ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the underlying structure of commodity and conservation programs and attempts to provide the reader with a basic understanding of each of the major components of the federal government's agricultural policy. The primary financial arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in supervising farm programs is the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The CCC is a multibillion-dollar corporation owned and controlled by the federal government. The most important commodity programs in terms of government expenditures, acreage planted, and farmer income are those for the five major crops: wheat, feed grains, soybeans, cotton, and rice. One of the most important concepts of the present farm programs is eligible production. Acreage Reduction Programs (ARPs) are less than 100 percent effective in controlling crop production for two reasons. Sugar production in the United States is subsidized by a system of price supports and import quotas. The tobacco legislation is contained in permanent legislation, not the Food Security Act.
