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United States Department of Agriculture
Industry: Government
Number of terms: 41534
Number of blossaries: 0
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A gas created by anaerobic decomposition of organic compounds. Natural gas is composed mostly of methane. Methane is a so-called greenhouse gas (see greenhouse effect). Agricultural wastes, specially animal wastes, are a major source of methane releases to the atmosphere.
Industry:Agriculture
A liquid alcohol (also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol), formed in the destructive distillation of wood or made synthetically, and used especially as an alternative fuel, a gasoline additive, a solvent, an antifreeze, or a denaturant for ethyl alcohol. As a gasoline additive it lowers the carbon monoxide emissions but increases hydrocarbon emissions.
Industry:Agriculture
A customs union between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, which came into effect on January 1, 1995. Chile and Bolivia have become associate members.
Industry:Agriculture
An agreement between federal agencies, or divisions/units within an agency or department, or between federal and state agencies, which delineate tasks, jurisdiction, standard operating procedures or other matters which the agencies or units are duly authorized and directed to conduct. Sometimes referred to as a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Industry:Agriculture
A term meaning a large set of regulations that some have used to describe the extensive new rules issued by USDA in July 1996 that are aimed at controlling pathogens in meat and poultry products, including mandatory hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plans.
Industry:Agriculture
A shortened name for the Mediterranean fruit fly, a destructive pest of fruits and vegetables that is found throughout most of Central America. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is involved in programs to keep the Medfly from spreading north into Mexico, where it could easily enter the United States on imported winter fruits and vegetables. Eradication efforts in California, Florida and Texas have prevented infestations from becoming established. Hawaii is infested with the Medfly and no eradication efforts currently are under way. Travelers returning to the continental United States from Hawaii or a foreign country are prohibited from bringing into the country fresh fruits, meats, plants, birds, and plant and animal products that may harbor pests or diseases.
Industry:Agriculture
P.L. 87-788 (October 10, 1962) makes funding available to the state agricultural experiment stations and to forestry schools and programs at the land grant colleges of agriculture for forestry research. The research covers such areas as reforestation, woodlands and related watershed management, outdoor recreation, wildlife habitats and wood utilization. Many of the research projects are performed cooperatively with scientists at the laboratories of the Forest Service. McIntire-Stennis funds are distributed by a formula that allocates $10,000 to each state, with 40% of the remainder being distributed according to a state’s share of the nation’s total commercial forest land, 40% according to the value of its timber cut annually, and 20% according to its state appropriation for forestry research.
Industry:Agriculture
Loosely, the highest dose of a chemical that when administered to a group of test animals does not increase the death rate during a long-term study. The purpose of administering MTD is to determine whether long-term exposure to a chemical might lead to any adverse health effects in a population, when the level of exposure is not sufficient to cause premature mortality due to short-term toxic effects. The maximum dose is used, rather than a lower dose, to reduce the number of animals that need to be tested (and thus, the cost of animal testing), in order to detect an effect that occurs only rarely. This analysis is used in establishing chemical residue tolerances in foods.
Industry:Agriculture
From the Safe Drinking Water Act, the term means the specific limitations on the amount of a contaminant in a public water system. For each contaminant, the EPA sets "maximum contaminant levels goals" which are defined as the level of contaminant at which no known or anticipated adverse affects on the health of persons occur and which allows an adequate margin of safety. (42 U.S.C. §300g)
Industry:Agriculture
At the conclusion of the Uruguay Round in Marrakesh, Morocco, participating ministers recognized the LIFDCs may experience a lack of adequate supplies of basic food stuffs at reasonable terms and conditions, including short-term financing. They agreed to establish mechanisms to assure that trade liberalization does not adversely affect the availability of food aid under the Food Aid Convention of 1986, and to give full consideration to requests from LIFDCs to improve their agricultural productivity and infrastructure.
Industry:Agriculture