EA — Environmental Assessment.
Easement — A landowner sells or surrenders the right to develop a portion of the property, usually in return for a payment or some other benefit. Some local and state governments, and land trusts, have programs to acquire development easements from landowners to prevent conversion of farmland to other uses. Since the mid 1970s, conservation easements have been purchased to protect nearly 420,000 acres of farmland in 15 states, primarily in the Northeast.
EBT — Electronic benefit transfer.
EC — European Community.
ECARP — Environmental Conservation Acreage Reserve Program.
Economic Research Service (ERS) — USDA’s in-house agricultural economics analysis and research agency. It employs about 600 people and has an annual budget of about $53 million.
Economies of scale — See economies of size.
Economies of size — The concept that the average cost of production per unit declines as the size of the operation grows. One reason farms have been growing in size is to make more economical use of machines capable of covering more ground with less labor, to capture economies of size. Larger sized farms can typically get volume discounts on such inputs as chemicals and seed.
Ecosystem — A functioning community of nature that includes fauna and flora together with the chemical and physical environment with which they interact. Ecosystems vary greatly in size and characteristics; an ecosystem can be a mud puddle, a field or orchard, or a forest. An ecosystem provides a unit of biological study and can be a unit of management.
ECP — Emergency Conservation Program.
EDF — Environmental Defense Fund.
Edward R. Madigan U.S. Agricultural Export Excellence Award — An award established by the FAIR Act of 1996 to recognize companies’ and other entities’ entrepreneurial efforts in the food and agricultural sector for advancing U.S. agricultural exports.
EEP — Export Enhancement Program.
EFAP — Emergency Food Assistance Program (formerly TEFAP).
EFAP — Emergency Feed Assistance Program (see emergency livestock feed programs).
Effluent — Waste, usually liquid, released or discharged to the environment. Generally the term refers to point source discharges of sewage or contaminated waste waters into surface waters.
Effluent limitation — An Environmental Protection Agency "standard of performance" reflecting the maximum degree of discharge reduction achievable by the best available technology for various categories of sources of water pollution. These categories include feedlots, grain mills, and several kinds of food processing.
EFNEP — Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.
EFP — Emergency Feed Program (see emergency livestock feed programs).
EI — Erosion index.
EIA — Environmental impact assessment; economic impact assessment.
EID — Electronic identification devices.
EIP — Export Incentive Program.
EIR — Environmental impact report.
EIS — Environmental impact statement.
Elasticity — See price elasticity of demand.
Elderly and disabled — For food stamp purposes: "elderly" persons are age 60 or older; and "disabled" persons are beneficiaries of disability-based governmental assistance, such as social security disability payments and certain veterans disability payments.
Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems — Under an EBT system, recipients are issued an "ATM-like" card and a "personal identification number" (PIN) instead of food stamp coupons. They access their food stamp benefits when purchasing food by using the card at an approved retailer: "swiping" the card through a point-of-sale terminal and entering their PIN. This electronically debits a "food stamp account" maintained for them (and is replenished monthly) and credits the retailer with the purchase amount. States are permitted to issue food stamp benefits through EBT systems, and, unless a waiver is granted, must use EBT systems by 2002.
Elevator — A tall warehouse facility that uses vertical conveyors to raise or elevate grain, generally owned privately or by an agricultural cooperative, where grain is stored before being marketed. The term elevator often refers to any grain storage facility, even if the grain is not elevated. The country elevator is where a farmer delivers grain; a terminal elevator is a major transshipment facility; while an export elevator is at a port facility.
ELISA — Enzyme immunosorbant assay (test).
ELS — Extra-long staple (cotton).
ELS cotton — The abbreviation for extra-long staple cotton.
EM — Emergency disaster loans.
EMAP — Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program.
