- Industry: Government
- Number of terms: 41534
- Number of blossaries: 0
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Under the Endangered Species Act, critical habitat is an area essential to the conservation of a listed species, though the area need not actually be occupied by the species at the time it is designated. Critical habitat must be designated for all threatened and endangered species under the Act (with certain specified exceptions). The areas may be federal or nonfederal land, but only the federal government is required to protect it. A federal agency with whom a landowner is dealing must ensure that its actions (which may include giving a loan, increasing irrigation flows, etc.) do not adversely modify these areas.
Industry:Agriculture
A crop-specific measure equal to the average number of acres planted (or considered planted) to a particular program crop for the previous five years. The sum of the crop acreage bases for all program crops on a farm may not exceed the farm acreage. The acreage base was used in determining the number of acres a farmer, under an acreage reduction program, had to remove from normal crop production and devote to conserving uses in order to be eligible for USDA price and income supports. The FAIR Act of 1996 suspends the base acreage provisions of the permanent law.
Industry:Agriculture
Insurance that protects farmers from crop losses due to natural hazards. Hail and fire insurance are offered through private companies without federal subsidy. A subsidized multiperil federal insurance program, administered by the Risk Management Agency, also is available to most farmers. The program is authorized by the Federal Crop Insurance Act (which is actually title V of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938), as amended. Federal crop insurance is available for about 60 different crops, although not all insurable crops are covered in every county. With the amendments to the Federal Crop Insurance Act made by the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994, USDA is authorized to offer basically "free" catastrophic (CAT) coverage to producers who grow an insurable crop. Farmers must sign a waiver foregoing any federal disaster assistance if they decline CAT coverage. For an additional premium, farmers can buy additional coverage beyond the CAT level. Crops for which insurance is not available are protected under the Noninsured Assistance Program (NAP). Federal crop insurance is sold and serviced through private insurance companies. A portion of the premium is subsidized by the federal government, as well as the administrative and operating expenses of the private companies. The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation reinsures the companies by absorbing the losses of the program when indemnities exceed total premiums. Several revenue insurance products are available on major crops as a form of additional coverage.
Industry:Agriculture
Reports compiled by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) on various commodities that are released throughout the year. Information in the reports includes estimates on planted acreage, yield, and expected production, as well as comparison of production from previous years.
Industry:Agriculture
That portion of a plant, such as a corn stalk, left in the field after harvest. Crop residues are measured for farmers who use conservation tillage to implement their conservation plans to meet conservation compliance requirements. These farmers are required to maintain a minimum level of crop residue to be in compliance. Under revisions to the conservation compliance program in the FAIR Act of 1996, farmers are allowed to use third parties, certified by USDA, to measure levels of crop residue.
Industry:Agriculture
A form of revenue insurance that protects a producer’s revenue for an insurable crop whenever low prices, low yields, or a combination of both causes revenue to fall below a guaranteed level selected by the producer. It differs from other revenue insurance programs by allowing producers to use the higher of the planting price or the market price in determining a target level of revenue.
Industry:Agriculture
The growing of different crops, in recurring succession, on the same land in contrast to monoculture cropping. Rotation usually is done to replenish soil fertility and to reduce pest populations in order to increase the potential for high levels of production in future years.
Industry:Agriculture
Precise assessments of pest pressure (typically insects) and crop performance to evaluate economic risk from pest infestations and the potential effectiveness of pest control interventions. Scouting is usually sold as a commercial service to farmers.
Industry:Agriculture
In contrast to cash rent, the tenant farmer pays the landlord a share of the crop. This arrangement puts the landlord, like the tenant operator, at risk from variation in yields and prices. For the farm operator, crop share rent is a mechanism for sharing risks with the landlord. In relation to commodity programs for supporting prices and farm incomes, cash rent landlords do not have a beneficial interest in the commodity and are not eligible for some benefits compared to crop share landlords that do have a beneficial interest in the crop.
Industry:Agriculture
The year in which a crop is harvested. For wheat, barley, and oats, the crop year is from June 1 to May 31. For corn, sorghum, and soybeans, it is from September 1 to August 31. For cotton, peanuts and rice, the crop year is from August 1 to July 31.
Industry:Agriculture
