The complexities of federal farm and food programs have generated a unique vocabulary. Common understanding of these terms (new and old) is important to those involved in policymaking in this area. For this reason, the House Agriculture Committee requested that CRS prepare a glossary of agriculture and related terms (e.g., food programs, conservation, forestry, environmental protection, etc.). Besides defining terms and phrases with specialized meanings for agriculture, the glossary also identifies acronyms, abbreviations, agencies, programs, and laws related to agriculture that are of particular interest to the staff and Members of Congress. CRS is releasing it for general congressional use with the permission of the Committee.

On 31 January 2007, the Secretary of Agriculture publicly released a set of recommendations for a 2007 farm bill. The proposal is comprehensive and follows largely the outline of the current 2002 farm bill, which expires this year. It includes proposals regarding commodity support, conservation, trade, nutrition and domestic food assistance, farm credit, rural development, agricultural research, forestry, energy, and such miscellaneous items as crop insurance, organic programs, and Section 32 purchases of fruits and vegetables. The Administration delivered its report to Congress, not as a bill, but as a possible focus for debate and a foundation for developing legislation. The author has received many questions about the content of and potential issues related to the Administration proposal. Given the early stage of the debate, this book poses some questions that may contribute to a better understanding of the proposal. The book contains a brief description of current policy on each topic, a short explanation of the Administration's proposals, and then questions of a policy, program, and/or budgetary nature.

Besides defining approximately 1900 terms and phrases with specialised meanings for agriculture and related terms (such as food programmes, conservation, forestry and environmental protection), this glossary also identifies acronyms, agencies, programmes and laws related to agriculture. This book also provides a sampling of the rapidly proliferating number of agricultural sources available on the Internet. This section is divided into 26 categories and is arranged alphabetically for ease of access.

This volume reproduces a Congressional Research Service report assessing the potential vulnerability of US domestic agricultural programs to challenges under current World Trade Organization agreements. The report summarizes recent developments concerning ongoing dispute settlement challenges against US farm programs, reviews WTO provisions that would be implicated in potential challenges, reviews US domestic agricultural support by program and commodity, discusses how these programs fit into the scheme of WTO liberalization commitments, and examines some broader issues related to WTO challenges of commodity subsidy programs. The report is also available online at no charge.