[United States Government Manual]
[June 01, 2004]
[Pages 103-126]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250

Phone, 202-720-4623. Internet, www.usda.gov.
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE                          Ann M. Veneman
Deputy Secretary                                  James Moseley
Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign              J.B. Penn
        Agricultural Services
    Deputy Under Secretaries                      Jim Butler, Floyd 
                                                          Gabler
    Administrator, Farm Service Agency            James Little
    Administrator, Foreign Agricultural           Ellen Terpstra
            Service
    Administrator, Risk Management                Ross J. Davidson, Jr.
            Agency
Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and          Eric M. Bost
        Consumer Services
    Deputy Under Secretary                        Kate Coler
    Administrator, Food and Nutrition             Roberto Salazar
            Service
    Executive Director, Center for                Eric Hentges
            Nutrition Policy and 
            Promotion
Under Secretary for Food Safety                   Elsa A. Murano
    Deputy Under Secretary                        Merle D. Pierson
    Administrator, Food Safety and                (vacancy)
            Inspection Service
Under Secretary for Natural Resources and         Mark E. Rey
        Environment
    Deputy Under Secretary for Forestry           Dave Tenny
    Deputy Under Secretary for                    Mack Gray
            Conservation
    Chief, Forest Service                         Dale Bosworth
    Chief, Natural Resources                      Bruce Knight
            Conservation Service
Under Secretary for Research, Education, and      Joseph J. Jen
        Economics
    Deputy Under Secretary                        Rodney J. Brown
    Administrator, Agricultural Research          Edward B. Knipling, 
            Service                                       Acting
    Administrator, Cooperative State              Colien Hefferan
            Research, Education, and 
            Extension Service
    Administrator, Economic Research              Susan E. Offutt
            Service
    Administrator, National Agricultural          Ron Bosecker
            Statistics Service
Under Secretary for Rural Development             Gilbert Gonzalez, 
                                                          Acting
    Deputy Under Secretary                        Gilbert Gonzalez
    Administrator, Rural Business-                John Rosso
            Cooperative Service
    Administrator, Rural Housing Service          Arthur A. Garcia

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    Administrator, Rural Utilities                Hilda Gay Legg
            Service
Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations   Mary Waters
    Deputy Assistant Secretary                    Mike Torrey
Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory      William T. Hawks
        Programs
    Deputy Under Secretary                        Chuck Lambert
    Administrator, Agricultural                   A.J. Yates
            Marketing Service
    Administrator, Animal and Plant               Bobby R. Acord
            Health Inspection Service
    Administrator, Grain Inspection,              Donna Reifschneider
            Packers, and Stockyards 
            Administration
Assistant Secretary for Administration            (vacancy)
    Deputy Assistant Secretary                    John Surina
    Chairman, Board of Contract Appeals           Howard A. Pollack
    Judicial Officer                              William G. Jenson
    Chief Judge, Administrative Law               Marc Hillson, Acting
            Judges
    Director, Office of Ethics                    Raymond Sheehan
    Director, Office of Human Resources           Ruthie F. Jackson
            Management
    Director, Office of Operations                Priscilla Carey
    Director, Office of Procurement and           W.R. Ashworth
            Property Management
    Director, Office of Small and                 James House
            Disadvantaged Business 
            Utilization
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights              Vernon Parker
    Associate Assistant Secretary                 Clyde Thompson
    Director, Office of Civil Rights              (vacancy)
    Director, Office of Outreach                  (vacancy)
Chief Information Officer                         Scott Charbo
    Deputy Chief Information Officer              Ira L. Hobbs
Chief Financial Officer                           Patricia Healy, Acting
    Deputy Chief Financial Officer                Patricia Healy
General Counsel                                   Nancy S. Bryson
    Deputy General Counsel                        J. Michael Kelly
Inspector General                                 Phyllis Fong
    Deputy Inspector General                      Joyce N. Fleischman
Director, Office of Communications                Alisa Harrison
Chief Economist                                   Keith Collins
    Deputy Chief Economist                        Joseph Glauber
    Director, Office of Risk Assessment           James Schaub
            and Cost-Benefit Analysis
    Chairman, World Agricultural Outlook          Gerald Bange
            Board
Director, Global Change Program Office            William Hohenstein
Director, Office of Energy Policy and New Uses    Roger Conway
Director, National Appeals Division               Roger J. Klurfeld
Director, Office of Budget and Program Analysis   Stephen B. Dewhurst
Director, Office of the Executive Secretariat     Bruce Bundick

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Director, Sustainable Development and Small       Adela Backiel
        Farms

[For the Department of Agriculture statement of organization, see the 
        Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Part 2]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Department of Agriculture works to improve and maintain farm income 
and to develop and expand markets abroad for agricultural products. The 
Department helps to curb and to cure poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. 
It works to enhance the environment and to maintain production capacity 
by helping landowners protect the soil, water, forests, and other 
natural resources. Rural development, credit, and conservation programs 
are key resources for carrying out national growth policies. Department 
research findings directly or indirectly benefit all Americans. The 
Department, through inspection and grading services, safeguards and 
ensures standards of quality in the daily food supply.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) was created by act of May 15, 1862 
(7 U.S.C. 2201).
    In carrying out its work in the program mission areas, USDA relies 
on the support of departmental administration staff, as well as the 
Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Office of Communications, Office of Congressional and 
Intergovernmental Relations, Office of the Inspector General, and the 
Office of the General Counsel.

Rural Development

The rural development mission of USDA is to assist rural Americans in 
using their abilities to improve their quality of life. To accomplish 
this, USDA works to foster new cooperative relationships among 
Government, industry, and communities. The mission is carried out by the 
Rural Housing Service, which includes rural housing and rural community 
facility loan and grant programs; the Rural Business-Cooperative 
Service, which includes business and cooperative development programs; 
and the Rural Utilities Service, which includes telephone, electric, 
water, and sewer programs. Approximately 850 rural development field 
offices provide frontline delivery of all rural development loan and 
grant programs at the local level.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

The mission of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) is to 
enhance the quality of life for all rural Americans by providing 
leadership in building competitive businesses and sustainable 
cooperatives that can prosper in the global marketplace. To meet 
business credit needs in underserved areas, RBS business programs are 
usually leveraged with commercial, cooperative, or other private sector 
lenders. RBS business programs include:
Business and Industry Guaranteed Loans  This program helps create jobs 
and stimulates rural economies by providing financial backing for rural 
businesses. Loan proceeds may be used for working capital, machinery and 
equipment, buildings and real estate, and certain types of debt 
refinancing.
Business Enterprise  These grants help public bodies, nonprofit 
corporations, and federally recognized Indian tribal groups finance and 
facilitate development of small and emerging private business 
enterprises located in rural areas. Grant funds can pay for the 
acquisition and development of land and the construction of buildings, 
plants, equipment, access streets and roads, parking areas, utility and 
service extensions, refinancing, and fees for professional services, as 
well as

