Dairy and Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1983 — P.L. 98-180 (November 29, 1983) was designated the Dairy and Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1983. Title I authorized a voluntary dairy diversion program, which was operated between January 1984 and March 1985. Producers who elected to participate in the program and reduce their milk marketings by between 5 and 30% below their base production were paid $10 per hundred pounds (cwt.) for these reductions. For a 16-month period (12/1/83- 3/31/85), all dairy farmers were assessed 50 cents per cwt. on all milk marketed to help defray the cost of the diversion program. The Act also authorized a national dairy check-off program for dairy product promotion, research and nutrition education. This self-help program is funded through a permanent 15-cent per cwt. assessment on all milk production, and is administered by a board of dairy farmers who are appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Title II was designated the Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1983. Title II provided for reduced levels of price support for tobacco, the prohibition of lease and transfer of flue-cured quota, the mandatory sale of allotments and quotas by nonfarming entities, the required inspection of imported tobacco, and various other modifications to the tobacco programs.
Dairy Diversion Program — A voluntary supply control program authorized by the Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983, under which producers in 1984-85 received payments, of $10 per cwt., for reducing their milk marketings by between 5 to 30% below an earlier base period.
Dairy Export Incentive Program (DEIP) — A program that offers subsidies to exporters of U.S. dairy products to help them compete with other nations. USDA pays cash to exporters as bonuses to help them sell certain U.S. dairy products at prices below the exporter’s cost of acquiring them. The program was originally authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985 and extended by the FACT Act of 1990 and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act of 1994. The total tonnage and dollar amounts of these and other export subsidies have been limited by the Uruguay Round’s agreement on agriculture. The FAIR Act of 1996 extends the program through 2002, and permits its use for market development in addition to offsetting the subsidies of other countries.
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.
DC — District Conservationist.
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 payments — Direct government payments made to farmers who participated in an annual commodity program for wheat, feed grains, rice, or cotton, prior to 1996. The crop-specific deficiency payment rate was based on the difference between the legislatively set target price and the lower national average market price during a specified time. The total payment was equal to the payment rate, multiplied by a farm’s eligible payment acreage and the program payment yield established for the particular farm. In the latter years of the program, farmers could receive up to one-half of their projected deficiency payments at program signup. If actual deficiency payments, which were determined after the crop year, were less than advance deficiency payments, the farmer was required to reimburse the government for the difference, except for zero, 50/85-92 payments. The FAIR Act of 1996 eliminated deficiency payments and replaced them with production flexibility contract payments.
Defoliant — A chemical that removes leaves from
trees and growing plants; regulated as a pesticide.
DEIP — Dairy Export Incentive Program.
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, carrying out program activities valued at $84 billion, with net federal budgetary outlays of $57 billion. Forestry, natural resource, and farm activities utilized 58% of the staff time. However, about 70% of USDA expenditures went to domestic food assistance programs. Over 90% of the staff are located in local, state, and regional field offices away from the Washington, DC, headquarters. Approximately three-fourths of USDA spending is classified as mandatory spending, which by definition is not constrained by the annual appropriations process. Eligibility for mandatory programs is written into law; any individual or entity that meets the eligibility requirements is entitled to a payment as authorized by the law. The vast majority of mandatory spending is in the Food Stamp Program and certain other food and nutrition programs, the farm commodity programs, the crop insurance program, and the Conservation Reserve Program. The other roughly 25% of USDA budget is classified as discretionary and is subject to annual appropriations, including rural development, agricultural research and education, agricultural credit, international food aid, food marketing and inspection, forestry, and certain nutrition programs. All USDA discretionary programs are funded through an annual Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (except the Forest Service is funded through the Department of Interior appropriations act). Annual appropriations are made to the food stamp and other mandatory nutrition programs based on estimated spending needs. However, supplemental appropriations are generally made if and when these estimates fall short of required spending. An annual appropriation is made to the Commodity Credit Corporation, which funds the commodity programs and the Conservation Reserve Program, in order to cover its past net realized losses. Most, but not all, USDA programs are under the congressional authorizing jurisdiction of the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 — Title II of P.L. 103-354 (October 13, 1994) was designated the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 and gave the Secretary of Agriculture broad authority to reorganize USDA to achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness, and economy. The law called for consolidation of agencies and offices, as well as a reduction in personnel of 7,500 by the end of FY1999.
Department of the Interior (DOI) — This cabinet-level agency, also known as the Home Department, was created on March 3, 1849 by an Act of Congress to oversee and manage the vast national or public domain. Today the Department includes eight bureaus whose functions include managing National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges, collecting revenues from mineral resources, and operating programs developing, protecting, and enhancing resources on the Nation’s public lands.
DES — Diethylstilbesterol.
