" . . . to acquire and to diffuse among

the people of the United States useful

information on subjects connected with

agriculture in the most general and

comprehensive sense of that word, and

to procure, propagate, and distribute

among the people new and valuable

seeds. . . ."

--from the 1862 law establishing the

U.S. Department of Agriculture
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination

in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national

origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to

all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means

for communication of program information (Braille, large print,

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 

(202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office

of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and

Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call

(202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity

provider and employer.

For more information on USDA, visit USDA’s website at:

http://www.usda.gov
Contents

Mission Areas

Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services................................................1

Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services ...............................................7

Food Safety ...............................................................................................12

Natural Resources and Environment....................................................15

Research, Education, and Economics...................................................22

Rural Development..................................................................................33

Marketing and Regulatory Programs...................................................40

Departmentwide Programs....................................................................46

Foreword

by Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture ................i

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8
i FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

Foreword

by Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture

As we approach a new century, we can’t talk about 1999

without also looking at the evolution of the Department

of Agriculture throughout the 20th century. 

One hundred years ago, we lived up to our nickname,

“The People’s Department,” through our service to the

half of the population that lived and worked on farms.

Today, with less than 2 percent of the people working

the land, our mission has evolved to include not only

production agriculture, but a host of other programs and

functions that make USDA today as much “The

People’s Department” as we’ve ever been—even more

so.

From food safety to conservation, to managing our

forests, to administering the Nation’s feeding programs,

to research on everything from nutrition to pollution, to

looking out for the good of rural America, to, of course,

production agriculture, the work we do touches the lives

of every American.

Assisting Farmers and Ranchers

At the turn of the century farming usually meant raising

crops, packing them on the back of the wagon, and

making the long trek on dirt roads into town to sell.

We’re a long way away from the days when we were

mostly an agrarian economy. With drastic changes in

the way we grow and market our food, agriculture has

been transformed to the point where only 1 in 50

Americans does the work that feeds all of us and much

of the world. But, with that transformation have come

new pressures, some of which have devastated farmers

in recent years.

Much of the misfortune visited upon farmers in the

last 2 years came through no fault of their own. So

we’ve had to find ways to help this segment of our population who toil in relative anonymity to give us the

world’s safest, most abundant, and most affordable food

supply.

In 1999, American farmers and ranchers suffered

through a second straight year of economic hardship.

Due to the fourth consecutive year of record worldwide

production and continuing weak demand in Asian and

other markets, commodity prices remained stubbornly

low—in some cases, their lowest in 30 years. And,

another year of bad weather led to devastating crop and

income loss.

Once again, the Department of Agriculture, working

with Congress and President Clinton, did everything

possible to help our farmers get through this trying period. All told, USDA made a combined $18 billion in

direct payments and Federal crop insurance benefits in

1999. We provided over $3.9 billion in credit, more than

a three-quarters jump from 1998 and the most in the last

15 years. We increased emergency lending to its highest

level since 1985. 

Growers around the East Coast and the mid-Atlantic

faced the driest growing season in recorded history in

1999. I declared 12 States and parts of 33 others agricultural disaster areas, qualifying them for low-interest

loans and other forms of assistance. 

Exports remain one of the keys to increasing farm

sales and income, so we were very aggressive about

increasing access to global markets. We completed an

important agreement that will facilitate trade with

Canada. Sanctions were eased on sales of food and

medicine to Iran, Libya, and Sudan. And USDA

shipped about 8 million metric tons of food to needy

people around the globe, our highest total in at least a

quarter century. 

In April, we negotiated a wide-ranging agricultural

trade agreement with China, which now promises to take

effect as China prepares to join the World Trade

Organization. The terms will allow our farmers to sell

wheat, citrus, meat, and poultry to China. Ultimately,

this deal will mean an estimated $900 million in additional farm exports every year.

Food Safety

From the early 1900s, when the sordid conditions in

America’s meatpacking plants were exposed to the

Nation, to today’s massive Federal effort led by USDA,

ensuring the safety of America’s food supply has been of

paramount importance to the American people.

In 1999 we continued to upgrade our food safety

inspection systems to ensure that the American food supply remains the world’s safest. In January, we began the

second phase of our new science-based meat and poultry

inspection system—Hazard Analysis and Critical

Control Points (HACCP). And HACCP Phase II is

working. We have found that the prevalence of
ii FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

Salmonella has decreased by as much as 50 percent in

small plants. And the decline we saw in Salmonella in

large plants in 1998 continued this year.

America the Beautiful

In the early part of this century Theodore Roosevelt dedicated this Nation to the preservation of our natural

resources. Since TR’s day our land, air, and water have

not always fared too well, especially at the hands of

industrialization. But, on the cusp of the new millennium, this Nation finds itself again embracing Roosevelt’s

vision, working to preserve our natural resources.

President Clinton made clear our commitment to the

Nation’s forests by taking the first steps toward protecting 40 million acres of untouched forest land from

unneeded intrusion by road builders. We helped our

farmers and ranchers adopt sustainable management

practices on over 16 million acres of land, and with the

Interior Department, we led an interagency effort to

develop a comprehensive strategy under the Clean Water

Action Plan. In December, we held the Nation’s firstever private lands conservation summit to craft conservation strategies for the new millennium.

Nutritional Safety Net

Back at the turn of the century, people didn’t know

much about the food they ate or the effects of malnutrition on their minds and bodies. Today, thanks to nutrition research, it’s a totally different story. But, even as

we live in the most abundant, prosperous Nation on

earth, many Americans struggle to feed their families

while millions of others have unhealthy diets. 

This year we continued to step up our anti-hunger

efforts by making it easier for qualifying working families to obtain food stamps. And this year we found that

more than one-third of all people eligible for food

stamps have not been taking advantage of this program.

That’s why this past summer President Clinton launched

a Food Stamp Outreach Campaign to let eligible people

know that help is there for those who need it, and USDA

continues to get the word out. 

We held a Community Food Security Summit

designed to increase partnerships that will help develop

grass roots solutions to hunger, and we’ve increased our

gleaning and food recovery efforts. 

Nutrition research and education have become an integral responsibility of this department. This year we’ve

worked hard at getting the most current information into

the hands of consumers—from the new Food Guide

Pyramid for Young Children to strategies for combating

obesity by encouraging a healthful diet and regular physical activity. 

Dawn of a New Day

As the 1800s came to a close, a dedicated scientist used

his intellect to revolutionize agriculture—from inventing

crop rotation to finding new uses for plants. This year,

in his honor and to promote the values and vision that he

stood for, we renamed the headquarters complex at the

world’s largest agriculture research facility in Beltsville,

MD—The George Washington Carver Center. 

As an African American who was born during the

Civil War and who died during World War II, Dr. Carver

witnessed much adversity in his life, but the fiercest

obstacle he faced was racism. Like American society as

a whole, USDA has struggled over the years to reconcile

more than a century of racial differences. 

But, in 1999 we began to turn the corner. We’ve settled complaints and lawsuits on past discrimination and

have worked hard to overhaul our institutional culture.

We’ve insisted that all people be treated with fairness,

dignity, and respect regardless of their skin color, their

station in life, their physical challenges, or where their

ancestors are from. 

As we embark on a new year, a new century, and a

new millennium, the people of USDA are proud that the

work of the last year has set a course that not only meets

our goals and fulfills our mission, but in a way that continues to live up to the name “The People’s Department.”
1 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

1 Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services

Farm Service Agency

Farm Service Agency’s mission is to ensure the well-being of American agriculture and the American public through efficient and equitable administration of farm commodity, farm loan, conservation, environmental, emergency

assistance, and international food assistance programs.

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Farm Crisis. In 1999, the fall in commodity prices combined with 

disastrous weather created a huge increase in Farm Service Agency 

program participation, as well as demand for emergency support.

• Administered nearly $18 billion in direct payments and Federal Crop

Insurance Indemnities to farmers in 1999, an amount exceeded only once

in the last 14 years.

• Delivered $3.7 billion in Loan Deficiency Payment (LDP) and Marketing

Loan Gains, a twentyfold increase over 1997.

• Provided over $3.9 billion in credit (37,590 loans), an increase of 77 

percent over last year, and a 15-year high. 

• Increased emergency lending to $329 million (3,970 farmers), the highest

level since 1985.

• Provided 21,900 direct loans, ($1.4 billion) and 15,690 guaranteed loans

($2.5 billion).

1Farm and Foreign

Agricultural Services

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Cattle and TEXAS

Calves:

NEBRASKA

KANSAS

COLORADO

OKLAHOMA

Secretary Dan Glickman, Senator Robert Byrd (second from left), WV, and Senator Jay

Rockefeller (far right), WV, tour a West Virginia farm. West Virginia was the first of many

States on the East Coast to be declared a Secretarial Disaster Area and eligible for emergency farm loans and other assistance because of the drought of 1999. 
2 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

• Issued over $2 billion in Crop Loss Disaster Assistance Program payments,

the largest crop loss disaster program ever administered by USDA.

• Processed over 2.6 million in loan program transactions (including price

support and loan programs) for the 1998 crop year, an eightfold increase

over 1997.

• Administered the Small Hog Operation program, which made available

over $116 million to producers suffering historic low prices.

• Administered $198 million in payments to roughly 168,000 

livestock producers under the newly created Livestock Assistance Program.

• Paid almost $200 million to dairy producers, following the steepest decline

in wholesale prices in history.

• Provided about $50 million in Noninsured Assistance Program payments.

• Issued $1.3 billion in Conservation Reserve Program payments.

Existing Authorities. Since it began, the President’s Humanitarian

Assistance Initiative has removed nearly 5 million metric tons of surplus

wheat, valued at approximately $600 million, from domestic markets which

have been used to provide aid to needy countries. Total Commodity Credit

Corporation (CCC) food aid shipments grew from 2.3 million metric tons for

FY 1998 to a record 8 million metric tons in FY 1999. Including commodities procured in FY 1999 for programs of the U.S. Agency for International

Development, total food aid shipments are expected to reach nearly 10 million metric tons by December. 

Drought of 1999. FSA was busy in 1999 providing relief to East Coast 

farmers hit by the worst drought on record. Virtually the entire East Coast

was declared a disaster by Secretary Dan Glickman. A succession of

“drought tours” were held to bring attention to the plight of suffering 

farmers. 

Reaching out to Underserved Customers. Between 1995 and 1999, FSA

increased its lending to Native Americans by 175 percent, making 544 direct

loans last year (up from 308 in 1995), totaling over $29 million (up from $11

million in 1995), a 265-percent increase in direct lending. FSA increased

overall socially disadvantaged lending by 44 percent last year, from

$186,704,000 in 1998 to $269,284,000 in 1999.

Foreign Agricultural Service

The mission of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is to serve 

U.S. agriculture’s international interests by expanding export opportunities

for U.S. agricultural, fish, and forest products and promoting world food

security.

FAS represents the diverse interests of U.S. farmers and the food and agricultural sector abroad. It collects, analyzes, and disseminates information about

1 Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services

• A program for at-risk high school students, jointly funded by FSA and

Alcorn State University, recently concluded in Mississippi. FSA provided

$40,000 which reached 125 rural students from Mound Bayou, MS. The

program exposed the minority students to a wide range of agricultural

and business experiences.

• In April 1999, “Jump Teams” from Ohio

were assembled to help out in Texas

FSA offices. In days, volunteers were

in Texas processing thousands of

Crop Loss Disaster Assistance

Program applications so payments

could be made to needy farmers. 

• To help speed up loan funds to

California farmers affected by devastated weather last year, FSA deployed

Farm Loan Action Teams to county

offices in California. 

• The USDA Field Gleaning and Food

Recovery Team received the Vice

President’s Hammer Award. FSA

worked with other Federal agencies

and nonprofit organizations to pioneer

an innovative and cost-effective way to

recover over 4 million pounds of food

and help give millions of meals to hungry Americans. 

• A program was recently developed to

help Hmong Cambodian and Latino

immigrants employ their agricultural

talents and desires. Called the New

Entry Sustainable Farming Project,

this program helps these aspiring

farmers achieve their dreams of success in their new homeland. 

• In April, 85 Puerto Rican limitedresource farmers graduated from the

FSA Small Farmer Outreach Training

and Technical Assistance Program, a

partnership with the University of

Puerto Rico. The intensive training

program was designed to assist

underserved limited-resource farmers

by teaching management and financial

analysis skills, and by improving

access to all FSA and USDA programs and services.
3 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

global supply and demand, trade trends, and emerging market opportunities;

implements programs designed to build new markets and maintain the competitive position of U.S. products in the global marketplace; works to resolve

trade issues; and carries out food aid and market-related technical assistance

programs. FAS helps USDA and other Federal agencies, U.S. universities,

and others enhance the global competitiveness of U.S. agriculture and helps

increase income and food availability in developing nations by mobilizing

expertise for agriculturally led economic growth. During FY 1999, these programs helped U.S. exporters of agricultural, fish, and forest products register

sales totaling $57.5 billion; agricultural products accounted for $49 billion of

that amount. 

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Record Food Aid Effort. The United States shipped almost 8 million metric

tons of U.S. commodities to close to 50 countries under FY 1999 food aid

programs, almost five times last year’s 1.6 million, and the largest tonnage in

recent years. (Programs under which food aid is provided are Title I of Public

Law 83-480, the Food for Progress Program, and Section 416(b) of the

Agricultural Act of 1949.) This includes significant food relief for Kosovar

refugees and hurricane victims in Central America and the Caribbean;

USDA’s first agreement providing food aid to North Korea; and the first

USDA food aid shipments to Vietnam since before the Vietnam War. Major

recipients of USDA food aid in FY 1999 included Russia, Bangladesh,

Indonesia, North Korea, Jordan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Nicaragua,

Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, the Balkans

region, Armenia, Georgia, and Tajikistan.