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technical assistance and related training, startup costs and working 
capital, financial assistance to a third party, production of television 
programs targeted to rural residents, and rural distance learning 
networks.
Business Opportunities  This program promotes sustainable economic 
development in rural communities with exceptional needs. Funds are 
provided for technical assistance, training, and planning activities 
that improve economic conditions. Applicants must be located in rural 
areas.
Cooperative Development  These grants finance the establishment and 
operation of centers for cooperative development. The primary purpose of 
this program is to enhance the economic condition of rural areas through 
the development of new cooperatives and improving operations of existing 
cooperatives.
Cooperative Opportunities and Problems Research  This program encourages 
research, funded through cooperative agreements, on critical issues 
vital to the development and sustainability of agricultural and other 
rural cooperatives as a means of improving the quality of life in 
America's rural communities.
Cooperative Services  This program helps farmers and rural communities 
become self-reliant through the use of cooperative organizations. 
Studies are conducted to support cooperatives that market farm products, 
purchase production supplies, and perform related business services. 
These studies concentrate on the financial, organizational, legal, 
social, and economic aspects of cooperative activity. Technical 
assistance and research is provided to improve cooperative performance 
in organizing new cooperatives, merging existing cooperatives, changing 
business structures, and developing strategies for growth. Applied 
research is conducted to give farmers and rural communities expert 
assistance pertaining to their cooperatives. The program also collects 
and publishes statistics regarding the role and scope of cooperative 
activity in U.S. agriculture. The Service's bimonthly magazine, Rural 
Cooperatives, reports current developments and research for cooperative 
management leadership.
Economic Development  These loans and grants finance economic 
development and job creation projects based on sound economic plans in 
rural areas. Loans and grants are available to any eligible Rural 
Utilities Service electric or telecommunications borrower to assist in 
developing rural areas from an economic standpoint, to create new job 
opportunities, and to help retain existing employment. Loans at zero 
interest are made primarily to finance business startup ventures and 
business expansion projects. Grants are made to eligible telephone and 
electric utilities to establish revolving loan programs operated at the 
local level. The revolving loan program provides capital to nonprofit 
entities and municipal organizations to finance business or community 
facilities which promote job creation in rural areas, for facilities 
which extend or improve medical care to rural residents, and for 
facilities which promote education and training to enhance marketable 
job skills for rural residents.
Intermediary Relending  These loans finance business facilities and 
community development projects in rural areas. The Service lends these 
funds to intermediaries, which in turn provide loans to recipients who 
are developing business facilities or community development projects.
Sheep Industry  The National Sheep Industry Improvement Center promotes 
strategic development activities to strengthen and enhance the 
production and marketing of sheep and goat products in the United 
States. It works to improve infrastructure and business development, 
market and environmental research, and designs unique responses to the 
needs of the industries for their long-term sustainable development. The 
Center's board of directors oversees its activities and operates a 
revolving fund for loans and grants.
Technology Transfer  This program provides information to farmers and 
other rural users on a variety of

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sustainable agricultural practices that include both cropping and 
livestock operations. It offers reliable, practical information on 
production techniques and practices that reduce costs and that are 
environmentally friendly. Farmers can request such information by 
telephone at 800-346-9140 (toll free).

For further information, contact the Rural Development, Legislative and 
Public Affairs Staff, Stop 0705, Department of Agriculture, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-0320. Phone, 202-720-6903.

Rural Housing Service

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) provides affordable rental housing, 
homeownership opportunities, and essential community facilities to rural 
Americans through a broad array of direct loan, guarantee, and grant 
programs. Rural residents and communities may inquire about any of these 
programs through local and State rural development offices. The Service 
provides financial and management assistance through the following 
services:
    --guaranteed single-family housing (SFH) loans which guarantee loans 
made by commercial lenders to moderate-income rural residents with 
sufficient income and acceptable credit, who may lack the downpayment to 
secure a loan without assistance;
    --direct single-family housing loans made available to people with 
incomes less than 80 percent of area median, to build, purchase, and 
repair rural homes;
    --home improvement and repair loans and grants for owner-occupants 
to remove health and safety hazards from a home;
    --mutual self-help housing technical assistance grants for nonprofit 
organizations and public bodies to help groups of six to eight very low- 
and low-income families to build their own homes by providing ``sweat 
equity'' which reduces the families' mortgage;
    --rural housing site loans for private or public nonprofit 
organizations to purchase sites for the development of housing for very 
low- and low-income families;
    --direct and guaranteed multi-family housing loans for private 
nonprofit corporations, consumer cooperatives, State or local public 
agencies, and individuals or organizations operating on a nonprofit or 
limited profit basis to provide rental or cooperative housing in rural 
areas for persons of very low, low, and moderate income;
    --farm labor housing loans and grants enabling farmers, public or 
private nonprofit organizations, or units of local government to build, 
buy, or rehabilitate farm labor housing;
    --housing preservation grants made to a public body or public/
private nonprofit organization to provide assistance to homeowners and 
landlords to repair and rehabilitate housing for very low- and low-
income families in rural areas;
    --housing for the homeless, SFH real-estate-owned (REO) property to 
nonprofit organizations or public bodies for transitional housing for 
the homeless and to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house 
families affected by natural disasters; and
    --community program loans, direct and guaranteed loans and grants 
for public and quasi-public bodies, nonprofit associations, and Indian 
tribes for essential community facilities such as health care centers, 
public safety buildings and vehicles, and child care centers.

For further information, contact the Rural Development, Legislative and 
Public Affairs Staff, Stop 0705, Department of Agriculture, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-0320. Phone, 202-720-6903.

Rural Utilities Service

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is a credit agency that assists rural 
electric and telecommunications utilities in obtaining financing and 
administers a nationwide water and waste loan and grant program to 
improve the quality of life and promote economic development in rural 
America. A total of 890 rural electric and 800 rural telecommunications 
utilities in 47 States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the 
Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the 
Federated States of Micronesia have received financial assistance. 
Approximately 7,200 rural communities

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are currently served through financial assistance received from water 
and waste loans and grants. RUS provides assistance by use of the 
following programs:
    --The electric program provides loans for improving electric service 
to persons in rural areas, including construction of electric generating 
plants and transmission and distribution lines to provide reliable 
electric service.
    --The telecommunications program provides telephone service in rural 
areas.
    --The water and waste direct and guaranteed loan program provides 
assistance to develop water and wastewater systems, including solid 
waste disposal and storm drainage, in rural areas, cities, and towns.
    --Water and waste disposal grants assist in reducing water and waste 
disposal costs to a reasonable level for users of the system.
    --Emergency community water assistance grants provide assistance to 
rural communities experiencing a significant decline in quantity or 
quality of drinking water.
    --Technical assistance and training grants are available to 
nonprofit organizations to provide rural water and waste system 
officials with technical assistance and training on a wide range of 
issues relating to the delivery of water and waste service to rural 
residents.
    --Solid waste management grants are available for nonprofit 
organizations and public bodies to provide technical assistance and 
training to rural areas and towns to reduce or eliminate pollution of 
water resources and improve planning and management of solid waste 
facilities.
    --The rural water circuit rider technical assistance program 
provides, through the National Rural Water Association, technical 
assistance to rural water systems to solve operational, financial, and 
management problems.
    --The distance learning and telemedicine program provides assistance 
to help rural schools and health care providers invest in 
telecommunications facilities and equipment to bring to rural areas 
educational and medical resources that otherwise might be unavailable.
    --The Service also guarantees loans from the Department of the 
Treasury's Federal Financing Bank (FFB), which it lends to borrowers, 
primarily for large-scale electric and telecommunication facilities. RUS 
may also guarantee electric and telecommunications loans from private 
sources.

For further information, contact the Rural Development Legislative and 
Public Affairs Staff, Department of Agriculture, Stop 0705, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-0320. Phone, 202-720-1255.

Marketing and Regulatory Programs

This mission area includes marketing and regulatory programs other than 
those concerned with food safety.

Agricultural Marketing Service

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) was established by the 
Secretary of Agriculture on April 2, 1972, under the authority of 
Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953 (5 U.S.C. app.) and other authorities. 
The Service administers standardization, grading, certification, market 
news, marketing orders, research and promotion, and regulatory programs.
Market News  The Service provides current, unbiased information to 
producers, processors, distributors, and others to assist them in the 
orderly marketing and distribution of farm commodities. Information is 
collected on supplies, demand, prices, movement, location, quality, 
condition, and other market data on farm products in specific markets 
and marketing areas. The data is disseminated nationally via a modern 
satellite system and is shared with