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. The Agricultural Trade Development Assistance Act of 1954 (P.L. 480) defines developing country, for purposes of receiving U.S. food aid, as "a country that has a shortage of foreign exchange earnings and has difficulty meeting all of its food needs through commercial channels" [Section 402(4), 7. U.S.C. 1732]. Under the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, the World Trade Organization (WTO) accords longer periods of time to developing than to developed countries to phase in required reductions in tariffs, export subsidies, and trade-distorting domestic support. The WTO allows considerable latitude to countries to designate themselves as developing for purposes of phasing in WTO obligations. However, a country’s status as developed or developing can become an issue if a country is applying for membership in the WTO. China, for example, a candidate for WTO membership, has argued that it should be considered a developing country and given longer periods of time to implement WTO rules and disciplines. The United States, the European Union, Japan, and other current WTO developed country members have argued that China is too important a presence in world agriculture to be admitted to the WTO as a developing country.
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.
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. These guidelines, which were first published in 1980, are issued every five years by USDA /HHS to reflect the latest nutrition knowledge. The guidelines will again be issued in 2000. Currently, there are seven messages that concern eating a variety of foods, balancing the foods eaten with physical activity, choosing plenty of grains, fruits and vegetables, choosing a diet low in fats, cholesterol, salt and sugar and limiting alcoholic beverages. The food guide pyramid is a practical consumer guide to using the dietary guidelines.
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. Supplements cannot be represented for use as a conventional food or sole item of a meal or the diet; and they must be labeled as dietary supplements. Regulatory authority rests with the Food and Drug Administration. There are concerns about the degree of regulation by FDA for safety and claims made for the products by manufacturers.
Diethylstibestrol (DES) — A synthetic estrogen hormone. DES was used widely in the United States as a growth promoter in cattle and sheep and as a treatment for estrogen-deficiency disorders in veterinary medicine, and for postcoital contraception. However, because of its carcinogenic properties and other adverse effects, the Food and Drug Administration has revoked all use of it in food-producing animals.
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.
Dioxin — Any of a group of toxic chlorinated compounds
known chemically as dibenzo-p-dioxins (or the most toxic of these compounds,
2,3,7,8 tetrachloro dibenzo-p-dioxin). They are produced inadvertently
as a by-product of chemical production or combustion and are widespread
pollutants in the environment.
Direct export credit — See GSM-5, Direct Export Credit Program.
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 payments — Direct federal payments provided to crop producers when either planting is prevented or crop yields are abnormally low because of adverse weather and related conditions. The Federal Crop Insurance Act of 1980 greatly expanded crop insurance coverage in an attempt to permanently replace disaster payments with government-subsidized insurance. However, between 1988 and 1994, ad-hoc disaster legislation was enacted in each year that provided a total of nearly $10 billion in direct disaster payments to farmers. These large payments prompted the enactment of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994, which included provisions to broaden the federal subsidy of the federal crop insurance program, in an effort to increase farmer participation in the program and lessen the pressure for ad-hoc disaster payments. The 1994 Act also created a permanent noninsured assistance program (NAP) that makes payments to farmers who grow a crop that is ineligible for crop insurance. NAP pays eligible farmers 60% of the market price of the crop on losses in excess of 50%, but only when the farmer’s area experiences a minimum crop loss of 35%.
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.
Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) — The General Council of the World Trade Organization, composed of all member countries, convenes as the Dispute Settlement Body to administer rules and procedures. It is responsible for adjudicating disputes arising under various multilateral trade agreements. The DSB has authority to establish panels, adopt panel and Appellate Body reports, maintain surveillance of implementation of rulings and recommendation, and authorize suspension of concession or other obligations under the various agreements.
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).
Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant and Loan Program (DLT) — A program authorized by the FACT Act of 1990 to provide grants to rural schools and health care providers to help them invest in telecommunications facilities and equipment to bring educational and medical resources to rural areas where the services otherwise might be unavailable. The FAIR Act of 1996 reauthorized and streamlined the program. Funding is authorized at $100 million annually. DLT is administered by the Rural Utilities Service.
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.
DMLA — Dairy Market Loss Assistance Program.
DNA — Deoxyribonucleic acid.
DO — Dissolved oxygen.
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.
DOI — Department of the Interior.
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 benefitting 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 — The practice of consecutively producing two crops of either like or unlike commodities on the same land within the same year. An example of double cropping might be to harvest a wheat crop by early summer and then plant corn or soybeans on that acreage for harvest in the fall. This practice is only possible in regions with long growing seasons.
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.
DPSP — Dairy price support program.
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.
DRES — Dietary risk evaluation system.
National Drought Policy Commission — P.L. 105-199 (July 16, 1998), the National Drought Policy Act, authorized creation of the Commission to conduct a study of current federal, state, local and tribal drought preparedness, and review laws and programs to determine if deficiencies exist in current relief policies and resources. The Commission’s report to the President and Congress is due no later than January 16, 2000.
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.
DSB — Dispute Settlement Body.
DTP — Dairy Termination Program.
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. When considering the imposition of an antidumping duty, the U.S. government examines the imported price of a product compared to its domestic price. In addition, before duties are imposed, proof of injury to a U.S. industry must be demonstrated.
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. Most durum wheats are grown in Mediterranean countries, the former Soviet Union countries, North America, and Argentina. U.S. durum production is centered in North Dakota with other producing states being South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, California, and Arizona.
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.