Compiled by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and provided through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture
Last updated: Summer 2006
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Agricultural Acts
Dairy Export Incentive Program - A program that offers subsidies to exporters of U.S. dairy products to assist in competition with other subsidizing nations. Payments are made by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) on a bid basis either in cash or through certificates redeemable for commodities. The program was originally authorized by the 1985 Act, and was extended by the 1996 Act through the year, 2002.
Dairy Indemnity Program - Provides compensation to producers that suffered a great financial loss due to dumping milk that was contaminated by medicine, pesticides, etc.
Dairy Market Loss Assistance Program (DMLA) — A program announced March 8, 1999, that makes direct payments to dairy farmers on the first 26,000 hundredweight of milk marketed during 1997 or 1998. The actual payment rate will be determined after signup by dividing $200 million by the total eligible milk. This program was authorized by the emergency provisions of the FY1999 USDA appropriations act (P.L. 105-277, October 21, 1998).
Dairy Price Support Program — The federal program that maintains a minimum farm price for milk used in the manufacture of dairy products. The CCC indirectly assures a minimum price for milk by purchasing any cheddar cheese, nonfat dry milk, and butter offered to it by dairy processors at stated prices. These purchase prices are set high enough to enable dairy processors to pay farmers at least the support price for the milk they use in manufacturing these products. The support price was $10.20 per hundred pounds of milk (cwt.) in 1997, it declined to $10.05/cwt in 1998, and $9.90/cwt in 1999. Under provisions of the FAIR Act of 1996, the dairy price support program is scheduled to terminate on December 31, 1999.
Dairy Promotion Program — The Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 authorized a national producer program for dairy product promotion, research, and nutrition education as part of a comprehensive strategy to increase human consumption of milk and dairy products and to reduce dairy surpluses. Dairy farmers fund this self-help program through a mandatory 15-cent per hundredweight assessment on all milk produced in the 48 contiguous states and marketed commercially. Dairy farmers can direct up to 10 cents of this assessment for contributions to qualified regional, state or local dairy product promotion, research or nutrition education programs. The national program is administered by the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (Dairy Board), a group of 36 dairy farmers appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to staggered 3-year terms. This program should not be confused with the processor-funded Fluid Milk Promotion Program.
Dairy Termination Program — Also called the whole herd buyout, this program was authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985. Under it, farmers received USDA payments for agreeing to remove their entire dairy herds from production for 5 years.
Data call-in — A part of the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) process of developing key required test data, especially on the long-term, chronic effects of existing pesticides, in advance of scheduled Registration Standard reviews. Data call-in from manufacturers is an adjunct of the registration standards program intended to expedite re-registration.
DDT — The abbreviated name of a chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide, dichloro-diphenyl-trichloromethane. It is persistent in the environment and biomagnifies in birds of prey. The Environmental Protection Agency canceled U.S. registration of virtually all but emergency uses of DDT in 1972.
Dealer trust — The Packers and Stockyards Act includes provisions aimed at protecting the financial interests of livestock and poultry producers. Under the act, the inventories and accounts receivable of a packer or live poultry dealer — but not livestock (e.g., cattle, pigs, sheep) dealers such as auction houses — must be held in trust for unpaid cash sellers when the packer or poultry dealer fails to pay due to bankruptcy or other financial difficulty. In such situations, the seller is to be paid with these assets before other creditors. USDA for several years has been seeking an amendment to the act extending this protection to those who sell to livestock dealers, which, the Department says, have caused a significant amount of unrecoverable losses for livestock producers.
Debt-asset ratio — A financial ratio that measures the percentage of a farm operator’s assets that are financed by debt. For example, a ratio of 0.4 means that for every $100 of assets the operator has $40 of debt. The ratio indicates to a lender the degree of security of a loan. Higher values indicate greater risk. Although a safe or acceptable level varies greatly by enterprise, a debt-asset ratio in excess of 0.4 may indicate financial stress. A ratio of 0 means that the operator owes no debt; a ratio greater than 1 means that the borrower’s debts exceed the value of assets, indicating the insolvency of the farm business.
