a cost of $3.4 million, for use in Native American Food Assistance Programs.
• Provided technical assistance to a consultant for Native American-owned businesses and to two minority-owned businesses.
• Participated in Tuskegee University’s 105th Annual Farmers Conference, providing information about agency programs.

Targeting Small Businesses
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) awarded 40 percent of purchase awards to small business firms (of the $702 million obligated for agricultural commodity and fish purchases), far exceeding the Government’s goal of 20 percent. In addition, AMS awarded over $10 million in commodity purchase contracts to a small, disadvantaged business under the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program, doubling the amount awarded to these firms in FY 1996. The agency also participated in projects to pilot-test and evaluate methods to facilitate direct sales by producers to school districts in Georgia and Florida; these methods emphasized small and limited- resource farmers’ access to direct sales outlets.

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Contract Poultry Industry
Contract poultry growers continued to express concerns about (1) settlements tied to the performance of other growers, (2) the accuracy of feed weights and the procedures for feed delivery and pickup, and (3) procedures for weighing live birds. An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published and 1,772 comments were catalogued. GIPSA and officials of the Office of the General Counsel reviewed and analyzed the comments and identified a number of areas for consideration. Some may require a change to Packers and Stockyards regulations and an amendment to the Packers and Stockyards Act.

Official Grain Moisture Measurements
GIPSA selected the Dickey-John Corporation’s Grain Analysis Computer Model 2100 as the new moisture meter to replace technology currently in use. This new technology will allow the agency to improve its automation capability, reduce error associated with operator interaction, improve efficiency in grain inspection, and conform to requirements of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Automated Grain Inspection To Increase Efficiency
GIPSA has established a team of technical experts to develop an automated grain inspection system in partnership with the grain industry. An automated system will improve the efficiency and productivity of grain handling facilities, making them more competitive in today’s global marketplace.

ConAgra Settlement
Conagra agreed to pay $8.3 million in penalties and signed a compliance agreement after pleading guilty to charges of adulteration, misgrading, and misweighing of grain.

Proposed Restructuring for Packers and Stockyards
The plan will integrate economic, statistical, and legal expertise into this agency’s investigative activities, and will transfer some headquarters positions to the field. The plan provides for fewer, but larger, field offices to better reflect industry alignment.

USDA Streamlines Animal Welfare Act (AWA) Enforcement
APHIS has instituted a two-pronged AWA enforcement strategy introducing innovative penalties for individuals who wish to improve their facilities and imposing stringent penalties for those who do not. This strategy sends a clear message that AWA violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. For example, when an elephant owned by the King Royal Circus died during transport in August 1997, APHIS completed its investigation and filed formal charges within 3 weeks--a process that typically takes several months. The Agency also obtained an expedited hearing on the case in which the owner of the Circus was fined $200,000--the highest fine ever to be imposed in any AWA case--and his license to exhibit animals was permanently revoked.

APHIS has also achieved considerable success in addressing public concerns about pet theft and random source class B dealers--those dealers who obtain their animals from sources other than breeding them themselves. To ensure that these dealers obtain their animals legitimately, APHIS officials instituted a policy that subjects them to quarterly inspections. In FY 1997, APHIS officials were able to trace back an impressive 95.5 percent of animals sold to research to their original source--up from approximately 40 percent in 1993. In addition, since APHIS introduced these enhanced enforcement activities, the number of random source animal dealers has dropped from more than 80 in FY 1994 to fewer than 40 in FY 1997.

USDA Helps New York Combat Asian Longhorned Beetles in Protecting Urban Forestry APHIS initiated cooperative eradication efforts with New York State and New York City officials after Asian longhorned beetles were discovered in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn and the vicinity of Amityville in August 1996. The beetles--believed to have first arrived from China--can destroy more than 100 species of hardwood trees, including maple, horsechestnut, and elm. The infestation placed at risk the roughly 2.7 million trees in New York City, including more than 50,000 trees in parks and playgrounds in Brooklyn alone. In addition, Asian longhorned beetles pose a potential threat to the sugar maple industry in upstate New York, as well as the maple syrup production and fall foliage industries in New England.

