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Ag84M 1 USDA United States Assisting America's Department of Agriculture Small Farmers and Research, Education, and Economics Ranchers the . j> in Small Farms Coordination 21st Century :,i Miscellaneous > Pu/lication 1589 - Meeting the Challenge of A Time to Act Small Farms@USDA www.usda.gov/oce/smallfarm/ Historic, archived document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices . This report, Assisting America 's Small Farmers and Ranchers in the 21st Century, was prepared by the USDA Small Farms Coordinators. The report provides highlights of the continuing efforts made by USDA to assist the Nation's small farmers and ranchers since the USDA National Commission on Small Farms published its report, A Time to Act, in January 1998. This report reflects accomplishments through October 2001 IssuedJanuary2003 USD4 Assisting America's Small Farmers and Ranchers the in 21st Century Accomplishments through October 2001 TheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture(USDA)prohibitsdiscriminationinall itsprogramsandactivitiesonthebasis ofrace,color,nationalorigin,sex,religion,age,disability,politicalbeliefs,sexualorientation,andmaritalorfamily status.(Notallprohibitedbasesapplytoallprograms.)Personswithdisabilitieswhorequirealternativemeansfor communicationofprogram information(Braille,largeprint,audiotape,etc.)shouldcontactUSDA'sTARGET Centerat202-720-2600(voiceandTDD). Tofileacomplaintofdiscrimination,writeUSDA.Director.OfficeofCivil Rights.Room 326-W.Whitten Building. 14thandIndependenceAvenue,SW,Washington.DC20250-4410orcall(202)720-5964(voiceorTDD).USDAis anequalopportunityproviderandemployer. MiscellaneousPublication 1589(MP 1589) Visit Our Web Site To Learn More! Wantto learn more aboutthe specific actions taken by USDA to assistAmerica's small farmers andranchers?Visit ourSmall Farms@USDA web site at www.usda.gov/oce/smallfarm/. ii • Assisting America's Small Farmersand Ranchers in the 21st Century J Contents Foreword 1 Introduction 3 I. Outreach 5 Agricultural Marketing Service 5 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 6 Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 6 Farm ServiceAgency 9 Food and Nutrition Service 18 Food Safety and Inspection Service 18 ForeignAgricultural Service 19 Forest Service 21 Grain Inspection, Packers and StockyardsAdministration 23 Natural Resources Conservation Service 25 Risk ManagementAgency 28 USDA National Office ofOutreach 32 II. Market Development 35 Agricultural Marketing Service 35 Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 45 Farm ServiceAgency 47 Food and Nutrition Service 47 Natural Resources Conservation Service 49 Rural Business-Cooperative Service 50 MarketAccess/Enforcement 54 III. Grain Inspection, Packers and StockyardsAdministration 54 Natural Resources Conservation Service 57 IV. Risk Management 58 Risk ManagementAgency 58 V. Conservation 65 Natural Resources Conservation Service 65 VI. Credit and Finance 72 Farm ServiceAgency 72 Rural Business-Cooperative Service 73 Assisting America's Small Farmers and Ranchers in the 21st Century • iii . VII. Research and Extension 75 Agricultural Research Service 75 Cooperative State Research. Education, and Extension Service 79 Economic Research Service 82 NationalAgricultural Statistics Service 85 Natural Resources Conservation Service 88 VIM. Beginning Farmers 89 Cooperative State Research. Education, and Extension Service 89 Farm ServiceAgency 90 Natural Resources Conservation Service 90 IX. Farm Workers 92 USDA National Office ofOutreach 92 X. Civil Rights 94 USDA National Office ofCivil Rights 94 XI. Additional Small Farms Initiatives 96 Cooperative State Research. Education, and Extension Service 96 Natural Resources Conservation Service 97 Rural Business-Cooperative Service 98 XII. Appendixes USDA MissionAreas/Mission Statements 99 1 2.Acronyms/Abbreviations 101 3. Figure 1: BarChart Showing the NumberofCommission Recommendations Implemented by USDA 103 4. USDAWeb Sites by MissionArea 104 Acknowledgments 108 iv Assisting America's Small Farmers and Ranchers in the 21st Century Foreword Ann M.Veneman, Secretary ofAgriculture It has been several years since the USDA's National ~ acrossAmerica will be Commission on Small Farms completed its report.A Time ATimetoAct included in the 2002 Census ACoRmempiosrstiootnthoenUSSmaDlAlNFaatrimonsal toAct. The United States Department ofAgriculture has January1998 ofagriculture and other indeed acted, swiftly andeffectively, to empowerour small, surveys that provide family-sizedAmerican farmers. In these pages, you will find invaluable information on National descriptions ofinnovative efforts that are helping small Commission the farm topology ofsmall on producers