Embargo — A government-ordered prohibition or limitation on trade with another country. Under an embargo, all trade, or selected goods and services, may be restricted. The Food Security Act of 1985 states that U.S. policy is: (1) to foster and encourage agricultural exports, (2) not to restrict or limit such exports except under the most compelling circumstances, (3) that any prohibition or limitation on such exports should be imposed only when the President declares a national emergency under the Export Administration Act, and (4) that contracts to export agricultural commodities and products agreed upon before any prohibition or limitation should not be abrogated. Whenever commercial export sales of an agricultural commodity are suspended for reasons of short supply, but to a country with which the United States continues commercial trade, the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 requires USDA to set the commodity price support loan rate at 90% of the parity price. The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 contains contract sanctity provisions that place constraints on the embargo of agricultural commodities from the United States. The 1990 Act also: (1) provides for agricultural embargo protection that, if certain conditions are met, compensates producers with payments if the President suspends or restricts exports of a commodity for national security or foreign policy reasons, and (2) requires USDA to develop plans to alleviate the adverse effects of embargoes if imposed. The FAIR Act of 1996 requires USDA to compensate producers of a commodity, or commodities, if the U.S. government imposes an export embargo on any country for national security or foreign policy reasons, and if no other country joins the U.S. embargo within 90 days. Compensation may take the form of payments to producers or funds made available to promote agricultural exports or food aid.
Emergency Conservation Program — A program administered by the Farm Service Agency to help farmers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters by sharing in the cost of rehabilitation.
Emergency Disaster (EM) Loan Program — When a county has been declared a disaster area by either the President or the Secretary of Agriculture, farmers in that county may become eligible for low-interest emergency disaster (EM) loans available through the Farm Service Agency (formerly Farmers Home Administration). EM loan funds may be used to help producers recover from production losses (when the producer suffers a significant loss of an annual crop) or from physical losses (such as repairing or replacing damaged or destroyed structures or equipment, or for the replanting of permanent crops such as orchards). A qualified producer can then borrow up to 80% of the actual production loss or $500,000, whichever is less, at a subsidized interest rate.
Emergency feeding agency — This refers to an organization serving the food needs of the poor and unemployed that is designated by a state as eligible for commodities and administrative support to distribute commodities or operate a meal service program under the Emergency Food Assistance Program.
Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 — P.L. 98-92 (September 2, 1983) amended the original Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act (TEFAA) of 1983 to authorize multi-year funding and commodity donations from excess CCC inventories of foodstuffs for food distribution by emergency feeding organizations serving the needy and homeless. It subsequently was amended in 1985, 1988, 1990, and 1996 (under the FAIR Act of 1996) and currently authorizes funding through FY2002 to buy and donate commodities and to provide grants for state and local costs of transporting, storing, and distributing them to emergency feeding organizations, soup kitchens, and food banks serving low-income persons. In addition to discretionary funds authorized to be appropriated by this law, the welfare reform law of 1996 required that $100 million of food stamp appropriations be used annually to buy commodities for emergency feeding organizations.
Emergency Food Assistance and Soup Kitchen-Food Bank Program (EFAP-Soup kitchens) — This program provides USDA commodities to emergency feeding organizations to help with the food needs of low-income populations. It also authorizes grants to states to help with the state and local costs of transporting, storing, and distributing the commodities. In addition to authorizing funding to buy commodities for these programs, the program also requires that $100 million of food stamp funds be used annually for that purpose. The program is authorized through FY2002 by the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983, as amended by the FAIR Act of 1996. Eligible agencies include food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, and public and private charitable agencies serving the poor. States determine the agencies eligible to participate and set low-income standards for eligibility.
Emergency livestock feed programs — The USDA was given permanent authority by the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988 to implement an array of emergency livestock feed programs. These programs were designed to assist livestock producers who lose a significant amount of feed grown on the farm due to a natural disaster. The primary livestock feed programs implemented by USDA were: (1) the Emergency Feed Assistance Program (EFAP), which provided farmers who experienced a large loss of feed production with government-owned grain at a subsidized price, and, (2) the Emergency Feed Program (EFP), a cost-share program for farmers affected by a disaster who purchased their needed feed in the marketplace. To meet mandated budget savings requirements, the FAIR Act of 1996 suspended these programs from the law through 2002.
Emergency Wetlands Reserve Program (EWRP) — Authorized in 1993 under emergency supplemental appropriations to respond to widespread floods in the Midwest, EWRP provided payments to purchase easements and partial financial assistance to landowners who permanently restored wetlands at sites where the restoration costs exceeded the land’s fair market value. EWRP was administered by Natural Resources Conservation Service as part of its Emergency Watershed Program and operated in seven midwestern states. Land in this program is considered to be a part of the land enrolled in the Wetland Reserve Program.
