* Recognize the scope of agriculture-related regulations in the U.S. * Locate agriculture information links, law and other resources * Explain agricultural compliance considerations

1. Regulation and Compliance
in US Agriculture
e-Learning Module
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2. Learning Objectives
After completing this course, you will:
✓ Recognize the scope of agriculture-related
regulations in the US
✓ Locate agriculture information links, law and
other resources
✓ Explain agricultural compliance considerations
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3. Topics
1 Scope of the Regulations in the US
2 Agriculture Information Links, Law and Other Resources
3 Agricultural Compliance Considerations
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4. Agricultural Regulation in the US
Today, agricultural regulation in the US is defined by a sprawling bureaucracy
spanning the US Department of Agriculture [USDA] (broad scope here), the
Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] (detailed by EPA Statute, farm activity,
including if and how you can use your own water!), the Department of Labor (every
aspect of employment, including Occupational Health and Safety [OSHA] and the
employment of migrant and “temporary” seasonal workers). And even these non-
citizen employees are regulated by the Migrant Worker Protection Act (MSPA), the
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Field Sanitation Act rules, and the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA- specifically H-2A Visas) outlined here.
Did you know?
A century and a half ago, half of the US population was employed in the
agricultural sector.
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5. Role of USDA
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The USDA spent $154B in FY 2016, and almost two
thirds of the spending went to “aid to individuals
and businesses” but their budget has grown by 45%
since 2000 with an actual shrinkage in the farm
population.
At the USDA alone, the Code of Federal Regulations
includes over eleven thousand pages of rules to
enforce, covering everything from specialty food
promotion to farmers’ markets. The department
operates about 268 subsidy programs and employs
90,100 workers in about 7,000 offices across the
country. The blog Downsizing Government details
these subsidy programs.

6. Regulation Areas
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The primary areas of Federal regulatory
control in agriculture generally involve
rules and regulations deemed to support
producer prices, exports and import
protection Many of these rules treat this
as a strategic industry and include five
classes.
Marketing
Orders
Price Support
Program.
Income
Support
Program
Import
Controls and
Trade Barriers
Export
Subsidies
Click each button to know more

7. The Agricultural Marketing Service exists for the purposes of "enforcing product
quality standards, regulating the flow of product to the market, standardizing
packages and containers, creating reserve pools for storable commodities, and
authorizing production and marketing research and advertising."
Marketing Orders
X

8. These Price Support programs keep commodity market prices artificially high by
guaranteeing that the government will purchase any amount of a specified class of
product such as cheese, butter or nonfat dry milk from processors at a set minimum
price.
Price Support Program
X

9. The producer support programs such as the Income Loss Contract program, artificially
support non-economic producers when price controls fail. At the minimum, these
programs encourage overproduction, which puts downward pressure on prices.
Again, reformist farm bills were intended to reduce subsidies to protected sectors like
dairy but were restored by a series of supplemental subsidy bills that get pushed by
lobbyists. For the dairy industry, the supplemental "market loss" subsidies ultimately
were legislated into the more permanent MILC program in 2002.
Income Support Program
X

10. These regulations represent another set of rules that benefit large volume farm
producers at the expense of consumers and lower cost producers overseas. The
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States includes 364 pages of tariff listings
for agricultural imports. In general, domestic prices are kept artificially high by
marketing orders and price support programs, while low cost imports are prevented
from capitalizing on this price umbrella using these tariff schemes.
Import Controls and Trade Barriers
X

11. Various product groups such as dairy and wheat are seen as politically important to
certain areas such as the Midwest where low production costs convey a comparative
advantage to US producers. Accordingly, the government promotes continued over
production in excess of domestic demand in order to generate export income by
employing “Export Incentive Programs.” For example, the Dairy Export Incentive
program was introduced in 1985 to provide cash subsidies to U.S. dairy producers
who sell in foreign markets. These incentives stimulate exports of low marginal cost
excess production even though the U.S. clearing price is artificially high.
Export Subsidies
X

12. Topics
1 Scope of the Regulations in the US
2 Agriculture Information Links, Law and Other Resources
3 Agricultural Compliance Considerations
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13. Resources
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The scope of US agricultural regulation is so broad that a silver lining is that there are extensive
resources available to farmers and these suggest programs that can be participated in and the
compliance and reporting rules that govern that participation. The Agriculture Research Service
(ARS) and other global ag research centers are focused on the topics of regional differences in crop
selection, worker health and safety, and best agricultural practices.
In the US, these centers largely conduct research on the subject of occupational disease and injury
prevention, but also promote agricultural health and safety through educational outreach programs.
For farmers, this is a roadmap in the US - the programs available conform to the required standard
setting that allow farmers to comply with OSHA, USDA and EPA regulations, seek to ensure food
safety, and enable participation in Federal and State ag product marketing programs.
• Federal sources
• State, territorial and tribal sources
• National associations
• Land grant universities and other sources

14. Agricultural Law Research and Information
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In 1987, the National Agricultural Law
Center was established by an Act of
Congress to be an independent and national
agricultural law research and information
facility that is directly connected to the
national agricultural information network.
As a result of the expanding scope of
agricultural law and its convergence with
related areas, the Center also includes food
law in the scope of its coverage. Recognizing
the importance of agricultural education
through the Cooperative Extension Service,
the NALC also serves as the lead institution
for the eXtension Agricultural and Food Law
Community of Practice.

