GAP Government Accountability Project.
Gas chromatograph / mass spectrometer An analytical technique for identifying the molecular composition and concentrations of various chemicals in water and soil samples.
Gasohol Registered trade name for a blend consisting of 90% unleaded gasoline and 10% fermentation ethanol. Gasohol emissions contain less carbon monoxide than those from gasoline.
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (see Uruguay Round and World Trade Organization.).
GDP Gross domestic product.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) An agreement originally negotiated in Geneva, Switzerland in 1947 to increase international trade by reducing tariffs and nontariff trade barriers. The agreement provides a code of conduct for international commerce and a framework for periodic multilateral negotiations on trade liberalization and expansion. The Uruguay Round Agreement (resulting from negotiations that stretched from 1986 through 1993 among over 100 nations) established the World Trade Organization (WTO) to replace the institutions created by the GATT. The WTO officially replaced the GATT institutions on January 1, 1995. The WTO administers the GATT 1947, the revisions in GATT resulting from the Uruguay Round negotiations (GATT 1994), dispute resolution among WTO member countries, and various agreements resulting from other previous multilateral trade negotiations.
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) First authorized by the Trade Act of 1974, GSP allows some 140 developing countries to ship more than 3,000 products to the United States duty-free. This helps developing countries to generate foreign exchange needed to purchase import commodities. The United States and 18 other industrialized nations began GSP programs in the mid-1970s to promote the economic growth of developing nations.
Generic advertising and promotion The promotion of a particular commodity without reference to a specific producer, brand name, or manufacturer. Because individual producers of nearly homogeneous agricultural commodities cannot easily convince consumers to choose one egg or orange or a single cut of beef over another, they join together in commodity promotion programs to use generic advertising to expand total demand for the commodity, thereby helping their own sales as well. Activities are intended to expand both domestic and export demand; examples include advertising, nutrition education, research to improve product quality and appeal, market research studies, and technical assistance. These activities are often self-funded through assessments on marketings called check-off programs.
Generic certificates Commodity certificates used by the CCC in the 1980s to meet payment obligations and simultaneously dispose of commodity inventories.
Genetic engineering The use of recombinant DNA or other specific molecular gene transfer or exchange techniques to add desirable traits to plants, animals, or other organisms, or to enhance biological processes. Organisms modified by genetic engineering are sometimes referred to as transgenic, bioengineered, or genetically modified. The Agricultural Research Service does in-house research in this field, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regulates the release of genetically engineered organisms for field experiments.
General Sales Manager (GSM) General Sales Manager of the Foreign Agricultural Service. This office administers the export credit guarantee programs (GSM-102 and GSM-103), the export enhancement program, the P.L. 480 program, and other USDA export assistance programs.
Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) A regulatory category created for a group of food additives that were exempted from the more rigorous regulatory requirements for food additives in the 1958 Food Additives Amendment to the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938. A substance was accorded GRAS status, if it was generally recognized by experts qualified by scientific training and experience to evaluate its safety, as having been adequately shown through scientific procedures or experience based on common use in food to be safe under the conditions of its intended use.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) A term, currently used most often in international trade discussions, that designates crops that carry new traits that have been inserted through advanced genetic engineering methods (e.g., Flavr Saver tomato, Roundup Ready soybeans, Bt cotton, Bt corn). GMO crops are meeting resistence from some trading partners, particularly the European Union, that are responding in turn to consumer concerns over public health and environmental safety aspects of GMOs. USDA also is being pressured to declare GMOs unacceptable in the proposed National Organic Program. The U.S. scientific community maintains that research shows GMOs to be safe and that the regulatory process for their commercial approval, which includes USDA, Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, is an adequate safeguard against any potential problems.
Genome All the genetic material in the chromosomes of a particular organism. USDAs research agencies have a Plant Genome Mapping Program to identify, characterize, and map the position of agriculturally important genes on the chromosomes of plants grown as crops or trees in order to better use these genes for improving the characteristics of the plant (resistance to disease, higher yields, etc.) through breeding.
