truthfulness in labeling. Plant facilities and equipment are checked for adherence to Federal sanitation standards. Federal inspectors also conduct surveillance of foreign inspection systems producing meat and poultry products for export to the United States (21 U.S.C. 451-470 and 601-691). Other activities include: -monitoring livestock slaughter activities to ensure that humane slaughter techniques are effectively applied under the Humane Slaughter Act (7 U.S.C. 1901-1906); -providing voluntary Meat and Poultry Inspection and Certification Service relating to wholesomeness of edible products not subject to Federal meat inspection laws and certification of meat and poultry products for use as food for dogs, cats, and other carnivores (7 U.S.C. 1622, 1624); and -cooperating with State agencies in the performance of meat and poultry inspection in federally inspected establishments (7 U.S.C. 450). For further information, contact the Director of Information and Legislative Affairs, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. Phone, 202447-7943. Office of Transportation The Office of Transportation is responsible for formulating agricultural transportation policy in USDA and promoting an efficient transportation system that improves farm income, expands exports, and meets the needs of rural America. The Office carries out its programs under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1281), the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621), the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1691), the Rural Development Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 1921 note), the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs Act (7 U.S.C. 4401), and the Cooperative Marketing Act of 1926 (7 U.S.C. 451-457). The Office of Transportation has four major program areas: Transport System Performance The Office assists the agricultural community in solving domestic and/or international transportation problems and represents For further information, contact the Office of Packers and Stockyards [For the Packers and Stockyards Administration statement of organization, see the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9, Part 204] The Packers and Stockyards Administration administers the provisions of the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921, as amended (7 U.S.C. 181-229), the Truth in Lending and Fair Credit Billing Acts (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.) with respect to firms subject to the Packers and Stockyards Act. The Administration also administers the provisions of section 1324 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1631), certifying State central filing systems for notification of liens against farm products. The Packers and Stockyards Act is an antitrust, trade practice, and financial protection law. Its principal purpose is to maintain effective competition and fair trade practices in the marketing of livestock, meat, and poultry for the protection of livestock and poultry producers. Members of the livestock, poultry, and meat industries are also protected against unfair or monopolistic practices of competitors. The act also protects consumers against unfair business practices in marketing of meats and poultry and against restrictions of competition that could unduly affect meat and poultry prices. The provisions of the Packers and Stockyards Act are enforced by investigations of violations of the act with emphasis on payment protection; detecting instances of commercial bribery, fraud in livestock marketing and false weighing; requiring adequate bond coverage for commission firms, dealers, and packers; and the surveillance of marketing methods at public markets and in geographical market areas of the country. For further information, contact the Office of the Administrator, Packers and Stockyards Administration, Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. Phone, 202-447-7051. Food and Consumer Services Food and Nutrition Service [For the Food and Nutrition Service statement of organization, see the Federal Register of June 6, 1970, 35 FR 8835] The Food and Nutrition Service is the agency of the Department that administers the programs to make food assistance available to people who need it. These programs are operated in cooperation with States and local governments. The Service was established on August 8, 1969, by the Secretary of Agriculture, under authority of 5 U.S.C. 301 and Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953 (5 U.S.C. app.). Food Stamps The Food Stamp Program provides food coupons through State and local welfare agencies to needy persons to increase their food purchasing power. The coupons are used by program participants to buy food in any retail store that has been approved by FNS to accept and redeem the food coupons. Special Nutrition Programs The Service administers several programs designed to improve the nutrition of children, and particularly those who come from low-income families. Principal among these is the National School Lunch Program, which provides financial assistance to public and nonprofit private schools of high school grade and under, in operating nonprofit school lunch programs. The School Breakfast Program provides cash assistance to State educational agencies to help schools in operating nonprofit breakfast programs meeting established nutritional standards. It is especially important in improving the diets of needy children who may receive breakfast free or at reduced prices. The Summer Food Service Program for Children helps to get nutritious meals to needy preschool and school-aged children in schools, residential summer camps, or during vacations in areas operating under a continuous school calendar. The Child Care Food Program is a companion activity that helps to get nutritious meals to preschool and schoolaged children in child care facilities. The Special Milk Program for Children, which is administered in schools, institutions, and split-session kindergartens that do not participate in any other Federal food program, is designed to help child nutrition by paying a share of the cost of increased servings of fluid milk made to children. Food Distribution The Food Distribution Program makes foods available, in kind, to eligible recipients. Foods purchased by the Department are made available principally to children in school lunch and breakfast programs, in summer camps and child care centers, and to the nutrition program for the elderly. Also, surplus commodities are distributed to needy families through food banks, charitable institutions, and local government agencies. The program on Indian reservations provides Indians on or near reservations with access to a wide range of donated foods, including meat, fruit, vegetables, and dairy and grain products. Supplemental Food Programs The Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children-the WIC Program-provides specified nutritious food supplements to and nutrition education for pregnant women, nursing women up to 12 months postpartum, non-nursing women up to 6 months postpartum, and children up to 5 years of age. Participants are determined by competent professionals (physicians, nutritionists, nurses, and other health officials) to be health risks because of nutritionally related medical conditions or inadequate nutrition. Cash grants are made available to participating State health departments or comparable State agencies, or recognized Indian tribes, bands, or groups. The State agencies distribute funds to the local agencies, and the funds are used to provide foods for WIC recipients and to pay specified administrative and clinical costs. Commodity Supplemental Food Program This program provides supplemental foods and nutrition education to infants and children and to pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, and elderly persons with low incomes who are vulnerable