Trade Policy Accomplishments. In April, the United States and China

signed the Agreement on U.S.-China Agricultural Cooperation, an unprecedented step in U.S.-China agricultural trade relations. With this agreement,

China removes its longstanding bans on imports of U.S. wheat, citrus, meat,

and poultry. The agreement also calls for China’s commitment to the application of sound science in trade issues, a key principle of the World Trade

Organization (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement. Removal of

China’s phytosanitary restrictions alone should translate into a direct increase

in exports of these commodities. Once this agreement is fully implemented,

it is estimated that annual U.S. agricultural exports will increase by almost

$900 million.

FAS continued to monitor foreign countries’ compliance with Uruguay

Round Agreement commitments during FY 1999. At quarterly meetings of

the WTO Committee on Agriculture, FAS analysts reviewed and raised questions on over 250 issues. The value of trade addressed through U.S. vigilance

of members’ commitments is over $500 million. This was achieved through

questioning grain purchasing policies that appeared to violate export subsidy

commitments; challenging the discriminatory issuance of import licenses for

1 Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services

USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade

Representative (USTR) held 11 public

listening sessions to solicit public comments on agricultural trade priorities for

the New Round of WTO negotiations in

Seattle. The sessions gave USDA and

USTR officials a chance to outline general approaches for the next round, to

listen to the public, and to share ideas

about critical trade issues, such as market access, export subsidies, tariff

reductions, internal support, state trading enterprises, labor and environmental

issues, and trade concerns relating to

products from new technologies.

Did You

Know?

In FY 1998, U.S. agricultural

exports totaled $53.6 billion,

creating an estimated 815,000

full-time jobs.
dairy products, pork, and poultry; questioning the execution of a preferential

trade arrangement that harmed U.S. apple exports; and questioning the incidence of low imports for a range of commodities under the tariff rate quota.

As a result of these efforts, several members halted or modified WTO-inconsistent practices.

FAS offices continued to support U.S. exporters in overseas markets. For

example, FAS’ New Delhi office secured and disseminated information on

India’s phytosanitary requirements for corn imports, facilitating the first-ever

commercial sales of U.S. corn to India of 85,000 tons, valued at $8.5 million.

Exports of corn to this new market are expected to rise next year.

Exporter Assistance. FAS administers export credit programs designed to

develop overseas markets and expand U.S. agricultural exports by allowing

exporters to compete with sales terms offered by foreign competitors. In FY

1999, these programs provided credit guarantees that facilitated sales of about

$3.0 billion of U.S. agricultural exports.

International Research Efforts. FAS also promotes mutually beneficial

biotechnology research on crops important to both U.S. agriculture and 

global food security through international scientific research exchanges and

programs. USDA and its international partners are using biotechnology to

develop livestock vaccines, which may have important implications for

human medical research.

By providing technical scientific workshops, FAS successfully negotiated a

protocol with China that allowed U.S. genetic exporters greater access to

China’s genetic market. USDA is also promoting seminars and visits to educate international regulators, officials, and media on the U.S. regulatory system for genetically modified organisms.

World Food Security. The United States continued its strong commitment to

the World Food Summit goal of reducing the number of undernourished people by half by the year 2015. USDA, along with the Department of State and

USAID, launched the U.S. action plan, which outlines U.S. proposals to

reduce hunger both in the United States and around the world.

Streamlining Program Operations. In administering USDA’s Foreign

Market Development Cooperator Program and Market Access Program,

FAS completed development of the Unified Export Strategy (UES), which

allows applicants to consolidate applications for funding and assistance into 

a single submission for these and other FAS market development assistance

programs. The UES also encourages program applicants to adopt a more

coordinated approach to their marketing strategy by facilitating a more effective use of FAS’ market development programs. Savings include a substantial

reduction in U.S. Government administrative costs and a reduction in govern4 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

1 Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Dairy Products: CALIFORNIA

WISCONSIN

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

MINNESOTA

Senator Herb Kohl, WI, Ranking Member,

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on

Agriculture, Rural Development, and

Related Agencies.
ment and private sector labor of over 100,000 hours. For this effort, FAS

received Vice President Gore’s Hammer Award.

Risk Management Agency

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) will provide and support cost-effective means of managing risk to improve the economic stability of agriculture.

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

In February 1999, Secretary Glickman and RMA proposed a number of measures to improve crop insurance, including (1) raising the coverage floor for

catastrophic risk protection coverage, (2) making higher level coverage more

affordable by increasing premium policies, (3) covering multiyear disasters,

(4) speeding up the development of new policies, (5) insuring certain livestock losses, (6) improving the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program

by increasing coverage and replacing the area trigger with a Secretarial or

Presidential disaster designation, and (7) providing better information and

service to producers.

So that more producers can benefit from crop insurance protection, in 1999,

RMA implemented pilot programs for adjusted gross revenue insurance, and

crops including avocado, cabbage, cherries, mustard, wild rice, and winter

squash, among others. RMA expanded 29 current programs into an additional 574 counties, for a national total of 35,423 programs in 2,983 counties.

RMA began a gleaning program, lowered cotton rates for many southern 

producers, improved its nursery and citrus programs, and boosted program

integrity. For the 2000 crop year, RMA approved pilot programs for 

5 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

1 Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services

Risk Training Helps Latinos

Transition from Employee to

Employer

The Rural Development Center (RDC),

a project of the Association for

Community-Based Education in Salinas,

California, has been helping Latino farm

workers become self-supporting farmers

since 1984—following the donation of

112 acres of land to the Association for

Community-Based Education. The

Center’s Small Farm Education project

has a 6-month classroom training program that is open to the whole family.

RMA has a big stake in the success of

this program and the outreach activities

of the Center. Bill Murphy, Director of

the Sacramento Regional Office, said,

“The risk management training we provide, in Spanish, helps participants

improve their decision-making skills.” 

Participants get a chance to practice

their new skills before they farm on their

own. Through a 3-year apprentice relationship with the Center, participants

rent a half acre the first year and

progress to five acres the last year.

Families have a financial as well as

educational investment in their success.

Through the Center they are able to

obtain a line of credit and get technical

assistance. The first year they pay $150

per acre for rent, and as they take on

more land and become more adept with

cultivating their crops, the rent rises to

$350 per acre per year, still at a rate

less than half of what is available commercially. The goal is to train the farmers to manage their farms as

businesses.

Luis Sierra, Marketing Education

Program Coordinator for the Center, is

enthusiastic about the RMA contribution

to the success of the program. “The

RMA trainers incorporate risk management education into a small-farm production and management curriculum.

Because marketing and managing risk

are as important as growing a crop, the

training is critical to our farmers’

prospects for success.”

The Center offers evening workshops

and weekend classes in Spanish. Sierra

continues, “We have 34 families participating in the program now, and have

averaged 10 graduates a year since its

inception.”

U.S. total net insured acres, 1988-99

Million dollars

250

200

150

100

50

0

1988198919901991199219931994

1995 

1996199719981999
6 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

1 Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services

Risk Management Education. RMA—in partnership with the Cooperative

State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) and privatesector education partners—proceeded to Stage Three of the Risk

Management Education (RME) initiative. 

Dairy Options Pilot Program. RMA’s Dairy Options Pilot Program

(DOPP) provided dairy farmers in selected pilot areas with hands-on opportunities to use options markets for price risk management.

cultivated clams, chili peppers, cucumbers, mint, snap beans, and strawberries, and expanded other existing pilots. RMA also developed a coverage

enhancement option for multi-peril crop insurance and stage removal insurance for onions for the 2000 crop year.

Response to Farm Crises. RMA responded to the urgent needs of farmers

affected by declining commodity prices and the catastrophic effects of several years of disastrous weather, including those resulting from Hurricane

Floyd. Following Hurricane Floyd, RMA promptly instituted special emergency loss determination procedures to expedite loss adjustments and speed

indemnity payments to producers who were devastated by the flooding in

eastern North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

The 1999 Appropriations Act authorized the agency to offer producers an

estimated 30 percent premium discount for new or increased crop insurance

coverage. As a result, more than 91,000 producers increased their coverage

levels and approximately 43,000 purchased new policies for the first time at

coverages above the minimum level. Secretary Glickman has announced an

estimated 25 percent premium reduction for the 2000 crop year.

Increase in loss payments to farmers, 1987-99

Million dollars

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

19871988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995 

1996

1997

1998

1999
USDA nutrition assistance programs helped feed about 1 in 6 Americans in

an average month in FY 1999. More than 18 million people received food

stamps; about 27 million children received subsidized school meals, more

than 60 percent of them free or at reduced price; the WIC Program (Special

Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) provided

nutritious food, nutrition education, and medical referrals to more than 7.3

million new moms, their infants, and young children.

Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion

Established in 1994, USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion

(CNPP) helps analyze and develop nutrition policy, nutrition promotion,

and nutrition education. As the lead Federal Department in human nutrition,

USDA is charged with promoting a healthy, well-nourished population

through research and nutrition education. CNPP is a substantial contributor 

to this effort.

The mission of the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion is to improve

the health of Americans by developing and promoting dietary guidance that

links scientific research to the nutritional needs of consumers. The Center

provides direction and coordination for USDA’s nutrition education and policy activities by serving as the focal point within USDA for translating nutrition research into educational materials that increase public understanding of

good nutrition and a healthful diet.

7 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

2

Food, Nutrition, and

Consumer Services

2 Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Soybeans: IOWA

ILLINOIS

INDIANA

MINNESOTA

OHIO

A school foodservice employee inventories USDA commodities used to prepare meals for

the School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs.
8 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Childhood Obesity. With growing national concern over obesity, the Center

addresses this problem, particularly childhood obesity. In FY 1999, the

Center devoted much of its resources on this problem, and it will continue to

develop effective nutrition messages to assist the public in consuming a

healthy diet while maintaining a healthy weight.

*Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children. The Center developed and

released this adaptation of the original Food Guide Pyramid to help improve

the diets of children 2 to 6 years old, by simplifying the educational messages and focusing on young children’s food preferences and nutritional

requirements. The Pyramid has been incorporated into many educational

materials by industry partners, USDA nutrition programs, and State and local

nutrition education organizations. (Pyramid shown on page 11.)

Dietary Guidelines for the Year 2000. The Center is an active member of

the USDA/Department of Health and Human Services Management Team

supporting the development of the Year 2000 edition of the Dietary

Guidelines for Americans. Every 5 years, a Dietary Guidelines Advisory

Committee composed of experts in the field of nutrition meets to review the

current guidelines and identify revisions based on the latest scientific evidence. The Center has primary responsibility for preparing and publishing

the Dietary Guidelines consumer bulletin, Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary

Guidelines for Americans. 

CNPP Scientific Symposia. Using a day-long conference format with a

number of nationally recognized scientists and policy experts, CNPP has

been successful in bringing some of the latest nutritional and dietary information to nutrition professionals, policy makers, and the public via the

media. Symposia topics have included: Childhood Obesity: Causes and

Prevention; Breakfast and Learning in Children; and Dietary Behavior: Why

We Choose the Foods We Eat. 

Review of the Nutritional Status of WIC Participants. The Center

released a Review of the Nutritional Status of WIC Participants to provide a

scientific background for making decisions on the food packages provided by

the WIC program. The review assessed how well the packages assist lowincome recipients in meeting the nutritional standards for a healthful diet.

For nutrition and dietary information, the public is invited to visit the CNPP

web site at: www.usda.gov/cnpp 

2 Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services

When Hurricane Floyd roared into

Virginia and the Carolinas, FNS was

among the first Federal agencies to

respond. There are many concerns following a storm, earthquake, civil disturbance, flood or other disaster, but none

is more important than providing food in

areas where people may find themselves suddenly, and often critically, in

need. In 1999, FNS provided more than

$44 million in disaster food stamp benefits, primarily to victims of Hurricane

Floyd. The agency also provided five

truckloads of food to help provide meals

for people in shelters.

80

60

40

20

0

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

% of Benefits

Percentage of food stamp benefit

dollars delivered by Electronic

Benefit Transfer (EBT)
9 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

Food and Nutrition Service

The Food and Nutrition Service increases food security and reduces hunger

in partnership with cooperating organizations by providing children and

needy people access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition education in a

manner that supports American agriculture and inspires public confidence.

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Improving Food Stamps to Better Serve Working Families. The

Administration took key administrative steps to ensure that the Food Stamp

Program provides a strong safety net for children and low-income people,

How much does USDA care what you

and your kids eat? Well, a lot. As nutrition-related medical problems—obesity,

heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers—affect more and more Americans,

USDA is working not just to provide

food, but to empower people with the

knowledge and motivation they need to

shift their eating behavior toward more

healthy dietary choices. Nutrition education has always been a factor in WIC

and the school meals programs, but

increasingly it is incorporated into food

stamps, commodity distribution, and

other programs as well.

2 Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

Women

Men

500

0 1990 1995

Kilocalories

Elementary school children ready to enjoy a healthy lunch. USDA’s child

nutrition assistance programs now serve more than 26 million children every

school day.

Total Caloric Intake

Men and Women, Ages 19 to 50

years 1990 and 1995
10 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

and continues to support the transition from welfare to work and 

responsibility:

• In July, USDA took action to improve access to food stamps for working

families who need them. New FNS policy guidance makes it easier for

working families to own a car and still receive food stamps, and new rules

decrease the administrative burden on States and working families.

• A national public education campaign, using materials in English and

Spanish, targets the working poor, immigrants, the elderly, and the general

public, to increase awareness of their potential Food Stamp eligibility. A

toll-free hotline (1-800-221-5689) in English and Spanish helps people

learn about program requirements and benefits.

