U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20250
DEPARTMENTAL REGULATION
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Number: 9700-001 |
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SUBJECT: Small Farms and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Policy |
DATE: August 3, 2006 |
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OPI: |
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1 PURPOSE
This
regulation sets forth the policy of the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) with regard to the importance and role of small farms, ranches,
woodlots, and beginning farmers and ranchers (hereafter
referred to as small farms and beginning farmers and ranchers) to U.S.
agriculture and the establishment of strategies, systems, and a Departmental
framework for achieving and maintaining the viability of small farms and
beginning farmers and ranchers.
2 SPECIAL
INSTRUCTIONS
Departmental Regulation (DR) 9700-1, dated September 8, 1999 is replaced by this revised regulation, which revises DR 9700-1 to include beginning farmers and ranchers.
3 BACKGROUND
a Small farms have been critical to
American society throughout the Nation's history. Today, as historically, the vast majority of all farms in the
United States are small. The viability
and sustainability of these farms is important to our Nation's economy, to the
wise stewardship of our biological and natural resources, and to the leadership
and social fabric of rural communities.
Their economic contribution is important to the Nation and is especially
critical to the thousands of rural communities where they pay taxes and to the
thousands of businesses they support.
b Small farms play an important role in
the U.S. agricultural sector. The
Economic Research Service (ERS) in its Farm Typology Group Definition uses the
definition of “small farm” developed by the National Commission on Small Farms. The Commission used $250,000 in gross sales
as its cutoff between small and large farms in its report, A Time to Act (U.S. Dept.
Agr., Nat’l. Comm. on Small Farms, 1998), released in January 1998. This definition was instituted in 1997 by
the Secretary of Agriculture to examine issues facing small farms. The definition is generally accepted by
Congress, researchers, land grant institutions, the small farm community and
others. In 2004, small farms accounted
for 92 percent of all farms and ranches, owned 71 percent of the total
productive assets in agriculture, operated 60 percent of all land used in
agricultural production, and accounted for 26 percent of all agricultural
receipts from crops and livestock.
Small farms took leadership in the development of organic production systems
in the United States. In the late
1990s, the organic and natural foods market became the fastest growing sector
of the U.S. food market.
c Owning and operating a small farm
represents an avenue to economic independence and entrepreneurial achievement
for many Americans from all walks of life.
Small farms owners and operators are a diverse group of Americans,
including American Indians or Alaska Natives, Asians, Blacks or African
Americans, Ethnic Europeans, Hispanic or Latino Origin, Native Hawaiians or
Other Pacific Islanders, Spanish, Whites, women, persons with disabilities, and others.
d Small farms are operated by
resourceful agriculturalists, who combine entrepreneurship, business skills,
family labor, and knowledge to produce food and fiber, and wood products
consumed by millions of Americans and people around the world. However, not all small family farms are
alike. As of 2004, the Economic
Research Service (ERS) identified four primary groups of small family farms,
each with different resources, goals, and contributions to the Nation's
agricultural production. These groups
are: 1) Primary occupation farms, which account for 25 percent of all U.S. farms and are operated
by farmers who farm as their primary occupation; 2) Limited resource farms, which make up 9 percent of farms and have
low household income and gross sales less than $100,000; 3) Retirement farms, which account for 16
percent of farms and are operated by individuals who identify themselves as
retired; and 4) Residential or lifestyle
farms, which constitute 40 percent of farms and are operated by people
whose primary occupation is something other than farming.
Limited resource, retirement, and residential or lifestyle
farms accounted for about 8 percent of the value of U.S. agricultural
production. Small farms where farming
is the primary occupation accounted for almost one fifth of production.
e Due to Congressional concern over the
increasing average age of American farmers and ranchers, the Agricultural
Credit Improvement Act of 1992 (Act)
required the Secretary to establish: (1) beginning farmer loan programs; (2)
Federal-State beginning farmer partnerships for the purpose of providing joint financing to beginning farmers and
ranchers; and (3) an Advisory Committee on
Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. The Act
also required that loan funds be targeted to beginning farmers and ranchers.
In accordance with the Act, USDA implemented
beginning farmer and rancher loan programs in Fiscal Year (FY) 1994. Since then, through the end of FY 2005, the
Farm Service Agency (FSA) has made more than 87,000 loans to beginning farmers
and ranchers, totaling $7.6 billion.
FSA has also created Federal-State beginning farmer partnerships by
signing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with 20 State beginning farmer
programs through December 2005.
USDA also established an Advisory Committee
on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers in 1998.