Emerging Markets Program — A program originally authorized by the FACT Act of 1990, and titled the Emerging Democracies Program. The program was authorized to promote U.S. agricultural exports by providing technical assistance and credits or credit guarantees to emerging democracies annually for fiscal years 1991-95. Funds could be used to establish or provide facilities, services, or U.S. products to improve handling, marketing, storage, or distribution of imported agricultural products. The program initially focused on central and eastern Europe and the form Soviet Union. The FAIR Act of 1996 reauthorized the program through 2002 and renamed it the Emerging Markets Program. The program is retargeted to emerging markets (defined as countries that USDA determines have the potential to provide viable and significant markets for U.S. agricultural products). The law authorizes $10 million per year and the Commodity Credit Corporation must make available not less than $1 billion of direct credit or credit guarantees to emerging markets for fiscal years 1996-2002, in addition to the amounts authorized for GSM-102/103.
Emission — Waste released or emitted to the environment.
The term is commonly used in referring to discharges of gases and particles
to the atmosphere, i.e., air pollutants, and also is used in referring
to particles or energy released radioactively. Sometimes the term is used
broadly, encompassing any pollutant discharge.
EMU — European Monetary Unit.
End-use certificate — The North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act mandates end-use requirements for wheat and barley imported from any country requiring end-use certificates for imports of U.S. produced commodities. Canada is the only nation that requires such certificates, and U.S. wheat is the only commodity subject to the restriction. Regulations implementing the End-Use Certificate Program, implemented February 27, 1995, are found at 7 CFR 782.
Endangered species — Species of animals or plants likely to go extinct in the foreseeable future unless current trends are altered. They are listed by regulation under the Endangered Species Act and assigned the Act’s highest level of protection. Only scientific factors may be taken into account in deciding whether to list a species as endangered, though economic factors may be taken into account at other stages of the Act. See also threatened species. For the legal definition, see Section 3 of the Act.
Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 — P.L. 93-205 (December 28, 1973), as amended, is one of the major federal laws protecting species and the ecosystems on which they depend. While states generally have primacy in wildlife law, this is one of a handful of areas in which federal law plays the major role. ESA is administered primarily by the Fish and Wildlife Service (and by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for certain marine species). Under authority of this Act, species of plants and animals at risk of extinction are listed as either "endangered" or "threatened" according to the degree of risk. Once a species is listed, powerful legal tools are available to aid the recovery of the species and to protect its habitat. Over 1000 species of domestic animals and plants have been listed as either endangered or threatened. The ESA has been controversial for two main reasons: First, its standards of protection are substantive, rather than procedural, occasionally preventing activities that would lead to the taking of an endangered or threatened species or jeopardizing its continued existence. Thus, the protection of endangered salmon may result in limitations on logging around spawning habitat. Even if a given activity is rarely prohibited outright, mandatory changes or modifications of practices are not infrequent. Second, because other laws often lack the strict substantive provisions that Congress included in the ESA regarding taking of species, critical habitat, and avoidance of jeopardy, the ESA often becomes a battleground by default over larger controversies concerning resource scarcities and altered ecosystems. Like the miners’ canaries, endangered species have flagged controversies over the Tellico Dam (hydropower development versus farmland protection and tribal graves, as well as the snail darter); northwest timber harvest (protection of logging jobs and communities versus commercial and sport fishing, recreation, and ecosystem protection, as well as salmon and spotted owls); and the Edwards Aquifer (allocation of water among various users with differing short- and long-term interests, with a few spring-dependent species caught in the cross-fire). Farmers, ranchers, and loggers can be affected by ESA in various ways, depending on the particular listed species, the locale, the nature and health of the ecosystem, the ownership of the land, etc. On federal land, ESA may require land managers to restrict or modify resource uses to protect listed species; on private land, ESA prohibits takings and requires agencies providing any Federal service—such as permitting, increasing irrigation flows, or loans—to ensure the action will not adversely affect critical habitat.