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several countries. The Service also assists countries in developing 
their own marketing information systems.
Standardization, Grading, and Classing  Grade standards have been 
established for about 230 agricultural commodities to help buyers and 
sellers trade on agreed-upon quality levels. Standards are developed 
with the benefit of views from those in the industries directly affected 
and others interested. The Service also participates in developing 
international standards to facilitate trade.
    Grading and classing services are provided to certify the grade and 
quality of products. These grading services are provided to buyers and 
sellers of live cattle, swine, sheep, meat, poultry, eggs, rabbits, 
fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, peanuts, dairy products, and tobacco. 
Classing services are provided to buyers and sellers of cotton and 
cotton products. These services are mainly voluntary and are provided 
upon request and for a fee. The Service also is responsible for the 
certification of turpentine and other naval stores products, and the 
testing of seed.
Laboratory Testing  The Service provides scientific and laboratory 
support to its commodity programs relating to testing of microbiological 
and chemical factors in food products through grading, certification, 
acceptance, and regulatory programs; testing of peanuts for aflatoxin; 
testing of imported flue-cured and burley tobacco for pesticide 
residues; and testing seeds for germination and purity. The agency also 
carries out quality assurance and safety oversight activities with 
respect to the Service's commodity division laboratory and testing 
activities relating to milk market administrators, resident grading 
programs, and State and private laboratory programs.
    The Service also administers the Pesticide Data Program which, in 
cooperation with States, samples and analyzes 33 agricultural 
commodities for pesticide residues. It shares residue test results with 
the Environmental Protection Agency and other public agencies.
Food Quality Assurance  Under a governmentwide quality assurance 
program, AMS is responsible for the development and revision of 
specifications used by Federal agencies in procuring food for military 
and civilian uses. The Service coordinates and approves certification 
programs designed to ensure that purchased products conform to the 
specification requirements.
Regulatory Programs  The Service administers several regulatory programs 
designed collectively to protect producers, handlers, and consumers of 
agricultural commodities from financial loss or personal injury 
resulting from careless, deceptive, or fraudulent marketing practices. 
Such regulatory programs encourage fair trading practices in the 
marketing of fruits and vegetables, require truth in seed labeling and 
in advertising. The Service provides voluntary laboratory analyses of 
egg products, and monitors the disposition of restricted shell eggs--
eggs that are a potential health hazard.
Marketing Agreements and Orders  These programs help to establish and 
maintain orderly marketing conditions for certain commodities. Milk 
marketing orders establish minimum prices that handlers or distributors 
are required to pay producers. Programs for fruits, vegetables, and 
related specialty crops like nuts and spearmint oil help stabilize 
supplies and market prices. In some cases, they also authorize research 
and market development activities, including advertising supported by 
assessments that handlers pay. Through orderly marketing, adjusting the 
supply to demand, and avoiding unreasonable fluctuations during the 
marketing season, the income of producers is increased by normal market 
forces, and consumer interests are protected through quality and 
quantity control.
Plant Variety Protection Program  The Service administers a program that 
provides for the issuance of certificates of plant variety protection. 
These certificates afford developers of novel varieties of sexually 
reproduced plants exclusive rights to sell, reproduce, import, or export 
such varieties, or use them in the production of hybrids or different 
varieties for a period of 20

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years for non-woody plants and 25 years for woody plants.
Research and Promotion Programs  The Service monitors certain industry-
sponsored research, promotion, and information programs authorized by 
Federal laws. These programs provide farmers with a means to finance and 
operate various research, promotion, and information activities for 
cotton, potatoes, eggs, milk and dairy products, beef, pork, honey, 
watermelon, mushrooms, soybeans, and popcorn.
Transportation Programs  The Service is also responsible for the 
development of an efficient transportation system for rural America that 
begins at the farm gate and moves agricultural and other rural products 
through the Nation's highways, railroads, airports, and waterways, and 
into the domestic and international marketplace. To accomplish this, AMS 
conducts economic studies and analyses of these systems, and represents 
agricultural and rural transportation interests in policy and regulatory 
forums. To provide direct assistance to the transportation community, 
AMS supplies research and technical information to producers, producer 
groups, shippers, exporters, rural communities, carriers, governmental 
agencies, and universities.
Organic Standards  The Service, with the assistance of the National 
Organic Standards Board, develops national organic standards.
Other Programs  Other marketing service activities include financial 
grants to States for marketing improvement projects. The agency also has 
responsibility for the conduct of studies of the facilities and methods 
used in the physical distribution of food and other farm products; for 
research designed to improve the handling of all agricultural products 
as they move from farm to consumers; and for increasing marketing 
efficiency by developing improved operating methods, facilities, and 
equipment for processing, handling, and distributing dairy, poultry, and 
meat products.
    The Agricultural Marketing Service manages the Pesticide 
Recordkeeping Program in coordination with the National Agricultural 
Statistics Service and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Service 
has developed educational programs and assists State agencies in 
inspecting applicator records.

For further information, contact the Information Staff, Agricultural 
Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 96456, 
Washington, DC 20250. Phone, 202-720-8999.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[For the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service statement of 
organization, see the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Part 371]

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) was reestablished 
by the Secretary of Agriculture on March 14, 1977, pursuant to authority 
contained in 5 U.S.C. 301 and Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953 (5 
U.S.C. app.).
    The Service was established to conduct regulatory and control 
programs to protect and improve animal and plant health for the benefit 
of man and the environment. In cooperation with State governments, the 
agency administers Federal laws and regulations pertaining to animal and 
plant health and quarantine, humane treatment of animals, and the 
control and eradication of pests and diseases. Regulations to prevent 
the introduction or interstate spread of certain animal or plant pests 
or diseases are also enforced by the Service. It also carries out 
research and operational activities to reduce crop and livestock 
depredations caused by birds, rodents, and predators.
Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ)  Plant protection officials are 
responsible for programs to control or eradicate plant pests and 
diseases. These programs are carried out in cooperation with the States 
involved, other Federal agencies, farmers, and private organizations. 
Pest control programs use a single tool or a combination of pest control 
techniques, both chemical and nonchemical, which are both effective and 
safe.
    PPQ officials develop Federal regulations and policies that prohibit 
or restrict the entry of foreign pests and

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plants, plant products, animal products and byproducts, and other 
materials that may harbor pests or diseases. These regulations and 
policies, in conjunction with inspections conducted by the Department of 
Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection (CBP) help protect 
agricultural production and natural resources from pests and diseases. 
CBP maintains inspection services at all major sea, air, and land border 
ports of entry into the United States; PPQ continues to be present at 
many of these locations to take regulatory action on prohibited or 
restricted products that are found.
Veterinary Services   Animal health officials are responsible for 
programs to protect and improve the health, quality, and marketability 
of U.S. animals and animal products. The programs are carried out 
through cooperative links with States, foreign governments, livestock 
producers, and other Federal agencies.
    Service officials exclude, control, and eradicate animal pests and 
diseases by carrying out eradication and control programs for certain 
diseases, providing diagnostic services, and gathering and disseminating 
information regarding animal health in the United States through land, 
air, and ocean ports. They also certify as to the health status of 
animals and animal products being exported to other countries and 
respond to animal disease incursions or epidemics which threaten the 
health status of U.S. livestock and poultry.
    The Service also administers a Federal law intended to ensure that 
all veterinary biological products, whether developed by conventional or 
new biotechnological procedures, used in the diagnosis, prevention, and 
treatment of animal disease are safe, pure, potent, and effective. The 
Service regulates firms that manufacture veterinary biological products 
subject to the act, including licensing the manufacturing establishment 
and its products, inspecting production facilities and production 
methods, and testing products under a surveillance program.
Animal Care  The Service administers Federal laws concerned with the 
humane care and handling of all warm-blooded animals bought, sold, and 
transported in commerce and used or intended for use as pets at the 
wholesale level, or used or intended for use in exhibitions or for 
research purposes. The agency also enforces the Horse Protection Act of 
1970, which prohibits the soring of horses at shows and sales.
International Services  Service activities in the international arena 
include conducting cooperative plant and animal pest and disease 
control, eradication, and surveillance programs in foreign countries. 
These programs provide a first line of defense for the United States 
against threats such as screwworm, medfly, foot-and-mouth disease, and 
other exotic diseases and pests. The Service also provides international 
representation concerning sanitary and phytosanitary technical trade 
issues, and manages programs for overseas preclearance of commodities, 
passengers, and U.S. military activities.
Wildlife Services  Wildlife services officials cooperate with States, 
counties, local communities, and agricultural producer groups to reduce 
crop and livestock depredations caused by birds, rodents, and predators. 
Using methods and techniques that are biologically sound, 
environmentally acceptable, and economically feasible, they participate 
in efforts to educate and advise farmers and ranchers on proper uses of 
control methods and techniques; they suppress serious nuisances and 
threats to public health and safety caused by birds, rodents, and other 
wildlife in urban and rural communities; and they work with airport 
managers to reduce risks of bird strikes. In addition, they conduct 
research into predator-prey relationships, new control methods, and more 
efficient and safe uses of present methods such as toxicants, repellants 
and attractants, biological controls, scare devices, and habitat 
alteration.

