QR — Quantitative restriction.

QTV — Qualified Through Verification.

Qualified Through Verification — An AMS pilot program (since 1996) for the fresh-cut produce industry, enabling them to gain official certification of the wholesomeness of their products to improve marketing opportunities. Under this voluntary, fee-for-service program, AMS, using HACCP-based principles, first inspects the company’s facilities to ensure they are properly designed, are consistent with the Food and Drug Administration’s good manufacturing practices, have on-site microbiological testing, follow accepted sanitary operating procedures, and so forth. Ongoing monitoring, including periodic unannounced site visits, sampling, and audits by AMS are intended to ensure that the firm maintains its QTV status, which then authorizes it to use an official AMS mark, the QTV shield, on product labels and in advertisements.

Quarantine — A restraint on importation of certain animals or plants from areas where pests or contagious diseases are endemic — or isolation of animals or plants suspected of carrying pests or diseases — to prevent the spread of those pests and diseases. States as well as the federal government may impose quarantines or may operate quarantine facilities. See Plant Quarantine Act.

Quantitative restrictions, trade — Quantitative restrictions are limitations on the quantity or value of a product that may be permitted to enter a country. They are probably the most familiar of the nontariff barriers and include quotas, embargoes, restrictive licensing, and other means of limiting imports. The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture requires the conversion of quantitative restrictions to bound tariffs and tariff rate quotas.

Quotas, import — A quantitative limit placed on the importation of specific commodities. The protection afforded by quotas is more certain than can be obtained by imposing import duties as the effect of the latter will depend on the price elasticities of the imported commodities. Quotas, like tariffs, can also be used to favor preferred sources of foreign supply. Quotas may be specified as an absolute limit or changed from year to year in response to changes in domestic supply and demand.

R&D — Research and development.

Range Betterment Fund — Money collected from livestock grazing on federal lands and used for rangeland improvements. The Bureau of Land Management calls these funds Range Improvement Funds and uses them solely for labor, materials, and final survey and design of projects to improve rangelands. The Forest Service calls these funds Range Betterment Funds and uses them for planning and building rangeland improvements.

Range Improvement Fund — See Range Betterment Fund.

Rangeland — Land on which the natural potential (climax) plant cover is principally native grasses, grasslike plants, and shrubs. It includes natural grasslands, savannahs, certain shrubs and grasslike lands, most deserts, tundra, alpine communities, coastal marshlands, and wet meadows. It also includes lands that are re-vegetated naturally or artificially and are managed like native vegetation. The United States has 399 million acres of non-federal rangeland, about 30% of all non-federal rural lands, according to the 1992 National Resources Inventory. The BLM manages approximately 167 million acres of federal rangelands, and the Forest Service manages approximately 95 million acres of federal rangelands.

Ratite — A family of large flightless birds that include ostriches, emus, and rheas, which U.S. farmers are beginning to domesticate and raise for food. Ratite inspection has become a policy issue because producers want USDA to include them under the mandatory meat and poultry inspection laws. If plants that slaughter and process these birds were under mandatory inspection, most of the cost would be covered by taxpayers. Currently, such plants must pay for USDA inspection on a fee-for-service basis, under a voluntary ratite inspection program instituted in 1995 under authority of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946.

Raw agricultural product — The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines this term as "any food in its raw or natural state, including all fruits that are washed, colored, or otherwise treated in the unpeeled natural form prior to marketing." The nonregulatory definition generally means any agricultural commodity that has undergone little or no processing.

RBS, RBCS — Rural Business-Cooperative Service.

RC — Regional conservationist.

RC&D — Resource Conservation and Development Program.

RCA — Soil and Water Resource Conservation Act of 1977.

RCAP — Rural Community Advancement Program.

RCD — Resource Conservation District.

RCRA — Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

RD — Rural development.

RD&D — Research, development and demonstration.

RDA — Recommended dietary allowance.

rDNA — Recombinant DNA.

REC — Rural electric cooperative.

Reclamation — The process of rehabilitating disturbed lands, or converting unproductive lands to productive uses. The term is also used for the process of recycling or reusing water. In the context of the Reclamation Act and reclamation law, it means putting arid lands to use through irrigation.