Expanding Access to After-School Snacks for Children. In 1999, USDA

worked to reach more children across the Nation with the nutritious food

they need to learn and grow. New legislative provisions allow youths aged 13

to 18 to receive nutritious snacks in after-school care programs, providing a

strong incentive to draw low-income, at-risk youths into safe, constructive

after-school activities. Expanding nutritious meals and snacks to older children is expected to draw 1 million children a day into after-school programs.

2 Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services

Electronic Benefit Transfer—EBT—is

touching more people’s lives daily as

States make increasing use of this technology to issue food stamps and other

benefits using a plastic card like a bank

debit card. EBT eliminates the danger of

lost or stolen food stamps; it overcomes

the stigma many people say they feel in

using paper food stamp coupons; it simplifies accounting for food retailers and

banks; and it saves taxpayers the cost

of printing, distributing, and destroying

food stamp coupons.

50

40

30

20

10

0

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

A shopper presents an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card for payment of groceries. The

card eliminates the danger of lost or stolen food stamps.

Number of States, territories, and

tribal organizations participating

in the WIC Farmers Market

Nutritional Program
11 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

Celebrating WIC’s 25 Years of Nutrition Success. In 1999, the WIC program celebrated 25 years of providing nutritious supplemental food, nutrition education, and access to health services to at-risk women, infants, and

children. USDA has consistently expanded WIC in recent years by securing

significant budget increases. In FY 1999, the program served more than 7.3

million eligible people.

Evaluating Free School Breakfast. Recent research indicates that providing

students with a nutritious breakfast at school may significantly improve their

ability to learn and achieve. In 1999, the Department worked with Congress

to secure funding to substantiate these findings with a rigorous research

demonstration examining the impact of school breakfast on students’ behavior and academic performance.

Promoting Community Food Security. Making nutritious food available to

all those who need it requires communities to work together to identify and

solve food security problems in their midst. In February, USDA launched its

new domestic Community Food Security Initiative to aid and support those

working at the grass-roots level to reduce hunger and improve nutrition in

communities across the Nation.

Improving Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

Management. In response to a range of management concerns regarding the

CACFP, FNS continued work on a comprehensive initiative to improve State

and local program administration. In 1997 and 1998, FNS issued comprehensive guidance on CACFP management to State agencies, and will support this guidance with training on effective implementation; States, in turn,

will train the organizations that administer CACFP at the local level. The

Agency has drafted a proposed rule to clarify administrative requirements,

and will launch an intensive review effort in 2000 to evaluate States’

progress in improving CACFP management.

Celebrating Excellence in Customer Service at WIC. On December 15,

1999, Vice President Al Gore’s National Partnership for Reinventing

Government (NPR) unveiled the results of the first survey of High Impact

Agency customer service as measured by the American Customer Service

Index (ACSI). The ACSI is a nationally recognized tool initially developed

by the University of Michigan business school to measure how well companies meet the needs of their customers. NPR modified the survey for use in

the Federal Government. The WIC program scored an 83 out of a possible

100 points. WIC scored the second highest in the survey compared to the

other 32 High Impact agencies.

Did You

Know?

Two-thirds of USDA’s 

entire FY 1999 budget ($36.5

billion) was appropriated for

nutrition assistance programs.

*See the explanation note on page 8 or

visit the website at:

www.usda.gov/cnpp/KidsPyra/

2 Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety oversees the Food Safety

and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the U.S. Codex Alimentarius office. FSIS

protects consumers by ensuring that the Nation’s commercial supply of meat,

poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged, as required by the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), the Poultry

Production Inspection Act (PPIA), and the Egg Products Inspection Act

(EPIA).

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

HACCP Implementation—Phase II Successful. On January 25, 1999,

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) implementation Phase

II began. HACCP is a science-based process control approach used to reduce

and prevent contamination of meat and poultry products. Approximately

2,300 small meat and poultry plants (those with between 10 and 499 employees) were required to have HACCP systems in place. During Phase I, approximately 300 large plants came under HACCP in January 1998.

FSIS Outreach Initiatives Targeted To Assist Very Small Plants. FSIS

continued an aggressive outreach program to assist very small plants (defined

as having fewer than 10 employees or less than $2.5 million in annual sales)

in making a successful transition to HACCP. 

HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project. FSIS continued its progress in

designing and launching new models for inspection within plants that slaughter healthy, young animals—market hogs and young poultry. The project will

improve food safety by allowing FSIS to use its inspection resources more

efficiently and effectively to protect public health. 

Progress Report on Salmonella Testing Data Indicates Positive Trend.

Preliminary results show the new, science-based inspection system reduced

the prevalence of potentially dangerous Salmonella in raw meat and poultry

by as much as 50 percent in small plants. Data from the second year of testing in large plants indicate a continued decline in Salmonella there as well. 

Action Plan Developed for Addressing Listeria monocytogenes. In May

1999, FSIS announced initiatives to help industry control Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat products and thus better protect public health. The 

Agency also provided guidance to industry recommending environmental and

end-product testing and carried out extensive educational efforts targeted to

“at-risk” consumers.

Farm-to-Table Approach. FSIS continues to work with other government

agencies, industry, and academia to develop steps to improve food safety

from farm to table and is implementing various intervention and control

strategies. These changes will reduce the incidence of foodborne illness.

3 Food Safety

3

Food Safety

12 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture
13 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

3 Food Safety

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Broilers: GEORGIA

ARKANSAS

ALABAMA

NORTH CAROLINA

MISSISSIPPI

In September 1999, FSIS launched a Regulator’s Food Safety Information

Line for State food and public health agencies which answers food safety

questions related to meat, poultry, and egg products.

Glickman Announces Improved Test For E. coli O157:H7. On September

7, 1999, FSIS began using a more sensitive method for detecting E. coli

O157:H7 in raw meat products. The new method is approximately four times

more sensitive than previous methods, greatly increasing the probability of

detecting very low levels of the potentially dangerous pathogen.

FSIS and FDA Sign Memorandum of Understanding To Improve Public

Health Protection. Working with the President’s Food Safety Council, FSIS

and FDA signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate the exchange

of information at the field level about food establishments and operations

that are subject to the jurisdiction of both agencies.

E. coli O157:H7 Risk Assessment. FSIS began conducting a risk assessment for E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef and carcass trimmings and will 

re-evaluate its policy on E. coli through an open, participatory process. 

Performance Standards for the Production of Certain Meat and Poultry

Products. In continuing its regulatory reform effort, FSIS converted into performance standards the regulations governing the production of cooked beef,

roast beef, and cooked corned beef products, fully and partially cooked meat

patties, and certain fully and partially cooked poultry products. The new performance standards spell out the objective level of food safety performance

that establishments must meet, but allow establishments to develop and

implement processing procedures customized to the nature and volume of

their production.

President’s Food Safety Council. The President’s Food Safety Council,

which was established in 1998 and is co-chaired by Secretary Glickman, has

been involved in two major activities during the year. It is developing a comprehensive strategic plan for Federal food safety activities that will help

agencies address the most important food safety challenges and it is developing a coordinated food safety budget.

International Equivalence. In March 1999, FSIS made available a background paper which explains the process for determining whether exporting

countries have meat and poultry systems and measures in place that are

equivalent to the U.S. inspection system. Only countries that have been certified as having equivalent systems are eligible to export to the United States.
The Safe And Fair Enforcement and Recall (SAFER) for Meat and

Poultry Act. Senator Harkin and Congressman Baldacci introduced the

USDA-developed Safe And Fair Enforcement and Recall (SAFER) for Meat

and Poultry Act which would amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the

Poultry Products Inspection Act to provide for improved public health and

food safety through enhanced enforcement.

Meat and Poultry Hotline. The Meat and Poultry Hotline provides direct

answers to specific consumer questions on a wide variety of food safety

issues. The hotline received 110,805 calls during FY 1999.

Campaign To Increase Use of Food Thermometers To Enhance Food

Safety. FSIS began a multiyear campaign to promote food thermometer use

by directing focus group testing of slogans and a representative character;

planning activities for a campaign rollout in 2000; developing media materials; and facilitating meetings and information exchange among thermometer

manufacturers. As a result, several large grocery store chains launched their

own thermometer promotions during 1999.

Partnership for Food Safety Education and Fight BAC!TM Campaign. The

Partnership for Food Safety Education, a public-private partnership, created in

1996, developed and distributed a new curriculum for grades 4-6, “Your

Game Plan for Food Safety.” FSIS provided support, review and distribution

for the new curriculum and the first “Presenters’ Guide” for grades 

K-3, and also supported distribution of 30,000 copies of the Fight BAC!TM

brochure through the Consumer Information Center.

National Food Safety Information Network. As part of the President’s

National Food Safety Initiative, government food safety sites on the World

Wide Web were consolidated to help web users more easily find information

on food safety at http://www.foodsafety.gov

14 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

3 Food Safety

The Technical Service Center received

208,461 calls during FY 1999, including

22,612 HACCP Hotline calls. 

Secretary Glickman, Bessie Barry with USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline, and Vice

President Gore demonstrate safe grilling and safe food handling practices. 

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Hay:

5

CALIFORNIA

OREGON

WASHINGTON

INDIANA

TEXAS
4 Natural Resources and Environment

15 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

4

Natural Resources and

Environment

Forest Service

Sustaining Our Natural Resource Legacy. As the Forest Service enters its

second century, it is advancing a strong, broad-based natural resource agenda

that sets clear priorities for its scientists and managers and holds them

accountable to the American people for sustaining the health of the land. The

Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, productivity, and diversity of

the land to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Forest

Service continues to implement the natural resource agenda which focuses

agency priority on four areas: watershed health and restoration, sustainable

forest management, forest roads, and recreation. 

In an equally important effort, the Forest Service has made significant

progress in improving financial and business accountability through organizational changes, budget and strategic planning reforms, financial systems

changes, and increased leadership accountability. 

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Public Dialog on Future of Roadless Lands. On October 13, 1999,

President Clinton directed the Forest Service to begin a public dialog about

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Greenhouse/ CALIFORNIA

Nursery:

FLORIDA

TEXAS

NORTH CAROLINA

OHIO

Efforts under the Clean Water Action Plan have helped safeguard waterways in our national

forests.
16 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

the future of inventoried roadless areas throughout the National Forest

System. The proposal will establish a process for identifying the social and

ecological values that make roadless areas of all sizes important and unique.

The Forest Service published a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) in the Federal Register on October 19, 1999. Public

comments are being received, and the agency has conducted an unprecedented number of meetings across the country on the issues. An interdisciplinary

team is in place to complete the analysis and an advisory group of sister

agencies and key Federal partners is also in place to facilitate development of

this critical proposal. This proposal places the Forest Service at the forefront

of one of the most significant conservation efforts in U.S. history. The final

rule and EIS are expected in late 2000. 

Interim Rule Suspends Road Construction. In February 1999, the Forest

Service announced a temporary 18-month suspension of new road construction into most unroaded areas of the National Forest System. The goal of this

suspension is to maintain the environmental status quo while the agency

develops a new national roads management policy. 

The agency has developed a new road management policy that is designed to

make the existing National Forest System safe, responsive to public needs,

environmentally sound, affordable, and efficient to manage. The proposed

policy revises current regulations to recognize that the development of roads

on the national forests is nearly completed. It shifts emphasis to maintenance,

decommissioning of unneeded roads, and upgrading the most critical classified roads and to using a science-based road analysis process to help reach

the minimum road system necessary for current and future public uses and

other management objectives. The proposed rule is expected to be published

in the Federal Register in December 1999.

Forest Service Strategic Plan. The Forest Service completed a Draft Forest

Service Strategic Plan (2000 Revision) which is ready for public and employee review. The Government Performance and Results Act (Results Act)

requires the revision of the Agency's 1997 strategic plan in the year 2000. The

strategic plan is a critical component of the management model mandated by

the Results Act. Accordingly, all Forest Service program and unit plans (forest plans, agency budget proposals, etc.) must be linked to the goals, objectives, and measures of the 2000 Revision. The proposed planning regulations

explicitly require forest plan goals, objectives, and measures be linked to the

national strategic plan.

Recreation Strategy. The Forest Service, with assistance from partners, is

developing a recreation strategy to provide high-quality and diverse recreational experiences. This strategy will include modernizing service delivery,

partnerships opportunities, and fees in the National Forest System. In October

4 Natural Resources and Environment

NRCS, Native Villages Cooperate on

Snow Course Effort in Alaska. NRCS’s

Homer Field Office in Alaska is assisting

the native villages of Port Graham and

Nanwalek with establishing and measuring snow courses above two rural

reservoirs that provide water to those

communities. Villagers and their councils are enthusiastic and supportive of

the effort. They provide logistical support and transportation to the sites, and

have chosen council representatives to

learn sampling techniques at NRCS’

West-Wide Snow Survey School. The

villages, which are located in a remote

area on the southern Kenai Peninsula,

have no access roads and can only be

reached by boat and airplane. 

Senator Thad Cochran, MS, Chairman,

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on

Agriculture, Rural Development, and

Related Agencies.
1999, a Kick-off Recreation Summit was held in Washington, DC, followed

by several satellite meetings around the country to refine and finalize the

strategy. The result will be a comprehensive, leading edge strategy consistent

with the Forest Service's role as the world's leading recreation provider. The

recreation strategy is expected to be completed in November 2000.

Clean Water Action Plan. In response to the President's Clean Water Action

Plan to better safeguard rivers and other bodies of water on Federal lands, the

Forest Service distributed copies of the Unified Federal Policy Working Draft

to Governors, Tribal leaders, Members of Congress, and stakeholder groups.

The Forest Service and the Department of the Interior led an interagency

effort to develop this working draft, which proposes to have agencies collaborate closely with each other, States, and Tribes in order to develop one

method for assessing watershed health conditions across the landscape.