For further information, contact Legislative and Public Affairs, Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, DC 20250. Phone, 202-720-2511.

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Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration

The Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) was 
established in 1994 to facilitate the marketing of livestock, poultry, 
meat, cereals, oilseeds, and related agricultural products, and to 
promote fair and competitive trading practices for the overall benefit 
of consumers and American agriculture. The Agency's mission is carried 
out in two different segments of American agriculture. The Federal Grain 
Inspection Service provides the U.S. grain market with Federal quality 
standards and a uniform system for applying them. The Packers and 
Stockyards Programs (P&SP) enforces the Packers and Stockyards Act of 
1921 (P&S Act), 7 U.S.C. 181 et seq., to promote fair and competitive 
marketing environments for the livestock, meat, and poultry industries. 
GIPSA also certifies State central filing systems for notification of 
liens against farm products. GIPSA is responsible for establishing 
official U.S. standards for grain and other assigned commodities, and 
for administrating a nationwide official inspection and weighing system.
Inspection  The United States Grain Standards Act requires that, with 
some exceptions, all U.S. export grain be officially inspected. At 
export port locations, inspection is performed by GIPSA or by State 
agencies that have been delegated export inspection authority by the 
Administrator. For domestic grain marketed at inland locations, the 
Administrator designates private and State agencies to provide official 
inspection services upon request. Both export and domestic services are 
provided on a fee basis.
Weighing  Official weighing of U.S. export grain is performed at port 
locations by GIPSA or by State agencies that have been delegated export 
weighing authority by the Administrator. For domestic grain marketed at 
inland locations, the weighing services may be provided by GIPSA or by 
designated private or State agencies. Weighing services are provided on 
a fee basis, upon request.
Standardization  The Administration is responsible for establishing, 
maintaining, and revising official U.S. standards for corn, wheat, rye, 
oats, barley, flaxseed, sorghum, soybeans, triticale, sunflower seed, 
canola, and mixed grain. It is authorized to perform applied research to 
develop methods to improve accuracy and uniformity in grading grain. It 
is also responsible for standardization and inspection activities for 
rice, dry beans, peas, lentils, hay, straw, hops, and related processed 
grain commodities. Although standards no longer exist for hay, straw, 
and hops, GIPSA maintains inspection procedures for and retains 
authority to inspect these commodities.
Methods Development  The Administration's methods development activities 
include applied research or tests that produce new or improved 
techniques for measuring grain quality. Examples include new knowledge 
gained through study of how to establish the framework for real-time 
grain inspection and develop reference methods to maintain consistency 
and standardization in the grain inspection system, and the comparison 
of different techniques for evaluation of end-use quality in wheat.
Packers and Stockyards Activities  The P&S Act prohibits unfair, 
deceptive, anti-competitive, and fraudulent practices by market 
agencies, dealers, packers, swine contactors, and live poultry dealers 
in those particular industries. The P&S Act protects producers and 
poultry growers by requiring most regulated entities to obtain bonds and 
meet strict payment requirements. To protect unpaid cash sellers of 
livestock, packers are subject to trust provisions which require that 
livestock and related investments or proceeds from meat, meat food 
products, or livestock products derived from them be held in trust for 
unpaid sellers until payment is made in full. A similar provision exists 
for live poultry dealers to protect growers. P&SP analyzes all trust and 
bond claims as a courtesy to the regulated industries. It is also 
responsible for the Truth-in-Lending Act and the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act as each relates to persons and firms subject to the P&S

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Act. P&SP carries out the Secretary's responsibilities under section 
1324 of the Food Security Act of 1985 pertaining to State-established 
central filing systems to pre-notify buyers, commission merchants, and 
selling agents of security interests against farm products. GIPSA 
administers the section of the statute commonly referred to as the 
``Clear Title'' provision and certifies qualifying State systems.

For further information, contact the Grain Inspection, Packers, and 
Stockyards Administration, Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 
20250. Phone, 202-720-0219.

Food Safety

Food Safety and Inspection Service

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) was established by the 
Secretary of Agriculture on June 17, 1981, pursuant to authority 
contained in 5 U.S.C. 301 and Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953 (5 
U.S.C. app.).
Meat, Poultry, and Egg Products Inspection  Federal meat and poultry 
inspection is mandatory for cattle, calves, swine, goats, sheep, lambs, 
horses (and other equines), chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and guineas 
used for human food. The work includes inspection of each animal or bird 
at slaughter, and inspection of processed products during various stages 
of production. The Service conducts mandatory, continuous inspection of 
the production of liquid, dried, and frozen egg products, to ensure that 
egg products are safe, wholesome, unadulterated, and accurately labeled. 
The Service tests samples of egg products, and meat and poultry products 
for microbial and chemical contaminants to monitor trends for 
enforcement purposes.
    Each product label must be approved by the agency before products 
can be sold. The agency monitors meat and poultry products in storage, 
distribution, and retail channels; and takes necessary compliance 
actions to protect the public, including detention of products, 
voluntary product recalls, court-ordered seizures of products, 
administrative withdrawal of inspection, and referral for criminal 
prosecution. The Service also conducts State programs for the inspection 
of meat and poultry products sold in intrastate commerce.
    The Service monitors livestock upon arrival at federally inspected 
facilities; conducts voluntary reimbursed inspection for rabbits, other 
domestic food animals, bison, other exotic food animals, ratites, and 
certain egg products not covered by the inspection law; and ensures that 
inedible egg products and inedible products from meat or poultry, such 
as offal rendered for animal feed, are properly identified and isolated 
from edible products.
    The Service maintains a toll-free meat and poultry hotline (800-535-
4555; in the Washington metropolitan area, 202-720-5604) to answer 
questions about labeling and safe handling of meat and poultry, meat and 
poultry products, and egg products. The hotline is also accessible (on 
the same extension) by TDD.

For further information, contact the Director, Food Safety Education and 
Communications Staff, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Department of 
Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. Phone, 202-720-7943. Fax, 202-720-
1843. Internet, www.usda.gov/agency/fsis/homepage.htm.

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Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services

The mission of Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services is to reduce 
hunger and food insecurity, in partnership with cooperating 
organizations, by providing access to food, a healthful diet, and 
nutrition education to children and needy people in a manner that 
supports American agriculture.

Food and Nutrition Service

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the USDA food 
assistance programs. These programs, which serve one in six Americans, 
represent our Nation's commitment to the principle that no one in this 
country should fear hunger or experience want. They provide a Federal 
safety net to people in need. The goals of the programs are to provide 
needy persons with access to a more nutritions diet, to improve the 
eating habits of the Nation's children, and to help America's farmers by 
providing an outlet for distributing foods purchased under farmer 
assistance authorities.
    The Service works in partnership with the States in all its 
programs. State and local agencies determine most administrative details 
regarding distribution of food benefits and eligibility of participants, 
and FNS provides commodities and funding for additional food and to 
cover administrative costs. FNS administers the following food 
assistance programs:
    --The Food Stamp Program provides food benefits through State and 
local welfare agencies to needy persons to increase their food 
purchasing power. The benefits are used by program participants to buy 
food in retail stores approved by the Food and Nutrition Service to 
accept and redeem the benefits.
    --The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and 
Children (WIC) improves the health of low-income pregnant, 
breastfeeding, and nonbreastfeeding postpartum women, and infants and 
children up to 5 years of age by providing them with specific nutritious 
food supplements, nutrition education, and health care referrals.
    --The WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program provides WIC 
participants with increased access to fresh produce. WIC participants 
receive coupons to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from authorized 
farmers.
    --The Commodity Supplemental Food Program provides a package of 
foods monthly to low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding 
women, their infants and children under age 6, and the elderly. 
Nutrition education is also provided through this program.
    --The National School Lunch Program supports nonprofit food services 
in elementary and secondary schools and in residential child-care 
institutions. More than half of the meals served through these 
institutions are free or at reduced cost.
    --The School Breakfast Program supplements the National School Lunch 
Program by supporting schools in providing needy children with free or 
low-cost breakfasts that meet established nutritional standards.
    --The Special Milk Program for Children provides milk for children 
in those schools, summer camps, and child-care institutions that have no 
federally supported meal programs.
    --The Child and Adult Care Food Program provides cash and 
commodities for meals for preschool and school-aged children in child-
care facilities and for functionally impaired adults in facilities that 
provide nonresidential care for such individuals.
    --The Summer Food Service Program for Children helps various 
organizations get nutritious meals to needy preschool and school-aged 
children during the summer months and during school vacations.
    --The Emergency Food Assistance Program provides State agencies with 
commodities for distribution to food banks, food pantries, soup 
kitchens, and other charitable institutions throughout the country, with 
administrative funds to assist in distribution.