In February 1997, APHIS, State, and New York City officials began removal, chipping, and incineration of more than 1,200 infested trees located on public and private property in the two affected areas. USDA’s Forest Service has pledged funding for replacement trees, and tree replacement has begun in Brooklyn. Because New York residents expressed strong concerns about the removal of trees, public outreach efforts were an essential part of the eradication program. Surveys conducted following tree removal have detected some Asian longhorned beetles just beyond the limits of the quarantined areas, and the quarantines will be slightly expanded as a result. However, no beetles have been found in Connecticut, New Jersey, or other areas of New York.

Packers and Stockyards Enforcement Actions
During FY 1997, the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Program conducted 1,820 investigations into alleged violations of the P&S Act. Alleged violations included, but were not limited to: restriction of competition in the purchase of livestock; failure to pay for livestock; engaging in unfair or unreasonable practices in connection with holding, feeding, watering, and overall handling of livestock at a stockyard; delayed weighing of poultry; and false records. P&S issued 29 administrative or justice complaints to bring subject firms into compliance with the P&S Act.

8. Setting a Sweeping Civil Rights Agenda

Secretary Glickman has made civil rights his top priority at USDA. The Secretary established a Civil Rights Action Team (CRAT) to change the culture and reform the Department’s civil rights practices. This team audited hundreds of reports that spanned three decades, and it sponsored 12 listening sessions across the country to hear from customers and employees. Those at the listening sessions heard especially from socially disadvantaged and minority farmers--and from USDA employees themselves. The CRAT subsequently issued a report entitled Civil Rights at the United States Department of Agriculture: A Report of the Civil Rights Action Team. On February 28, 1997, Secretary Glickman accepted the CRAT Report and made a commitment to take action on all 92 recommendations in it.

CRAT reforms will benefit both customers and employees through reduced conflict, better morale and working relationships, more effective programs, better management, better service to customers and employees, increased productivity, and more efficient operations throughout USDA.

Accomplishment Highlights

Highlights of Civil Rights Progress in 1997
In March, the Secretary directed a Civil Rights Implementation Team (CRIT) to begin work on implementing the CRAT reforms. The CRIT eventually divided the work among 33 innovative teams composed of more than 300 USDA employees. Some reforms could be implemented quickly; others will require more time.

By the end of 1997, 85 of the 92 recommendations had been implemented. The CRAT Report and the work by CRIT have been responsible for the following historic civil rights reforms:

• A new Civil Rights Policy requires that all employees treat coworkers and customers fairly and equitably, with dignity and respect.
• For the first time, Agency Heads will be rated on their civil rights accomplishments by the Assistant Secretary for Administration. All managers and employees will be held accountable for civil rights. A new Compliance and Accountability Division will track progress, and the Assistant Secretary for Administration will hold mission areas and Agency Heads accountable for civil rights.
• USDA has reorganized and strengthened the Office of Civil Rights by hiring 14 permanent and 13 temporary investigators to replace the investigative unit that was dismantled in 1983. In all, the office has hired an additional 34 staff members, including economists, statisticians, computer specialists, and support staff.
• USDA has instituted new Human Resources Management hiring, retention, promotion, and training policies for employees to help prevent workplace conflicts, disputes, and problems. A new Conflict Management Unit and policy are being designed to address conflict early and proactively. Managers will be held accountable for managing workplace conflict. The goal is to address workplace disputes before they become disciplinary actions, grievances, or EEO complaints.
• USDA has a new position in the Office of the General Counsel--the Associate General Counsel for Civil Rights--to assist with discrimination complaints.
• From January 1 through December 31, 1997, USDA settled or closed 187 of the program discrimination complaints in the backlog, including some cases that dated back to the mid-1980's. This includes 11 major settlements that total more than $3.5 million and successful remediation of 4 individual complaints that total $1.2 million which were part of a proposed class action suit.
• Of the approximately 1,500 employee complaints filed before April 1997, 786--or more than half--have been resolved.
• In April 1997, USDA halted all pending farm loan foreclosures until a review of each case could be made to determine if any inconsistencies, including limited rights violations, existed. An independent review team in Washington, DC, received and reviewed 3,148 of the 4,500 pending foreclosures. Actions were halted on 116 cases, pending investigation of possible civil rights violations. The review of pending foreclosures continues. USDA has now directed each State to appoint a diverse Civil Rights Independent Review group, representative of the State’s population, to review each case and future cases to determine if discrimination or inequitable treatment contributed to the failure of each farming operation.
• On August 22, 1997, the National Office of Outreach was established to lead and coordinate Department-wide outreach responsibilities and strategies.