Geographic Information System (GIS) Computerized systems used to compile, retrieve, analyze, and display spatially referenced data. Farming activities that utilize GIS typically include harvesting, fertilizing, pest control, seeding, and irrigation. Use of GIS is called precision farming.
Germicide Any compound that kills disease-causing microorganisms. Germicides must be registered by the Environmental Protection Agency as pesticides.
Gilt See barrows and gilts.
GIPSA Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration.
GIS Geographic information systems.
Gleaning Collecting unharvested crops from fields or obtaining unused agricultural products from farmers, processors, or retailers, usually for distribution to food banks and charitable feeding organizations.
Global Positioning System (GPS) A network of satellites that can be used by ground-based units to precisely determine their location by latitude and longitude. GPS is part of the infrastructure required to operate geographic information systems that are used to practice precision farming.
GMA Grocery Manufacturers of America.
GMO Genetically modified organism.
GMP Good manufacturing practices.
Good manufacturing practices (GMPs) Standards published in the Code of Federal Regulations and used by the Food and Drug Administration to ensure the quality of marketed products and that products are produced under sanitary conditions. Any FDA-regulated product can be designated adulterated if the manufacturing methods or facilities for processing do not conform with GMPs. GMPs are developed through a consultative process between the FDA and the affected industry.
Good samaritan laws With respect to food and agriculture programs, these laws are designed to encourage the donation of food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations serving the needy by minimizing the risks of legal actions against donors and distributors of the foods. The Model Good Samaritan Food Donation Act was amended and revised in 1996 and renamed the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act (P.L. 104-210) in memory of the late Congressman who sponsored and championed Good Samaritan laws. It excludes from civil or criminal liability a person or nonprofit food organization that, in good faith, donates or distributes donated foods for food relief. Protection does not apply to an injury or death resulting from gross neglect or intentional misconduct and does not supersede state or local health regulations.
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) This 1993 law (P.L. 103-62) requires most federal agencies, including USDA , to develop and adhere to new planning, evaluation, and reporting requirements, such as mission statements, 6-year strategic plans, annual performance plans, and annual performance reports. These documents must include explicit goals and objectives, descriptions of how they will be achieved, and establishment of measurable performance indicators to determine success, among other things. Because GPRA requirements must be tied closely to annual budgeting, and because some in Congress have made oversight of the Act a high priority, USDA and its agencies have devoted considerable time and resources to implementation.
GPCP Great Plains Conservation Program.
GPRA Government Performance and Results Act.
GPS Global Positioning System
(see precision farming).
Grade A milk Milk produced under sufficiently sanitary conditions to qualify for fluid (beverage) consumption. Also referred to as fluid grade milk. Only Grade A milk is regulated under federal milk marketing orders. Grade B milk (also referred to as manufacturing grade) does not meet fluid grade standards and is used only in manufactured products. More than 90% of all milk produced nationally is Grade A. Therefore, much of the Grade A milk supply is used in manufactured dairy products.
Grade A Pasteurized Milk Ordinance Minimum standards and requirements for Grade A milk production and processing are outlined in the Grade A Pasturized Milk Ordinance (PMO) published by the Food and Drug Administration. Grade A standards are recommended by the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS), which is comprised of voting representatives from state and local regulatory agencies, and non-voting representatives of the dairy industry and FDA. As a general rule, FDA accepts the Conference recommendations and incorporates them into the revised PMO. The state regulator (which is usually either the State Department of Agriculture or the State Health Department) adopts the PMO standards as a minimum, and in many cases requires more stringent standards.
Grades and standards The segregation, or classification, of agricultural commodities into groupings that share common characteristics. Grades provide a common "trading language," or common reference, so that buyers and sellers can more easily determine the quality (and therefore value) of those commodities. Two USDA agenciesthe Agricultural Marketing Service and Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administrationserve as objective sources for this information. These agencies develop common grades and standards and conduct inspection and grading services for most food and farm products, and industry pays for most of the cost through user fees.
Grading certificates A formal document setting forth the quality of a commodity as determined by authorized inspectors or graders.
