Business / Agriculture Glossary

Milk-Feed Price Ratio: A measure of the value of 16% protein ration (feed) to one pound of whole milk. As with the hog-corn ratio, this relationship is an indicator of the profitability of milk production.

Minimal Nutritional Value: Refers to foods that may not be sold in competition with the school lunch and breakfast programs. These are foods that USDA has determined contain little if any nutritional value. For exampl . . . View Full Definition

Minimum Access: In the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, countries are obliged to provide minimum levels of imports for products subject to tariffication. Access is assured by tariff-rate quotas.

Minimum Tillage: The minimum soil manipulation necessary for crop production. Conservation tillage, reduced tillage, and no-till farming are related terms.

Minnesota-Wisconsin Price (M-W Price): A component of the basic formula price for farm milk used in federal milk marketing orders. It is a survey of the average price Minnesota and Wisconsin plants are paying farmers for Grade B . . . View Full Definition

Minor Crops: Crops that may be high in value but that are not widely grown. Many fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts come under this definition. The IR-4 program is one publicly funded program to help prod . . . View Full Definition

Minor Oilseeds: Oilseed crops other than soybeans and peanuts: usually a reference to the other oilseeds eligible for marketing assistance loans under the FAIR Act of 1996 (sunflower seed, canola, rapeseed, . . . View Full Definition

Mitigation Bank: A bank is created when wetlands at a site are restored, enhanced or created in advance of destruction of similar wetlands in nearby locations. The bank then sells 'credits' in the bank to pe . . . View Full Definition

Mohair Recourse Loan Program: A program authorized by the emergency provisions of the FY1999 USDA appropriations act (P.L. 105-277, October 21, 1998) that makes interest-free recourse loans of $2.00 per pound on mohair p . . . View Full Definition

Monetization: A P.L. 480 provision added by the Food Security Act of 1985 that allows private voluntary organizations to sell a small percentage of donated P.L. 480 commodities within the recipient countr . . . View Full Definition

Monoculture: A pattern of crop or tree production that relies on a single plant variety.

Montreal Protocol On Ozone Depleting Substances: An international agreement, to which the U.S. is a signatory, for controlling emissions of chemicals that deplete stratospheric ozone (including methyl bromide). The Clean Air Act Amendments . . . View Full Definition

Morbidity: Rate of disease incidence: an important measure in epidemiological studies.

Morrill Act Of 1862: Enacted July 2, 1862 (chapter 130, 12 Stat. 503), this law allocated federal land to each state and directed the states to sell the land and use the proceeds to establish a college dedicated . . . View Full Definition

Morrill Act Of 1890: Enacted August 30, 1890 (chapter 841, 26 Stat. 417), this law authorized additional direct appropriations for the land grant colleges of agriculture that had been established under the Morri . . . View Full Definition

Most-Favored-Nation Treatment (MFN): A commitment that a country will extend to another country the lowest tariff rates it applies to any third country. MFN is a basic principle of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GA . . . View Full Definition

Mulch: A natural or artificial layer of plant residue or other material on the soil surface. Mulch reduces erosion, conserves soil moisture, inhibits weed growth, and can provide the soil with orga . . . View Full Definition

Multilateral Agreement: A trade agreement involving three or more countries (as with the World Trade Organization) in contrast to a bilateral agreement (as with the US-Canada Free Trade agreement) involving only tw . . . View Full Definition

Multilateral Trade Negotiations (MTN): Negotiations between General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) member nations that are conducted under the auspices of the GATT and that are aimed at reducing tariff and nontariff trade . . . View Full Definition

Multiple Basing Points: A method of regional pricing in milk marketing orders that would allow more than one basing point, or 'surplus area,' to be used. Surplus areas are administratively defined as areas with low . . . View Full Definition

Multiple Component Pricing: The practice of valuing farm milk according to the value of its protein, fat, and mineral content. This practice has been adopted by many regions for federal milk marketing orders. Historica . . . View Full Definition

Multiple Use: According to the Multiple Use and Sustained Yield Act of 1960 (P.L. 86-517, June 12, 1960), as amended, multiple use of the national forests means the 'harmonious and coordinated management . . . View Full Definition

Mutagen: An agent that causes a permanent genetic change in a cell other than that which occurs during normal growth. Testing to determine mutagenicity is one component of assessing the potential chr . . . View Full Definition

Mutual Self-Help Housing: A program to assist groups of low-income families in building their own homes. Each family is expected to contribute at least 700 hours of labor in building homes for each other. Participati . . . View Full Definition

Mycotoxins: Toxic substances produced by fungi or molds on agricultural crops that may cause sickness in animals or humans that eat feed or food made from contaminated crops. There are between 300 and 4 . . . View Full Definition

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