Several legislative proposals were introduced by Congress during 1997 that address some of the CRAT Report recommendations. Secretary Glickman is working on a legislative proposal for civil rights initiatives that would modernize the Farm Service Agency’s State and county committee system, improve access to credit, reconstitute the lease back/buy back programs, and help ensure equity in funding for minority-serving educational institutions.

USDA Forms National Office of Outreach
A newly formed National Office of Outreach coordinates delivery of programs and services to customers that USDA has not traditionally served.

Through leadership and partnership with USDA agencies, this office will ensure the provision of information, technical assistance, and training to all USDA customers, with emphasis on underserved populations, to assure that potential customers have full access to all of USDA’s programs and services.

The Department is improving its outreach to small, minority, and women-owned businesses through an Information Technology Initiative utilizing the Internet to link to national organizations representing numerous small business groups. This effort broadens the dissemination of USDA programs and contracting opportunities to a greater number of small businesses more quickly and efficiently.

National Commission on Small Farms
In July 1997, Secretary Glickman appointed a 30-member National Commission on Small Farms to address the critical needs of small and socially disadvantaged farmers. On January 22, 1998, the National Commission on Small Farms presented the Secretary with A Time to Act, a 120-page report which examines a wide range of programs and issues, including credit, risk management, education, and outreach, and which recommends improvements to better serve small and beginning farmers. Such a strategy will help ensure economic viability and address the rapid decline in the numbers of minority farmers and ranchers.

In December 1997, Secretary Glickman joined President Clinton in a meeting with 22 farmers to discuss issues affecting small family farmers, including credit, market access and concentration, tobacco, dairy, civil rights, outreach, and discrimination complaints. The Secretary announced additional efforts to improve USDA’s civil rights program and to increase assistance for small and socially disadvantaged farmers.

9. Providing Administrative and Executive Support to the Department and Its Clients

Some programs serve the entire Department of Agriculture, including all mission areas. Among these are Departmental Administration, the Office of Inspector General, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Accomplishment Highlights

Departmental Administration Program Initiatives
USDA hosted two procurement conferences targeting American Indian and Alaska Native corporations, resulting in an increase in contract awards to American Indian firms.

USDA is working with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to simplify and expedite the process for awarding contracts to 8(a) firms. The Memorandum of Understanding proposed for execution between USDA and SBA will streamline the procurement process by eliminating the need for SBA approval of contracts executed under the 8(a) program, and by establishing policies that will make the use of the 8(a) program more efficient and responsive to USDA customers.

USDA is partnering with Melwood Enterprises on a facilities management contract in excess of $1 million for the Beltsville Office Complex. Melwood is a Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act (JWOD) firm representing the severely handicapped/ blind industries. USDA is expanding the offerings of JWOD activities and industries beyond the current emphasis on supplies and products.

USDA loaned excess personal property with an original acquisition value of more than $1.1 million to the 1890 institutions in support of agricultural research, extension services programs, and related programs.

USDA initiated a Gleaning Program that encourages contractors to participate in USDA’s gleaning initiative, where excess food is donated to those in need. Letters were sent to USDA contractors explaining the gleaning program and how to sign up and participate in the program.

Reinventing Government and Saving Money
USDA awarded a $20.2 million contract to a small, disadvantaged business for network service support. This contract--one of the first under the new performance-based approach being championed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)--should provide more efficient services at reduced costs.

USDA took the lead in awarding a mail presort contract for all Government agencies located in the Washington, DC/Baltimore metropolitan area. This contract has the potential to permit savings of more than $2 million during FY 1998.

USDA now has print-on-demand capabilities for the customers of the Office of Operations. The FY 1997 savings was $250,000, for a limited number of publications. The savings will increase as more publications are added. Additionally, publications were delivered 10 to 15 days earlier and the new technology saves office and storage space.

USDA implemented the Work Number for Everyone©, a state-of-the-art employment verification system that improves the timeliness and accuracy of employment verification services for employees. The new system is projected to result in an annual cost avoidance savings for USDA in excess of $750,000.

USDA made extensive enhancements to Employee Express, a self-service human resources management system available to employees. Employees can now make changes to their health benefits and Thrift Savings Plan during “open season” using a touch-tone phone to access Employee Express. Costing less than $2.20 per employee per year to maintain, Employee Express has proven to be a cost-effective alternative delivery method for human resources management offices.

