- Industry: Government
- Number of terms: 41534
- Number of blossaries: 0
- Company Profile:
A trade agreement between any two countries. The agreement may be either preferential (the obligations and benefits apply only to the two countries involved) or most-favored-nation (the benefits and obligations negotiated between the two countries are extended to all or most other nations). The U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement is one example of a preferential trade agreement.
Industry:Agriculture
The Foreign Agricultural Service’s report of U.S. agricultural export and import data on Bulk, Intermediate, and Consumer-Oriented (BICO). In addition, the data base includes forest products and edible fish and seafood products. These trade data are further classified among 46 separate product groups. Data are available in both calendar and fiscal year format and for 16 world regions and 35 individual country markets. The BICO data can be accessed at.
Industry:Agriculture
Using living organisms to test the quality of either effluent to be discharged into receiving waters, or waters downstream from a discharge.
Industry:Agriculture
The practice of using beneficial natural organisms to attack and control harmful plant and animal pests and weeds is called biological control, or biocontrol. This can include introducing predators, parasites, and disease organisms, or releasing sterilized individuals. Biocontrol methods may be an alternative or complement to chemical pest control methods. Biocontrol is part of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service program to control several economically important pests of food and fiber crops; it also is researched and used by other USDA agencies that promote integrated pest management.
Industry:Agriculture
In general, the variety and variation among plants, animals, and microorganisms, and among their ecosystems. It has 3 levels: ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic (within species) diversity. The concept of maintaining biodiversity holds that civilization should preserve the greatest possible number of existing species so that a highly diverse genetic pool, which can be tapped for useful and beneficial characteristics, will be available into the future. Genetic diversity provides resources for genetic resistance to pests and diseases. In agriculture, biodiversity is a production system characterized by the presence of multiple plant and/or animal species, as contrasted with the genetic specialization of monoculture.
Industry:Agriculture
Biodiesel is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency as a pure fuel or as a fuel additive and is a legal fuel in commerce. It is typically produced through the reaction of a vegetable oil or animal fat with methanol in the presence of a catalyst to yield glycerin and biodiesel (chemically called methyl esters). It is an alternative fuel that can be used by itself or blended with petroleum diesel for use in diesel engines. Its use can result in substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. Provisions of the Energy Conservation Reauthorization Act of 1998 (ECRA, P.L. 105-388) amended the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT, P.L. 102-486) to allow that the use of biodiesel added to conventional diesel at blends of 20% and higher would produce credits to offset up to 50% each year of alternative fuel vehicle acquisition requirements. Farmers and processors anticipate that increased use of biodiesel will strengthen the market for soybean oil.
Industry:Agriculture
A measure of the amount of oxygen consumed by natural, biological processes that break down organic matter, such as those that take place when manure or sawdust is put in water. High levels of oxygen-demanding wastes in waters deplete dissolved oxygen (DO) thereby endangering aquatic life. Sometimes referred to as "biological oxygen demand. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a measure of the oxygen consumed when organic matter is broken down chemically rather than biologically. COD can be determined much more quickly than BOD and more accurately reflects the amount of organic matter in a water sample. BOD is a standard measure of water quality.
Industry:Agriculture
The absorption and concentration of toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and certain pesticides in plants and animals. Toxicity can be expressed in several ways: lead that is ingested by calves can bioaccumulate in their bones, interfering with calcium absorption and bone development; stored chemicals may be released to the blood stream at a later time, for example, during gestation or weight loss; and chemicals may concentrate to lethal levels at upper ends of the food chain. Bioconcentration is a synonym for biaccumulation.
Industry:Agriculture
This Act is P.L. 104-210 (October 1, 1996) which was named in honor of the late Congressman who was a champion of efforts to expand food donations to the poor and to protect those who make donations. It converts the Model Good Samaritan Food Donation Act to permanent law and incorporates it into the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (section 22). Good samaritan laws are designed to encourage the donation of food and groceries to nonprofit charitable agencies by minimizing the risks of legal actions against donors and distributors of foods. The 1996 amendments exclude from civil or criminal liability a person or nonprofit food organization that, in good faith, donates or distributes donated foods for food relief. The new law does not supersede state or local health regulations and its protections do not apply to an injury or death due to gross neglect or intentional misconduct.
Industry:Agriculture
A timber sale from national forest lands in which the expected federal revenues are less than the estimated federal expenses to sell the timber.
Industry:Agriculture
