USDA ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR 1996 Release No. 0644.96 Tom Amontree (202) 720-4623 Johna Pierce (202) 720-4623 GLICKMAN HIGHLIGHTS USDA ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR 1996 WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 1996--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today recapped the past year's accomplishments as the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepared to implement new policies in conservation, farm, and food assistance programs ordered by last year's sweeping legislative changes. "This is the season for reflecting on the past year as we set goals for the year ahead," Glickman said. "We've seen dramatic expansion of economic and trade opportunities. We also have revolutionized and modernized a 90-year-old meat and poultry inspection system; we've strengthened wetlands and environmental protections and enhanced conservation practices to safeguard U.S. farmland and natural resources. Most producers now, for the first time, have the security of crop insurance protection, and investments in agricultural research are paying dividends for Americans." Glickman added, "We've updated the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to reflect current nutrition science, and we're continuing to implement the most comprehensive nutrition education program in USDA history." The Administration was successful in negotiating a Farm Bill that strengthened conservation and environmental programs, set aside additional funds for rural development and agricultural research programs, reauthorized nutrition programs for another two years, and provided farmers the flexibility they need to plant for the market, rather than government farm programs. EXPANDING ECONOMIC AND TRADE OPPORTUNITIES U.S. agricultural exports set new records in FY96 at $59.8 billion, posting more than a 50-percent increase over 1991 and double the level of 10 years ago. Agriculture products are the most significant contributors to the U.S. balance of trade, with a positive net trade surplus of an estimated $27.4 billion. In 1996, U.S. agricultural exports supported 1 million jobs both on and off the farm, one-third of them in rural areas. USDA has helped open new markets and expand existing markets and now exports apples and cherries to China and Japan -- estimated to be worth about $110 million annually. USDA successfully rolled back a proposal that would have effectively closed the Russian poultry market, preserving approximately $700 million in exports. USDA enrolled nearly 99 percent of eligible producers in the new Farm Bill in just 60 days. The number of farm loans increased in FY96, and loan obligations to beginning farmers increased more than 56 percent. USDA is working to bring foreign sales opportunities home for American farmers and exporters, especially small and medium-sized firms and cooperatives. USDA expanded its outreach and information efforts toeducate U.S. businesses about the tremendous potential of the international marketplace. The goal of this effort is to provide marketing know-how and expertise at the grassroots level. A key component is the location of export advisors at the state level -- at the California, Colorado, and Oregon State Departments of Agriculture and the Iowa State Office of USDA's Farm Service Agency. In 1996, USDA carefully monitored the first year of the Uruguay Round agreement to ensure implementation of the negotiated agricultural trade benefits. USDA helped negotiate a bilateral agricultural trade agreement with Israel that creates new market opportunities for a variety of dairy, livestock, and horticultural products. USDA also worked with the U.S. Trade Representative's office to resolve trade issues with a number of countries to maintain and expand important markets for U.S. agriculture. USDA continues to refine and expand all of its export programs and services to meet changing demands of the international marketplace and keep pace with the competition. In 1996, USDA launched a new export credit guarantee program designed to help expand exports of processed and other high-value products. USDA helped launch new risk management tools, filling the gaps in the farm safety net the Farm Bill left. USDA expanded the crop insurance tools available to farmers as part of the Administration's commitment to maintain a safety net for producers. In July, USDA announced the creation of the Income Protection and the Crop Revenue Coverage programs. The IP and the CRC are designed to help farmers protect against both price and yield losses. In December, USDA again expanded IP and CRC coverage and approved the Revenue Assurance program, a new insurance plan that also provides protection against revenue loss due to low prices, yields, or a combination of the two. The Clinton Administration's Water 2000 initiative provided nearly $70 million in loans and grants which bring clean, safe, running water to more than 145,000 rural Americans and about 50,000 households. In total, almost $700 million in loans and $400 million in grants were provided in 1996 for water and waste disposal projects. The department continues to aggressively fight concentration in railroad and meat packing industries. From January 1995 to the present, 86 decisions and orders have been issued under the Packers and Stockyards Act against 170 individuals and firms. In addition to assessing civil penalties totaling more than $443,000, these orders contained 230 cease and desist provisions which involved mostly unfair and anticompetitive trade practices. USDA announced new price reporting initiatives to provide information about market forces affecting livestock prices. More than $54 million went to 3 rural empowerment zones and 30 enterprise communities in the past year through USDA loans and grants that fund economic opportunity and services to the community. USDA also delivered 733 pieces of computer equipment valued at nearly $1.5 million to schools and nonprofits in these areas and helped connect the schools and communities to the World Wide Web. USDA-sponsored research continues to help U.S. agricultural products compete in world markets and farmers, ranchers, exporters, and businesses improve their productivity and increase their economic viability by bringing new products to the marketplace, such as Z-Trim, an all-natural, high-fiber fat replacer. USDA worked with private sector partners in more than 650 instances to develop technologies that were transferred to private industry for commercialization. Products currently available as a result of this effort include BioSave, a natural protection for fruit rot; ASPIRE, a biological control against post-harvest diseases of apples and pears; BioVector-355, Devour, and VectorMC, products based on a method to control pests in a variety of settings from citrus groves to golf courses. ENSURING A HEALTHY, SAFE, AFFORDABLE FOOD SUPPLY The President announced the most substantive overhaul of the country's