The Department has initiated the priority project of collocating USDA agencies with offices in the same community. Collocation will provide one-stop shopping to more effectively serve customers; and it will increase efficiency in agency operations by facilitating collaboration and cooperation, eliminating duplicate administrative efforts by maximizing the sharing of resources such as space, equipment, and personnel. Leases were awarded in Davis, California, and Kansas City, Missouri.

The USDA Office of Operations automated the electronic submission of excess property reports, reducing the processing time by 2 weeks. By accelerating the disposal process, they reduced the amount of time that property (office equipment, computer hardware, etc.) is stored in the warehouse, thus saving warehouse costs.

1997 Summer Student Employment
The 1997 Summer Student Employment Program was extremely successful. During the summer of 1997, a total of 3,170 students worked for USDA under a variety of summer and year-round student employment programs. Of these students, 2,798 (88.4 percent) worked in field locations.

Improving the Workplace
Construction of USDA’s 350,000-square-foot Beltsville Office Facility is complete. Designed as a 4-building campus on a 45-acre wooded site at the National Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland, the facility will provide space for up to 1,500 employees. USDA will consolidate into the Beltsville facility some of the agencies that currently lease space in Maryland, and it will also relocate some employees who currently work at the D.C. Headquarters Complex.

USDA plans to implement numerous initiatives to reduce risks to employees and clients and to maintain a secure workplace environment. These efforts include installing a state-of-the-art security control center, upgrading the security closed-circuit television network, improving intrusion detection and access control systems, and enhancing the protection of exterior building perimeters and parking lots.

USDA established a Nursing Mothers Room in the South Building of the Headquarters Complex. This room provides employees who are nursing mothers the privacy to express their breast milk at work. The availability of this room lets some new mothers return to work earlier.

USDA completed design work for phase 1--modernizing Wing 3--of the South Building Modernization project in 1997.

Recoveries and Savings
In FY 1997, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) identified $58 million in recoveries and collections and $39.6 million in fines and restitutions. OIG also identified $899.7 million in questioned costs that cannot be recovered. Another $267.4 million was identified for which management made commitments to put funds to better use. OIG efforts also resulted in 664 criminal indictments and 703 convictions.

Child and Adult Care Food Program Sponsors Found Fraudulent, Deficient
In ongoing reviews of sponsors administering the Child and Adult Care Food Program, OIG continued to find widespread problems--including seriously deficient administration, program fraud, unsafe or unsanitary conditions, and licensing violations. Of the original 12 sponsors reviewed, OIG is conducting criminal investigations on 4. Twenty-four additional investigations are ongoing in 12 States. Due to the significant problems found, the Inspector General is launching a national initiative to expand OIG efforts to identify abusive sponsors.

One OIG investigation resulted in guilty pleas from four executives of a nonprofit child-care sponsoring organization in southern California, who were charged with defrauding the program of approximately $2.3 million. The Government has seized four residential and commercial properties fraudulently acquired by the subjects, valued in excess of $2 million.

Hepatitis A Outbreak Traced to Illegal Strawberries
A San Diego-based food broker and processing company, its president, and a former sales representative pled guilty to charges related to the illegal substitution of Mexican strawberries for U.S. domestically grown strawberries in the USDA School Lunch Program. The company also agreed to pay the Government $1.3 million in civil damages and a $250,000 criminal fine. The OIG investigation began after a March 1997 outbreak of the hepatitis A virus in Michigan which eventually sickened approximately 190 school children. The outbreak was believed to have been spread through the consumption of frozen strawberries served as part of the USDA School Lunch Program which were traced back to the San Diego-based company.

$35 Million Settlement for Export Program Violations
As the result of an OIG investigation, the U.S. Government concluded a global settlement with a prominent international grain company in New York and its foreign affiliate. The grain company paid $25 million to the Government in settlement of any potential civil claims, its affiliate paid a $10 million fine after pleading guilty to a criminal charge of conspiracy, and three associated entities agreed to permanent debarment from Federal programs. This settlement represented the culmination of a series of investigations conducted since 1989 into fraud related to USDA's General Sales Manager 102 and 103 Export Credit Guarantee Programs.