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) An agency established in 1994 that combines the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) and the Packers and Stockyards Administration (P&S). FGIS provides grain marketing standards and an official inspection system. P&S programs are regulatory in nature to protect livestock producers by ensuring open and competitive markets.
Grain reserve A phrase that might refer to the food security commodity reserve, food security wheat reserve, the farmer-owned grain reserve, or the strategic grain reserve.
Grain Standards Act of 1916 See United States Grain Standards Act of 1916.
Grains Trade Convention (GTC) See International Grains Agreement.
Grange The Order of the Patrons of Husbandry.
Granger-Thye Act of 1950 P.L. 81-478 (April 24, 1950) established a new direction for some aspects of National Forest System management; authorized the use of grazing fee receipts for rangeland improvement; authorized the Forest Service to issue grazing permits for terms up to 10 years; authorized to the Forest Service to participate in funding cooperative forestry and rangeland resource improvements; established grazing advisory boards; and, authorized the Forest Service to assist with work on private forestlands.
GRAS Generally recognized as safe.
Grassed waterway A generally broad and shallow depression planted with erosion-resistant grasses, which is used to convey surface waters off of or across cropland.
Grazing district An administrative unit of BLM-managed rangelands established by the Secretary of the Interior under Section 3 of the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934.
Grazing fee A charge, usually on a monthly basis, for grazing a specific kind of livestock. For federal lands, the grazing fee is based on a formula found in the Public Rangelands Improvement Act (PRIA). The federal grazing fee is equal to a base fee of [$1.23 x the Forage Value Index (FVI)] + [the Beef Price Index (BPI)] - [the Prices Paid Index (PPI)] ¸ [100] and is charged per animal unit month.
Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) A program started by USDA under its discretionary authority in 1991 and then specifically authorized by the FAIR Act of 1996 to provide increased technical and educational assistance to conserve and enhance private grazing lands. More than 60% of these grazing lands are considered to have serious environmental problems that could lessen their productive capacity if corrective actions are not taken. The FAIR Act of 1996 authorized funding at $20 million the first year, increasing to $60 million in the third year.
Grazing permit/license/lease Official written permission to graze a specific number, kind, and class of livestock for a specified time period on defined federal rangeland.
Grazing preference The status of qualified holders of grazing permits acquired by grant, prior use, or purchase, that entitles them to special consideration over applicants who have not acquired preference.
Grazing privilege The benefit or advantage enjoyed by a person or company beyond the common advantage of other citizens to graze livestock on federal lands. Privilege may be created by permit, license, lease, or agreement.
Great Plains Conservation Program (GPCP) This program, initiated in 1957, provided cost share and technical assistance to apply conservation on entire farms in 10 Great Plains states from the Dakotas and Montana to Texas and New Mexico. Contracts were limited to $35,000. At the end of 1995, over 6,800 farms in 558 counties with 20 million acres were participating. It was replaced by the Environmental Quality Incentives Program in the FAIR Act of 1996.
Green box policies Domestic or trade policies that are deemed to be minimally trade-distorting and that are excluded from reduction commitments in the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture. Examples are domestic policies dealing with research, extension, inspection and grading, environmental and conservation programs, disaster relief, crop insurance, domestic food assistance, food security stocks, structural adjustment programs, and direct payments not linked to production. Trade measures or policies such as export market promotion (but not export subsidies or foreign food aid) are also exempt. See blue box policies.
Greenhouse effect The hypothesized warming of the Earths atmosphere as a result of increasing atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and other gases that trap infrared radiation emitted from the earths surface. While the increase in such gases is well documented, the effect on climate remains debatable. Estimates of the temperature effect range from zero to an increase of several degrees average global temperature by 2050; changes in temperature would affect rainfall patterns. Significant climate change would inevitably affect agricultural practices.