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    --The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and the Trust 
Territories provides an extensive package of commodities monthly to low-
income households on or near Indian reservations in lieu of food stamps. 
This program is administered at the local level by Indian tribal 
organizations or State agencies.
    --The Nutrition Program for the Elderly provides cash and 
commodities to States for meals for senior citizens. The food is 
delivered through senior citizen centers or meals-on-wheels programs.
    --The Nutrition Assistance Programs for Puerto Rico and the Northern 
Marianas are block grant programs that replace the Food Stamp Programs 
in these two territories and provide cash and coupons to resident 
participants.
    --The Nutrition Education and Training Program grants funds to 
States for the development and dissemination of nutrition information 
and materials to children and for training of food service and teaching 
personnel.

For further information, contact the Public Information Officer, Food 
and Nutrition Service, Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA 22302. 
Phone, 703-305-2286. Internet, www.usda.gov/fns.htm.

Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion

The Center coordinates nutrition policy in USDA and provides overall 
leadership in nutrition education for the American public. It also 
coordinates with the Department of Health and Human Services in the 
review, revision, and dissemination of the Dietary Guidelines for 
Americans, the Federal Government's statement of nutrition policy formed 
by a consensus of scientific and medical professionals.

For further information, contact the Office of Public Information, 
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Suite 200, 1120 20th Street 
NW., Washington, DC 20036-3406. Phone, 202-418-2312. Internet, 
www.cnpp.usda.gov.

Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services

Farm Service Agency

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers farm commodity, crop 
insurance, and resource conservation programs for farmers and ranchers, 
and makes and guarantees farm emergency, ownership, and operating loans 
through a network of State and county offices.
Farm Commodity Programs  The Agency manages programs for conservation 
efforts through commodity programs such as production flexibility 
contracts, commodity and livestock disaster programs, marketing 
assistance loan programs, noninsured crop disaster assistance programs, 
and tobacco and peanut programs. It administers commodity loan programs 
for wheat, rice, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, oilseeds, tobacco, 
peanuts, upland and extra-long-staple cotton, and sugar. FSA provides 
operating personnel for the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), A 
Government-owned and operated organization providing short-term loans 
using the commodity as collateral, providing farmers with interim 
financing and orderly distribution of farm commodities throughout the 
year and in times of surplus and scarcity.
Farm Loan Programs  FSA makes and guarantees loans to family farmers and 
ranchers to purchase farmland and finance agricultural production. These 
programs help farmers who are temporarily unable to obtain private 
commercial credit. These may be beginning farmers who have insufficient 
net worth to qualify for commercial credit, who have suffered financial 
setbacks from natural disasters, or who have limited resources with 
which to establish and maintain profitable farming operations.
Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)  For crops for which 
Federal crop insurance is not available, NAP provides crop loss 
protection.

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Crops that are eligible include commercial crops grown for food and 
fiber, floriculture, ornamental nursery products, Christmas tree crops, 
turfgrass sod, seed crops, aquaculture (including ornamental fish such 
as goldfish), and industrial crops. Losses resulting from natural 
disasters not covered by the crop insurance policy may also be eligible 
for NAP assistance. NAP does not include trees grown for wood, paper, or 
pulp products.
Other Emergency Assistance  In the aftermath of a natural disaster, FSA 
makes available a variety of emergency assistance programs to farmers in 
counties that have been designated or declared disaster areas, including 
cost-share assistance to producers who do not have enough feed to 
maintain livestock because of a loss of a substantial amount of their 
normal feed production.
Conservation Programs  Conservation programs of FSA include preservation 
of farmland, wildlife habitat, and water and air quality. The 
Conservation Reserve Program is the Federal Government's single largest 
environmental improvement program on private lands. It safeguards 
millions of acres of topsoil from erosion improving air quality, 
increasing wildlife habitat, and protecting ground and surface water by 
reducing water runoff and sedimentation. In return for planting a 
protective cover of grass or trees on vulnerable property, the owner 
receives a rental payment each year of a multi-year contract. Cost-share 
payments are also available to help establish permanent areas of grass, 
legumes, trees, windbreaks, or plants that improve water quality and 
give shelter and food to wildlife.
Commodity Operations  Under the dairy price support program, the 
Commodity Credit Corporation buys surplus butter, cheese, and nonfat dry 
milk from processors at announced prices to support the price of milk. 
These purchases help maintain market prices at the legislated support 
level, and the commodities are used for hunger relief both domestically 
and internationally. Commodity operations personnel also aid in the 
storage, management, and disposition of food security commodity reserve 
grain and food products used to meet humanitarian needs abroad and the 
disaster reserve used to meet emergency livestock feed needs 
domestically. CCC commodities are also used to supply the national 
school lunch and domestic and international food aid programs to help 
fight hunger worldwide.

For further information, contact the Public Affairs Branch, Farm Service 
Agency, Department of Agriculture, Stop 0506, 1400 Independence Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC 20250. Phone, 202-720-5237. Internet, 
www.fsa.usda.gov.

Commodity Credit Corporation

The Commodity Credit Corporation was organized in 1933, and was managed 
and operated in close affiliation with the Reconstruction Finance 
Corporation until 1939, when it was transferred to the Department of 
Agriculture. CCC stabilizes, supports, and protects farm income and 
prices, assists in maintaining balanced and adequate supplies of 
agricultural commodities and their products, and facilitates the orderly 
distribution of commodities.
Foreign Assistance  The Corporation carries out assigned foreign 
assistance activities, such as guaranteeing the credit sale of U.S. 
agricultural commodities abroad. Major emphasis is also being directed 
toward meeting the needs of developing nations. Agricultural commodities 
are supplied and exported to combat hunger and malnutrition and to 
encourage economic development in developing countries. In addition, 
under the Food for Progress Program, the Corporation supplies 
commodities to provide assistance to developing democracies.

For further information, contact the Information Division, Foreign 
Agricultural Service, Department of Agriculture, Stop 1004, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. Phone, 202-720-7115. Fax, 
202-720-1727.

Risk Management Agency

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) helps to stabilize the agricultural 
economy by providing a sound system of crop insurance. RMA administers 
the

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programs of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) and has 
oversight for other programs related to the risk management of U.S. 
crops and commodities. Generally, multiple peril crop insurance (MPCI) 
policies insure farmers and ranchers against unexpected production 
losses from natural causes, including drought, excessive moisture, hail, 
wind, flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, and lightning. Policies do not 
cover losses resulting from neglect, poor farming practices, or theft.
    RMA also reinsures several revenue-based plans of insurance. 
Generally, revenue insurance provides protection against loss of income 
due to low yields, prices, or both. One plan, crop revenue coverage, is 
widely available on corn, grain sorghum, cotton, soybeans, and wheat. 
Producers must purchase crop insurance by the sales closing date 
established for the crop they wish to insure. Policies are sold and 
serviced by private crop insurance agents and companies.
    For information about Federal crop insurance programs, contact the 
Research and Development Division, 9435 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO 
64131. Phone, 816-926-7394. Internet, act.fcic.usda.gov. For information 
about the Risk Management Education outreach initiative, contact the 
Risk Management Education Division, Risk Management Agency, Department 
of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. 
Phone, 202-690-2957.

For further information, contact the Office of the Administrator, Risk 
Management Agency, Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC 20250. Phone, 202-690-2803. Internet, www.usda.gov/
rma.