Information on the working draft is on the Internet at www.blm.gov and

www.fs.fed.us/clean/unified/ 

Tongass National Forest. After more than a decade of public outreach and

study, the land management plan for the Tongass National Forest in Alaska

was finalized by the Department after considering a number of public appeals

of the initial decision. The final plan protects subsistence uses, roadless areas,

and wildlife habitat while providing economic uses, such as recreation and

timber harvesting, of this nationally important rain forest. 

Protecting Special Places. The Forest Service continued its efforts to protect

special places for future generations. It is working with the public, the

Nation’s top scientists, and other Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies to

formulate solutions to environmental challenges in places like Lake Tahoe,

California, the amazing Baca Ranch in New Mexico, the Southern

Appalachian Mountains, and urban forests next door to millions of

Americans.

Investments in Urban and Community Forests. On June 16, 1999, the

Forest Service awarded more than $825,000 of Federal grants to benefit the

Nation's urban and community forests. Organizations in 14 communities

matched those funds with another $978,000 for research and education projects for urban forests. These competitive grants will make available more

than $1.8 million for communities, organizations, and universities to work

together with the Federal Government to create and improve urban forests.

Recipients of the 1999 grants were selected from among 94 proposals, in a

competitive process based on criteria developed by the National Urban and

Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC). 

Strategic Outreach Plan. The Forest Service Draft Strategic Public Outreach

Plan, released in 1999, is designed to provide new opportunities for all

Americans, including the underserved, to participate in natural resource man17 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

4 Natural Resources and Environment

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Wheat:

5

KANSAS

NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA

WASHINGTON

OKLAHOMA

Did You

Know?

National forest land, 191.8 million acres, comprise 8.3 percent

of the United States’ land

area—or about the size of

Texas. 
18 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

agement activities and to benefit from agency programs and service. Under

the plan, (1) ecosystem-based activities will increasingly reflect the priorities

of underserved populations; (2) underserved communities and populations

will increasingly benefit from Forest Service decisions, programs, and services; (3) underserved populations will effectively utilize Forest Service

research and technical assistance to address problems endemic to their urban

and rural communities; and (4) skilled and diverse agency employees and

partners will use resources and technologies to more effectively benefit

underserved populations and communities.

4 Natural Resources and Environment

Did You

Know?

In recent years, nearly 16 million acres of forest, cropland

and open space have been lost

to development.

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a revolutionary new voluntary

initiative using State, Federal, and nongovernment funding to help solve environmental

problems. It combines the Conservation Reserve Program with State programs to address

issues like the degradation of wetlands. To date, seven CREP projects have been established

in Maryland, Minnesota, Illinois, New York, Oregon, Washington, and North Carolina.
Natural Resources Conservation Service

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is the Federal agency

that works with private landowners to help them protect their natural

resources. NRCS’ mission is to provide national leadership in a partnership

effort to help people conserve, improve, and sustain the Nation’s natural

resources and environment. The agency emphasizes voluntary, science-based

assistance, partnerships, and cooperative problem solving at the community

level.

In FY 1999, NRCS worked through nearly 3,000 local conservation districts

to help land users, communities, watershed groups, Federal and State agencies, Tribes, other partners, and customers with conservation technical and

planning assistance, resource inventories, and resource assessments.

Continuous changes in weather, in landowner objectives, and in what happens

elsewhere on the landscape make protecting the Nation's natural resources a

challenge. Because of the interconnectedness of natural systems, NRCS uses

a comprehensive, multi-resource approach. 

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Conservation Technical Assistance. NRCS provides conservation technical

assistance to individuals, Tribal governments, State and local governmental

agencies, local conservation districts, and grassroots organizations. It also

provides support for the Department's cost-share and land retirement programs. In FY 1999, NRCS provided technical assistance to more than

630,000 resource managers to help them plan and apply conservation systems

on the land. Nearly 400,000 others received education and information assistance to help them understand resources issues and conservation needs.

Sustainable Systems. In FY 1999, farmers and ranchers adopted sustainable

management systems on 8,680,000 acres of cropland and 7,900,000 acres of

grazing land with NRCS assistance. On these lands, the operators applied

conservation on the resource management system level, which means that all

resources--soil, water, air, plants, and animals--were considered in planning

the management of the land unit. 

19 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

4 Natural Resources and Environment

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Sugar beets: MINNESOTA

IDAHO

NORTH DAKOTA

CALIFORNIA

MICHIGAN
Species, Habitat Benefit from WRP,

WHIP in the Caribbean Area. A nearly

1,300-acre area of the biologically

diverse Cabo Rojo Salt Flats is enrolled

in the NRCS-led Wetlands Reserve

Program. No fewer than 118 avian

species have been reported in the area.

It harbors six species of birds, one

species of reptile, and four species of

plants that have been designated as

endangered by the Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico or the Federal Government.

During their migratory cycle, more than

20 species of shorebirds depend on the

salt flats.

20 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

4 Natural Resources and Environment

Soil Surveys. The year marked the centennial of the soil survey in the United

States--perhaps the largest and most valuable natural resource database in the

world. Soil surveys provide the basic information needed to help land users

manage soil sustainably; protect water quality, wetlands, and wildlife habitat;

and sequester greenhouse gases. The National Cooperative Soil Survey today

is a nationwide partnership of Federal, State, regional, and local agencies and

institutions. NRCS oversees the soil survey's Federal responsibilities. During

1999, nearly 24 million acres were mapped, 366 soil surveys areas were digitized to standards, and 57 soil survey manuscripts were published.

Wetlands Conservation. USDA assists in protecting valuable wetlands--

temporarily under Conservation Reserve Program contracts and under permanent or long-term easements through the Wetlands Reserve Program. In

addition, participants in USDA programs are required to maintain valuable

wetlands on their lands in order to remain eligible for program benefits. 

NRCS provides technical assistance to landowners who participate in Statefunded or locally funded programs to preserve wetlands. In FY 1999, restoration or enhancement practices were installed on 279,000 acres of wetlands

with NRCS assistance. 

National Conservation Buffer Initiative. This departmental initiative, led

by NRCS to help landowners install 2 million miles of conservation buffers

by 2002, now involves nearly 100 partners, including other USDA agencies,

State conservation agencies, conservation districts, agribusiness, and agricultural and environmental organizations. So far, landowners have installed

more than 600,000 miles of conservation buffers through USDA programs

such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the continuous

Conservation Reserve Program signup. These buffers improve soil, water,

and air quality; enhance wildlife habitat; restore biodiversity; and create

scenic landscapes. 

The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) and

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program

(WHIP), sponsored by USDA’s Natural

Resources Conservation Service, have

helped many wildlife species benefit from

improved habitat. 
Outreach. USDA is committed to ensuring that its services are provided on a

nondiscriminatory basis and that all customers are treated with dignity and

respect. In FY 1999, NRCS implemented extensive outreach efforts to serve

members of minority racial and ethnic groups. More than 54,000 members of

these groups participated in NRCS conservation programs in FY 1999.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program. In FY 1999, NRCS provided

technical and financial assistance to 18,847 producers through the

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) authorized by the 1996

Farm Bill. EQIP provided $140.9 million in financial assistance and $33.1

million in technical assistance to help farmers develop and implement conservation plans to improve environmental conditions and remedy resource concerns identified by local working groups. State, local, and private funds

leveraged by EQIP are estimated at approximately $1.10 for every $1.00 of

EQIP funds. Additionally, $7 million in EQIP funding has been set aside for

American Indian Tribes.

President's Clean Water Action Plan. USDA worked with State and local

governments and other Federal agencies to continue implementation of the

President's Clean Water Action Plan. In March, USDA and the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency released the Unified National Strategy for

Animal Feeding Operations (AFO's). The strategy established a national

performance expectation that all AFO's will develop and be implementing

comprehensive nutrient management plans by 2009. This goal will be accomplished primarily through voluntary efforts of AFO owners and operators,

with technical and financial assistance from NRCS, other USDA agencies,

other Federal agencies, State and local entities, and the private sector. A series

of Federal-Tribal regional workshops to assist Tribes with their unified watershed assessments and watershed restoration action strategies also took place.

In FY 1999, producers completed installation of 6,100 animal waste management systems with NRCS assistance.

Farmland Protection Program. NRCS continued to help 52 entities in 19

States secure agricultural conservation easements through the Farmland

Protection Program to protect agricultural lands from permanent conversion

to nonagricultural uses. Since the program was authorized through the 1996

Farm Bill, the $35 million authorized has been obligated. State and local entities at the end of FY 1999 had purchased 205 easements covering 41,544

acres of land representing a total easement value of $73.8 million.

Approximately 25 percent of the funds represent Federal funds, with the

remainder coming from State and local programs and the private sector.

Approximately half of the federally obligated funds have been expended.

21 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

4 Natural Resources and Environment

Senator Tom Harkin, IA, Ranking Member,

Senate Committee on Agriculture,

Nutrition, and Forestry, with President

Clinton.

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Hogs: IOWA

NORTH CAROLINA

MINNESOTA

ILLINOIS

NEBRASKA
Agricultural Research Service 

As USDA’s main in-house research arm and one of the four agencies that

make up the Research, Education, and Economics mission area, the

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provides

information access and dissemination to:

• Ensure high-quality, safe food and other agricultural products,

• Assess the nutritional needs of Americans,

• Sustain a competitive agricultural economy,

• Enhance the natural resource base and the environment, and

• Provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society

as a whole.

The National Agricultural Library (NAL), a component of ARS, is the largest

agricultural library in the world and one of four national libraries of the

United States, with the Library of Congress, the National Library of

Medicine, and the National Library of Education. In 1999, NAL was renovated to generate more collection storage areas and to improve customer access

to the collection. NAL has also improved and updated its web site as the

library moves toward its goal of becoming “a library without walls,” a library

whose collection and resources can be accessed by computer by anyone and

at anytime. 

Thanks to the efforts of NAL, researchers can now go to the USDA History

Collection to easily delve into a special collection of documents and other

materials covering more than 200 years of U.S. farming history. The site can

be found at http://www.nal.usda.gov/speccoll/history/index.htm.

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Building a Better Tomato. The human body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A, an essential nutrient that aids in clear vision, bone growth, tooth

development, and reproduction. ARS scientists released three new tomato

breeding lines that contain 10-25 times more beta-carotene than typical tomatoes. The new high-beta-carotene tomato lines are ideal for processing into

paste, juices, and sauces. Beta-carotene content for these tomatoes averages

between 55.1 and 57.6 micrograms per gram of fresh weight. Typical tomatoes contain about 2 to 5 micrograms per gram of fresh weight. A major food

producer is already using material derived from the ARS germplasm to develop nutritionally enhanced products. 

Putting Odors to a Better Use. Unpleasant odor from animal feedlots may

be reduced as ARS scientists learn more about how to “harvest” manure’s

ammonia and re-use it as a valuable fertilizer. As manure from cattle or swine

decays, the released ammonia contributes to its pungent odor. Researchers are

22 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

5

Research, Education, and

Economics

5 Research, Education, and Economics

More good news about Oatrim, the

ARS-patented fat replacer. In ARS studies, daily intake of about one-half cup of

the powdery substance added to foods

seems to reduce fat oxidation by 80 percent. This means the Oatrim acts as a

strong antioxidant to help protect fatty

acids integral to cell membranes and

many other components in the body.

Consuming Oatrim also seems to increase

the short-chain fatty acids produced in the

colon. These fatty acids are thought to

protect colon cells against cancer and to

reduce the risk of heart disease. ARS

researchers earlier reported that Oatrim

reduced body weight, blood lipids, and

systolic blood pressure and improved glucose tolerance in men and women.
23 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

5 Research, Education, and Economics

testing chemicals—one of which, NBPT, looks promising—that keep manure

from rapidly decomposing and releasing its ammonia. NBPT was recently

commercialized as a nitrogen preservative for use in no-till, soil-saving farming; in preliminary experiments, NBPT worked even better in the feedlot

than in the laboratory.

Rapid Test for Salmonella. The sooner physicians know that they are dealing with DT104, the sooner they can begin the aggressive treatments needed

to combat the bacteria. Delays in identifying DT104 almost cost a Vermont

dairy farmer her life in 1997 and killed 14 of her cows. The pathogen has

killed people in Great Britain and sickened children in Nebraska. ARS scientists have developed a technique to rapidly detect DT104, a potentially deadly strain of Salmonella bacteria that resists many antibiotics. The researchers

found a key gene sequence, present only in this virulent strain of Salmonella,

that allows for quick identification. 

Protecting Our Honeybees. Besides producing honey, honeybees pollinate

dozens of U.S. crops, from apples to zucchini, worth $8 to $10 billion.

Hardy Russian honeybees that resist attack by devastating varroa mites will

begin showing up in American beehives within a year, thanks to ARS scientists. The Russian bees’ genetic resistance will provide beekeepers with a

tool—in addition to chemical pesticides—to control the mites, among the

worst enemies of honeybees worldwide. In the United States, the mites have

attacked bees in almost every State. Under a cooperative research agreement,

a private apiary is authorized to raise hundreds of Russian honeybee queens

for sale to U.S. beekeepers early in the year 2000. 

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Chicken GEORGIA

eggs:

OHIO

CALIFORNIA

PENNSYLVANIA

INDIANA

Secretary Glickman at the dedication of the George Washington Carver Building in

Beltsville, MD. The building is home to a number of USDA agencies. 
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension

Service

The mission of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension

Service (CSREES) is to achieve significant and equitable improvements in

domestic and global economic, environmental, and social conditions by

advancing creative and integrated research, education, and extension programs in food, agricultural, and related sciences in partnership with both the

public and private sectors.

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Food Safety Initiative. National program leaders at CSREES are working

closely with several partners in support of the President’s Food Safety

Initiative. CSREES, the Cooperative Extension System, the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA), and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service

planned and coordinated two national education conferences that brought

together State core teams. The teams received training and education enabling

them to develop and implement State HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical

Control Point) planning and marketing strategies. A new food safety program

was initiated addressing microbial contamination in fruits and vegetables. In

November 1998, a national food safety conference was held. As a result of a

joint USDA-FDA conference held in April 1999, food safety education and

outreach programs for growers of fresh fruits and vegetables were developed.