15. ERS
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The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) is particularly focused on farm management and
practices, identifying five key categories of interest.
• Biotechnology: Driven by farmers' expectations of higher crop yields and/or lower production
costs, and management time savings, U.S. farmers have been compelled by seed companies to
adopt genetically engineered (GE) crop varieties for corn, soybeans, and cotton (at 93% of planted
acreage).
• Chemical Inputs: ERS evaluates the influence of rising energy costs and crop prices on fertilizer
prices, nutrient supply, and consumption.. Changing relative prices of inputs, trends in the extent
and location of crop production, use of biotechnology, adoption of organic systems, pest
invasions, and climate change all contribute to changes in pesticide use.
• Crop & Livestock Practices: ERS analyzes trends in the adoption of a range of crop and livestock
production practices and their effectiveness in reducing costs, increasing farming profitability,
minimizing losses to the environment, and conserving natural resources.
• Irrigation & Water Use: Corporations are now assigning input values to water supplies which is
leading to shortages at point of use and increased costs, especially for livestock production. The
EPA and USDA are imposing conservation and environmental policy goals on the US farm
population, forcing more efficient irrigation systems and better water management practices.
• Risk Management: Uncertainty in prices, yields, government policies, and foreign markets means
that risk management increasingly plays an important role in many farm business decisions.

16. NOP
Taking a look at the fastest growing segment of the US
agricultural industry, organics are growing as a consumer
choice instead of GE/GMO products, higher purity standards,
application of technology to crop cultivation and water
management practices, and risk management by employing
lot labeling and high level quality control and tracking tools.
The framework of the National Organic Program (NOP)
provides the rules and regulations for the production,
handling, labeling, and enforcement of all USDA organic
products. NOP is the key to getting organic products to the
market with the correct, accepted certifications. Certified
organic refers to agricultural products that have been grown
and processed according to uniform standards that have been
verified by the USDA in its rulemaking. Accordingly, in the
case of organic production, the regulations, governing laws,
educational resources and information on best practices is
emerging and organic farmers readily share information on
new market development.
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17. Topics
1 Scope of the Regulations in the US
2 Agriculture Information Links, Law and Other Resources
3 Agricultural Compliance Considerations
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18. Agricultural Compliance Considerations
Engaging in agricultural trade involves global considerations of jurisdiction, precedent and
monitoring applicable rules as core compliance considerations – the bigger the operator, the
broader the product mix, the more complex compliance becomes. A look at NALC compliance
citations show that agricultural issues are governed by a wide range of national and
international bodies including the World Trade Organization. Rather than get mired in
complexity, producers are well served to focus on three key areas:
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Training and Education of Your Workforce: Require key staff to complete OSHA Compliance Certifications (10
and 30 hour programs) plus the equipment operator certification programs provided by Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEMs) when they sell and service their advanced equipment platforms.
Facility Quality Certification and Inspection: Engage in a current standards reporting, operate in compliance
with the Worker Protection Standards (WPS) and OSHA regulatory standards, develop an Emergency Action
Plan (EAP), and prepare for a local, state, or federal compliance audit.
Product Registration, Independent Quality Validation and Labeling: Products requiring use of pesticides
need to be in compliance with new 2015 WPS rules for decontamination starting in 2017. By product class
conforming to specific statutes, products should be registered, independently tested for quality and grade,
and validated to be in compliance with customer specifications. Then, in conjunction with desired
packaging and marketing efforts, labeling should enhance the appeal of the product to the ultimate
consumer.
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19. USDA Data
Direct to consumer marketing has proven to
yield higher margins for producers,
especially for specialty and prepared
products. USDA data shows very strong
development of new channels such as farm
to school, local food hubs and farmer’s
markets since 2007. The “Farm to Plate”
movement is also strongly embraced by
organic producers and various restaurants
seeking to attract clientele who demand to
“know where their meal comes from”
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Source: USDA data at www.republic.co

20. USDA Data
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS) provides information to
producers and agricultural businesses to
help them maintain compliance with
federally defined regulations for their
establishments. FSIS provides
compliance guidelines for various fields,
food safety assessments, specified risk
materials, information of food borne
diseases, guidance for product recalls,
labeling and other areas of compliance
interest. Some private companies such
as AgriculturalCompliance.com offer
turnkey ag compliance programs.
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21. Congratulations
For completing the e-Learning Module
Regulation and Compliance
in US Agriculture