Decoupling — The concept of separating federal farm payments from the requirement that farmers produce specified program crops and/or divert land from production. A chief goal of decoupling is to remove a seemingly inherent contradiction in traditional policy: asking farmers to reduce production, while implicitly encouraging more output by tying their benefits to each unit produced. The decoupling concept was first introduced during debate over policy options in the 1985 omnibus farm bill, and was effectively implemented by policy changes made by the FAIR Act of 1996.
Deductions (food stamps) — When calculating a household’s monthly food stamp benefit, food stamp rules require calculation of its net income, with lower net income amounts (larger deductions) producing higher food stamp benefits. This calculation is done by subtracting a series of dollar deductions from the household’s total cash monthly income, so as to better reflect the amount of money the household has available for food spending. Food stamp deductions include: (1) a "standard deduction" ($134 a month) that is subtracted for all recipients, (2) an earned income deduction (20% of any earnings) in recognition of taxes and work expenses, (3) a deduction for dependent care expenses related to work or training (up to certain limits), (4) a deduction for child support payments, (5) a deduction for medical expenses above $35 a month (only available to elderly and disabled recipients), and (6) a deduction for excessively high shelter expenses (those above roughly one-third of a household’s income, up to certain limits).
Deferred pricing — A cash forward contract that provides for determining price by formula at a later date. This also may be called "booking the basis," when the formula sets price relative to a futures price.
Deficiency Payment - A direct government payment made to farmers who participated in annual commodity programs for the following commodity programs: wheat, feed grains, rice, or cotton. The payment rate is per bushel, pound or hundredweight. The crop-specific deficiency payment rate is based on the difference between the target price and the higher of the loan rate or the national average market price during a specified time. The total payment is equal to the payment rate, multiplied by a farm's eligible payment acreage and the program payment yield established for the particular farm.
Defoliant — A chemical that removes leaves from trees and growing plants; regulated as a pesticide.
Delaney Clause — The Delaney Clause in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) states that no additive shall be deemed to be safe for human food if it is found to induce cancer in man or animals. It is an example of the zero tolerance concept in food safety policy. The Delaney prohibition appears in three separate parts of the FFDCA: Section 409 on food additives; Section 512, relating to animal drugs in meat and poultry; and Section 721 on color additives. The Section 409 prohibition applied to many pesticide residues until enactment of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-170, August 3, 1996). This legislation removed pesticide residue tolerances from Delaney Clause constraints.
Delayed pricing — A type of deferred pricing that provides for transfer of title before the price is determined and final settlement made. Contracts including this feature are sometimes called "price-later" contracts.
Delivery — In settlement of a futures contract, the tender and receipt of the actual commodity, the cash value of the commodity, or of a delivery instrument covering the commodity (e.g., warehouse receipts or shipping certificates). Futures contracts may be settled by delivery, but more often they are settled by offset or cash. Each futures exchange has specific procedures for delivery of a commodity.
Delivery month — The specified month within which a futures contract matures and can be settled by delivery. Also referred to as contract month.
Delivery point — A location where a commodity can be delivered to fulfill a futures contract.
Demurrage — The charge that a shipper may be required to pay for detaining a rail car (or water carrier) longer than necessary to load it. What length of time is considered reasonable, and the level of demurrage charges, are frequently points of dispute between agricultural shippers and the railroads, particularly in proceedings before federal or state transportation regulatory bodies.
Dermal toxicity — The ability of a pesticide or other chemical to poison people or animals via skin contact. Many organophosphate pesticides exhibit high dermal toxicity.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) — USDA was originally established in 1862 and raised to cabinet status in 1889. In FY1997 it had an employment level equal to about 113,000 staff years, working in some 30 separate agencies.
Department of Environmental Protection - The Department of Environmental Protection is a Commonwealth agency that oversees environmental issues, including: air quality, water supplies and waterways, dams and mines, mine safety, oil and gas deposits, energy conservation, land and water management, flood control and nonpoint pollution, solid and other wastes, recycling, renewable energy and alternative fuel programs and all state conservation programs. The address for DEP: Rachael Carson Building, 4th and Market Streets, Harrisburg, PA 17105
Department of the Interior - A federal agency responsible for managing most of the nation's federally owned public lands and natural resources, including: The Bureau of Land Management; The Bureau of Reclamation; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; The U.S. Geological Survey; Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; Bureau of Indian Affairs; and the National Park Service.