Improved Civil Rights Complaint System and Treatment of Small and Minority Farmers
OIG issued several reports containing 34 recommendations to improve the Department's system for processing civil rights complaints and to improve relations with small and minority farmers. As the result of OIG’s review, the Department has developed a more reliable data base of complaints, hired additional staff, and informed all complainants of the status of their cases. Through the review of 11 States and 33 counties, OIG made recommendations to improve the Department's relations with the minority community through better targeting outreach efforts, upgrading the status of minority advisors to the county committees, and increasing workforce diversity at the local level. The Department is working to implement the recommendations, and OIG is monitoring its efforts.

USDA Strategic Plan Reflects Department’s Key Goals
The USDA Strategic Plan will guide the Department’s progress toward meeting its most important program goals. The first such plan ever developed for the Department was completed during 1997, incorporating the strategic plans for all USDA agencies into a comprehensive document that provides details about the Secretary’s key program goals and management initiatives.

USDA To Improve Debt Collection
Implementing the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 will result in the improved collection of millions of dollars of debt owed the Federal Government. The Act bars delinquent debtors from obtaining new loans or loan guarantees, mandates the use of electronic funds transfer (EFT) for all Federal payments, and allows the Department to use new means to collect delinquent debt.

USDA Center Successful in Bid To Process FAA’s Data
Secretary Glickman announced May 13, 1997, that USDA’s National Information Technology Center (NITC) in Kansas City, Missouri, was awarded a contract worth up to $250 million to provide information technology services for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Under the contract (known as the Integrated Computing Environment, Mainframe and Network), NITC will establish a system that combines the center’s expertise in information management technology with hardware, software, and technical support services to support the FAA’s administrative information systems. USDA successfully bid against other Federal and private data processing centers to win the contract. By franchising its expertise to the FAA, NITC expects to realize lower costs for its customers.

Improved Planning for Information Technology
USDA is developing a Capital Planning and Investment Control Program to assure that USDA managers have appropriate information when deciding to invest in a major technology initiative; it includes a disciplined mechanism for evaluating performance. This system includes the development, in conjunction with the Department of Energy and the National Performance Review group and other Government Departments, of an Internet-based decision support system that will provide senior level managers with the ability to continually analyze and monitor information technology investments. A critical aspect of this program is that key decisions will now be made by senior policy officials. The Department has a new Executive Information Technology Investment Review Board, which is composed of Sub-Cabinet members and is headed by the Deputy Secretary.

USDA Agencies Help Chop Public’s Paperwork Burden
USDA Subcabinet officials and Agency Heads were asked to support the President’s commitment to “eliminate all unnecessary paperwork burden on the public sector.” Mission areas and agencies were challenged to reduce the paperwork burden imposed on the public by 25 percent by the end of FY 1998. USDA agencies complied with this request and identified a cumulative burden reduction of 30.4 percent.

General Counsel Slashes Processing Time for Rural Utilities Loans
Once a rural utilities loan is approved, USDA’s Office of the General Counsel can deliver the necessary loan documents for rural telecommunications and electric loans in 7-10 days--instead of the 90-180 days it used to take. By computerizing the process, OGC can process the same loan volume that was handled under the old system more quickly and accurately, while reducing support staff by 40 percent. The new OGC software program takes 1,000 regulations and reduces them to 40 questions for loan applicants.

Welfare-to-Work Initiative
On March 8, 1997, President Clinton announced the Welfare-to-Work initiative for the Federal Government to provide employment opportunities to welfare recipients. He called on executive branch department heads to lead this effort in their agencies. Secretary Glickman responded by announcing that USDA was committed to hiring welfare recipients, including food stamp participants, into its workforce--and to retaining them. USDA hired 126 welfare recipients in 1997 and will hire approximately 250 in the next 3 years.

USDA Agencies and Acronyms

• AMS - Agricultural Marketing Service
• ARS - Agricultural Research Service
• APHIS - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
• CNPP - Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
• CSREES - Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
• ERS - Economic Research Service
• FAS - Foreign Agricultural Service
• FNS - Food and Nutrition Service
• FS - Forest Service
• FSA - Farm Service Agency
• FSIS - Food Safety and Inspection Service
• GIPSA - Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
• NASS - National Agricultural Statistics Service
• NRCS - Natural Resources Conservation Service
• RBS - Rural Business - Cooperative Service
• RHS - Rural Housing Service
• RMA - Risk Management
• RUS - Rural Utilities Service