GLICKMAN TOUTS 1998 USDA ACCOMPLISHMENTS, SETS PRIORITIES FOR 1999 Release No. 0516.98 Andy Solomon (202) 720-4623 andy.solomon@usda.gov GLICKMAN TOUTS 1998 USDA ACCOMPLISHMENTS, SETS PRIORITIES FOR 1999 WASHINGTON, December 17, 1998--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today called 1998 "a year of tough times for America's farmers that offered USDA a tremendous opportunity to help." At a year-end press conference, Glickman reviewed USDA's many achievements for the year and looked ahead to his priorities for 1999. "In the past year, many of America's farmers experienced very tough times," Glickman said. "And USDA, the 'people's department,' delivered in this time of need, proving that government can be an immensely positive force in people's lives. Helping farmers and ranchers in hard times, promoting rural development and conservation, alleviating hunger, improving food safety, expanding cutting edge research, and addressing long standing civil rights challenges are just some of the areas in which USDA employees made a real difference in 1998." Glickman said he and the Department would focus on seven key priorities in 1999 Strengthening the farm safety net through major crop insurance reform, ensuring that no farmer or rancher loses his or her land because of an act of God. Further expanding trade opportunities for American farmers. Expanding anti-hunger activities and the school breakfast program, and increasing food rescue and gleaning efforts through partnerships and community involvement. Extending implementation of the new, science-based meat and poultry inspection system to about 2,500 small plants across the country. Expanding research to improve all of USDA's work, from nutrition to food safety to sustainable agriculture. Issuing national organic standards that are good for farmers and consumers. Continuing efforts to fairly address long-standing civil rights issues. Glickman said that USDA successes in 1998 included Expanding opportunities and assistance for America's family farmers. President Clinton fought for and won a strong emergency assistance package for America's farmers -- one that includes 40 percent more funds than the original bill he vetoed. Nearly $3 billion of assistance reached farmers before Thanksgiving, and an additional $3 billion will be distributed before spring. USDA made commodity loans of about $7.1 billion to producers, $1.8 billion higher than last fiscal year. To offset lost farm income, USDA will make about $2 billion in Loan Deficiency Payments, which, combined with marketing loan gains, will total an estimated $2.8 billion on 1997 and 1998 crops. Using sound science, USDA broke through 77 barriers stifling U.S. farm trade, helping to open $2.2 billion in new export opportunities. Carrying out President Clinton's Food Aid Initiative, the Department purchased more than 80 million bushels of wheat for donation to hungry people around the world. We increased by nearly 50 percent -- to $4 billion -- the export sales registered under our export credit guarantee programs. This enabled U.S. exporters to complete sales of 191 million bushels of wheat, 230 million bushels of corn, 104 million bushels of soybeans, and nearly 2 million bales of cotton. Secretary Glickman led successful discussions with Canada about access for U.S. wheat, cattle, hogs, and other trade issues. USDA opened the Taiwanese market for U.S. pork, poultry and beef -- and reopened Brazil's market for U.S. wheat. USDA's Farm Loan Program provided over $2.1 billion in assistance to over 26,000 family farmers in FY98. About $367.1 million of these funds helped 3,186 minority and women farmers. And more than $490 million in direct loan assistance benefitted over 7,000 beginning farmers this fiscal year, a 6 percent increase. USDA responded quickly when farmers suffered devastating losses, approving disaster designations for counties in 43 states. The Department made over $97.5 million in low-interest emergency loans and disbursed $26.5 million in emergency conservation funds. USDA gave out $22.9 million in emergency benefits to farmers with uninsurable crops, $2.8 million to orchard and vineyard owners, and $4.9 million to livestock growers. "USDA added economic and legal expertise to strengthen investigations of anti-competitive practices that hit small farmers and ranchers hardest." To help avert a repeat of 1997's gridlock in rail transportation, USDA hosted a National Summit on Agricultural Transportation, which set the groundwork for a comprehensive plan to meet agriculture's long-term transportation needs. The Department also created an early warning system to anticipate demand for rail cars by grain shippers. Secretary Glickman proposed the first rule on national standards for organic foods, using the Internet in an unprecedented public review and comment process. A revised rule that reflects substantial public input will be released in 1999. The Secretary also offered a proposal to reform federal dairy policies. USDA, not the U.S. Bureau of the Census, conducted the census of agriculture for the first time. And, for the first time, all farmers on American Indian reservations were counted. USDA took new steps to improve the safety net for farmers, expanding crop insurance to new crops and new areas. More than $1.7 billion in crop insurance indemnities -- a record-- were paid out to farmers. Creating jobs and helping to revitalize rural America. USDA helped 68,000 rural Americans buy homes and created or saved 215,000 rural jobs in 1998. The Department invested more than $9 billion in rural development projects. In FY98, USDA invested $4 billion to help rural Americans buy or build single-family houses, making the dream of home ownership a reality for 68,000 households. USDA also helped renters, spending $224 million for loans and grants for the construction of 2,763 affordable apartment units and the repair or upgrade of 1,179 apartments in rural areas. USDA provided $541 million to help low-income rural renters. USDA provided $285 million in loans and grants to build or expand community facilities that benefit more than 2.7 million rural residents. These investments include more than $110 million for 137 rural health care facilities, $13 million for 45 child care centers, and $36 million for 262 fire and rescue facilities. Another $54 million helped develop other community resources, including job training facilities, libraries, and courthouses. At $60 million, USDA loans to rural cooperatives nearly doubled this year. The Department has earmarked $200 million for funding co-ops in 1999. USDA provided $1.3 billion in loans and grants to build or improve 1,021 water and sewer systems, helping to bring clean, safe drinking water to more than 2 million rural Americans. Ensuring wise stewardship of the land. The Department expanded the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program to help six states, protecting New York's drinking water as well as habitats for endangered salmon and trout in the Pacific Northwest. USDA paid farmers $200 million to promote sustainable farming -- and $30 million more to help landowners protect wildlife. There are now 661,000 acres enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program, and nearly 250,000 miles of conservation buffers enrolled in the buffer strip initiative, which pays farmers and ranchers to shield waterways from farm run-off. USDA provided $17.2 million to19 states through the Farmland Protection Program, leveraging about $105 million in other funds, to preserve endangered American farmland. USDA employees at the Camino Real Ranger District in New Mexico won the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award for unifying a deeply divided forest community. USDA embarked on an ambitious natural resources agenda for the 21st century, setting clear priorities for scientists and managers and holding them accountable for sustaining the health of America's forests and grasslands. To prevent further damage by the dangerous Asian long-horned beetle, USDA banned untreated solid wood packing materials from China and helped remove more than 2,500 afflicted trees in New York. USDA succeeded in eliminating the Mediterranean fruit fly in Florida and is working toward its eradication in California to protect valuable fruit and vegetable crops. The Department collected approximately $20 million from 65 recreation fee demonstration projects on national forest and grasslands in 1998. Most of these funds are used to maintain and improve trails, recreational facilities, visitor services, signs, and health and safety features for the forests' and grasslands' 800 million visitors. USDA researchers developed an award-winning biopulping technology that uses wood-decay fungi to soften wood chips, eliminating environmental problems, reducing energy costs by at least 30 percent, and producing stronger paper. In 1998, USDA launched a new approach to forest road management to improve service to users, protect environmental values, enhance public safety, reduce damage to the environment, and better serve local transportation needs. A moratorium was proposed on new road construction in certain unroaded national forest areas. Modernizing our food safety system, using science to ensure safety from farm-to- table. USDA implemented HACCP, the new, science-based food safety inspection system, in the nation's 300 largest meat and poultry plants. Preliminary data indicate that the new system is already working, reducing salmonella dramatically in pork and broiler chickens. President Clinton established the Council on Food Safety to coordinate resources and policies to better prevent food borne illness. He also set up the Joint Institute for Food Safety Research and FORC-G to ensure a rapid and effective government response to food borne illness outbreaks. USDA researchers developed an anti-salmonella spray that may help poultry producers significantly reduce salmonella contamination on the farm. They also created a new breed of corn that can reduce phosphorous in pig and chicken waste by 50 percent. Feeding America's hungry children and families -- and promoting food recovery. USDA nutrition assistance programs helped feed about one in ten Americans. In 1998, nearly 20 million needy people received food stamps to help feed their families. More than half of the 5 billion school meals served to children this year were provided free or at a reduced price. And USDA's WIC program provided nutritious supplemental foods to 7 million at-risk women, infants, and children to help ensure a healthier America. Congress passed President Clinton's bill to reauthorize child nutrition programs, including an expansion of after-school snack programs so communities can move teens off the streets. The President also successfully fought for restored food stamp benefits for our most vulnerable legal immigrants, including children. USDA's Inspector General's "Operation Talon" caught more than 3,500 fugitive felons, many of them violent offenders, who were former food stamp recipients. USDA employees donated hundreds of thousands of pounds of food to community kitchens, and field-office gleaning efforts delivered tons of fresh produce to families in need. USDA sponsored the first government conference on preventing childhood obesity, focusing attention on a quiet epidemic that threatens one in five American children. Aggressively addressing long-standing civil rights issues. President Clinton and Secretary Glickman won Congressional passage of a waiver of a statute of limitations, so USDA could settle older civil rights cases. The Department restaffed its civil rights enforcement unit and cut in half the backlog of discrimination complaints. Civil rights training began for all employees. The Office of Civil Rights investigated 131 program discrimination complaints in FY98. Its investigative unit had been eliminated in 1982, and no more than a handful of cases had been investigated annually since that time. # 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