In collaboration with HHS, a Joint Institute for Food Safety Research is being

established under the President’s Council on Food Safety.

24 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

5 Research, Education, and Economics

Cooking up safe traditions

In Washington, 90 cases of food poisoning were linked to a traditional homemade cheese called queso fresco. This

traditional food, popular with the

Hispanic community, is usually made

from raw, unpasteurized milk.

Washington State food scientists found

they could easily modify the recipe so

cheese makers could use pasteurized

milk.

President Clinton, at USDA in August, signing Executive Order 13134 to develop and 

promote biobased products and bioenergy. 
Farm Crisis Web Site. On August 31, 1999, CSREES launched a new 

farm crisis web site— “Helping Rural America Face Crisis” at

http://www.reeusda.gov/farmcrisis.htm—to provide information to the public

about disasters for farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses. The web site offers

links to the land-grant system about how it is responding to farm crises, as

well as links to programs that help rural and urban residents survive crisis and

disaster.

Community Food Security Web Site. CSREES created and is hosting

USDA’s web site dedicated to the Secretary of Agriculture’s Community

Food Security Initiative (http://www.reeusda.gov/food_security/foodshp.htm).

CSREES will soon expand the Community Food Security Initiative home

page to include more detailed information that can be directly used by nonprofit groups and other grass-roots partners to decrease hunger, improve

nutrition, and help families move from poverty to self-sufficiency.

Civil Rights Action Extended to Underserved Populations. CSREES

increased efforts to ensure that research and extension programs meet the

needs of underserved populations through the small farms initiative, children

and youth at risk, EFNEP, and many other programs. Funding to minorityserving institutions was increased. Workshops were presented at a number of

minority-serving institutions to develop new and expanded partnerships, identify staff development and other needs and provide training on how to write

grant proposals.

Small Farms Program. CSREES’ Small Farm Digest is distributed three

times a year to about 30,000 farmers, producers, and consumers. CSREES

and its university partners completed a National Plan for Small Farms, outlining implementation strategies; goals for research, education and outreach; and

expected impacts. The National Plan was adopted by the National

Commission on Small Farms. The second National Small Farms Conference,

cosponsored by USDA and organized by Lincoln University in Missouri,

drew several hundred participants in October 1999 in St. Louis. The conference focused on practical workshops for operators of small and mid-size

farms.

Improving Access to Research Information. CSREES continues to work

with the land-grant university system and other USDA agencies to enhance

the Current Research Information System (CRIS) to improve CRIS’s ability

to provide current information on the research programs of USDA and the

State Agricultural Experiment Stations. For more information on CRIS, see

the web site http://cristel.nal.usda.gov:8080 MACROBUTTON

HtmlResAnchor http://cristel.nal.usda.gov:8080

The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 directed the

Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a comprehensive review of state-of-theart information technology systems and develop a system to monitor and

25 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

5 Research, Education, and Economics

Three-in-one

A breakthrough vaccine developed by

Minnesota scientists saves producers

$200 million a year and protects baby

chicks against three major diseases at

the same time. The automated process,

which injects the three-in-one vaccine

directly into eggs, replaces an older

treatment that prevented only one disease.

Senator Richard Lugar, IN, Chairman,

Senate Committee on Agriculture,

Nutrition, and Forestry.

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Corn: IOWA

ILLINOIS

NEBRASKA

INDIANA

MINNESOTA
evaluate agricultural research and extension activities conducted or supported

by USDA. The new Research, Education, and Economics Information

System (REEIS) is expected to be operational by the end of FY 2001. REEIS

will include research, education, extension, and economics program and project information in a system accessible on the Web to a variety of users—

public and private. 

Y2K Community Outreach Efforts. CSREES was recognized with a

USDA Secretary’s Honor Award for its Y2K community outreach efforts. A

toolkit containing sample news releases, audio public service announcements,

fact sheets, posters, and brochures was distributed to the Nation’s 3,100 county extension offices in 1998 to help educate producers and citizens about the

Y2K issue and to boost confidence in food production and distribution systems. This information was targeted to rural communities and agricultural

producers. In April and November 1999, CSREES co-sponsored interactive

videoconferences for owners of small businesses, including farms and other

agribusinesses, on the Y2K issue.

Economic Research Service*

The mission of the Economic Research Service (ERS) is to provide economic

analysis on efficiency, efficacy, and equity issues related to agriculture, food,

natural resources, and rural development to improve public and private decisionmaking. 

26 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

5 Research, Education, and Economics

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Tobacco: NORTH CAROLINA

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

SOUTH CAROLINA

VIRGINIA

Did You

Know?

One in five children is 

overweight.

Fresh cut fruits and vegetables—two staples of a healthy diet.
27 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture 5 Research, Education, and Economics

States’ chief commodity produced and rank in value of total agricultural production

Figures reflect 1997 data, the latest available
28 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Food Security in U.S. Households. ERS helped develop a Federal food

security measure and now conducts an annual survey specifically designed to

measure the prevalence of household food insecurity and hunger in the

United States. In 1999 ERS released the results of two studies examining

household food security addressing the question, “Do households always

have access to enough food to meet basic needs?” Household Food Insecurity

in the United States: 1995-1998 provides evidence that although most households in the United States are food secure, some 10 million U.S. households

(9.7 percent of total) were food insecure in 1996-98. Prevalence of Food

Insecurity and Hunger, by State, 1996-98, indicated that the prevalence of

food insecurity and hunger varied considerably among the States. Eleven

States, located in an arc along the western and southern borders of the country, and the District of Columbia, had rates of food insecurity significantly

above the national average. 

Diet and Nutrition. Two ERS studies released in 1999 examine the implications of America’s changing diet on health and farmers. America’s Eating

Habits: Changes and Consequences provides different perspectives on nutrition in the United States. Questions posed and answered include: What are

the economic costs associated with unhealthy eating; how much do people

know about nutrition; how do national income and prices and demographic

trends affect nutrient intake; and how do government programs and regulations influence food expenditures and consumption. Moving Toward the Food

Guide Pyramid: Implications for U.S. Agriculture documents the implications

for farmers if consumers followed eating recommendations provided by

USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid. Specifically, the study examines what would

happen to farm production, trade, and prices if consumers reduced their consumption of caloric sweeteners, fats, and oil and increased consumption of

dark-green leafy and deep-yellow vegetables, dry beans, peas, and lentils.

Adopting Genetically Engineered Crops. The ERS/NASS Agricultural

Resource Management Study is USDA’s primary vehicle for collecting information on a broad range of issues about agricultural resource use and costs,

and farm sector financial conditions, including adoption of new technologies

such as genetically engineered seed. ERS was the first USDA agency to provide Government survey data on the extent of adoption of genetically engineered soybeans, cotton, and corn crops. ERS is following up on these

information releases with more complete published reports, such as Pest

Management in U.S. Agriculture, which provide information on both chemical and biological pest management practices. 

Natural Resource Conservation Policies. ERS published three major

reports this year analyzing aspects of USDA and other policies affecting agricultural resource conservation. These analyses summarize changes in impleTwo decades ago, blueberries were 

practically nonexistent in the Gulf States,

but ARS developed early-ripening 

varieties that have extended highbush 

blueberry cultivation to the Deep South.

Today, tens of thousands of acres of 

highbush blueberries are grown in the

South, with thousands of acres thriving

throughout Texas, Louisiana, and

Alabama. Congressman Larry Combest

(right), TX, Chairman, House Committee

on Agriculture, examines blueberries on a

farm.

5 Research, Education, and Economics

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Cotton:

5

TEXAS

CALIFORNIA

GEORGIA

MISSISSIPPI

ARKANSAS
menting earlier legislation, and inform discussions of conservation and environmental policies in future legislation. Wetlands and Agriculture: Private

Interests and Public Benefits comprehensively reviewed Federal and State

policies affecting agricultural use of wetlands in the context of the Nation’s

“no net loss” goal. Economic Valuation of Environmental Benefits and the

Targeting of Conservation Programs: The Case of the CRP examined

changes to procedures for accepting land into the Conservation Reserve

Program and estimated economic benefits from the improved targeting.

Green Technologies for a More Sustainable Agriculture summarized the case

for improving agricultural sustainability and examined the potential and limitations of “green” technologies in meeting that goal. 

29 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

5 Research, Education, and Economics

Did You 

Know?

Consumers reap the benefits of

investing in agricultural

research. The U.S. agricultural

system pays back at least $1.35

for every tax dollar invested. 

A retooled gene in tomatoes controls ripening to give better flavor and shelf life. 
30 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

5 Research, Education, and Economics

Enhanced Understanding of Agricultural Structure. ERS tracks and

explains the structural changes being experienced in the U.S. agricultural and

food system, which is particularly important in understanding the heterogeneity of farms and agribusinesses across the Nation, and the implications

of these differences for policy design. ERS developed and widely disseminated a new farm typology—linking sales, occupation, and lifestyle characteristics, and a new geographic characterization for agriculture—that undergirds

analyses of small or disadvantaged farms, minority farmers, and the impacts

of market and natural events. ERS published the 20th Annual Family Farm

Report to Congress and highlighted the work of the Secretary’s National

Commission on Small Farms in a major ERS-organized conference on

“What Makes a Small Farm Successful.”

World Trade Organization Negotiations. Agriculture in the WTO analyzes

how Uruguay Round commitments were implemented and therefore helps

identify priorities for future round of WTO negotiations. An Introduction to

State Trading in Agriculture provides a qualitative index of the potential for a

state trading organization to restrict trade, a potentially important WTO issue.

A Framework for Analyzing Technical Trade Barriers in Agricultural Markets

offers a classification scheme for assessing the economic impacts of technical

trade barriers, such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures. ERS has also

developed a trade policy database that will provide valuable data for negotiators and trade analysts. 

*Note: Top five States by value of cash receipts for leading commodities,

1997, provided by ERS.

National Agricultural Statistics Service

The National Agricultural Statistics Service—which calls itself “the fact finders for agriculture”—has as its mission to serve the basic agricultural and

rural data needs of the people of the United States, including those working

in agriculture and those living in rural communities, by objectively providing

important, usable, and accurate statistical information and services for

informed decisionmaking.

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Potatoes: IDAHO

WASHINGTON

CALIFORNIA

WISCONSIN

OREGON
Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

1997 Census of Agriculture Released. The February 1, 1999, release of the

1997 Census of Agriculture results marked a significant date for USDA,

because it was the first time the census of agriculture was conducted and

released by the Department. National, State, and county data from the 1997

Census of Agriculture were released only 12 months after the questionnaires

were due from the Nation’s agricultural operators and 10 months earlier than

release of previous censuses of agriculture. The census provides the most

comprehensive information about America’s agriculture down to the county

level. The 1997 Census of Agriculture results also showed improved coverage of farms operated by women and minorities, and provided the first

counts of American Indian operators on reservations.

31 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

5 Research, Education, and Economics

Acres

1 to 9

10 to 49

50 to 179

180 to 499

500 to 999

1,000 to 1,999

2,000 or more

8%

22%

31%

21%

9%

5%

4%

Farms by size: 1997

Average size of farm: 487 acres

(thousands)

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Tomatoes: CALIFORNIA

FLORIDA

GEORGIA

OHIO

VIRGINIA
Top 10 irrigating Acre-feet Average acre-feet 

States applied per acre

California 25,153,495 3.1

Texas 7,473,880 1.4

Idaho 6,030,447 1.9

Arkansas 5,516,603 1.4

Colorado 5,052,612 1.7

Nebraska 4,975,330 0.9

Arizona 4,117,652 4.7

Kansas 3,589,226 1.4

Washington 3,364,585 2.2

Oregon 3,255,501 2.1

32 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

5 Research, Education, and Economics

Low Energy Pressure Application (LEPA) is a new irrigation system that allows the correct

amount of water to be used to control soil and water erosion. Farmers are able to acquire

this system with a grant from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Congressman Charles Stenholm, TX,

Ranking Member, House Committee on

Agriculture, on his cotton farm in Jackson

County, TX.

1998 Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey. Results from the 1998 Farm and

Ranch Irrigation Survey, released November 8, 1999, revealed that farmers

spent over a billion dollars on irrigation equipment, facilities, and land

improvements in 1998; this was a 25-percent increase over 1994. The survey,

which provides the most complete and detailed picture of irrigation in the

United States, also showed that the value of irrigated crops rose dramatically

over the past 15 years while cropland irrigated acreage remained steady. Over

half of the 50 million acres irrigated in 1998 had improvements to reduce

energy use or conserve water. Corn, alfalfa hay, cotton, soybeans, and

orchard land—the top five irrigated crops—accounted for over half of all irrigated land.
33 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

6 Rural Development

6

Rural Development The mission of Rural Development is to enhance the ability of rural communities to develop, to grow, and to improve their quality of life by targeting

financial and technical resources in areas of greatest need through activities

of greatest potential.

Rural Housing Service

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Single-Family Housing. The Direct Rural Housing Loan Program

offers low-interest homeownership loans to rural America’s working people.

Approximately 40 percent of the people it serves earn less than 50 percent of

the median income of the rural area in which they live. In FY 1999, the program obligated $961.5 million to enable families to become homeowners.

The Mutual Self-Help Housing Program makes mortgage costs affordable to

people with very low and low incomes by allowing them to contribute “sweat

equity,” which they earn by building their own homes. The program provides

grants to nonprofit and municipal technical assistance providers, who supervise small groups of families in the construction of their own homes. In FY

1999, the Rural Housing Service (RHS) provided 121 grantees in 44 States

with a total of $24.9 million in technical assistance grants. In turn, the

grantees supervised 1,342 families in the construction of their own homes.