Reclamation Act of 1902 — P.L. 57-161 (June 17, 1902), as amended, appropriated the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands and resources in 17 western states to the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands. Amendments made by the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 gave the Department of the Interior, among other things, the authority to amend repayment contracts and to extend repayment for not more than 40 years. Amendments made by the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (RRA) eliminated the residency requirement provisions of reclamation law, raised the acreage limitation on lands irrigated with water supplied by the Bureau of Reclamation, and established and required full-cost rates for land receiving water above the acreage limit.

Reclamation fund — A special fund established by Congress under the Reclamation Act of 1902, as amended, for receipts from the sale of public lands and timber, proceeds from the Mineral Leasing Act, and certain other revenues. Congress appropriates money from this fund for the investigation, construction, operation, and administration of Bureau of Reclamation projects. Collections from water users for payments made on the reimbursable costs of the federal projects are also returned to the fund.

Reclamation law — The body of law beginning with the Reclamation Act of 1902 that governs investigation, construction, and operation of Bureau of Reclamation projects.

Recombinant DNA (rDNA) — The technique of isolating DNA molecules and inserting them into the DNA of a cell ("recombining DNA"). Also known as genetic engineering.

Recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) — Levels of essential nutrients that, on the basis of scientific knowledge, are judged by the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB of the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences), to be adequate to meet the known nutrient needs of practically all healthy persons. They are designed to provide a safety factor appropriate for each nutrient and exceed the actual requirements of most persons whose individual nutrient needs vary.

Recourse loan program — Under the FAIR Act of 1996, recourse loans are available to producers of high moisture corn and seed cotton, dairy processors, and sugar processors. The commodity is pledged as security, but in contrast to nonrecourse loans, the borrower must repay the loan with interest within a specified period. The recourse loan program for butter, nonfat dry milk, and cheese begins in 2000. Loans for sugar are recourse when the tariff-rate import quota is below 1.5 million short tons. However, such loans revert to nonrecourse status if the tariff-rate quota is equal to above 1.5 million short tons. The honey recourse loan program and the mohair recourse loan program are authorized for 1998 production only.

Recycle / reuse — Minimizing waste generation by recovering and reprocessing usable products that might otherwise become waste (i.e., recycling of aluminum cans, paper, and bottles, etc.).

Reduced price lunch (or breakfast, supper, snack) — A federally reimbursable meal (or snack) served to a child who applies for and qualifies because the family’s income is between 130% and 185% of the federal income poverty level. Schools may not charge more than 40 cents for reduced price lunches, or more than 30 cents for reduced price breakfasts.
 

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REE — Research, education and economics (a mission area within USDA).

Reentry interval — The period of time immediately following the application of a pesticide during which unprotected workers should not enter a field.

Referendum — In agriculture, referendum generally refers to a vote by farmers on whether to approve or disapprove a farm program, such as mandatory production or marketing controls, assessments for generic commodity promotion, or marketing orders.

Regionalization — Countries generally have prohibited imports of a foreign agricultural product if it has been associated with an unwanted pest or disease in the exporting country. Until recently, importing countries would not permit any of that product from the exporting country, even if it came from a region that did not have the disease or pest. Regionalization is a fundamental principle in the Sanitary and Phytosanitary provisions of recent trade accords. It provides for the acceptance of such imports if the exporting country can demonstrate that they are from a disease-free or a pest-free area.

Registrant — Any manufacturer or formulator of a pesticide who obtains registration for an active ingredient or product.

Registration — The Environmental Protection Agency approval of a new pesticide for specific uses before it can be sold or distributed in the United States. Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for registering (pre-market licensing) pesticides based on scientific evidence that the approved use will result in no unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment when applied according to approved label directions. The label on a registered pesticide specifies the legal obligations of the user in terms of uses, timing, and rates of application.

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) — P.L. 96-354 (September 19,1964) requires federal agencies to consider the special needs and concerns of small business entities whenever they engage in rulemaking subject to notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act or other laws. In most cases, when an agency publishes a proposed rule in the Federal Register, it must prepare and publish a regulatory flexibility analysis describing the impact on small businesses.

Remote sensing — The act of detecting objects when the sensor is not in direct contact; commonly refers to using aerial photographs to observe conditions on the Earth’s surface. In agriculture, this technology can be used to determine what plants are being grown and their condition.