meat and poultry inspection system in 90 years. Based on science, the food safety strategy is designed to reduce the risk of illness from bacterial contamination of meat and poultry products. The overhaul changes the inspection system from command-and-control supervision of industry to a performance-based system. The new strategy requires implementation of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system, called HACCP which tests for bacteria -- like E. coli 0157:H7. In his radio address during Thanksgiving, President Clinton directed federal agencies to follow USDA's lead by practicing and promoting gleaning and food recovery. USDA issued A Citizen's Guide to Food Recovery, available in hard copy and on the World Wide Web at www.usda.gov, to help individuals and communities get involved. Information on food recovery is also available by calling USDA's food recovery hotline at 1-800-GLEAN-IT. Members of USDA's AmeriCorps program recovered over 1,000 tons of excess food which provided an estimated 1.3 million meals. AmeriCorps members in the program recruited over 1,600 non-compensated community volunteers who helped pick, collect, and distribute the excess food. Thanks to USDA, more Americans are shopping at farmers' markets, providing new opportunities for small farmers across the country. USDA's 1996 Farmers' Markets Survey Report found that nearly a million consumers visit farmers' markets, resulting in sales of approximately $1.1 billion annually. The number of farmers' markets has increased nearly 40 percent since 1994, a roster of which were included in the 1996 edition of the National Farmers' Market Directory, a state-by-state listing of nearly 2,500 farmers' markets. Annually, more than $140 million in food stamp and WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program benefits are redeemed at authorized farmers' markets. USDA's School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children went into effect in September, ensuring that school meals meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This initiative will improve children' health, increase life expectancy, and result in long-term savings for taxpayers of between $4.4 billion and $26.5 billion over 20 years. In 1996, Team Nutrition brought more than 15,000 schools into the program, reaching more than 8.5 million children through state-of-the-art curricula and through materials for use in the school cafeterias and at home. Team Nutrition, the most sweeping nutrition education effort in the department's history, provides technical assistance to schools to help ensure they meet the Dietary Guidelines. Participation in the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children has expanded nearly 30 percent, from 5.7 million in at the start of FY93 to 7.4 million at the end of FY96. President Clinton's goal is for all women, infants, and children who are eligible for WIC benefits to get them. SENSIBLE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES The 1996 Farm Bill expanded the department's conservation tool kit by creating new programs such as the Environmental Quality Improvement Program, or EQIP; the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, or WHIP; and the Farmland Protection Program. The Farm Bill also enabled USDA to refocus existing conservation programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, and the Wetlands Reserve Program. The conservation steps taken in 1996 establish USDA as the government's leading conservation organization. USDA has proposed new policies for the CRP to expand the types of land covered by the CRP and target the most environmentally sensitive cropland to approved conservation uses for 10 years. During 1996, USDA enrolled approximately 99,000 acres of high-quality wetlands and associated lands beneficial to waterfowl and other migratory birds in the Wetlands Reserve Program, a voluntary program that offers landowners financial incentives to restore wetlands in exchange for retiring marginal agricultural land. USDA has begun implementation of a new wildlife habitat restoration program, the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program, or WHIP. It provides technical and cost-share assistance to landowners to develop improved wildlife habitat, under 10-year contracts, with total cost-share amounts not to exceed $10,000 per contract. Under the Farmland Protection Program, USDA gave $14.5 million to 18 states to help keep productive farmland in use, protecting at least 50,000 acres of valuable farmland on 103 farms in 18 states. Through leveraging with state and local funds, the $14.5 million will make about $55 million available to protect the best U.S. farmland. Total funding for this program is $35 million over 6 years. Congress accepted USDA's proposed new Environmental Quality Incentive Program, or EQIP, in the 1996 Farm Bill. USDA may provide cost share assistance for up to 75 percent of the costs of certain conservation practices on farms and ranches, such as grassed waterways, filter strips, manure management facilities, capping abandoned wells and wildlife habitat enhancement. Total cost-share and incentive payments are limited to $10,000 per person per year and $50,000 for the length of a contract. REINVENTING GOVERNMENT AND SAVING MONEY USDA's annual appropriations bill reflected Administration priorities and was the first one completed in 1996. Because of this, USDA avoided the disruption caused by the government shutdown. To combat food stamp fraud, USDA proposed a comprehensive 13-point anti-fraud legislative proposal attacking retailer trafficking, strengthening authorization controls and allowing for stiffer penalties. Congress accepted the components of the proposal, with 22 sweeps in 14 cities across the country. Thirteen states are already saving taxpayer dollars as they deliver food stamps to recipients through electronic benefits transfer, or EBT. Almost 15 percent of food stamp benefits are now delivered through EBT, and another 24 states are working to implement EBT. USDA reinvented its single family rural housing direct loan program, moving from a costly, inefficient system to a program using state-of-the-art technology, reduced regulations, and fewer staff. Dedicated Loan Origination and Servicing expects to save taxpayers $250 million over 5 years and an additional $100 million per year thereafter. DLOS was recently awarded Vice President Gore's Hammer Award for government reinvention. The massive reorganization of USDA has reduced its number of agencies from 43 to 30 and reduced staff years by 13,500. Projections indicate savings of more than $4 billion by 1999. The department has closed or co-located a total of 830 offices in 715 counties in the past year. USDA has reduced red tape, eliminating 80,000 pages of forms and 61,183 internal management regulations -- a 51 percent reduction. # NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet. Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov