Business / Agriculture Glossary

Agricultural Trade Office: The Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 directed the establishment of trade offices in major centers of commerce throughout the world. Agricultural trade offices are operated by the Foreign Agric . . . View Full Definition

Agricultural Zoning: A designation intended to protect farmland and farming activities from incompatible nonfarm uses. Agricultural zoning can specify many factors, such as the uses allowed, minimum farm size, t . . . View Full Definition

Agriculture And Consumer Protection Act Of 1973: P.L. 93-86 (August 10, 1973) was the 4-year farm bill that adopted target prices and deficiency payments as a tool that would support farm income but reduce forfeitures to the Commodity Cred . . . View Full Definition

Agriculture And Food Act Of 1981: P.L. 97-98 (December 22, 1981) was the 4-year omnibus farm bill that continued and modified commodity programs through 1985. It set specific target prices for 4 years, eliminated rice allotm . . . View Full Definition

Agriculture In Concert With The Environment (ACE): An Environmental Protection Agency program, administered cooperatively with USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, to fund research projects that reduce the ri . . . View Full Definition

Air Pollution: Contamination of the atmosphere by substances that, directly or indirectly, adversely affect human health or welfare. Air pollution results from human activities, both deliberate releases (a . . . View Full Definition

Alar: Trade name for daminozide, a plant regulator and therefore classed as a pesticide, that makes apples redder, firmer, and less likely to drop off trees before harvest. It was also used to a l . . . View Full Definition

Alcohol: The family name of a group of organic chemical compounds that includes methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, and others. Ethanol is produced from crops or residues with a high carbohydrate c . . . View Full Definition

Alien Species Prevention And Enforcement Act Of 1992: P.L. 102-393 (October 6, 1992) makes it illegal to ship certain categories of plants and animals through the mail. The prohibited species are certain injurious animals, plant pests, plants a . . . View Full Definition

Allotment: In conjunction with commodity support programs, acreage allotments and marketing quotas serve to limit a farm’s output or volume marketed. For federal lands grazing, an allotment is an area . . . View Full Definition

Allowable Sale Quantity (ASQ): A forestry term defined in law as the maximum amount of timber that can be sold every year, forever, from a national forest: in forest planning, the annual timber sale target for a national forest.

Alternative Agricultural Research And Commercialization Corporation (AARCC): Originally established by the FACT Act 1990 as the Applied Agricultural Research Commercialization Center, the purpose of the AARCC is to assist in the research, development, and commerciali . . . View Full Definition

Alternative Agriculture: A systematic approach to farming intended to reduce agricultural pollution, enhance sustainability, and improve efficiency and profitability. Overall, alternative agriculture emphasizes mana . . . View Full Definition

Alternative Fuels: Substitutes for traditional liquid, oil-derived motor vehicle fuels like gasoline and diesel. Includes methanol, ethanol, biodiesel, compressed natural gas, and others. The alternatives are . . . View Full Definition

Ammonia: A pungent alkaline gas, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen (NH3). It is formed naturally when bacteria decompose nitrogen-containing compounds, such as manures. Emissions of ammonia can be . . . View Full Definition

Andean Common Market (ANCOM Or Andean Group): Formed in May 1969 by Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia under the Cartegena Agreement, which called for eliminating all barriers to trade by the end of 1980 and the establishment of a common . . . View Full Definition

Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS): A USDA agency established to conduct inspections and regulatory and control programs to protect animal and plant health. It utilizes border inspections to prevent international transmission . . . View Full Definition

Animal Damage Control (ADC) Program: Renamed in 1997 as the Wildlife Services (WS) program, it is an Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service effort to protect agriculture, natural resources, property or endangered species fr . . . View Full Definition

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