survive in an increasingly concentrated and family farms. OurNational SmallFarms top-heavy farm economy. Office ofOutreach has taken P3PP2 In taking on this challenge, we have tapped the resources aproactive role to insure ofthe entire Department, notjust those agencies responsible that USDA programs and foradministering farm programs. OurSmall Farms services are accessible to — Coordinators one from each USDA mission area; Reportofthe National all constituents, including individual agencies: the National Offices ofOutreach. Civil Commission on Small Farms the underserved, socially Rights, Budget and ProgramAnalysis, Communications. dated January1998. disadvantaged and limited- — ChiefEconomist, and the General Counsel have been the resource farmers, ranchers, key tothis strategy, uniting in pursuit ofacommon goal farm workers, and otherrural constituents.Also, our Risk instead ofprotecting theirindividual turf. ManagementAgency awardedover$20 million in FY 2001 While ourFarm ServiceAgency andAgricultural forthe development ofnew kinds ofcrop insurance plans and Marketing Service are deeply involved, there is much more to ways tolessen the risks offarming, to educate producers our small farms efforts. Forexample, ourFood Safety and aboutcrop insurance, and to improve services to small, Inspection Service and State Extension Service have limited-resource, and underserved communities. launched training programs in Pacific Island and Navajofarm These individual success stories only tell part ofthe story. communities to promote animal hygiene and proper On alarge scale. USDA, more than everbefore, has been preharvest handling practices, thus ensuring a saferproduct. active and vocal in efforts designed to support small farmers. OurFood and Nutrition Service is involved in several Ournew policy on mandatory price reporting, ourworkon efforts topromote the purchase ofcommodities from small national organic standards, ourcommitment to civil rights, farms forUSDA NutritionAssistance Programs. OurNatural oursupport forfarmers' markets, and endorsement of Resources Conservation Service is reaching out to small sustainable agriculture have demonstrated USDAs farmers from Maine to Oregon, helping them work the commitment to small farmers. The challenges facing land in a way that is both economically productive and American agriculture, especially the struggles ofthe small environmentally responsible. farmer, toooften go unnoticed. OurCooperative State Research. Education, and In addition to theireconomic potential and the role they Extension Service is working to improve the economic play in ensuring asafe, abundant, and affordable food supply, viability ofsmall farm operations throughout the United small farms are apart ofthe fabric ofAmerican life. They are States and its territories via partnerships and collaborations aunique partofourheritage, a tradition olderthan the nation with the land-grant university system and otherpublic and itself, anda national treasure that must be preserved. The private sectors, including farmers, community-based trend towardconsolidation, in agriculture and othersectors of organizations, foundations, and others. the economy, will not stop any time soon. In many cases, OurNationalAgricultural Statistics Service has improved where it leads to greaterefficiency, profitability, andjob its datacollection procedures to ensure that small farms creation, we do not want itto stop. But biggerisnot Assisting America's Small Farmers and Ranchers in the 21st Century • 1 Foreword necessarily better. Small producers deserve aplacein 21st century agriculture. They can and mustco-exist side-by-side with largeragricultural operations in adiverse marketplace that presents consumers with avariety ofchoices and provides all farmers with economic opportunity. Despite all the accomplishments outlined in this report, there is stillplentyofworktobe done. I amconfident that thisAdministration will continue tomake significant progress in meeting the challenge ofthe National Commission on Small Farms original report,A Time toAct(published in January 1998). The Commission'sreportincluded eight policy goals and 146 recommendations on how USDA could help small farms and ranches. This report,Assisting America's SmallFarmersandRanchers in the21stCentury, highlights USDA's continuing efforts to assist small farmers andranchers since the USDA Small Farms Coordinators issued its firstreport.Meeting the Challenge ofA TimetoAct: USDA ProgressandAchievementson SmallFarms (published inApril 2000). I amalsopleased to note that the 2002 Farm Bill enacted this yearrecognizes, supports, and promotes the unique interests ofsmall farmers andranchers. 2 Assisting America's Small Farmers and Ranchers in the 21st Century