The Guaranteed Rural Housing Loan Program provides guarantees of up to

90 percent of a bank loan to low- and moderate-income rural Americans who

otherwise would not be able to obtain credit. It also allows borrowers to

obtain loans for 100 percent of the appraised value of a house, thereby

removing the downpayment barrier that prevents many people from becoming homeowners. In FY 1999, the program obligated $2.98 billion to allow

39,700 families to purchase homes.

The Rural Home Repair Loan and Grant Programs provide funds to help

very low-income people undertake the vital improvements necessary to make

their homes habitable. These include weatherizing the homes, removing electrical and fire hazards, repairing roofing, and installing or improving water

and waste-water disposal systems. In FY 1999, the home repair loan and

grant programs obligated $44.8 million to allow approximately 9,020 families to make vital improvements to make their homes safe and liveable.

Economic benefits provided by the Single-Family Programs include 55,592

homes financed, 9,020 homes rehabilitated, and $3.94 billion in total financing provided. The Single-Family housing program provided 81,846 full-time

jobs in construction and construction-related industries, $1.28 billion in

wages, and $689.6 million in combined Federal, State, and local revenues

and fees.

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Rice: ARKANSAS

CALIFORNIA

LOUISIANA

TEXAS

MISSISSIPPI

1965 69 73 77 81

Year

85 89 93 97

Percentage of Homeownership

68

69

70

71

74

75

72

76

73

99
Multi-Family Housing. The Rural Rental Housing Direct Loan Program

makes low-interest loans to developers of affordable rural rental housing. In

1999, RHS obligated $75.8 million toward construction of 97 new rental

complexes providing 2,181 units. It also obligated $38.5 million toward the

repair and rehabilitation of existing units in 100 rural rental facilities.

The Farm Labor Housing Loan and Grant Program is the only national

source for farm labor housing construction funds. This program provides lowinterest loans and grants to developers of affordable rural rental housing for

farmworkers, who are among the most poorly housed people in the country.

In 1999, the program obligated $33.5 million to build 622 new units and

rehabilitate 12 rental complexes.

34 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

6 Rural Development

Service Beyond Expectations

Eric Hoard once lived at Stonington

Manor, but now manages it and two

other apartment complexes for lowincome families built by Maine

Development Associates and partially

financed by RHS. In January 1998, an

ice storm cut off the power, leaving the

Stonington Manor residents without

heat, light, water, or any means of cooking. Eric brought firewood from his

home to keep the fire in the wood stove

in the community room burning, so that

residents would have a warm place to

stay. He brought water and purchased

food at local markets. On the second

day of the storm, he brought his gas grill

from home and organized a barbecue

for residents. Throughout the storm,

Eric kept checking on the residents to

make sure they had everything they

needed. He even provided information

about local shelters, in case some residents wanted to go there.

Tenants at the complexes praise Hoard.

At Blue Hill Terrace, he helps people in

ways far beyond what is usually expected of a manager. He installed handicap

railings in the apartment of a resident

who was in the hospital with a hip problem. He built a canopy over a patio for a

resident who had to avoid exposure to

the sun. He often makes small repairs

to help residents, including fixing television reception, digging a flower garden,

and helping start a stalled car. Eric

Hoard personifies the best type of rural

rental manager, one who goes out of

his way to help residents and solve their

problems, even problems not related to

the apartment complex.

Secretary Glickman lends his building skills at a Self-Help Housing construction site in

Winter Garden, FL.
The Rental Assistance Program makes rent in USDA rural rental housing 

and farm labor housing affordable to the tenants. In FY 1999, RHS provided

over $584 million in 5-year contracts for rental assistance to more than

42,000 tenants. 

The Rural Rental Housing Guaranteed Loan Program provides loan guarantees to lenders, who in turn provide loans for the development of affordable

rental housing. In FY 1999, the Section 538 program approved loan guarantees worth $74.8 million to build 28 rural rental housing developments in 24

States.

The Housing Preservation Grant Program provides grants to nonprofit organizations, Indian tribes, and Government agencies to bring up to code deteriorating single- and multi-family housing for very low- and low-income

families. In 1999, the program provided $7 million to 125 organizations to

rehabilitate 1,800 houses and apartments. 

Economic benefits provided by multi-family programs include 5,343 new

apartments financed, 112 apartment buildings renovated, 1,800 single-family

homes or apartments renovated, 42,000 rental subsidies, and a total of $813.6

million in financing provided. Multi-family housing programs provided 5,541

full-time jobs in construction and construction-related industries, $180.2 million in wages, and $95.8 million in combined Federal, State, and local revenues and fees. 

Community Facilities. The Community Facilities Direct Loan Program provides direct loans to rural communities for essential community facilities.

These include child care centers, adult care centers, hospitals, clinics, schools,

municipal buildings, and community centers, as well as emergency rescue

equipment, among others. In 1999, the program obligated $164.6 million to

fund 452 projects.

The Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program provides loan guarantees of up to 90 percent to rural communities to build essential community

facilities. These include child care centers, adult care centers, hospitals, clinics, schools, municipal buildings, and community centers, as well as emergency rescue equipment, among others. In FY 1999, the program obligated

$107 million to fund 118 projects.

The Community Facilities Grant Program helps very low-income communities finance their facilities by reducing the amount of debt which must be

incurred to acquire facilities. These facilities include child care centers, adult

care centers, hospitals, clinics, schools, municipal buildings, and community

centers, as well as emergency rescue equipment, among others. In 1999, the

grant program obligated $7.5 million in grants to help fund 245 projects.

35 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

6 Rural Development

IRP Loan Helps California

Electronic Plant Thrive

In 1993, Don Setzco, the owner and

general manager of MCI Transformer

Corporation West, a transformer manufacturing plant in New York, relocated

the operation to the small community of

Willits, Calif. Setzco leased a 4,500-

square-foot facility and began manufacturing small transformers for the

electronic industry.

As the demand for small transformers

increased, Setzco began looking for a

larger facility to expand the business.

Not withstanding the company’s sales

growth and profitability, local commercial banks were unable to participate in

financing a new manufacturing facility

without the help of other funding

sources. Through the use of the RBS

Intermediary Relending Program (IRP),

SAFE-BIDCO (an IRP partner of USDA)

was able to provide the financing MCI

needed to make the project come to

fruition. As a result of financing provided

through the IRP program, MCI was able

to construct a new, 16,000-square-foot

manufacturing facility. The facility was

funded with $150,000 from SAFEBIDCO’s IRP fund and $4,350,000 from

local lenders.

MCI has created 17 new jobs since

completing the new manufacturing facility, with 35 additional jobs retained. The

additional plant capacity was a major

factor leading to the receipt of a longterm contract for transformers from a

new customer.
Economic benefits provided by Community Facilities programs include 639

communities with new or improved essential communities facilities and $278

million in total financing provided. Community Facilities programs provided

9,600 full-time jobs in FY 1999. 

Community Facilities Program Finances More Child Care Centers Than

Ever Before. The Community Facilities program has made financing child

care centers a high priority. In FY 1999, the program provided $14 million in

loans, grants, and guarantees to fund 69 child care centers. 

Community Facilities Program Provides Funding for Indian Facilities. In

FY 1999, the Community Facilities program provided 22 loans, grants, and

guarantees worth $5.5 million to fund 17 projects on 16 Indian reservations.

Projects included child day care centers, an adult day care center, college

buildings, outpatient care facilities, fire departments, a community center, and

an assisted-living facility. 

Multi-Family Housing Reaches Record-Low Loan Delinquency. The

Multi-Family Housing loan program reached a record-low delinquency rate

of 1.7 percent as of Sept. 30, 1999. This is an all-time low and is lower than

almost all private-sector rates. This delinquency rate is based on a loan portfolio of 17,882 projects and an outstanding loan principal of $11.9 billion.

RHS Develops Partnerships With Nonprofit or Private Sectors To

Provide Affordable Housing. RHS has been actively developing partnerships to leverage its single-family housing program dollars and increase

affordable homeownership opportunities for rural America’s working people.

In FY 1999, RHS significantly expanded its Rural Home Loan Partnership

with the Federal Home Loan Bank System and the Rural Local Initiatives

Support Corporation. RHS’s partners leveraged RHS’s contribution of $33.9

million with $13.8 million of their own funds.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Business Program. During FY 1999, Rural Business Loan and Grant programs provided approximately $1.4 billion in loans, loan guarantees, and

grants for business development to 3,740 businesses. This resulted in an estimated 80,000 jobs either created or saved in rural America. Of this amount,

over $1.2 billion of the funding was provided through the Business and

Industry Guaranteed Loan Program. A part of this funding was contributed

through a partnership with the Department of Treasury and the North

American Development (NAD) Bank. Through this partnership, USDA’s

Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program provided $63.5 million in

loans that created or saved 2,450 jobs in areas impacted by NAFTA-related

trade. 

36 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

6 Rural Development

San Carlos Apaches Take over

Communications Services

With the help of a RUS

Telecommunications $14 million loan,

the San Carlos Apache tribal community

of 2,000 people has gone from 12

phone lines to 400. The cut-over was

made May 26, 1999, with representatives of RUS and the tribal authority

conducting the ceremony, but the true

joy of the day was expressed by the

residents. 

A year ago, Cherrill Williams’ husband

was working beneath their mobile home

when it fell off the jack and pinned him

to the ground. The only pay phone in

the community was out of order. The

neighbors found someone a half-hour

later with a car phone to summon help.

By the time an emergency helicopter

arrived, Mrs. Williams had already rescued her husband by digging with her

hands. On the day her telephone was

connected, Mrs. Williams immediately

made 10 calls and then slept with the

phone in her hand that evening. 

San Carlos Apache Telecommunications Utility runs the utility and will have

the service of the residents in mind

when decisions are made. Emergency

help, communication with friends, family

and neighbors, and the ability to participate in the information revolution are all

benefits of this community taking control

of their own future.
Relending Program. The Intermediary Relending Program provides lowinterest loans to intermediaries, which in turn provide loans to develop business or community-development projects. In FY 1999, approximately $33

million was provided to 47 intermediaries. The Rural Business Enterprise

Grant program provided approximately $36.4 million to assist more than

2,300 small and emerging businesses.

Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program. Ten States received

funding through the Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program in FY

1999. With at least a 25-percent match from non-Federal sources, these grants

support new or existing centers for cooperative development, which in turn

provide technical assistance to new cooperative businesses in rural areas.

These grants have helped establish more than 50 value-added cooperatives

serving in excess of 5,000 members. 

Research on Rural Cooperative Opportunities and Problems. The Rural

Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) supported applied research for agricultural cooperatives by funding the Research on Rural Cooperative

Opportunities and Problems initiative. This initiative provides matching

monies to universities and nonprofits to conduct research on cutting-edge

issues facing our Nation’s rural cooperatives. This research also lays the

groundwork to expand USDA’s authority to nonagricultural rural cooperatives

during FY 2000. 

Technical Assistance to New and Existing Agricultural Cooperatives.

RBS provided direct technical assistance to groups wanting to form cooperatives as well as agricultural cooperatives already operating. Approximately

215 different cooperatives or groups were provided assistance. 

Cooperative Education and Research. RBS has an extensive program of

research on issues facing rural cooperatives as well as developing educational

materials. Business program benefits provided to cooperatives include $44.4

million in Business and Industry guaranteed loans to 19 cooperative projects,

$306,460 in Rural Business Enterprise grants to 4 cooperative projects, $2.3

million in Intermediary Relending Program funding to 3 cooperative projects,

$13.7 million in Rural Economic Development loans to 38 cooperative projects, and $9.3 million in Rural Economic Development grants to 38 cooperative projects.

37 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

6 Rural Development

5TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Sorghum KANSAS

grain:

TEXAS

NEBRASKA

MISSOURI

OKLAHOMA

Congressman Joe Skeen (far right), NM,

Chairman, House Appropriations

Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural

Development, Food and Drug

Administration, and Related Agencies,

received phone service for the first time in

1982, thanks to USDA’s Rural Telephone

Program, now operated by the Rural

Utilities Service.
Rural Utilities Service

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Electric Program. The Electric Program approved 72 loans for a total of

$538 million to Rural Utilities Service (RUS) borrowers serving counties

identified as persistent poverty counties. In addition, 83 loans, for a total of

$379 million, were approved for borrowers serving counties identified as having persistent outmigration. Based on financial and statistical information

provided by RUS borrowers, 2.8 million consumers benefitted from electric

system improvements that were made during FY 1999.

Telecommunications. During FY 1999, the Telecommunications Program

improved the information superhighway for rural America by making loans

and loan guarantees of $461 million for 37 rural telecommunications projects

that provided improved service to more than 662,000 rural residents, including new service to 220,000 residents. Improvements will include installation

of $63 million of new digital switching technology and over 4,700 miles of

fiber optic cable and associated electronic equipment costing $172 million.

Some of these facilities will be used specifically to connect an additional 15

schools to distance learning systems.

38 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

6 Rural Development

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Lettuce: CALIFORNIA

ARIZONA

NEW JERSEY

NEW MEXICO

COLORADO

Did You

Know?

More than 21,000 hogs, 2 million chickens, and 752,000

turkeys in North Carolina died

due to Hurricane Floyd. USDA

helped dispose of the 

carcasses.

An employee of an electric power cooperative monitors power distribution to customers.
39 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

6 Rural Development

RUS Supports Distance Learning and Telemedicine. RUS provided $8

million in grants for 30 distance learning projects and $4.9 million in grants

and nearly $2 million in loans for 23 telemedicine projects that will serve

rural residents through educational centers and health care providers. 