Foreign Agricultural Service

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has primary responsibility for 
USDA's overseas market information, access, and development programs. It 
also administers USDA's export assistance and foreign food assistance 
programs. The Service carries out its tasks through its network of 
agricultural counselors, attaches, and trade officers stationed overseas 
and its U.S.-based team of analysts, marketing specialists, negotiators, 
and other professionals.
    The Foreign Agricultural Service maintains a worldwide agricultural 
intelligence and reporting system through its attache service with staff 
posted in 130 countries around the world. They represent the Department 
of Agriculture and provide information and data on foreign government 
agricultural policies, analyses of supply and demand conditions, 
commercial trade relationships, and market opportunities. They report on 
more than 100 farm commodities, weather, economic factors, and related 
subjects that affect agriculture and agricultural trade.
    At the Foreign Agricultural Service in Washington, DC, agricultural 
economists and marketing specialists analyze these and other reports. 
These analyses are supplemented by accumulated background information 
and by the crop condition assessment system, which analyzes Landsat 
satellite weather and other data.
    To improve access for U.S. farm products abroad, FAS international 
trade policy specialists coordinate and direct USDA's responsibilities 
in international trade agreement programs and negotiations. They 
maintain an ongoing effort to reduce foreign trade barriers and 
practices that discourage the export of U.S. farm products.
    To follow foreign governmental actions that affect the market for 
U.S. agricultural commodities, FAS relies on its agricultural counselors 
and attaches. In Washington, a staff of international trade specialists 
analyzes the trade policies and practices of foreign governments to 
ensure conduct in conformance with international treaty obligations. 
During international negotiations, FAS provides staff and support for 
U.S. agricultural representation.
    The Service has a continuing market development program to create, 
maintain, and expand commercial export markets for U.S. agricultural 
products. It carries out programs with nonprofit commodity groups, trade 
associations, and State agriculture departments and their regional 
associations. It manages

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market opportunity referral services and organizes trade fairs and sales 
teams.
    The Export Credit Guarantee Program (GSM-102) and the Intermediate 
Export Credit Guarantee Program (GSM-103) provide guarantees on private 
financing of U.S. exports to foreign buyers purchasing on credit terms.
    The Supplier Credit Guarantee Program guarantees a portion of a 
payment due for purchase of U.S. agricultural products for import, for 
which the exporter has directly extended short-term financing.
    The Facility Guarantee Program facilitates the financing of U.S.-
manufactured goods and services exported to emerging markets.
    The Emerging Markets Program promotes agricultural exports to 
emerging markets through sharing U.S. agricultural expertise by 
technical assistance.
    The Export Enhancement Program and the Dairy Export Incentive 
Program are export assistance programs designed to counter or offset the 
adverse effects from competitors' unfair trade practices on U.S. 
agriculture.
    The Market Access Program provides cost-share assistance to trade 
promotion organizations, cooperatives, and small businesses to help fund 
their market development activities overseas.
    The Service helps other USDA agencies, U.S. universities, and others 
enhance America's agricultural competitiveness globally; and increases 
income and food availability in developing nations by mobilizing 
expertise for agriculturally led economic growth.
    The Service also manages programs to exchange visits, germplasm, and 
technologies between U.S. and international scientists; supports 
collaborative research projects of mutual interest to the United States 
and other nations; taps the U.S. agricultural community to provide 
technical assistance and professional development and training programs 
to assist economic development in lower income nations; serves as U.S. 
liaison with international organizations; and organizes overseas trade 
and investment missions.

For further information, contact the Public Affairs Division, Foreign 
Agricultural Service, Stop 1004, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., 
Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250-1004. Phone, 202-720-
7115. Fax, 202-720-1727. Internet, www.fas.usda.gov.

Research, Education, and Economics

This mission area's main focus is to create, apply, and transfer 
knowledge and technology to provide affordable food and fiber, ensure 
food safety and nutrition, and support rural development and natural 
resource needs of people by conducting integrated national and 
international research, information, education, and statistical programs 
and services that are in the national interest.

Agricultural Research Service

The Agricultural Research Service conducts research to develop and 
transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority. 
It provides information access and dissemination to ensure high-quality 
safe food and other agricultural products; assess the nutritional needs 
of Americans; sustain a competitive agricultural economy; enhance the 
natural resource base and the environment; and provide economic 
opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole.
    Research activities are carried out at 103 domestic locations 
(including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and 5 overseas 
locations. Much of this research is conducted in cooperation with 
partners in State universities and experiment stations, other Federal 
agencies, and private organizations. A national program staff, 
headquartered in

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Beltsville, MD, is the focal point in the overall planning and 
coordination of ARS' research programs. Day-to-day management of the 
respective programs for specific field locations is assigned to eight 
area offices.

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 
(CSREES) links the research and education resources and activities of 
USDA and works with academic and land-grant institutions throughout the 
Nation. In cooperation with its partners and customers, CSREES advances 
a global system of research, extension, and higher education in the food 
and agricultural sciences and related environmental and human sciences 
to benefit people, communities, and the Nation.
    CSREES' programs increase and provide access to scientific 
knowledge; strengthen the capabilities of land-grant and other 
institutions in research, extension, and higher education; increase 
access to and use of improved communication and network systems; and 
promote informed decisionmaking by producers, consumers, families, and 
community leaders to improve social conditions in the United States and 
around the world. These conditions include improved agricultural and 
other economic enterprises; safer, cleaner water, food, and air; 
enhanced stewardship and management of natural resources; healthier, 
more responsible and more productive individuals, families, and 
communities; and a stable, secure, diverse, and affordable national food 
supply.
    CSREES provides research, extension, and education leadership 
through programs in plant and animal systems; natural resources and 
environment; economic and community systems; families, 4-H, and 
nutrition; competitive research and integrated research, education, and 
extension programs and awards management; science and education 
resources development; and information systems and technology 
management.
    CSREES' partnership with the land-grant universities is critical to 
the effective shared planning, delivery, and accountability for 
research, higher education, and extension programs.
    As a recognized leader in the design, organization, and application 
of advanced communication technologies and in meeting the growing demand 
for enhanced distance education capabilities, CSREES provides essential 
community access to research and education knowledge and connects the 
private citizen to other Federal Government information.

For further information, contact the Communications Staff, Cooperative 
State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Department of 
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-2207. 
Phone, 202-720-4651. Fax, 202-690-0289. E-mail, [email protected]. 
Internet, www.reeusda.gov.

National Agricultural Library

The National Agricultural Library (NAL) provides information services 
about a broad range of subjects relating to agriculture to an 
international customer base--from policymakers, agricultural 
specialists, and research scientists to the general public. The Library 
provides its customers with a wide variety of specialized information 
products and services, including information centers focusing on food 
and nutrition, food safety research, water quality, animal welfare, 
technology transfer, alterntive farming systems, and rural information, 
among other things. Its staff uses advanced information technologies to 
provide information services and access to the knowledge stored in its 
multimedia collection of more than 2 million items.
    Information is made available through Web sites, loans, photocopies, 
reference services, and literature searches. A subject profiling system 
for selective searches of agricultural databases is available for USDA 
scientists. Citations to the agricultural literature are stored in 
Library's online catalog, the AGRICultural OnLine Access

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(AGRICOLA) database, available at http://agricola.nal.usda.gov and on 
compact disc (CD).
    The Library also distributes in the United States the AGRIS database 
of citations to the agricultural literature prepared by centers in 
various parts of the world and coordinated by the Food and Agriculture 
Organization of the United Nations.
    In addition to its own Web-based services, the Library maintains the 
governmentwide www.science.gov and www.invasivespecies.gov Web portals 
and the Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC) at www.agnic.org.

For further information, contact the Information Staff, Agricultural 
Research Service, Department of Agriculture, Room 1-2250, 5601 Sunnyside 
Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705-5128. Phone, 301-504-1638. Fax, 301-504-
1648. Internet, www.nal.usda.gov.

Economic Research Service

The mission of the Economic Research Service is to provide economic and 
other social science information and analysis for public and private 
decisions on agriculture, food, natural resources, and rural America. 
The Service produces such information for use by the general public and 
to help the executive and legislative branches develop, administer, and 
evaluate agricultural and rural policies and programs.
    The Service produces economic information through a program of 
research and analysis on domestic and international agricultural 
developments; statistical indicators of food and consumer issues and 
concerns, including nutrition education and food assistance, food safety 
regulation, determinants of consumer demand for quality and safety, and 
food marketing trends and developments; agricultural resource and 
environmental issues; and the effect of public and private actions and 
policies on national rural and agricultural conditions, including the 
transformation of the rural economy, the financial performance of the 
farm sector, and the implications of changing farm credit and financial 
market structures.