Endocrine disruptor — A chemical agent that interferes with natural hormones in the body. Hormones are secreted by endocrine glands (such as the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, ovary, and testis), are transported through the body in the bloodstream, and regulate body growth and metabolism, other endocrine organs, and reproductive functions. There is emerging concern that endocrine disruptors may be causing human health or ecological effects, such as abnormal thyroid function, decreased fertility, and alteration of immune and behavioral function. This concern arises from demonstrated instances (an example is the ability of diethylstilbestrol (DES) to disrupt female reproductive function throughout the lifespan in laboratory animals and humans) and the fact that hormones are biologically active at very low concentrations (at parts per billion or less), so low levels of disruptors may similarly be biologically active. In amendments to the Safe Drink Water Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act in 1996, Congress directed the Environmental Protection Agency to study endocrine disruptors. The outcome of this research will be of consequence to agriculture because some pesticides and animal growth stimulants have been hypothesized to act as endocrine disruptors.
Environment — The totality of the surrounding external conditions—biological, chemical, and physical—within which an organism, community, or object exists. The term is not exclusive in that organisms can be and usually are part of another organism’s environment. Thus one can speak of the environment as that within which humankind lives, i.e., separate and external; or, one can speak of humankind as a component of the environment.
Environmental Assessment — Under implementing regulations of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970, a document used by agencies to determine whether the environmental effects are sufficient to require an EIS.
Environmental Conservation Acreage Reserve Program (ECARP) — An umbrella program authorized by the FACT Act of 1990 that includes the Conservation Reserve Program, and the Wetland Reserve Program. The FAIR Act of 1996 continues the CRP and WRP and creates the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The goal of the ECARP is to provide long-term protection of environmentally sensitive land. Contracts, easements, and cost-share payments are used to assist landowners and operators of farms and ranches to conserve and enhance soil, water, and related natural resources, including grazing land, wetland, and wildlife habitat.
Environmental equity/ justice — Equal protection from environmental hazards for individuals, groups, or communities regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic status. This applies to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies, and implies that no population of people should be forced to shoulder a disproportionate share of adverse impacts of pollution.
Environmental impact statement (EIS) — A document required of federal agencies by the National Environmental Policy Act for major projects or administration-initiated legislative proposals significantly affecting the environment. A tool for decision making, it describes the positive and negative effects of the undertaking and assesses alternative actions.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — An independent federal government agency established in 1970 and charged with coordinating effective governmental action concerning the environment, including setting standards, promulgating and enforcing regulations, and initiating and implementing environmental programs. Two areas of jurisdiction that most directly affect agricultural production are the registration of pesticides and implementation of the Clean Water Act.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) — A program created by the FAIR Act of 1996 to provide primarily cost-sharing assistance, but also technical and educational assistance, aimed at reducing soil, water, and related natural resource problems. The program replaces the Agricultural Conservation Program, the Water Quality Incentives Program, the Great Plains Conservation Program, and the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. EQIP is authorized at $1.3 billion in mandatory spending over 7 years (total), with at least half of the funding targeted to environmental concerns associated with livestock production; spending in general is to be targeted to state-designated priority areas. EQIP is to be operated to maximize the environmental benefits per dollar expended.
EPA — Environmental Protection Agency.
Epidemiology — Study of the distribution of disease, or other health-related conditions and events in human or animal populations, in order to identify health problems and possible causes.
EQIP — Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
Equivalence — A term applied by the Uruguay Round Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures. WTO Member countries shall accord acceptance to the SPS measures of other countries (even if those measures differ from their own or from those used by other Member countries trading in the same product) if the exporting country demonstrates to the importing country that its measures achieve the importer’s appropriate level of sanitary and phytosanitary protection.
Erosion — The wearing away of the land surface. Unconsolidated materials, such as soil, erode more rapidly than consolidated materials, such as rock. The most common causes of erosion are wind and moving water. The susceptibility of soil to erosion is quantified by the erosion index. Water causes sheet, rill, and gully erosion.
Erosion (erodibility) index (EI) — The erosion (sometimes called erodibility) index is created by dividing potential erosion (from all sources except gully erosion) by the T value, which is the rate of soil erosion above which long term productivity may be adversely affected. The erodibility index is used in the conservation compliance and Conservation Reserve Programs. For example, one of the eligibility requirements for the CRP is that land have an EI greater than 8.
ERS — Economic Research Service.
ESA — Endangered Species Act.
ESA — Environmentally sensitive area.
Estuary — Regions of interaction between rivers and near-shore ocean waters, where tidal action and river flow mix fresh and salt water. Such areas include bays, mouths of rivers, salt marshes, and lagoons. These brackish water ecosystems shelter and feed marine life, birds, and wildlife. Estuaries typically include adjoining wetlands.
