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| Highlights |
Title X
Miscellaneous |
Modifies crop insurance and organic
agriculture programs. Includes new provisions on
country-of-origin labeling, animal health and welfare,
and some support for specialty commodities.
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 Key provisions
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| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm
legislation |
2002 Farm Bill
|
| Crop insurance and disaster
assistance |
| Crop insurance is
available for a wide variety of crops, but not always in
each locality where a crop is grown. Premiums are
federally subsidized. |
Beginning with the 1997 crop year, dual
delivery of crop insurance by the Farm Service Agency
and private insurance agents was eliminated in States
(or portions of States) that had adequate access to
private crop insurance providers.
Supplemental ad hoc assistance in 1999 and 2000
provided additional insurance subsidies. |
No changes to basic program. |
| Agricultural Risk Protection
Act of 2000 (ARPA) provided an additional $8.2 billion
for insurance premium subsidies for FY 2001-05. ARPA
raised premium subsidies with the goal of increasing
insurance participation and encouraging use of higher
coverage levels. ARPA also set revenue insurance
subsidies at the same premium subsidy rates as for yield
insurance. |
ARPA provision (scheduled to
go into effect in 2006) that allowed selection of
continuous levels, rather than coverage level at fixed
intervals, was eliminated. |
| Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) Pilot Crop
Insurance Program |
The Risk Management Agency initiated a
pilot AGR insurance program in 1999 to offer coverage
for crops for which traditional crop insurance is not
available. Insurance coverage under AGR, based on
Adjusted Gross Revenue on Internal Revenue Service
Schedule F, covers gross revenue from all farm
commodities. AGR was initially offered in selected
counties in 5 States; its availability was increased in
2001 to 17 States. In 2002, it was available in these 17
States. |
Requires that AGR Pilot Program be
continued through at least 2004 in the counties where it
was offered in 2002. Requires that at least 8 counties
in California and at least 8 counties in Pennsylvania be
added to the pilot program in 2003. |
| Study feasibility of producer
indemnification from government-caused disasters |
No similar provisions. |
The Secretary of Agriculture is required
to conduct a study of the feasibility of expanding crop
insurance and noninsured crop assistance coverage to
include disaster conditions caused primarily by Federal
action restricting access to irrigation
water. |
Top
of page
| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm
legislation |
2002 Farm Bill
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Country-of-origin labeling
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Federal law (the Tariff Act of 1930 as
amended, the Federal Meat Inspection Act as amended, and
other legislation) requires most imports, including many
food items, to bear labels informing the "ultimate
purchaser" of their country of origin. Generally, the
"ultimate purchaser" is the last U.S. person who
received the article in the form in which it was
imported. |
Requires retailers to inform consumers of the country
of origin at the final point of sale for covered
commodities. Food-service establishments are exempted.
The Secretary is required to issue guidelines for
voluntary country-of-origin labeling by September 30,
2002. The Secretary is required to promulgate mandatory
regulations by September 30, 2004. |
| Coverage |
Retail-ready packages—e.g., a can of
Danish ham, a slab of Dutch cheese, and shrink-wrapped
English cucumbers—each have to carry a country-of-origin
label. In contrast, if the article is substantially
transformed by a U.S. processor or manufacturer, that
processor or manufacturer is considered the ultimate
purchaser. For example, meat and other items are not
required to carry a country-of-origin mark after cutting
or processing in the U.S.
Current Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
regulations allow voluntary labeling of fresh
beef products using terms such as "U.S.A. Beef," and
"Fresh American Beef" (products born, raised, and
slaughtered in the U.S.), or "Product of the U.S.A."
(products that, at a minimum, have been prepared in the
U.S.). |
Covered commodities are muscle cuts of
beef, lamb, and pork; ground beef, ground lamb, and
ground pork; farm-raised fish and shellfish; wild fish
and shellfish; perishable agricultural commodities
(fresh fruits and vegetables as defined by the
Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act); and peanuts.
For covered meat to have a U.S. country-of-origin
label, it must be exclusively from an animal that is
born, raised, and slaughtered in the U.S.
Provides new seafood labeling responsibilities to
USDA, while all other seafood labeling responsibilities
remain with the Food and Drug Administration. The label
must distinguish between farm-raised and wild-harvest
seafood products. |
| Content and placement of labels |
U.S. customs laws require each imported
article produced abroad to be marked for the ultimate
purchaser in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly,
and permanently as the nature of the article permits. |
The required country-of-origin
information is provided to consumers by a label, stamp,
mark, placard, or other clear and visible sign on the
commodity or on the package, display, holding unit, or
bin containing the commodity. |
| Compliance and verification |
Customs laws require that if the article
is not properly marked at the time of importation, a
marking duty equal to 10% of the customs value of the
article be assessed.
FSIS regulations on voluntary labeling require that
all such geographic claims be substantiated before label
approval through records documenting adherence to a
producer's operational protocol, and through
testimonials and affidavits. |
Provides for compliance audit trails and
requires participants in the marketing chain to supply
information to retailers. Retailers may be fined up to
$10,000 for willfully failing to comply.