For further information, contact the Information Services Division, 
Economics Research Service, Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 
20036-5831. Phone, 202-694-5100. Fax, 202-694-5641.

National Agricultural Statistics Service

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) prepares estimates 
and reports on production, supply, price, chemical use, and other items 
necessary for the orderly operation of the U.S. agricultural economy.
    The reports include statistics on field crops, fruits and 
vegetables, dairy, cattle, hogs, sheep, poultry, aquaculture, and 
related commodities or processed products. Other estimates concern farm 
numbers, farm production expenditures, agricultural chemical use, prices 
received by farmers for products sold, prices paid for commodities and 
services, indexes of prices received and paid, parity prices, farm 
employment, and farm wage rates.
    The Service prepares these estimates through a complex system of 
sample surveys of producers, processors, buyers, and others associated 
with agriculture. Information is gathered by mail, telephone, personal 
interviews, and field visits.
    NASS is responsible for conducting the census of agriculture, 
formerly conducted by the Bureau of the Census. The census of 
agriculture is taken every 5 years and provides comprehensive data on 
the agricultural economy down to the county level. Periodic reports are 
also issued on irrigation and horticultural specialties.
    The Service performs reimbursable survey work and statistical 
consulting services for other Federal and State agencies and provides 
technical assistance for developing agricultural data systems in other 
countries.

For further information, contact the Executive Assistant to the 
Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Department of 
Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250-2000. Phone, 202-720-2707. Fax, 202-
720-9013.

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Natural Resources and Environment

This mission area is responsible for fostering sound stewardship of 75 
percent of the Nation's total land area. Ecosystems are the underpinning 
for the Department's operating philosophy in this area, in order to 
maximize stewardship of our natural resources. This approach ensures 
that products, values, services, and uses desired by people are produced 
in ways that sustain healthy, productive ecosystems.

Forest Service

[For the Forest Service statement of organization, see the Code of 
Federal Regulations, Title 36, Part 200.1]

The Forest Service was created by the Transfer Act of February 1, 1905 
(16 U.S.C. 472), which transferred the Federal forest reserves and the 
responsibility for their management from the Department of the Interior 
to the Department of Agriculture. The mission of the Forest Service is 
to achieve quality land management under the sustainable, multiple-use 
management concept to meet the diverse needs of people. It's objectives 
include:
    --advocating a conservation ethic in promoting the health, 
productivity, diversity, and beauty of forests and associated lands;
    --listening to people and responding to their diverse needs in 
making decisions;
    --protecting and managing the national forests and grasslands to 
best demonstrate the sustainable, multiple-use management concept;
    --providing technical and financial assistance to State and private 
forest landowners, encouraging them toward active stewardship and 
quality land management in meeting their specific objectives;
    --providing technical and financial assistance to cities and 
communities to improve their natural environment by planting trees and 
caring for their forests;
    --providing international technical assistance and scientific 
exchanges to sustain and enhance global resources and to encourage 
quality land management;
    --assisting States and communities in using the forests wisely to 
promote rural economic development and a quality rural environment;
    --developing and providing scientific and technical knowledge, 
improving our capability to protect, manage, and use forests and 
rangelands; and
    --providing work, training, and education to the unemployed, 
underemployed, elderly, youth, and the disadvantaged.
National Forest System  The Service manages 155 national forests, 20 
national grasslands, and 8 land utilization projects on over 191 million 
acres in 44 States, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico under the 
principles of multiple-use and sustained yield. The Nation's tremendous 
need for wood and paper products is balanced with the other vital, 
renewable resources or benefits that the national forests and grasslands 
provide: recreation and natural beauty, wildlife habitat, livestock 
forage, and water supplies. The guiding principle is the greatest good 
to the greatest number in the long run.
    These lands are protected as much as possible from wildfire, 
epidemics of disease and insect pests, erosion, floods, and water and 
air pollution. Burned areas get emergency seeding treatment to prevent 
massive erosion and stream siltation. Roads and trails are built where 
needed to allow for closely regulated timber harvesting and to give the 
public access to outdoor recreation areas and provide scenic drives and 
hikes. Picnic, camping, water-sport, skiing, and other areas are 
provided with facilities for public convenience and enjoyment. Timber 
harvesting methods are used that will protect the land and streams, 
assure rapid renewal of the forest, provide food and cover for wildlife 
and fish, and have minimum impact on scenic and recreation values. Local 
communities benefit from the logging and milling activities. These lands 
also provide needed oil, gas, and minerals.

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Rangelands are improved for millions of livestock and game animals. The 
national forests provide a refuge for many species of endangered birds, 
animals, and fish. Some 34.6 million acres are set aside as wilderness 
and 175,000 acres as primitive areas where timber will not be harvested.
Forest Research  The Service performs basic and applied research to 
develop the scientific information and technology needed to protect, 
manage, use, and sustain the natural resources of the Nation's forests 
and rangelands. The Service's forest research strategy focuses on three 
major program components: understanding the structure and functions of 
forest and range ecosystems; understanding how people perceive and value 
the protection, management, and use of natural resources; and 
determining which protection, management, and utilization practices are 
most suitable for sustainable production and use of the world's natural 
resources.
Manpower Programs  The Service operates the Youth Conservation Corps and 
the Volunteers in the National Forests programs and participates with 
the Department of Labor on several human resource programs that involve 
the Nation's citizens, both young and old, in forestry-related 
activities. Included in these programs are the Job Corps and the Senior 
Community Service Employment Program. These programs annually accomplish 
millions of dollars worth of conservation work, while providing 
participants with such benefits as training, paid employment, and 
meaningful outdoor experience.

For further information, contact the Office of Communications, Forest 
Service, Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 96090, Washington, DC 
20090-6090. Phone, 202-205-8333.

                      Field Offices--Forest Service
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Region/Station/Area                        Address
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Forest System Regions--Regional Forester
1. Northern                 Federal Bldg. (P.O. Box 7669), Missoula, MT
                             59807
2. Rocky Mountain           740 Simms St., P.O. Box 25127, Lakewood, CO
                             80225
3. Southwestern             517 Gold Ave. SW., Albuquerque, NM 87102
4. Intermountain            324 25th St., Ogden, UT 84401
5. Pacific Southwest        630 Sansome St., San Francisco, CA 94111
6. Pacific Northwest        333 SW. 1st Ave., P.O. Box 3623, Portland,
                             OR 97208
8. Southern                 1720 Peachtree Rd. NW., Atlanta, GA 30367
9. Eastern                  310 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53203
10. Alaska                  Federal Office Bldg. (P.O. Box 21628),
                             Juneau, AK 99802
                       Research Stations--Director
Forest Products Laboratory  1 Gifford Pinchot Dr., Madison, WI 53705
North Central               1992 Folwell Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108
Northeastern                Suite 200, 100 Matson Ford Rd., P.O. Box
                             6775, Radnor, PA 19087-4585
Pacific Northwest           333 SW. 1st Ave., P.O. Box 3890, Portland,
                             OR 97208
Pacific Southwest           800 Buchanan St., P.O. Box 245, Albany, CA
                             94710
Rocky Mountain              240 W. Prospect Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80526
Southern                    200 Weaver Blvd., P.O. Box 2860, Asheville,
                             NC 28802
               State and Private Forestry Areas--Director
Northeastern                Suite 200, 100 Matson Ford Rd., P.O. Box
                             6775, Radnor, PA 19087-4585
International Institute of  UPR Experimental Station Grounds, Botanical
 Tropical Forestry           Garden, Call Box 25000, Rio Piedras, PR
                             00928
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Natural Resources Conservation Service

[For the Natural Resources Conservation Service statement of 
organization, see the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Parts 600 
and 601]

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly the Soil 
Conservation Service, has national responsibility for helping America's 
farmers, ranchers, and other private landowners develop and carry out 
voluntary efforts to conserve and protect our natural resources.
Conservation Technical Assistance  This is the foundation program of 
NRCS. Under this program, NRCS provides technical assistance to land 
users and units of government for the purpose of sustaining agricultural 
productivity and protecting and enhancing the natural resource base. 
This assistance is based