Ethanol — C2H5OH; the alcohol product of carbohydrate fermentation used in alcoholic beverages and for industrial purposes (also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol). It is blended with gasoline to make gasohol. In the 1998/99 corn marketing year, about 540 million bushels (5.5%% of the corn crop and 7.2% of domestic use) will be used to produce about 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol.
EU — European Union.
EUP — Experimental use permit.
Euro —The single currency of the 11 countries that are members of the European Monetary Union, one of the institutions of the European Union. This new currency went into effect on January 1, 1999. The participating countries are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal. The exchange rates for the currencies of these 11 countries were irrevocably fixed in terms of the euro on December 31, 1998. Although the euro is now the official currency, the transition will occur in two phases. For financial transactions, the euro replaced national currencies on January 1, 1999, but for notes and coins, it will replace national currencies in 2002. Four EU members did not join the launch of the euro in January 1999: Denmark, Greece, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
European Community (EC) — A regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome (1957), which provided for the gradual elimination of customs duties and other interregional trade barriers, a common external tariff, and gradual adoption of other integrating measures, including the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and guarantees of free movement of labor and capital. Of the current 15 member countries, the original six were Belgium, France, West German, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Membership expanded to include Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom in 1973; Greece in 1981; Spain and Portugal in 1986; and Austria, Finland, and Sweden in 1995. In 1993, with establishment of the European Union (EU), the EC became the customs union component of the EU.
European Monetary Union (EMU) — As agreed in the Maastricht Treaty, 11 European Union members began participating in the EMU on January 1, 1999. The 11 countries are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. The other four countries — the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, and Greece — either chose not to participate at this time, or did not meet the economic criteria. Under the EMU, the 11 countries have a common central bank (the European Central Bank), and thus a common monetary policy, similar to that of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, and a single currency, called the euro.
European Union (EU) — Since 1993, the term used to describe the European Community and related institutions. The entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty of European Union on November 1, 1993, introduced this change in terminology regarding the EC and many of its institutions.
Eutrophication — The process by which a body of water acquires a high concentration of plant nutrients, especially nitrates or phosphates. This nutrification promotes algae growth that, when it dies, can lead to the depletion of dissolved oxygen, killing fish and other aquatic organisms. While eutrophication is a natural, slow-aging process for a body of water, human activities can greatly accelerate the process.
Evans-Allen funds — Federal funds distributed to the 1890 land grant colleges of agriculture under a provision in the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, to support research programs. The provision became known by the names of two of its primary proponents in Congress, Representative Frank Evans of Colorado and Representative James Allen of Alabama.
Evapotranspiration — The loss of water from the soil both by evaporation and by transpiration from the plants growing in the soil.
EWG — Environmental Working Group.
EWP — Emergency Watershed Protection Program.
Excess land — Irrigable land, other than exempt land, owned by any landowner in excess of the maximum acreage limitation (ownership entitlement) under the applicable provision of reclamation law.
Exotic species — A species that is not native to a region.
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) — EFNEP is a program of the Cooperative Extension System that operates in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Started in 1965, its purpose is to provide low-income individuals, particularly youth and families with young children, with the knowledge, skills, and desire to adopt and maintain a nutritious diet.
Experimental use permit — A permit under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act that authorizes the testing of new pesticides or uses thereof in experimental field studies on 10 acres or more of land or one acre or more of water. Such tests provide data to support registration of pesticides.
Export Administration Act (EAA) of 1979 — P.L. 96-72 (September 29, 1979) provides legal authority to the President to control U.S. exports for reasons of national security, foreign policy, and/or short supply. However, the FACT Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-624) provides for contract sanctity by prohibiting the President from restricting the export of any agricultural commodity already under contract for delivery within 270 days from the date the embargo is imposed, except during national emergency or war. With the expiration of EAA in 1994, the President declared a national emergency and exercised authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to continue the EAA export control regulations then in effect by issuing Executive Order 12924 on August 19, 1994, last extended by the Presidential Notice of August 13, 1998.
Export allocations or quotas — Controls applied to exports by an exporting country to limit the amount of goods leaving that country. Such controls usually are applied in time of war or during some other emergency requiring conservation of domestic supplies, as well as to advance foreign policy and national security objectives of the exporting country. The European Union, in 1996, used a licensing system to allocate and restrict exports of wheat because of short supplies and high prices.