The Secretary "shall not use a mandatory
identification system to verify the country of
origin..." but may use "…as a model certification
programs in existence." |
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| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm
legislation |
2002 Farm Bill
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| Specialty crops |
| Market loss assistance for apple
producers |
Ad hoc emergency payments were made to
apple producers in 2000 and 2001. |
Provides $94 million of Commodity
Credit Corporation (CCC) funds for fiscal year (FY)
2002 to make payments to apple producers who suffered
market losses during crop year (CY) 2000. The maximum
quantity of apples for which producers on a farm are
eligible for payments is 5 million pounds. |
| Fruit and vegetable domestic
promotion program |
No similar provisions. |
A new $10-million-per-year cost-share
pilot program is established to create demonstration
projects aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable
consumption and promoting healthy eating. |
| Purchase of specialty crops for
schools and military service institutions |
USDA purchases commodities for school
lunches and for service institutions. Purchase of fruits
and vegetables was not specified. |
Requires the Secretary to purchase at
least $200 million in fruits, vegetables, and other
specialty food crops. |
| Cranberry Acreage Reserve
Program |
No similar provisions. |
Authorizes $10 million for a Cranberry
Acreage Reserve Program. The program entails purchase of
permanent easements on wetlands or on buffer strips
adjacent to wetlands that are environmentally sensitive
and have been or are currently used for cranberry
cultivation. |
| Market loss assistance for onion
producers |
No similar provisions. |
Provides $10 million of CCC funds as a
grant to the State of New York to support onion
producers in Orange County who suffered losses to onion
crops during 1 or more CY 1996-2000. |
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of page
| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm legislation |
2002
Farm Bill |
| Animal and plant protection |
| Animal health protection
provisions consolidate and enhance authority of the
Secretary relating to protection of animal health. |
No similar provisions. |
The Secretary may prohibit or restrict
entry of any animal or related material if necessary to
prevent spread of any livestock pest or disease. The
Secretary may also prohibit or restrict exports if
necessary to prevent the spread of livestock pests or
diseases from or within the U.S. The Secretary has
express authority to hold, seize, treat, or destroy any
animal, as well as to limit interstate livestock
movement. The Secretary shall compensate owners based on
fair market value of destroyed animals and related
material. The Secretary may also take measures to
detect, control, or eradicate any pest or disease of
livestock. |
| Commercial fisheries failure |
No similar provisions. |
The Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of Commerce, can make funds available for
emergency disaster relief to the commercial fishery
industry in the Northeast. Funds would be used to reduce
fishing capacity in the Northeast by buying up fishing
permits. The program terminates in May 2003. |
| Market names for catfish and
ginseng |
No similar provisions. |
The term "catfish" (for labeling and
advertising purposes) is restricted to fish within the
family Ictaluridae. For labeling or advertising
of herbs or herbal ingredients, the term ''ginseng'' may
only be considered to be a common or usual name for any
herb or herbal ingredient that is derived from a plant
classified within the genus Panax. |
| Animal welfare provisions |
No similar provisions. |
Provisions of the Animal Welfare
subtitle clarify definitions for animals covered under
the Animal Welfare Act, prohibit interstate movement of
animals for animal fighting, and include a "Sense of
Congress" that the Secretary should fully enforce the
Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. |
| Penalties for violations of the Plant
Protection Act |
The Plant Protection Act of 2000 defined
USDA's authorities and responsibilities concerning plant
protection, including actions to prevent the
introduction and interstate movement of alien plant
pests. It amended and superceded provisions in 10 laws,
providing 1 statutory framework. It defines criminal and
civil violation. |
Increases criminal penalties for persons
who knowingly destroy records, move pests in commerce,
or commit multiple violations of the Plant Protection
Act. |
Top
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| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm
legislation |
2002 Farm Bill |
| Food safety
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| Animal health research |
Mandated that animal health and disease
research should focus on protecting humans from animal
diseases that can be transmitted to humans, as well as
other objectives. |
Scientific studies allowed on
transmission of spongiform encephalopathy in deer, elk,
and moose, and chronic wasting disease. |
| Non-ambulatory animals |
No similar provisions. |
The Secretary shall investigate and
submit a report to Congress on non-ambulatory animals
(downed livestock that are too sick or injured to
stand), promulgate regulations, and enforce them. |
| Food Safety Commission |
No similar provisions. |
Establishes a national Food Safety
Commission that will make specific recommendations to
improve food safety. The 15 commission members will be
appointed by the President, and will include consumers,
food scientists, food industry representatives, and
health professionals, but no more than 3 Federal
employees. |
| Irradiation |
No similar provisions. The Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act defined misbranded (improperly
labeled) food, but did not specify which foods could be
labeled as "pasteurized." |
The term "pasteurization" is redefined
to include other processes for eliminating microbial
pathogens besides heat treatment, potentially allowing
foods treated with irradiation, high pressure, or
ultraviolet light to be labeled as pasteurized. The
Secretary of Health and Human Services will issue a
final rule to regulate labeling of irradiated foods.
Until the rule is issued, proposed labels will be
promptly reviewed. |
| Biotechnology education |
No similar provisions. |
The Secretary will implement a public
education program to provide information about the
safety of foods produced using biotechnology. Scientific
data from the program will be collected and made
available. |
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| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm legislation |
2002 Farm Bill |
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Organic agriculture
|
| Organic provisions |
The Agricultural Risk Protection Act of
2000 authorized cost-share assistance for organic
certification to producers in not more than 15 States
that have a historically low participation rate in the
Federal crop insurance program. |
Establishes a National Organic
Certification Cost-Share
Program to assist producers and handlers of agricultural
products in obtaining certification under the National
Organic Program established under the Organic Foods
Production Act of 1990. Provides $5 million in FY 2002,
to remain available until expended. Maximum Federal cost
share is 75% annually with up to $500 paid to an
individual producer or handler. |
| Exemption from commodity
assessments |
No similar provisions. |
Farmers who produce and market solely
100% organic products and do not produce any nonorganic
products are exempt from assessments under commodity
promotion laws. |
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