Water and Environmental Programs. During FY 1999, the Water and

Environmental programs provided more than $1.2 billion in loans and grants

for over 1,700 rural water or wastewater projects that serve 3 million people,

creating over 33,000 jobs. 

Water 2000. About 1 million residents of rural America lack safe, clean

drinking water in their homes. RUS has been spearheading the Water 2000

initiative to provide this basic resource that most Americans take for granted.

Water 2000 funded 106 projects in 1999 to improve the drinking water systems serving over 129,000 households, to improve service to over 300,000

people, and to provide first-time public water to over 14,000. 

Rural Utilities Service and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

RUS has continued to be actively involved in proceedings at the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on matters affecting restructuring of

the electric utility industry and RUS borrowers. FERC regulates wholesale

electric power markets and interstate transmission of electricity by public

utilities.

Administration’s Electric Industry Restructuring Plan Has Rural Safety

Net. USDA and RUS worked with other Federal agencies in the development

of the President’s Electric Competition Plan and proposed legislation.

USDA’s participation on the White House Interagency Working Group on

Restructuring resulted in the Administration’s proposed legislation being the

only bill that contained a rural safety net to ensure that high cost to serve

rural areas would be protected against unreasonable cost increases in electric

power.

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Apples: WASHINGTON

CALIFORNIA

NEW YORK

MICHIGAN

PENNSYLVANIA

Did You

Know?

In a typical year, Rural

Development programs 

create or preserve more than

150,000 rural jobs, enable

40,000 to 50,000 rural

Americans to buy homes,

and help 450,000 low-income

rural Americans to rent apartments or other housing.
40 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

7 Marketing and Regulatory Programs

7

Marketing and Regulatory

Programs

The mission of Marketing and Regulatory Programs is to facilitate the

domestic and international marketing of U.S. agricultural products and to

ensure the health and care of animals and plants while improving market

competitiveness and the economy for the overall benefit of both consumers

and American agriculture.

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Restructuring of Packers and Stockyards Program. High concentration,

forward sales contracts, production contracts, and vertical integration have

raised major concerns about competition and trade practices by meat packers

and poultry processors. The Packers and Stockyards (P&S) program of the

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) has

restructured its headquarters and field offices to better focus on its core

responsibilities—overseeing competition, trade practices, and payment protection in the livestock and poultry industries. In 1999, GIPSA completed the

final stages of the restructuring. Regional offices were reduced from 11 to 

3 while staffing was increased with the addition of legal and economic specialists. Resident agents, who provide basic P&S services and provide a presence in all livestock and poultry production areas, were moved into place in

outlying areas throughout the United States. 

Complaint Against Excel Corporation. On April 9, 1999, GIPSA filed a

complaint against Excel alleging that the firm violated the Packers and

Stockyards Act (P&S Act), which prohibits unfair, unjustly discriminatory, or

deceptive practices by packers. The complaint alleges that Excel failed to disclose to producers a change in how it calculated the lean percent for hogs

purchased on a carcass merit basis, and that, as a result, it paid lower prices

for the majority of hogs purchased on this basis. The alleged actions by

Excel resulted in farmers being paid $1.8 million less in transactions involving more than 19,900 lots of hogs that were slaughtered at Excel’s three hog

plants. The case is scheduled for a hearing in February 2000.

Complaint Against Farmland. On July 20, 1999, GIPSA filed a complaint

against Farmland National Beef Packing Company, alleging that the company violated the P&S Act. The complaint alleges that Farmland changed its

bidding and buying practices at Callicrate Cattle Company Feedyard after

Callicrate’s sales manager published an article critical of Farmland in a livestock journal. A hearing date for this complaint is pending.

Rapid Response Teams in South Dakota and Missouri Help as New State

Livestock Price Discrimination Reporting Laws Go Into Effect. New

livestock price reporting laws took effect in South Dakota and Missouri during the summer of 1999. The laws prohibit packers from paying different

prices for livestock with certain exceptions, which include criteria related to

carcass merit. GIPSA put rapid response teams in South Dakota July 20-23,

A Helping Hand In Times of Need

When Hurricane Floyd and its destructive floods hit North Carolina in

September 1999, APHIS helped the

State on a number of fronts. Agency

personnel were involved in local efforts

to aid flood victims, working side-byside with the military to rescue stranded

people and help with search activities.

APHIS and its emergency response

team worked with the State to dispose

of the millions of animals—primarily

poultry and livestock—that died during

the disaster. Information about humane

treatment and missing pets was posted

on the APHIS’ website. 
1999, and in Missouri the weeks of August 30 and September 6, 1999, to

monitor the situation. GIPSA continues to monitor developments closely.

Pork Crisis. As part of USDA’s Pork Crisis Task Force, the Agricultural

Marketing Service implemented initiatives designed to help remedy the financial crisis for pork producers. In FY 1999, AMS purchased more than 118

million pounds of pork worth nearly $127 million for its Federal feeding programs. It expanded its efforts to assist U.S. pork packers and processors marketing their pork products through brand initiatives and quality management

system verification. And it released two new hog reports which allow

producers to more precisely assess the value of their hogs.

National Organic Program Rulemaking Honored. The National Organic

Program’s electronic rulemaking project won a 1999 Hammer Award. It also

was selected for inclusion in the Smithsonian’s Permanent Research

Collection, and as a finalist for the Harvard Kennedy School of Government

and Ford Foundation’s Innovations in American Government Award. The

National Organic Program employed the Internet and other communication

technology to handle more than 280,000 comments received on its proposed

rule for national organic food standards.

Certifier Assessments Keep Organic Products Flowing to the European

Union. AMS established a voluntary, fee-for-service program to verify that

U.S. State and private organic certifying agencies comply with the requirements which enable the organic industry to comply with European Union

requirements for organic products.

Marketing Workshop Reaches Limited-Resource Farmers. AMS, in cooperation with Southern University and A&M College, held an interagency outreach workshop on “The Marketing Challenge” in Memphis, TN, on March

24-26, 1999. This workshop brought together more than 500 small-scale,

minority, and disadvantaged farmers from seven mid-Southern States to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing farmers today.

Farmer Direct Marketing. As part of the Farmer Direct Marketing Action

Plan, AMS developed a farmer direct marketing web page that provides marketing information for small-scale farmers; links to Federal, State, university,

and other direct marketing websites; and includes a bimonthly Farmer Direct

Marketing Newsletter. AMS also published the Farmer Direct Marketing

Bibliography containing information of interest to academia, extension services, nonprofit groups, and farmers and vendors. In addition, it held a workshop in Santa Fe, NM, to address the issue of attracting minority farmers and

customers to farmers markets and other public markets. 

41 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

7 Marketing and Regulatory Programs

5TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Turkeys: NORTH

CAROLINA

MINNESOTA

MISSOURI

ARKANSAS

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, OH,

Ranking Member, House Appropriations

Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural

Development, Food and Drug Administration,

and Related Agencies, talks to visitors at the

Toledo Farmers Market about the Northwest

Ohio Proud Campaign. The campaign sells

pork raised by northwest Ohio hog farmers

directly to consumers. 
Animal Care Program. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s

(APHIS) Animal Care program continued its use of new techniques to

improve enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). For example, it

expedited prosecution of AWA offenders, virtually eliminating the backlog of

cases. It used innovative penalties which helped licensees come into AWA

compliance. APHIS also successfully negotiated a Cooperative Enforcement

Agreement with the horse industry to address the very contentious practice of

horse soring. 

Pest and Disease Exclusion. In fiscal year 1999, APHIS inspectors confiscated 1.8 million prohibited plant and animal products entering the country

and, as a result, prevented 52,000 reportable pests from entering the United

States. It is also working to improve its system of safeguarding against exotic

invasive pests and diseases by implementing recommendations made in a

stakeholder review carried out under the guidance of the National Plant Board

(NPB). 

42 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

7 Marketing and Regulatory Programs

An APHIS inspector inspects cartons for Asian longhorned beetles.

Pest and Disease Management. APHIS conducts programs that have made

considerable inroads in eradicating animal and plant pests and diseases. For

example, in January 1999, APHIS initiated the Accelerated Pseudorabies

Eradication Program to achieve its goal of eradicating this serious disease

from the Nation’s swine population by the end of 2000. About 900,000

swine have been depopulated and approximately $65 million in indemnity

payments have been made to affected producers. 
The Cooperative Boll Weevil Eradication Program has eliminated this

destructive insect from nearly 5 million acres in Alabama, Arizona, Virginia,

California, the Carolinas, Florida, and Georgia. During the last fiscal year

alone, approximately 4 million infested acres in Arkansas, Louisiana,

Mississippi, and Texas were enrolled. 

Wildlife Sciences Building Dedication. On April 16, 1999, APHIS dedicated the $14 million, state-of-the-art Wildlife Sciences Building in Fort Collins,

CO, the only facility in the world dedicated to resolving conflicts between

wildlife and man. It also houses a library on wildlife management that is

linked to USDA’s National Agricultural Library system, as well as about 80

universities across the United States. This will help APHIS provide leadership

in developing socially acceptable and cost-effective methods for managing

problems caused by wildlife, while maintaining balanced and healthy ecosystems. 

Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program. AMS provides matching

funds to State departments of agriculture or other appropriate State agencies

for a wide range of research and service projects aimed at improving the marketing, distribution, and use of agricultural products. With Federal funds of

$1.2 million available, the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program

awarded matching funds to 25 projects in 20 States during FY 1999. 

43 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

7 Marketing and Regulatory Programs

APHIS’ Animal Care Above and

Beyond

It is not uncommon for APHIS’ Animal

Care officials to go above and beyond

their duties in helping animals covered

under the AWA. In 1999, members of a

touring Russian performance troupe

featuring a live bear act were taken into

custody for immigration violations. The

three bears that had been in the

troupe’s possession needed a home

fast. Animal Care officials first found a

temporary home for the bears, and then

helped them move to a permanent

home in Texas. 

USDA’s Beagle Brigade is one facet of APHIS’ comprehensive agricultural quarantine and

inspection (AQI) program. The Beagle Brigade is a group of nonaggressive detector dogs

and their human partners. They search travelers’ luggage for prohibited fruits, plants, and

meat that could harbor harmful plant and animal pests and diseases. 
Automation of Export Inspection. GIPSA initiated a government-private

sector partnership to automate grain inspection processes at export facilities.

During FY 1999, building of a prototype system began at one facility in New

Orleans. The project received industry-wide support because it offers the

potential to reduce GIPSA’s inspection operating costs and improve the productivity of U.S. export operations–an essential factor in today’s competitive

global market.

New Education Package Developed for Eggs and Poultry. To point up the

benefits of purchasing USDA-graded eggs and poultry, AMS developed and

packaged a media, retail, and education communication program. The communication kits feature a new character logo and include point-of-sale

brochures, an educational lesson plan, and general information fact sheets

that processors and retailers can use to convey their commitment to providing

quality products. 

GIPSA Hotlines. GIPSA has two hotlines, one for employees and one for

customers. To date, employees have submitted 784 ideas for improving the

Agency’s programs and services. Numerous comments and concerns from

livestock producers and marketers about a South Dakota price reporting law

which became effective July 1, 1999, were received on the GIPSA hotline.

NAFTA Dispute Resolution Program. AMS officials were instrumental in

developing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Tri-National

Dispute Resolution Program, which encourages fair-trading practices between

Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The independent organization governing the program will be supported by industry members and is scheduled

to be operational in February 2000.

Federal Milk Marketing Order Reform. On August 23, USDA issued a

final order consolidating the current 31 Federal milk orders into 11 and making other significant reforms. Issuance of the final order concluded a 3-year

process that began with passage of the 1996 Farm Bill that legislated the consolidation and reform. 

USDA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Work Together on Waterway

Issues. USDA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers formally agreed to

work together to address inland waterway issues affecting the movement of

agricultural commodities. The Memorandum of Understanding creates the

Inland Waterways Working Group, which will combine the Corps’ expertise

in policy, planning, evaluation, design, and operation of inland waterways

infrastructure with USDA’s expertise in agricultural production and marketing, as well as USDA’s understanding of the changing nature of rural and

agricultural economies.

44 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

7 Marketing and Regulatory Programs

USDA, in partnership with the Food and

Drug Administration and the President’s

Council on Food Safety, announced a new

Egg Safety Action Plan in December 1999.

The plan aims to cut in half by 2005 the

number of Salmonella enteritidis (SE) illnesses attributed to eggs and will set a goal

to eliminate such illnesses altogether by

2010. Nearly 3.3 million eggs in the

United States are infected with the SE bacteria annually, and in 1997 alone, there

were an estimated 300,000 cases of SE

infections. The new plan focuses on (1)

producers at the farm level, requiring rigorous on-farm agricultural and sanitation

practices, extensive testing for SE, and egg

diversion systems, so that infected eggs are

rerouted or "diverted" away from consumers; and (2) the processing and packing

stages, requiring lethal treatments, also

known as a "kill step,” for SE-infected

eggs, so that SE bacteria are eliminated in

these eggs.
45 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

7 Marketing and Regulatory Programs

Opening Markets and Keeping Them Open. APHIS supports agricultural

trade by providing our trading partners with scientific data indicating that

U.S. products are free of pests and diseases of concern and ensuring that any

trade restrictions placed on our products are based on sound science. In 1998,

APHIS issued 295,000 plant health export certificates and played a key role

in resolving 44 foreign plant and animal health trade issues. These actions, in

turn, permitted more than $398 million in international agricultural trade to

take place. 

APHIS also completed a risk assessment for regionalization of the European

Union (EU) for classical swine fever and a number of other animal diseases.

This permitted finalization of a veterinary equivalency agreement with the

EU, which will facilitate trade by setting standards for mutual recognition of Did You

each party’s animal health measures. Know?

APHIS has about 48 canine

teams stationed at 19 of the

United States’ busiest international airports. 