The Committee meets annually and has provided recommendations to the
Secretary. USDA has implemented some of
the recommendations.
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 required
the Natural Resources Conservation Service to provide higher payments to
beginning farmers and ranchers in some of its programs, and authorized the
Secretary to establish a Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.
4 POLICY
USDA’s policy for Small Farms and Beginning
Farmers and Ranchers is based on the guiding principles for Federal farm policy
as recommended by the Secretary of Agriculture's National Commission on Small
Farms and the Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers.
It is the
policy of USDA to:
a Encourage farming systems that produce safe, healthy, and diverse food,
fiber and wood products, and create greater opportunities to connect farmers
with consumers.
b Encourage
and support an agricultural system that sustains and strengthens rural
communities, cultural diversity, and encourages and rewards responsible
stewardship of natural resources.
c Enable farmers, farm workers and
ranchers to live and work in a safe and responsible environment, own and
operate farms and ranches as a livelihood, and enhance opportunities for them
to generate farm and ranch incomes comparable to other economic sectors where
feasible.
d Establish and foster marketing, development,
credit, and outreach programs that improve the competitiveness of small and
beginning farmers and ranchers and give priority to farmer-owned and farm-based
businesses, especially those that foster local and regional competition in
production, processing, and distribution of food, fiber, and wood products that
connect small farms and beginning farmers and ranchers and consumers at the
local and regional levels.
e Establish and support research, development,
marketing, incentive, regulatory, and outreach programs and initiatives that
focus on the special needs of small farms and beginning farmers and ranchers,
especially those programs that help small farms and beginning farmers and
ranchers develop alternative enterprises, value-added products, and
collaborative marketing efforts, including cooperatives that enhance
stewardship of biological, natural, human, and community resources.
f Make special efforts to meet the credit needs
of small farms and underserved, minority, women, and beginning farmers and
ranchers.
g Encourage and emphasize educational,
outreach, marketing, regulatory, credit, and other programs that will help
ensure new generations of small farmers and ranchers can gain access to the
resources they need.
h Foster collaboration among public and private
sector agencies, programs, and
institutions, including farm and community-based organizations, to meet the
financial, educational, and technological needs of small farms and beginning
farmers and ranchers, including developing small farms and beginning farmer and
rancher networks, joint enterprises, and mentoring systems.
i Encourage all USDA agencies, the land grant
institutions, and collaborating public and private sector institutions to
emphasize sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry, and agroforestry as
profitable, environmentally sound, and socially desirable strategies for small
farms and beginning farmers and ranchers.
5 ACTION
ORDERED
a This regulation establishes a Small
Farms and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Council, chaired by the Deputy
Secretary. Membership will be comprised
of the Under Secretary, Marketing and Regulatory Programs; Under Secretary,
Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; Under Secretary, Food, Nutrition and
Consumer Services; Under Secretary, Food Safety; Under Secretary, Natural
Resources and Environment; Under Secretary, Research, Education and Economics;
Under Secretary, Rural Development; Chief Economist; Assistant Secretary for
Administration; Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights; Director of the Office of
Outreach; General Counsel; and the Director, Office of Budget and Program
Analysis.
b The Director of the Office of Small Farms Coordination, Office of the Under Secretary, Research, Education and Economics, and the Designated Federal Official for the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers will serve as Co-Executive Directors of the Small Farms and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Council and are responsible for coordinating, advocating, and facilitating implementation of small farms and beginning farmer and rancher policies and programs.
c The Director of the Office of Small Farms Coordination will chair a Department-wide group of coordinators for each mission area, individual agencies, the Designated Federal Official for the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, the Office of Outreach, the Office of Civil Rights, the Office of Chief Economist, the Office of Budget and Program Analysis and the Office of the General Counsel for the purpose of planning, recommending, and coordinating the implementation of small farms and beginning farmers and ranchers policies and programs within USDA. The Coordinators will make recommendations to the Council. The Council will be responsible for implementing any recommendations.
d Equal
opportunity practices, in line with USDA policies, will be followed in all
membership appointments as coordinators and committees. To ensure that the recommendations of the
coordinators and committees have taken into account the needs of the diverse
groups served by the Department, membership shall include, to the extent
practicable, individuals who are minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities.
e The policies and actions ordered in
this regulation are to be reflected in all mission area and agency mission
statements, strategic plans, performance plans, and performance goals. These policies are to be incorporated into
all technical guides, handbooks, and materials used to provide service to small
farms and beginning farmer and rancher operators (including extension
publications).
—END—