Gross domestic product (GDP) Gross domestic product is a measure of the total production and consumption of goods and services in the United States. The Bureau of Economic Analysis constructs two complementary measures of GDP, one based on income and one based on expenditures. It is measured on the product side by adding up the labor, capital, and tax costs of producing the output. On the expenditure side, GDP is measured by adding up expenditures by households, businesses, government and net foreign purchases. Theoretically, these two measures should be equal. However, due to problems collecting data, there is often a discrepancy between the two measures. The GDP price deflator is used to convert output measured at current prices into constant-dollar GDP.
Gross farm income The monetary and non-monetary income received by farm operators. Its main components include cash receipts from the sale of farm products, government payments, other farm income (such as income from custom work), value of food and fuel produced and consumed on the same farm, rental value of farm dwellings, and change in value of year-end inventories of crops and livestock.
Gross processing margin (GPM) This refers to the difference between the cost of a commodity and the combined sales income of the finished products that result from processing the commodity. Various industries have formulas to express the relationship of raw material costs to sales income from finished products.
Groundwater The water from wells and underground aquifers. An estimated 95% of the drinking water used in rural areas is from groundwater. Because of its use as drinking water, there is concern over contamination from leaching agricultural and industrial pollutants or leaking underground storage tanks.
Group of Seven (G-7) An international economic forum, established in 1975, for leaders of the seven largest industrial countries (France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada). The focus of G-7 discussions has been coordination of macroeconomic policies and international trade and monetary policies.
Group Risk Income Protection (GRIP) A county-based revenue insurance program, that is a variation of Group Risk Protection (GRP). GRIP pays a participating producer when the county revenue per acre for an insured crop falls below a trigger revenue selected by the insured producer, regardless of the actual revenue level of the individual producer. It is available on a limited basis where GRP is currently available.
Group Risk Protection (GRP) A form of crop insurance available in certain parts of the country that makes an indemnity payment to all participating crop farmers in a particular area when the entire countys crop production is a certain percentage below the normal production level of the county. This differs from the basic crop insurance program that makes payments to participating farmers when the individual farmers own crop yield is less than the producers normal yield.
Growing season The time period, usually measured in days, between the last freeze in the spring and the first frost in the fall. Growing seasons vary depending on local climate and geography. It can also vary by crop, as different plants have different freezing thresholds. It also is an important component in defining wetland areas.
GSM General Sales Manager.
GSM-102, Intermediate-Term Export Credit Guarantee Program. An Export Credit Guarantee Program that covers credit terms up to 3 years. The program underwrites credit extended by the private banking sector to approved foreign banks using dollar-denominated, irrevocable letters of credit to pay for U.S.-grown food and agricultural products sold to foreign buyers. The CCC guarantee typically covers 98% of principal and a portion of interest.
GSM-103, Short-Term Export Credit Guarantee Program An Export Credit Guarantee Program that covers credit terms up to 10 years. The program underwrites credit extended by the private banking sector to approved foreign banks using dollar-denominated, irrevocable letters of credit to pay for U.S.-grown food and agricultural products sold to foreign buyers. The CCC guarantee typically covers 98% of principal and a portion of interest.
GSM-5, Direct Export Credit Program A federal export assistance program once operated by the Foreign Agricultural Service. Loans were made directly by the Commodity Credit Corporation at USDA-determined interest rates to foreign buyers of agricultural commodities. Through FY1980, government credit for agricultural exports was made available through the GSM-5 program. For budget austerity reasons, the program was replaced with federal export credit guarantees in FY1981. A more limited blended credit program was used in FY1983-85 that combined direct credit with guaranteed credits.
GSP Generalized System of Preferences.
Guaranteed export credit A Commodity Credit Corporation guarantee of commercial export credit is available through several export credit guarantee programs.
Gully erosion Also called ephemeral gully erosion, this process occurs when water flows in narrow channels during or immediately after heavy rains or melting snow. A gully is sufficiently deep that it would not be routinely destroyed by tillage operations whereas rill erosion is smoothed by ordinary farm tillage. The narrow channels, or gullies, may be of considerable depth , ranging from 1 to 2 feet to as much as 75 to 100 feet. Gully erosion is not accounted for in the universal soil loss equation. In a few states gully erosion is substantial, but in most areas more soil is lost through sheet erosion and rill erosion.