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Farm Commodity Programs: A Short Primer
Publication Date: February 2005
Publisher(s): Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Series: RS20848
Abstract:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is required by law to subsidize approximately two dozen specified agricultural commodities. Several permanent statutes provide the basic authority for these subsidies; more recent multi-year farm bills shape their operation and funding levels. The most recent omnibus farm bill is the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L.107-171). However, Congress since FY1989 has also passed 30 appropriations, authorization, or farm disaster acts adding approximately $53 billion in supplemental funding for USDA farm and related programs (through October 2004). This report will not be updated.