Desiccant — A chemical agent that absorbs moisture; desiccants can be used to control certain insect pests or mildew, and also to dry foliage before harvest (as with potatoes). Desiccants are regulated as pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
Designated uses of water — Water uses identified in state water quality standards that must be achieved and maintained as required under the Clean Water Act. Uses can include cold water fisheries, public water supply, irrigation, etc.
Desired future condition — Used to describe the future condition of federal forests and rangeland resources that meet management objectives. Desired future condition is based on ecological, social, and economic considerations during the land and resource management planning process. Desired future condition is usually expressed as ecological status or management status of vegetation and desired soil qualities.
Desired plant community — The plant community that has been determined through a land use or management plan to best meet the plan’s objectives for a site. A desired plant community is consistent with the site’s capability to produce the required resource attributes through natural succession, management intervention, or a combination of both.
Developing countries — A country with a low per capita income. Terms such as less developed country, least developed country, underdeveloped country, poor, and southern have been used to describe developing countries.
Development easement — A legal agreement by which a landowner surrenders the right to develop a designated parcel of property. Some local and state governments have programs to acquire development easements from private landowners to prevent conversion of farmland to other uses.
DHIA The Dairy Herd Improvement Association is conducted under a national agreement between USDA Research Service and the Cooperative Extension Service of Pennsylvania to develop and provide technical assistance to dairy farmers. The program assists dairymen in designing breeding programs,and the testing of milk for fat, protein and solids. They collect and process data, and establish other programs that may increase dairy farm profitability.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans — Dietary recommendations for healthy Americans age 2 and older about food choices that promote health, specifically with respect to prevention or delay of chronic diseases.
Dietary supplements — Defined by law as a vitamin, mineral, herb, botanical, an amino acid, a dietary substance added to supplement the diet to increase the total dietary intake, or concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract or combination of any ingredients described above.
Differential assessment — Basing the valuation of farmland for property tax purposes on its use for farming rather than on its "highest and best" use, such as potential development. Types of differential assessment include preferential assessment, deferred taxation, and restrictive agreement.
Direct marketing; farmer-to-consumer direct marketing — Any arrangement where the producer or his/her representative is selling his products directly to the end user. Typical forms of direct marketing are farmers’ markets and roadside stands. Other examples include subscription farming and regular delivery of fresh farm produce by farmers to homes or restaurants.
Direct payments — Payments (usually in cash but sometimes in commodity certificates) made directly to producers in conjunction with participation in commodity support or other programs. Under the FAIR Act of 1996, participating producers receive production flexibility contract payments, which replace deficiency payments. Also, producers receive direct payments under conservation reserve contracts.
Disaster Payment - Federal payments made to farmers because of a natural disaster when: (1) planting is prevented or (2) crop yields are abnormally low due to adverse weather and related conditions. Disaster payments may be made under existing legislation or under special legislated after an extensive natural disaster.
Discharge — In water resources, the term refers to the flow of surface water in a stream or canal or the outflow of ground water from a flowing artisan well, ditch, or spring. In environmental protection, the term is used synonymously with effluent or emission as a term of point source pollution release.
Disease vectors — Plants or animals that harbor and carry disease organisms, which may attack crops or livestock.
Dissolved oxygen (DO) — The oxygen freely available in water, vital to fish and other aquatic life and necessary for the prevention of odors in water. DO levels are a critical indicator of a waterbody’s ability to support desirable aquatic life. Secondary and advanced wastewater treatments are generally designed to ensure adequate DO in waste-receiving waters by removing, digesting, or oxidizing oxygen-demanding wastes (see biological oxygen demand).