Secretary Dan Glickman, AMS Administrator Kathleen Merrigan, and Under Secretary for

Marketing and Regulatory Programs Michael Dunn sample produce at the USDA

Thanksgiving Farmers Market. USDA sponsors a farmers market every Friday, April

through November.
46 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

8 Departmentwide Programs

8

Departmentwide Programs Departmental Administration

To provide the most effective and efficient management leadership and 

services to support USDA agencies and enable the Department to reach its

programmatic goals.

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Creating Job Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. USDA continued to be a Federal leader in efforts to create job and training opportunities

for persons with disabilities through its participation in the Javits-Wagner

O’Day Act (JWOD) program. In FY 1994, USDA’s participation as measured in contracting dollars stood at approximately $2.5 million. USDA’s FY

1999 contributions totaled approximately $25 million. In recognition of the

Department’s efforts at the national headquarters and in seven States, USDA

was awarded the NISH Government Award for Services in May 1999. The

Deputy Chief of the Office of the Chief Information Officer represents

USDA as the Presidential Appointee to the Committee for Purchase from

People who are Blind or Severely Disabled.

Biobased Products Subject of New Executive Order 13134. To further the

development of a comprehensive national strategy to promote and expand the

use of cost-competitive biobased products and bioenergy, Secretary

Glickman bought and began using 20,000 gallons of B20 biodiesel fuel in

fleet vehicles. USDA’s Beltsville, MD, Agricultural Research Center and the

Black Hills National Forest, SD, were the first locations to use B20 biodiesel

in their vehicles this summer.

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Strawberries: CALIFORNIA

FLORIDA

OREGON

NORTH CAROLINA

NEW YORK

The USDA Agricultural Research Center farm in Beltsville, MD, is one of the locations

where USDA vehicles are now using alternative diesel fuel made from soybeans, corn, or

other crops.
USDA Recycling Efforts Provide Jobs for Persons with Disabilities.

USDA began a new initiative, to recycle ink jet printer cartridges. To implement this initiative, USDA is working with NISH, a national nonprofit agency

that seeks to enhance the quality of life of people with severe disabilities.

NISH works with community rehabilitation programs in California to create

jobs sorting, refilling, stocking, and selling the refilled cartridges, thereby

providing opportunities for job training and productive employment for persons with disabilities. USDA offices across the Nation are receiving the

envelopes to use in recycling the cartridges, and the USDA Forest Service

will make the recycling mailers available to private citizens at FS visitor centers across the country. 

First Phase of the South Building Renovation Project Nears Completion.

The Agriculture South Building is the largest building in the USDA building

inventory. Located in Washington, DC, on the National Mall, it can house up

to 6,800 employees in about 1.2 million square feet of occupiable space. It is

in dire need of rehabilitation to bring it into code compliance for fire and life

safety; eliminate health hazards such as air quality, asbestos, PCB’s and lead

paint; and rehabilitate plumbing, electrical, mechanical and telecommunications systems. Congress approved a plan to rehabilitate the building in eight

phases. Phase 1 of the plan is in the construction stage, with occupancy

scheduled to begin in the spring of 2000. With approval of funding for future

phases, this project will provide the framework for providing a safe and more

productive working environment for up to 6,800 USDA employees.

47 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

8 Departmentwide Programs

Secretary Dan Glickman checks groceries at a local supermarket. "I want to assure the

American people that they will continue to enjoy plentiful and safe food as we start the new

millennium," Glickman said. "The Federal Government has worked hard with all 

segments of the food supply industry to make sure of that." 
George Washington Carver Center. The George Washington Carver Center

is a new USDA campus of four buildings that occupies about 45 acres of

Federal land at the 6,500-acre Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in

Beltsville, MD. The Center is operated and maintained under a contract with

Melwood, Inc., a community rehabilitation program providing work and

training opportunities for the disabled. Secretary Glickman officially dedicated the Center on October 7, 1999, honoring Dr. Carver for his many achievements in creative scientific research and for his contributions to improving the

health and living conditions of southern farmers. 

Welfare to Work. USDA supported President Clinton’s initiative to employ

welfare recipients in Federal positions by hiring 608 Welfare to Work (W2W)

hires to date, exceeding by 62 percent its commitment to hire 375 recipients.

Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center. Starting with the creation of

the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center in October 1998, USDA made

significant strides in FY 1999 in promoting more effective conflict resolution

practices for workplace and programmatic disputes. In December, Secretary

Glickman issued a policy requiring agency heads to ensure that managers and

supervisors are trained in conflict management skills, and that all their

employees have access to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services. As

recognition of USDA’s advances in the ADR field, one of USDA’s offices, the

National Finance Center, was an honoree at the inaugural Office of Personnel

Management Director’s Awards for Outstanding Alternative Dispute

Resolution Programs in July.

Small Farmer Outreach Training and Technical Assistance. The USDA

Small Farmer Outreach Training and Technical Assistance Program, also

called the 2501 Program, funds training and technical assistance to small and

limited-resource farmers and ranchers on USDA Programs. During FY 1999,

26 projects received $3 million in grant assistance. In 1994-99, the 2501

Program provided more than $23 million to finance training and technical

assistance efforts.

USDA Innovations in Ethics Training. The USDA Office of Ethics used a

two-pronged approach to successfully conduct its ethics training during FY

1999 for the 100,000 employees stationed in every U.S. county and in many

foreign countries. First, eight topical training modules were placed on the

ethics web site with an electronic form at the end of each module, with which

the trainee could self-certify his or her training. Second, USDA joined with

the Department of Interior to broadcast interactive satellite training nationwide to over 215 downlink locations—87 of which were USDA locations.

Staff response has been strong and favorable.

48 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

8 Departmentwide Programs

5

TOP STATES BY VALUE OF CASH RECEIPTS

Grapes: CALIFORNIA

WASHINGTON

NEW YORK

OREGON

MICHIGAN
Office of the Chief Economist

The Office of the Chief Ecomomist’s (OCE) mission is to advise the

Secretary of Agriculture on the economic prospects in agricultural markets

and the economic implications of policies, programs, and economic events

affecting U.S. agriculture and rural communities; to ensure that the public has

consistent, objective, and reliable agricultural market forecasts; and to promote effective and efficient rules governing Departmental programs.

OCE consists of the Chief Economist and Immediate Staff, the Office of Risk

Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis (ORACBA), the Global Change

Program Office (GCPO), the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses

(OEPNU), and the World Agricultural Outlook Board (WOAB). Three major

functions are carried out by OCE: (1) economic intelligence, policy, and program coordination, which include farm labor, small farms, sustainable agriculture, global change, and energy activities; (2) agricultural market estimates

and forecasts; and (3) regulatory analysis.

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Risk Assessment Advances. The concerns about agriculture-related hazards

to human health and the environment continue to escalate, which compels the

Department to continually update the techniques for identifying risks and

options for reducing them. During FY 1999, ORACBA provided technical

support for USDA risk assessments for such issues as hog cholera in the

European Union, pests contained in solid packing material used in import

shipping containers, foot-and-mouth disease in beef from Brazil, and pests

and pathogens on citrus from Argentina. 

Helping Small Farms. OCE’s Director of Sustainable Development and

Small Farms initiated and chaired a working group of USDA agency small

farms coordinators to identify and carry out an agenda to assist small farms.

The Director staffed the USDA Council on Small Farms, chaired by the

Deputy Secretary, which developed a small farms policy for inclusion in

departmental regulations and created an external departmental advisory committee on small farms to serve as a vehicle for identifying the concerns and

needs of small farms.

World Board Achievements. USDA has focused on improving weather data

and analysis capabilities in foreign countries. 

Over the past year, the WAOB monitored potentially crop-damaging weather

events in the United States and across the globe and reported on the likely

impacts on world commodity supplies and demand to the Secretary,

Congress, and the public, in publications such as the World Agricultural

Supply and Demand Estimates report. The Office of the Chief Economist

49 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

8 Departmentwide Programs

Did You

Know?

Since 1929, the share of disposable personal income spent on

food by families and individuals

has dropped from 23.9 percent

to 11 percent in 1998 and 1999.

The largest share of income

spent on food was in 1933,

when families and individuals

spent 25.9 percent of their 

disposable personal income 

on food.
monitored potential crop loss claims, to advise developing legislation that

provided crop loss assistance to producers, and it also examined alternative

programs for providing economic assistance to producers as a result of low

prices and incomes.

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer’s (OCFO) mission is to shape an

environment in which USDA officials have and use high-quality financial and

performance information to make and implement effective policy, management, stewardship, and program decisions. 

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Forest Service and Food Safety and Inspection Service Implement

Foundation Financial Information System (FFIS). USDA achieved its first

successful implementation of FFIS by two major agencies. Chief Financial

Officer Sally Thompson and senior-level staff from the Secretary’s Office recognized the FFIS Project Office and Forest Service and Food Safety and

Inspection Service leaders for accomplishing this implementation in 14

months. This implementation marks USDA’s first step in complying with the

congressional mandate within the CFO Act that requires an integrated

accounting system. 

Debt Collection Improvement Act. USDA has collected $136.2 million in

delinquent debt through the Treasury’s Administrative Offset Program during

FY 1999. This figure represents a 45-percent increase over the $93.9 million

collected in FY 1998 and a 90-percent increase over the $71.5 million collected in FY 1997. In addition, USDA continues to lower the amount of

delinquent debt, going from $7.5 billion in delinquencies in FY 1997 to $6.4

billion in FY 1999, representing nearly a 15-percent drop (see graph).

Office of the Chief Information Officer

The Office of the Chief Information Officer’s (OCIO) mission is to strategically acquire and use information technology resources to improve the quality, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness of USDA service delivery to its

customers. The following accomplishments reflect the OCIO’s efforts to

achieve its mission. 

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Protecting the Program, Financial, and Personal Assets of USDA’s

Agencies, Customers, and Employees. As more USDA business is conducted over the Internet, the threat to USDA’s financial and program assets, as

well as to the privacy of personal information about USDA’s customers and

50 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

8 Departmentwide Programs

FY 99

FY 98

FY 97

0 20 40 60 80 100 120140

$ MIL.

Collection of 

delinquencies

Collection of delinquencies

improved 30 percent in FY 1999
employees, increases. OCIO conducted a review of USDA’s cyber-security

program; established a cyber-corps of technical staff to detect and respond

rapidly to attempts to hack into computer systems; implemented a 24-hour

incident reporting procedure; developed agency information security selfassessment tools (as well as action plan which includes risk assessments,

establishment of a cyber-security office, and an education and training program for USDA’s managers and employees); and issued new policies on

Internet and Electronic Mail Security.

USDA Makes Progress in Addressing “Year 2000” Computer Problem.

USDA continued to make progress in addressing Year 2000 computer and

embedded chip problems and ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of its programs and services. On October 1, 1999, the Department announced that all

344 of its mission-critical systems were Year 2000 compliant. In addition,

USDA is the lead governmental agency in assessing the likely effects of the

Year 2000 problem on the Nation’s food supply, working closely with other

Federal agencies and industry partners in this effort. USDA concluded that

the food industry is well prepared for Y2K. 

Office of Inspector General

The Office of Inspector General’s mission is to conduct and supervise audits

and investigations to prevent or detect fraud and to improve the effectiveness

of USDA programs by recommending changes that will increase efficiency

and reduce wasteful and fraudulent activities.

Key Accomplishments for FY 1999

Recoveries and Savings. In FY 1999, the Office of Inspector General (OIG)

identified nearly $66 million in recoveries and collections and more than $43

million in fines and restitutions. OIG also identified approximately $207 million in questioned costs that cannot be recovered. Another $114 million was

identified for which management made commitments to put funds to better

use. OIG efforts also resulted in 502 criminal indictments and 559 convictions.

Arrests Continue To Climb in Operation Talon. Operation Talon is a presidential initiative designed and implemented by OIG to locate and apprehend

fugitives, many of them violent offenders, who are current or former food

stamp recipients. As of September 30, 1999, Operation Talon had resulted in

4,801 arrests of fugitive felons during joint OIG/State and local law enforcement operations. This figure included 33 fugitives wanted for murder or

attempted murder, 24 wanted for child molestation, and 13 wanted for rape

or attempted rape.

51 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

8 Departmentwide Programs
Operation “Kiddie Care” Continues To Find Fraud in the Child and

Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Operation “Kiddie Care,” OIG’s

Presidential initiative to identify, remove, and prosecute unscrupulous CACFP

sponsoring organizations, continues to be successful. Twenty sponsoring

organizations receiving approximately $42.3 million annually in food and

administrative funds have been terminated from CACFP. Thirty-four individuals have pled guilty or were convicted, and 29 individuals were sentenced

for their illegal activities.

Presidential Initiative in the Rural Rental Housing Program Uncovers

Fraud and Threats to Tenant Health and Safety. In order to curb program

abuse and develop a roadmap for future efforts, OIG and the Rural Housing

Service undertook a nationwide cooperative effort to identify owners and

management agents who misused funds while neglecting the physical condition of Rural Rental Housing apartment complexes. The initiative identified

over $4.3 million in misused funds at apartment complexes operated by 20

owners and management agents.

National Appeals Division

The mission of USDA’s National Appeals Division (NAD) is to conduct

impartial administrative appeal hearings and reviews of adverse program

decisions made by officers, employees, or committees of designated agencies

of the Department of Agriculture.

NAD issued over 1,000 appeal decisions and 600 review determinations, as

well as reconsideration requests in 40 cases. NAD also certified over 40 litigation files and responded to over 80 Freedom of Information requests without appeals. The NAD director personally conducted over 500 director

reviews, most involving a variety of Farm Service Agency decisions. NAD

issued over 500 appealability determinations, many involving new programs.

52 FY 1999 Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

8 Departmentwide Programs

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For more appeals information, see

http://www.nad.usda.gov