to malnutrition and reside in approved project areas. The Department purchases the foods for distribution through State agencies. Nutrition Education and Training Under this program funds are granted to the States for the dissemination of nutrition information to children and for in-service training of food service and teaching personnel. No person may be discriminated against—in the operation of any of the programs administered by the Food and Nutrition Service because of race, color, sex, creed, national origin, or handicap. For further information, contact the Public Information Officer, Food and Nutrition Service, Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA 22302. Phone, 703-756-3276. Human Nutrition Information The Human Nutrition Information Service performs research in human nutrition to improve professional and public understanding of the nutritional adequacy of diets and food supplies as well as the nutritive value of food. It helps develop knowledge needed to improve the nutritional quality of diets, thereby improving the general health of the American public. Service activities fall into two broad categories: research, analysis, and technical assistance; and information collection and dissemination. The National Food Consumption Surveys monitor food and nutrient consumption of households and individuals in the United States. The Nutrient Data Bank compiles information on the nutritive value of foods and publishes representative values in Agriculture Handbook No. 8, Composition of Foods. Additional activities include nutrition education research, dissemination of information through technical and nontechnical publications, machinereadable forms, professional journals, and responses to individual requests. For further information, contact the Human 223-597 0 - 89 - 5 : QL 3 Office of the Consumer Advisor The Office of the Consumer Advisor serves as the focal point for coordinating USDA actions on problems and issues of importance to consumers. The Office: -consults and advises USDA policymakers on issues and questions of importance to consumers; -represents the Department in policy discussions related to consumer-oriented issues before Congress, in meetings with other departments and agencies, and in various public forums; -monitors the policies, practices, and procedures of USDA programs in the area of consumer affairs; -assists in informing consumers of USDA's functions, policies, and procedures so that consumers may know where services are to be found, what regulations consist of, and how to participate in these activities; -develops and monitors procedures for handling consumer complaints and followup actions; and -analyzes consumer complaints for policy and program evaluation purposes. For further information, contact the Office of the International Affairs and Agricultural Stabilization and The Agricultural Stabilization and Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953 (5 The Service administers commodity and related land use programs designed for voluntary production adjustment, resource protection, and price, market, and farm income stabilization. In each State, operations are supervised by a State committee of three to five members appointed by the Secretary. A State Executive Director, appointed by the Secretary, and staff carry on day-to-day operations of the State office. The State Director of the Agricultural Extension Service is an ex officio member of the State committee. In each of approximately 3,080 agricultural counties, a county committee of three farmer members is responsible for local administration. While two are held over, one is elected yearly, either directly by farmers or by farmer-elected delegates, to a county convention. The county agricultural Extension agent is a nonvoting ex officio member or secretary Commodity Programs of the county committee. A county Commodity Programs The Service For most commodities, loans are made sugar processors, who in turn make program benefits available to producers. Loans to producers, except for seed cotton, are "nonrecourse." If market prices rise above loan levels, producers or their agents can pay off their loans and market their commodity. If market prices fail to rise above loan levels, producers or their agents can forfeit or deliver the commodity to the Commodity Credit Corporation, thereby discharging their obligations in full. Commodity stabilization for wool and mohair is accomplished through the National Wool Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1781 note) by making payments to producers to bring the national average price received by all producers up to a support level required by the act. Eligibility for commodity loans, purchases, and payments is, in most cases, conditional upon participation in acreage reduction, paid-land diversion, payment-in-kind, allotment, or quota programs in effect for the particular crop. Under the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1281 note), payments are limited to an annual ceiling of $50,000 per person on the total payments of upland cotton, extra long staple cotton, wheat, rice, and feed grain programs for the 1986 through 1990 crops. The 1989 Production Adjustment Program requires acreage reductions of 10 percent for corn, sorghum, barley, and wheat, 5 percent for oats, 25 percent for upland cotton and rice, and 5 percent for extra long staple cotton. Advance payments of 40 percent of projected deficiency payments made in cash for wheat and feed grains, and 30 percent for cotton and rice, during program signup. Additional advance payments of 10 percent were made commodity certificates in May. No advance payments were made for oats. Emergency Assistance Such programs offered to farmers in emergencydesignated areas may include any or all of the following: -furnishing Corporation-owned feed grains and wheat to eligible livestock producers when available at reduced prices, and, in some instances, by donation of feed grains; -cost-sharing with farmers who carry out emergency conservation practices to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disaster; and -allowing haying and grazing on acreage diverted to conserving uses under the commodity programs on a county-by-county basis, as needed, in the event of drought or excess moisture. Farm Facility Loan Program Under the Farm Facility Loan Program, the Corporation offers loans to producers needing on-farm storage for various agricultural commodities. New loans are not being made at present because current on-farm storage is considered adequate. Farmer-Owned Reserve Program This program, authorized for farmer-owned wheat, corn, grain sorghum, oats, and barley under the Food Security Act of 1985, provides 3-year extended loans to producers, who receive annual storage payments under the contract. Program provisions stipulate when interest is charged and provide a release price at which storage payments cease and producers may repay their loans. The Special Producer Storage Loan Program allows the producer to obtain a new loan for an additional year. Producers will receive annual advance storage payments at the same rates currently earned under the reserve program and may repay the loan at any time during the 1-year period. Indemnity Program The Dairy Indemnity Payment Program provides indemnity payments to dairy farmers whose milk has been removed from the commercial market because it contained residues of chemicals or toxic substances, including nuclear radiation or fallout. The Service also administers programs prescribed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a result of a Presidential declaration of disaster or emergency. It is responsible for defense preparedness plans and programs relating to food production, conservation, and stabilization; food processing, storage, and wholesale distribution; controlled distribution of farm machinery, equipment and repair parts, distribution |