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on the voluntary cooperation of private landowners and involves 
comprehensive approaches to reduce soil erosion, improve soil and water 
quantity and quality, improve and conserve wetlands, enhance fish and 
wildlife habitat, improve air quality, improve pasture and range 
condition, reduce upstream flooding, and improve woodlands.
Emergency Watershed Protection Program  This program provides emergency 
assistance to safeguard lives and property in jeopardy due to sudden 
watershed impairment by natural disasters. Emergency work includes 
quickly establishing a protective plant cover on denuded land and stream 
banks; opening dangerously restricted channels; and repairing diversions 
and levees. An emergency area need not be declared a national disaster 
area to be eligible for help under this program.
Environmental Quality Incentive Program  This program assists producers 
with environmental and natural resource conservation improvements on 
their agricultural lands. One-half of the available funds are for 
conservation activities related to livestock production. Technical 
assistance, cost-share payments, incentive payments, and education focus 
on priority areas and natural resource concerns identified in 
cooperation with State technical committees, including such areas as 
nutrient management, pest management, and grazing land management.
Farmland Protection Program (FPP)  This program protects soil by 
encouraging landowners to limit conversion of their farmland to 
nonagricultural uses. States, Indian tribes, or local governments 
administer all aspects of acquiring lands that are in FPP except when it 
is more effective and efficient for the Federal Government to do so.
Forestry Incentives Program  This program helps to increase the Nation's 
supply of products from nonindustrial private forest lands. This also 
ensures more effective use of existing forest lands and, over time, 
helps to prevent shortages and price increases for forest products. The 
program shares the cost incurred by landowners for tree planting and 
timberstand improvement.
National Cooperative Soil Survey  The National Cooperative Soil Survey 
provides the public with local information on the uses and capabilities 
of their soils. The published soil survey for a county or other 
designated area includes maps and interpretations that are the 
foundation for farm planning and other private land use decisions as 
well as for resource planning and policy by Federal, State, and local 
governments. The surveys are conducted cooperatively with other Federal, 
State, and local agencies and land grant universities. The Service is 
the national and world leader in soil classification and soil mapping, 
and is now expanding its work in soil quality.
Plant Materials Program  At 26 plant materials centers across the 
country, NRCS tests, selects, and ensures the commercial availability of 
new and improved conservation plants for erosion reduction, wetland 
restoration, water quality improvement, streambank and riparian area 
protection, coastal dune stabilization, biomass production, carbon 
sequestration, and other needs. The Plant Materials Program is a 
cooperative effort with conservation districts, other Federal and State 
agencies, commercial businesses, and seed and nursery associations.
Resource Conservation and Development Program  This program (RC&D) is a 
locally driven program--an opportunity for civic-oriented groups to work 
together sharing knowledge and resources in solving common problems 
facing their region. The program offers aid in balancing the 
environmental, economic, and social needs of an area. A USDA coordinator 
helps each designated RC&D council plan, develop, and carry out programs 
for resource conservation, water management, community development, and 
environmental enhancement.
Rural Abandoned Mine Program  This program helps protect people and the 
environment from the adverse effects of past coal-mining practices and 
promotes the development of soil and water

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resources on unreclaimed mine land. It provides technical and financial 
assistance to land users who voluntarily enter into 5- to 10-year 
contracts for the reclamation of eligible land and water.
Small Watersheds Program  The program helps local sponsoring groups to 
voluntarily plan and install watershed protection projects on private 
lands. These projects include flood prevention, water quality 
improvement, soil erosion and sediment reduction, rural and municipal 
water supply, irrigation water management, fish and wildlife habitat 
enhancement, and wetlands restoration. The Service helps local community 
groups, government entities, and private landowners working together 
using an integrated, comprehensive watershed approach to natural 
resource planning.
Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting Program  This program collects 
snowpack moisture data and forecasts seasonal water supplies for streams 
that derive most of their water from snowmelt. It helps farm operators, 
rural communities, and municipalities manage water resources through 
water supply forecasts. It also provides hydrometeorological data for 
regulating reservoir storage and managing streamflow. The Snow Supply 
Program is conducted in the Western States and Alaska.
WatershedSurveys and Planning  This program assists Federal, State, and 
local agencies and tribal governments in protecting watersheds from 
damage caused by erosion, floodwater, and sediment and conserves and 
develops water and land resources. Resource concerns addressed by the 
program include water quality, water conservation, wetland and water 
storage capacity, agricultural drought problems, rural 
development,municipal and industrial water needs, upstream flood 
damages, and water needs for fish, wildlife,and forest-based industries. 
Types of surveys and plans include watershed plans, river basin surveys 
and studies, flood hazard analysis, and flood plain 
managementassistance. The focus of these plans is to identify solutions 
that use land treatment and nonstructural measures to solve resource 
problems.
Wetlands Reserve Program  Under this program, USDA purchases easements 
from agricultural land owners who voluntarily agree to restore and 
protect wetlands. Service employees help these owners develop plans to 
retire critical wetland habitat from crop production. The primary 
objectives are to preserve and restore wetlands, improve wildlife 
habitat, and protect migratory waterfowl.
WildlifeHabitatIncentives Program  This program provides financial 
incentives to develop habitats for fish and wildlife on private lands. 
Participants agree to implement a wildlife habitat development plan, and 
USDA agrees to provide cost-share assistance for the initial 
implementation of wildlife habitat development practices. USDA and 
program participants enter into a cost-share agreement for wildlife 
habitat development, which generally lasts a minimum of 10 years from 
the date that the contract is signed.

For further information, contact the Management Services Division, 
Natural Resources Conservation Service, Department of Agriculture, P.O. 
Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013. Phone, 202-690-4811.

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Graduate School, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Fourteenth Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250

Phone, 888-744-4723
Executive Director                                Jerry Ice
Deputy Executive Director                         Lynn Edwards

[[Page 126]]

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The Graduate School was established by act of May 15, 1862 (7 U.S.C. 
2201). It is a continuing education school offering career-related 
training to adults. Courses are planned with the assistance of 
Government professionals and specialists. The Graduate School's 
objective is to improve Government services by providing needed 
continuing education and training opportunities for Government employees 
and agencies.
    The faculty is mostly part-time and is drawn from throughout 
Government and the community at large. They are selected because of 
their professional and specialized knowledge and experience and thus 
bring a practicality and experience to their classrooms.
    The school does not grant degrees but does provide planned sequences 
of courses leading to certificates of accomplishment in a number of 
occupational and career fields important to government. Training areas 
include management, auditing, computer science, communications, foreign 
language, procurement, financial management, and others.

For further information, contact the Communications Office, Graduate 
School, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 270, 600 Maryland Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC 20024. Phone, 888-744-4723.

Sources of 
Information

Consumer Activities  Educational, organizational, and financial 
assistance is offered to consumers and their families in such fields as 
rural housing and farm operating programs, improved nutrition, family 
living and recreation, food stamp, school lunch, donated foods, and 
other food programs.
Contracts and Small Business Activities  To obtain information about 
contracting or subcontracting opportunities, attending small business 
outreach activities, or how to do business with USDA, contact the Office 
of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. Phone, 202-720-7117. 
Internet, www.usda.gov/da/smallbus.html.
Employment  Most jobs in the Department are in the competitive service 
and are filled by applicants who have established eligibility under an 
appropriate examination administered by the Office of Personnel 
Management or Department Special Examining Units. General employment 
information is available at www.usajobs.opm.gov.
Whistleblower Hotline  Persons wishing to register complaints of alleged 
improprieties concerning the Department should contact one of the 
regional offices or the Inspector General's whistleblower hotline. 
Phone, 800-424-9121 (toll free, outside Washington, DC); 202-690-1622 
(within the Washington, DC, metropolitan area); or 202-690-1202 (TDD). 
Fax, 202-690-2474.
Reading Rooms  Located at each USDA agency at addresses indicated in the 
preceding text.
Speakers  Contact the nearest Department of Agriculture office or county 
Extension agent. In the District of Columbia, contact the Office of 
Public Liaison, Office of Communications, Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, DC 20250. Phone, 202-720-2798.

For further information concerning the Department of Agriculture, 
contact the Office of Communications, Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, DC 20250. Phone, 202-720-4623. Internet, www.usda.gov.