Export Credit Guarantee Programs (GSM-102/103) — The Commodity Credit Corporation finances export credit guarantee programs for commercial financing of U.S. agricultural exports. The programs finance the sale of exports to buyers in countries where credit is needed but where financing may not be available without CCC guarantees. Two programs back up credit extended by private banks in the United States (or in some instances by the U.S. exporter) to approved foreign banks using dollar-denominated letters of credit to pay for food and agricultural products sold to foreign buyers. The Export Credit Guarantee Program (GSM-102) guarantees credit terms up to 3 years. The Intermediate Export Credit Guarantee Program (GSM-103) guarantees longer term credits up to 10 years. Under these programs, the CCC does not provide financing, but guarantees payments due from foreign banks. Typically, 98% of principal and a portion of interest at an adjustable rate is covered. Because repayment is guaranteed, U.S. financial institutions can offer credit on competitive terms to foreign banks, usually with interest rates based on the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR).
Export credit revolving fund — The Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 authorized a revolving loan fund that would provide short-term and intermediate-term direct credit for export sales of agricultural commodities, breeding animals, and handling facilities in developing markets. Once capitalized, loans would be made from the initial fund and repayments of principal and interest would return to the fund to be revolved as new loans. Money was never appropriated to capitalize the revolving fund and its statutory authority was eliminated in the FACT Act of 1990.
Export Enhancement Program (EEP) — A program that USDA initiated in May 1985 under the CCC Charter Act to help U.S. exporters meet competitors’ subsidized prices in targeted markets. The program was later authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985; the FACT Act of 1990; the Uruguay Round Agreements Act; and the FAIR Act of 1996. Under the EEP, exporters are awarded cash payments, which enable an exporter to sell certain commodities to specified countries at competitive prices. The FAIR Act of 1996 caps EEP program levels annually through 2002 and allows USDA, under certain conditions, to target up to $100 million annually for the sale of intermediate-value products.
Export Incentive Program (EIP) — A federal export promotion effort operated by the Foreign Agricultural Service. Assistance is provided to private firms to help them promote brand name food items in overseas markets. EIP is administered as part of the Market Access Program.
Export licenses — A government document authorizing the export of specific goods in specific quantities to a particular destination. Licenses may be required to export to some countries for most or all goods, and for other countries only under special circumstances. The Office of Export Administration in the Department of Commerce administers the export licensing system under the authority of the Export Administration Act.
Export PIK — A program used in the 1980s that made payment-in-kind to U.S. exporters as export subsidies for surplus commodities.
Export subsidy — A direct or indirect compensation provided by government to private commercial firms to promote exports of domestic products. Article 16 of the GATT considers that export subsidies are unfair competition and allows countervailing duties to be imposed on subsidized products. Indirect methods of export subsidization include government subsidized financing for exports, export promotion and information activities, tax benefits, or other forms of assistance that may lead to lower than normal costs for exported products. The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture imposes limits on agricultural export subsidies.
Exposure assessment — Identifying the pathways by which toxicants may reach individuals, estimating how much of a chemical various individuals are likely to be exposed to, and estimating the number likely to be exposed at each level.
Extension Service — Refers to a nationwide continuing education system that is based on the academic programs of the land grant colleges of agriculture (see Cooperative Extension System). The term also is the former name of the USDA agency that distributed federal funds to the states under the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 to carry out Extension programs. The 1994 USDA reorganization merged this agency with the Cooperative State Research Service (CSRS) to form the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.
Extra-long staple (ELS) cotton — Also called American Pima, this cotton has a staple length of 1-3/8" or more, is characterized by fineness and high fiber strength, and is used in high-value products such as sewing thread and expensive apparel. It is grown chiefly in west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. ELS cotton and upland cotton are both eligible for nonrecourse loans. However, ELS cotton is not eligible for marketing loan repayment provisions or loan deficiency payments.
Extra-Long Staple Cotton Act of 1983 — P.L. 98-88 (August 26, 1983) eliminated marketing quotas and allotments for extra-long staple cotton and tied its support to upland cotton through a formula that set the nonrecourse loan rate at not less than 150% of the upland cotton loan level.