Business / Agriculture Glossary

Abandoned Wells: Abandoned drainage wells and abandoned water wells on vacant farmsteads are of particular concern for agriculture. Abandoned wells can present both safety risks and a direct conduit by which . . . View Full Definition

Acid Deposition: Abnormally acidic (low ph) precipitation (or dry deposition) resulting from emissions of sulfur and nitrogen compounds that transform during chemical processes in the atmosphere. Acid deposi . . . View Full Definition

Acquired Lands: Lands in federal ownership that were obtained by the federal government through purchase, condemnation, gift, or exchange. One category of public lands.

Acre: 1 acre=43,560 sq. Ft.=208.7 ft.2 =0.405 hectares: or 640 acres=1 sq. Mile (called a section).

Acre-Foot: The volume of water that would cover one acre of land (43,560 square feet) to a depth of one foot, equivalent to 325,851 gallons of water. An acre-foot is the basic measure of agricultural w . . . View Full Definition

Acreage Allotment: Under provisions of permanent commodity price support law, a farm’s acreage allotment is its share, based on its previous production, of the national acreage needed to produce sufficient sup . . . View Full Definition

Acreage Base (Or Base Acres): A farm’s average planted acreage for a specific crop over the previous five years (for wheat or feed grains) or three years (for cotton or rice), plus land not planted because of certain acr . . . View Full Definition

Acreage Conservation Reserve: The cropland acreage diverted from production under the acreage reduction program.

Acreage Diversion Programs: Historically, commodity programs included provisions to reduce commodity supplies by diverting acreage to non-crop uses. Examples include paid diversion, unpaid diversion, set-aside, and acr . . . View Full Definition

Acreage Limitation: With respect to commodity policy, acreage limitation might refer to planting constraints under an acreage reduction program, set-aside, or paid land diversion. In relation to water policy, i . . . View Full Definition

Acreage Reduction Program (ARP): A no longer authorized annual cropland retirement program for wheat, feed grains, cotton, or rice in which farmers participating in the commodity programs (in order to be eligible for nonrec . . . View Full Definition

Action Levels: As opposed to tolerances (which are established for pesticide residues occurring as a direct result of proper usage), action levels are set for inadvertent residues resulting from previous l . . . View Full Definition

Active Ingredient: In any pesticide product, the component that kills, or otherwise controls, target pests. Pesticides are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency primarily on the basis of active ingredients.

Actual Production History (APH): A measure of an individual farmer’s annual production of a commodity over a multi-year period. The APH serves as the basis for the farmer’s 'normal' crop yield in the crop insurance program. . . . View Full Definition

Actuarially Sound: The financial goal of any insurance program (including the federal crop insurance program) is to operate on an actuarially sound basis: that is, total premiums collected should more than off . . . View Full Definition

Acute Toxicity: The ability of a substance to cause harmful effects soon after a single exposure or dose. Also, any severe poisonous effect resulting from a single short-term exposure to a toxic substance. . . . View Full Definition

Ad Valorem Duty: A tariff expressed as a fixed percentage of the value of the imported commodity or product. Generally, by contrast, a specific duty is applied as a charge on each unit or specified quantity . . . View Full Definition

Additional Peanuts: Peanuts sold from a farm in any marketing year in excess of the amount of quota peanuts (see peanut poundage quota) sold from that farm. Additional peanuts must be exported or crushed into o . . . View Full Definition

Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) Pilot Program: A pilot revenue insurance program first implemented in 1999 by USDA on a limited basis. It allows farmers to receive a guarantee of a percentage of their revenue for multiple commodities, in . . . View Full Definition

Adjusted World Price: As part of the upland cotton and the rice marketing assistance loan programs, USDA calculates and publishes, on a weekly basis, what is known as the adjusted world price (AWP). The AWP is th . . . View Full Definition

Adjusted World Price (AWP): As part of the upland cotton marketing assistance loan program, USDA calculates and publishes, on a weekly basis, what is known as the adjusted world price (AWP). The AWP is the prevailing w . . . View Full Definition

Administrative Convergence: USDA in 1998 was developing a plan to consolidate the administrative functions (e.g., accounting, budgeting, procurement, personnel) of its field service agencies at the state level under on . . . View Full Definition

Administrative Procedure Act: P.L. 79-404 (July 11, 1946), as amended, establishes, among other things, minimum procedural requirements or models for federal agency rulemaking and certain types of hearings. For instance, . . . View Full Definition

Adulterated Food: Generally, impure, unsafe, or unwholesome: however, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and the Poultry Products Inspection Act contain separate langua . . . View Full Definition

Advance Deficiency Payments: Initial payments (ranging from 30 to 50% of the total payment) made to crop producers when they signed up for federal commodity programs. If the total deficiency payment was eventually calcu . . . View Full Definition

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