Renewable resources — Natural resources, sometimes called flow resources, that replenish themselves within time limits that permit sustained use, in contrast to nonrenewable resources. Congress recognized the renewable nature of resources managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (including timber, livestock forage, recreation, water, and wildlife and fish) by requiring both agencies to follow the principles of multiple use and sustained yield.

Repayment contract — A contract between a water user’s organization and the Bureau of Reclamation by which the organization obligates itself to repay a share of the reimbursable construction and other costs (not all construction costs are reimbursed by water users) of a Bureau project in installments determined in accordance with reclamation law in exchange for delivery of water.

Reregistration — The reevaluation and reapproval by the Environmental Protection Agency of pesticides originally registered prior to 1984. The purpose of reregistration is to evaluate and approve the older formulations against modern scientific and regulatory standards. The process is scheduled to be completed on the older active ingredients by the end of 2002.

Reserve pool — A quantity provision in a fruit or vegetable marketing order that requires that some marketable supplies be withheld from the fresh market to be used instead in a so-called secondary market such as for frozen or processed forms, for a nonfood use, or stored for sales in a future marketing year.

Residual supplier — A country that supplies the world market only after importers have met their initial needs from preferred suppliers. A residual supplier is not initially competitive because of higher prices or lower quality. The United States used to be considered a residual supplier of grains because its commodity support programs kept U.S. grain prices higher than those of competing exporters.

Resistance, pesticide — The evolutionary capacity of pests exposed to a pesticide to develop resistance to that pesticide. Some genetically engineered crops now being marketed are accompanied by pest resistance management plans to prevent or substantially retard the development of resistance.

Resource Conservation and Development Program (RC&D) — The RC&D program, initiated in 1962 under authority of Food and Agriculture Act of 1962 (P.L. 87-703), assists multi-county areas in enhancing conservation, water quality, wildlife habitat, recreation and rural development. Work in each area is coordinated by a council. At present, 269 areas have been approved; they cover 60% of the private land in the country.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) — P.L. 94-580 (October 21, 1976), as amended, authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate solid and hazardous wastes. The Act defines solid and hazardous waste, authorizes EPA to set standards for facilities that generate or manage hazardous waste, and establishes a permit program for hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. RCRA made such comprehensive amendments to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (P.L. 89-272) that it became the name of reference. To date, production agriculture has not fallen under RCRA regulations or is explicitly exempted (i.e., solid or dissolved materials in irrigation water return flows).

Resource Management Plan (RMP) — A BLM planning document, prepared in accordance with Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The plan contains guidelines for making resource management decisions for specific areas managed by BLM, known as resource areas.

Restricted-use pesticides — A pesticide may be classified for restricted use if it requires special handling because of its toxicity. These may be applied only by trained, certified applicators or those under their direct supervision.

Return flow — Surface and subsurface water that leaves the field following application of irrigation water. While irrigation return flows are a "point source," they are expressly exempted from permit requirements under the Clean Water Act.

Revenue Assurance (RA) — A form of revenue insurance that protects a grower of an insurable crop whenever low prices, low yields, or a combination of both causes revenue to fall below a guaranteed level selected by the producer. It differs from other revenue insurance programs in that it allows a farmer to use the posted county price, rather than a national price, in determining a target level of revenue.

Revenue insurance — A crop insurance program that provides coverage to producers against lost revenues (or incomes) caused by low prices, low yields, or a combination of low prices and low yields. An indemnity is paid to a producer when any combination of yield and price results in revenue that is less than a pre-specified revenue guarantee. The FAIR Act of 1996 mandates a USDA pilot program for crop years 1997-2000 under which producers of feed grains, wheat, soybeans, and other crops in specified areas may elect to receive insurance against loss of revenue. The two largest pilot programs to date are the Crop Revenue Coverage (CRC) program and the Income Protection (IP) program. The two programs are similar, except that the CRC allows farmers to insure their revenue at either planting-time prices or harvest prices, whichever is higher. The full cost of the premium associated with CRC and IP is paid by the participating farmer.

Revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) — Revisions to the universal soil loss equation implemented in the mid 1990s to more accurately predict soil erosion caused by water. It includes the same factors as the earlier formula; climate, soils, topographic conditions, and the degree to which the use and management of the soil reduces erosion. But it takes advantage of new knowledge about these relationships and the capabilities of computer technology. The comparison between predicted erosion and T-value is important in making and carrying out conservation plans and achieving conservation compliance.

Revolving loan program — A program that uses the repayments of existing loans to make additional loans to qualified borrowers. Initial capitalization of a revolving loan fund may be derived from federal appropriations or contributions from other sources.

RFA — Regulatory Flexibility Act.

RFF — Resources for the Future.

RHS — Rural Housing Service.

RIA — Regulatory impact analysis/assessment.

Right-to-farm laws (nuisance) — Right to farm laws deny nuisance suits against farmers who use accepted and standard farming practices, even if these practices harm or bother adjacent property owners or the general public. Agricultural nuisances may include noise, odors, visual clutter and dangerous structures.

Rill erosion — An erosion process in which numerous small channels, typically a few inches deep, are formed. It occurs mainly on recently cultivated soils or on recent cuts and fills.

Riparian — Pertaining to or situated on or along the bank of a stream or other body of water. Often referred to in the context of cattle grazing and protection of streams for fish and wildlife habitat, and water quality purposes. Riparian rights refers to the entitlement of a land owner to certain uses of water on or bordering the property, including the right to prevent diversion or misuse of upstream waters (generally a matter of state law).

Riparian buffer — A strip of vegetation along the bank of a body of water which slows the rate of flow of runoff from adjoining uplands, causing sediment and other materials to fall out onto the land before the runoff enters and pollutes the body of water.

Riparian rights — The system of water allocation used in the humid eastern portion of the United States. Water may be used only by riparian landowners and it is recognized that all users will experience shortages periodically. In contrast with the prior appropriations system used in the arid West, water is not acquired by use, and access to it cannot be lost by lack of use.

Risk assessment — The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of risks posed to health or the environment that arise from an activity, chemical use, or technology. The process includes describing potential adverse effects, evaluating the magnitude of each risk (e.g., the toxicity of a chemical), estimating potential exposure to the chemical or other hazard, estimating the range of likely effects given the likely exposures, and describing uncertainties.

Risk-benefit analysis — Comparison of the short- and long-term risks to the overall societal benefits of an activity, chemical use, or technology. When risks and benefits are expressed in monetary terms, this is effectively cost-benefit analysis. Both the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act direct the Environmental Protection Agency to base regulatory decisions on a risk-benefit or cost-benefit basis.

Risk management — The process of deciding whether and how to manage risks. Public risk management requires consideration of legal, economic, and behavioral factors, as well as environmental and human health effects of each management alternative. Management may involve regulatory and non-regulatory responses. For example, characterizing the risk to farm workers of entering a field after application of a particular pesticide is risk assessment; promulgating reentry standards is risk management. The federal government has played an active role over the years in helping farmers manage risk. Two major risks faced by agricultural producers are production risks and price risks, and the USDA has assisted with federal crop insurance and commodity programs. The Risk Management Agency is now helping farmers utilize other risk management tools.

Risk Management Agency — An independent office within USDA that is responsible for the supervision of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation; the administration and oversight of the federal crop insurance program and any pilot or other programs involving revenue insurance; the use of the futures contracts to manage farm risk and support income.

RMA — Risk Management Agency.

RMP — Resource Management Plan.

Rodenticide — A pesticide used to destroy, control, or deter mice and rats or other rodent pests from damaging food, crops, etc.

Rotational (intensive) grazing — Pasturing system that allows short periods of heavy use, followed by a recovery period; it allows the forage to be used more fully and effectively.

Roundup Ready soybeans (RR soybeans) — Genetically engineered glyphosate-tolerant soybeans. Roundup is the trade name for glyphosate, a broad-spectrum herbicide. Farmers planting RR soybeans pay more for the seed, must use certain herbicide application practices, and may not save and use their own seed as part of a pesticide resistance management plan. The benefits include a reduction in the number of herbicide applications, with potential savings in both chemical and labor costs.

