Agriculture and Food
In: Agriculture Issues and Policies
Intro -- AGRICULTURE AND FOOD -- AGRICULTURE AND FOOD -- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- Chapter 1: FEDERAL FARM PROGRAMS: USDA NEEDS TO STRENGTHEN MANAGEMENT CONTROLS TO PREVENT IMPROPER PAYMENTS TO ESTATES AND DECEASED INDIVIDUALS -- WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY -- WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS -- WHAT GAO FOUND -- FSA DOES NOT SYSTEMATICALLY DETERMINE THE ELIGIBILITY OF ESTATES FOR FARM PROGRAM PAYMENTS AND CANNOT BE ASSURED THAT PAYMENTS ARE PROPER -- WITHOUT APPROPRIATE MANAGEMENT CONTROLS, FSA CANNOT BE ASSURED THAT IT IS NOT MAKING PAYMENTS TO DECEASED INDIVIDUALS -- FSA Made Millions of Dollars in Farm Program Payments to Deceased Individuals from Fiscal Years 1999 through 2005 -- Complex Farming Operations Raise the Potential for Improper Payments to Deceased Individuals -- CONCLUSIONS -- End Notes -- Chapter 2: BEGINNING FARMERS: ADDITIONAL STEPS NEEDED TO DEMONSTRATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USDA ASSISTANCE -- WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY -- WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS -- WHAT GAO FOUND -- ABBREVIATIONS -- RESULTS IN BRIEF -- BACKGROUND -- USDA'S LENDING AND CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE FOR BEGINNING FARMERS HAS INCREASED -- Lending to Beginning Farmers Exceeds 1 Billion per Year -- Conservation Assistance for Beginning Farmers Nearly Doubled between Fiscal Years 2004 and 2006 -- Other USDA Programs Assist Beginning Farmers -- USDA HAS NOT DEMONSTRATED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ITS ASSISTANCE FOR BEGINNING FARMERS -- USDA Lacks a Crosscutting, Departmental Strategic Goal for Its Beginning Farmer Efforts -- USDA Has Begun to Develop Information on Beginning Farmers That Could Help Better Target Its Efforts -- CONCLUSIONS -- RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXECUTIVE ACTION -- AGENCY COMMENTS AND OUR EVALUATION -- APPENDIX I: SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY -- APPENDIX II: FSA LOANS TO BEGINNING FARMERS BY STATE AND LOAN TYPE, FISCAL YEAR 2006