Diversion payments — Payments once but no longer made to farmers who voluntarily reduced their planted acreage of a program crop and devoted the land to a conservation use when a paid acreage diversion was in effect. Also, payments made to dairy producers in the late 1980s under the no longer operating dairy termination program who agreed to reduce their milk marketings below a prescribed level.
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid, a polymeric chromosomal constituent of living cell nuclei. It contains the genetic information for living organisms, and consists of two strands in the shape of a double helix. A gene is a piece of DNA.
Dockage — A factor in the grading of grains and oilseeds; i.e., dockage in wheat is described as "weed seeds, weed stems, chaff, straw, or grain other than wheat, which can be readily removed from the wheat by the use of appropriate sieves and cleaning devices; also, underdeveloped, shriveled and small pieces of wheat kernels removed in properly separating, properly rescreening, or recleaning." The term is also used to describe the amount of reduction in price taken because of a deficiency in quality.
Doctrine of prior appropriation — Water rights doctrine adopted by most western states, giving the first person to use water from a stream the first right to such water. If the first user does not consume all of the water, then the second and later users can appropriate water for their needs. The water right is not necessarily tied to land ownership.
Domestic farm labor — Individuals (and the family) who receive a substantial portion of their income from the production or handling of agricultural or aquacultural products. Farm owners and others may be eligible for Section 514 loans to make housing available for domestic farm labor. For purposes of housing loans, the farm laborers must be U.S. citizens or legally admitted for permanent residence in the United States. The term includes retired or disabled persons who were domestic farm labor at the time of retiring or becoming disabled.
Domestic price — The price at which a commodity trades within a country, in contrast to the world price. For those commodities not benefiting from some form of price support, the domestic price is determined by supply and demand. For commodities that receive price support, the domestic price is usually set by the loan rate or some comparable support level that serves as a price floor in the marketplace working in conjunction with any import quota that may be in effect.
Double Cropping - Raising two different crops on the same area in one growing season.
Downer (or downed animals) — Commonly used term for animals that are disabled due to illness or injury. A longstanding issue is whether these animals are treated humanely or inhumanely by shippers, stockyards, and packers while they are being moved or held for slaughter. Legislation periodically introduced in Congress would outlaw the sale or transfer of such animals, but livestock producer groups (who generally agree that livestock markets should not accept severely disabled animals) contend that their voluntary efforts to end harmful practices have already proven successful.
Drainage — Improving the productivity of agricultural land by removing excess water from the soil by such means as ditches, drainage wells, or subsurface drainage tiles. See swampbuster and wetlands.
Drainage basin — The area of land that drains water, sediment, and dissolved materials to a common outlet at some point along a stream channel.
Drainage wells — Wells drilled to carry excess water off agricultural fields. Because they act as a funnel from the surface to the groundwater below, drainage wells can contribute to groundwater pollution.
Dryland farming — A system of producing crops in semi-arid regions (usually with less than 20 inches of annual rainfall) without irrigation. Dryland farmers often try to rebuild soil moisture by leaving the land fallow (unplanted) or mulched in alternate years, called summer fallowing.
Dumping — Selling commodities in a foreign market at a lower price than in the domestic market. Under World Trade Organization rules, dumping occurs when the price to the importer is less than the normal price of the product charged to the buyer in the country of origin.
Durum wheat — A species of wheat distinct from wheat used to make bread and other bakery products. The hard, flinty kernels of durum wheat are specially ground and refined to obtain semolina, a granular product used in making pasta items such as macaroni and spaghetti.
Duty, import — A customs duty is a charge assessed by a government on an imported item at its point of customs entry into the country, and paid for by the importer; the term is now used interchangeably with tariff. In terms of assessing duties there are two basic types: an ad valorem duty is assessed in proportion to the value of the imported item, whereas a "specific" duty is assessed on the basis of a measure other than value, such as the quantity of the product imported. In addition, a "compound" or "mixed" duty, which is a combination of an ad valorem and specific duty, is occasionally used in the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States (HTSUS). Special duties such as anti-dumping duties or countervailing duties may also be levied on imports to offset the unfair price advantage of an imported article that is sold below normal value or subsidized by an exporting country.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Complete pdf of all words - WARNING! - 57 pages
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