RPA assessment / program — As required by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, the Forest Service makes a periodic (every 10 years) national assessment of renewable resource supplies, demands, and trends, to identify potential problems and opportunities. In response to the problems and opportunities identified in the assessment, the Forest Service prepares a periodic (every 5 years) national strategic program plan.

RPA — Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.

RPAR — Rebuttable presumption against registration.

RRA — Reclamation Reform Act.

RTB — Rural Telephone Bank.

RUAP — Rural Utilities Assistance Program.

Ruminant — An animal with a stomach that has four compartments, and a more complex digestive system than other mammals. Ruminants include cattle, sheep, goats, deer, bison, elk, and camels. Swine, dogs, and humans are examples of nonruminants.

Runoff, direct — Water that flows over the ground surface or through the ground directly into streams, rivers, and lakes. Runoff is the cause of rill erosion and a source of nonpoint pollution.

RUP — Restricted use pesticide.

Rural — The Bureau of the Census defines the rural population (in contrast to urban) as all persons living in the open country, plus those in places of less than 2,500 inhabitants that are beyond the densely settled (1,000 or more persons per square mile) suburban fringes of metropolitan cities. However, the Rural Development Act of 1972 defines rural as any area not included in any city or town with a population in excess of 10,000 inhabitants.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) — One of three USDA agencies charged with implementing rural development policies and programs. The RBS provides loans, guarantees, technical assistance, and grants to rural businesses and cooperatives. See Rural Housing Service and Rural Utilities Services.

Rural Community Advancement Program (RCAP) — A program established by the rural development Title of the FAIR Act of 1996 under which USDA is authorized to provide state rural development block grants, direct and guaranteed loans, and other assistance to meet rural development needs across the country. Program funding will be allocated to three areas: (1) rural community facilities, (2) rural utilities, and (3) rural business and cooperative development. See Rural Development Trust Fund.

Rural Development Trust Fund — Authorized under the FAIR Act of 1996 the trust fund is used to distribute Rural Community Assistance Program funds. Funds are allocated among states based on such factors as rural population, income, and unemployment.

Rural Electric Cooperatives — There are 874 electric distribution cooperatives and 60 generation and transmission cooperatives in the United States, which provide electric service to some 30 million people in 46 States. Reflecting their rural location, these cooperatives account for 7.4% of the kilowatt hours sold, but they maintain nearly half of the nation’s electric distribution lines. Rural electric cooperatives have access to insured and guaranteed loans from the Rural Utilities Service. Insured loans primarily finance the construction of facilities for the distribution of electric power in rural areas. Guaranteed loans primarily finance generation and bulk transmission facilities for power supply borrowers.

Rural Electrification Administration — The predecessor USDA agency to the Rural Utilities Service charged with administering certain telephone and rural electric cooperative loan programs.

Rural home loans — Section 502 loans are available through the Rural Housing Service to low- and moderate-income rural households to purchase and repair single-family homes.

Rural home repair loans and grants — Section 504 Loans and grants are available through the Rural Housing Service to lower income rural homeowners for making repairs.

Rural housing preservation grants — Section 533 grants are available through the Rural Housing Service for repairing and rehabilitating rural housing for low- and very low-income families.

Rural Housing Service (RHS) — The USDA agency responsible for administering the housing programs including direct loans, loan guarantees, rental assistance payments, and grants for low income families residing in rural areas. The agency also administers the community facility loan and grant programs. USDA’s Rural Housing Service administers various housing programs intended to aid in the development of rural America. Rural housing programs are divided into three categories: community facilities, single family housing, and multi-family housing. These programs were formerly operated by the Rural Development Administration and the Farmers Home Administration.

Rural multifamily housing loans — Section 515 loans are available through the Rural Housing Service for providing rental housing for low- and moderate-income families in rural areas, and for congregate housing for the elderly and handicapped.

Rural rental assistance — Section 521 rental assistance available through the Rural Housing Service reduces out-of-pocket cash that very-low-income and low-income families pay for rent, including utilities.

Rural Utilities Service (RUS) — An agency within USDA charged with administering activities that support rural telecommunications, distance learning and telemedicine, electrical, and water and waste disposal activities. RUS assistance can be provided in the form of direct and guaranteed loans, and grants.

RUS — Rural Utilities Service.

RUSLE — Revised universal soil loss equation.

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