Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996
- 1996 U.S. Farm Bill
- Agricultural Market Transition Act
- Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 2854 by Pat Roberts (R–KS) on January 5, 1996
- Committee consideration by Agriculture, Ways and Means
- Passed the House of Representatives on February 29, 1996 (270–155)
- Passed the Senate on March 12, 1996 (Voice vote)
- Reported by the joint conference committee on March 25, 1996; agreed to by the Senate on March 28, 1996 (74–26) and by the House of Representatives on March 29, 1996 (318–89)
- Signed into law by President Bill Clinton on April 4, 1996
The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-127), known informally as the Freedom to Farm Act, the FAIR Act, or the 1996 U.S. Farm Bill, was the omnibus 1996 farm bill that, among other provisions, revises and simplifies direct payment programs for crops and eliminates milk price supports through direct government purchases.
The law removed the link between income support payments and farm prices. It authorized 7-year production flexibility contract payments that provided participating producers with fixed government payments independent of current farm prices and production.
The law specified the total amount of money to be made available through contract payments under production flexibility contracts for each fiscal year from 1996 through 2002. Payment levels were allocated among contract commodities according to specified percentages, generally derived from each commodity’s share of projected deficiency payments for fiscal 1996-2002.
The law increased planting flexibility by allowing participants to plant 100% of their total contract acreage to any crop, except with limitations on fruits and vegetables. The authority for acreage reduction programs was eliminated, while nonrecourse loans (with marketing loan repayment provisions) were continued in a modified form. Minimum loan rates generally were calculated each year at 85% of recent past market prices. Authority for the Farmer-Owned Reserve Program was suspended through the 2002 crop year. Authority for the honey program was eliminated.
Dairy price support was to be phased down for milk over 4 years and then eliminated, but subsequent legislation continued this program. Had dairy support ended, processors could have obtained recourse loans on dairy products. The peanut program was continued but revised to reduce the likelihood of the federal government incurring loan program costs due to loan forfeitures. The minimum national poundage quota was eliminated. The sugar program also was continued but modified. Trade and food aid programs were reoriented toward greater market development, with increased emphasis on high-value and value-added products.
Other provisions established a Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of changes to production agriculture under the 1996 Act, required USDA to conduct research on futures and options contracts through pilot programs, capped expenditures for the Export Enhancement Program, and changed the name of the Market Promotion Program to the Market Access Program.
The 1996 Act also reauthorized the Food Stamp Program for 2 years and commodity donation programs for 7 years, and established a Fund for Rural America to augment existing resources for agricultural research and rural development. Other research authorities were revised and extended, some only for 2 years rather than 7 years. The 1996 Act authorized new enrollments in the Conservation Reserve Program to maintain total acreage at up to 36,400,000 acres (147,000 km2). Other conservation programs were also revised and extended. The Act also contained numerous provisions in the areas of farm credit, rural development, and generic commodity promotion through check-off programs, among others.
The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) superseded many of the 1996 farm bill provisions before they expired.
See also
- Conservation Reserve Program
- Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant and Loan Program
- Triple base plan
References
This article incorporates public domain material from Jasper Womach. Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition (PDF). Congressional Research Service.
External links
- Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 as amended (PDF/details) in the GPO Statute Compilations collection
- Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 as enacted (details) in the US Statutes at Large
- Summary of the Act's provisions, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Information about the Act from Cornell University[dead link]
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- Federal Farm Loan Act (1916)
- Agricultural Adjustment Act (1933)
- Agricultural Adjustment Act Amendment of 1935
- Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936
- Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938
- Agricultural Act of 1948
- Agricultural Act of 1949
- Agricultural Act of 1954
- Agricultural Act of 1956
- Agricultural Act of 1961
- Food and Agriculture Act of 1965
- Agricultural Act of 1970
- Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973
- Food and Agriculture Act of 1977
- Agriculture and Food Act of 1981
- Food Security Act of 1985
- Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990
- Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996
- Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
- Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
- Agricultural Act of 2014
- Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018
agricultural
legislation
- Hatch Act of 1887
- Agricultural Experiment Stations Act of 1887
- Agriculture Appropriation Act of 1905
- Agricultural Appropriations Act of 1922
- Cotton Futures Act (1914)
- Cotton Futures Act (1916)
- Grain Standards Act (1916)
- Wheat Price Guarantee Act (1919)
- Future Trading Act (1921)
- Grain Futures Act (1922)
- Capper–Volstead Act (1922)
- Agricultural Marketing Act (1929)
- Farm Credit Act of 1933
- Frazier–Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act (1934)
- Bankhead–Jones Act of 1935
- Commodity Exchange Act (1936)
- Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (1937)
- Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937
- Federal Seed Act of 1939
- Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954
- National Wool Act of 1954
- Federal Plant Pest Act of 1957
- Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967
- Farm Credit Act of 1971
- Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1972
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974
- Agricultural Trade Act of 1978
- Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1980
- National Aquaculture Act of 1980
- Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act of 1983
- Extra-Long Staple Cotton Act of 1983
- Agricultural Credit Act of 1987
- Hunger Prevention Act of 1988
- Alien Species Prevention and Enforcement Act of 1992
- National Wool Act Amendments of 1993
- Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994
- Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998
- Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000