[For the Department of Agriculture statement of organization, see the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Part 2] The Department of Agriculture serves all Americans daily. It works to improve and maintain farm income and to develop and expand markets abroad for agricultural products. The Department helps to curb and to cure poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. It works to enhance the environment and to maintain our production capacity by helping landowners protect the soil, water, forests, and other natural resources. Rural development, credit, and conservation programs are key resources for carrying out national growth policies. Department research findings directly or indirectly benefit all Americans. The Department, through inspection and grading services, safeguards and ensures standards of quality in the daily food supply. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) was created by act of May 15, 1862 (7 U.S.C. 2201), and was administered by a Commissioner of Agriculture until 1889 (5 U.S.C. 511, 514, 516). By act of February 9, 1889 (7 U.S.C. 2202, 2208, 2212), the powers and duties of the Department were enlarged. The Department was made the eighth executive department in the Federal Government, and the Commissioner became the Secretary of Agriculture. Staff Offices Administration The Assistant Secretary for Administration serves as the principal adviser to the Secretary on all administrative management and related matters. Five departmental staff offices report to the Assistant Secretary and assist in providing staff support to top policy officials and program agencies to ensure the efficient and effective management and operation of the Department. These are the Office of Personnel, the Office of Finance and Management, the Office of Information Resources Management, the Office of Advocacy and Enterprise, and the Office of Operations. These offices coordinate the Department's personnel management program; equal opportunity and civil rights activities; safety and health activities; management improvement programs; accounting, fiscal, and financial activities; automated data processing administration; procurement and contracts; and management of real and personal property. In addition, two quasi-judicial agencies, the Office of Administrative Law Judges and the Board of Contract Appeals, report to the Assistant Secretary. Both organizations operate autonomously when adjudicating cases and deciding contract disputes. The Assistant Secretary for Administration serves as the Department's Director of Equal Employment Opportunity and oversees all equal opportunity and civil rights programs within USDA. General Counsel The General Counsel is the principal legal adviser to the Secretary and is responsible for providing all legal advice and representation in the Department. Inspector General The Office of Inspector General was established administratively by the Secretary of Agriculture in 1962. The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. app.) created statutory inspectors general in the Department of Agriculture and a number of other Federal executive departments and independent agencies. The Inspector General conducts and supervises all audits and investigations relating to the programs and operations of the Department. The Office also is responsible for coordinating, conducting, or supervising all other activities carried out by the Department for the purpose of promoting program economy and efficiency and preventing and detecting fraud. The investigation of employee complaints, physical security of the Secretary, review of legislation and regulations for their impact on program efficiency and susceptibility to abuse, and relations with governmental and nongovernmental units concerning program efficiency and prevention of fraud also are responsibilities of the Office. The Office is headed by an Inspector General who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. For further information, call 202-447-8001. Budget and Program Analysis The Office of Budget and Program Analysis coordinates the preparation of departmental budget estimates and legislative reports; administers systems for the management and control of funds; provides policy, program, and budgetary analysis of USDA proposals; and provides staff assistance to USDA agencies in meeting their responsibilities for the development and review of regulations. Governmental and Public Affairs The Office of Governmental and Public Affairs provides policy direction, review, and coordination of all information programs of the Department. The Office is assigned responsibility for maintaining the flow of information and providing liaison between the Department of Agriculture and the Congress, the mass communication media, State and local governments, and the public. Judicial Officer The Judicial Officer serves as the final deciding officer, in the place of the Secretary, in regulatory proceedings and appeals of a quasijudicial nature where a hearing is statutorily required. Small Community and Rural Development Farmers Home Administration [For the Farmers Home Administration statement of organization, see the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Part 2003] The Farmers Home Administration, an agency within the Department of Agriculture, provides credit for those in rural America who are unable to get credit from other sources at reasonable rates and terms. The Administration operates principally under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1921) and title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471). Applications for loans are made at the agency's 2,200 local county and district offices, generally located in county seats. A county or area committee of three individuals, at least two of whom are farmers, certifies or recommends as to eligibility of individual farm loan applicants and reviews borrowers' progress. Home Administration makes loans from three revolving funds (Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund, Rural Housing Insurance Fund, Rural Development Insurance Fund) and with funds derived from sales to the Federal Financing Bank of Certificates of Beneficial Ownership, which represent actual loans made by the agency. The agency provides financial and management assistance through the following types of loans: Operating Loans Loans are made to farmers who operate family-size farms and who cannot get the credit they need from conventional sources. They may be farming as individuals, joint operators, cooperatives, or corporations. Operating loan funds may be used to acquire needed resources, to make improved use of their land and labor resources, and to make adjustments necessary for successful farming and nonfarm enterprises. Funds may be advanced to pay for equipment, livestock, feed, seed, fertilizer, other farm and home operating needs; refinance chattel debts; provide operating credit to fish farmers; carry out forestry purposes; and develop incomeproducing, nonfarm enterprises. For loans made directly by the Administration, the interest rate is set periodically, based on the Federal Government's cost of borrowing. For loans made by other lenders and guaranteed by the Administration, the interest rate is negotiated between the lender and the borrower. The limit on farm operating loans made by the Administration is $200,000, and on guaranteed loans the limit is $400,000. Loans may be repaid over 1 to 7 years. Other reliable agricultural credit sources are encouraged to support as much of the essential needs of loan applicants as possible with the balance supplied from operating loan funds of the agency. Operating loan borrowers are expected to refinance their operating loans and return to conventional credit when able to do so. Youth Project Loans The Administration makes loans to individual rural residents between 10 and 21 years of age to establish and operate incomeproducing enterprises of modest size, either on the farm or in other locations. The interest rate is determined by formula periodically. Repayment terms depend upon the type of project for which the loan is made. This program is designed to help 4-H Clubs, Future Farmers of America, and other youth group members finance their agricultural or nonagricultural projects. Emergency Loans Emergency loans are made to eligible farmers, ranchers, and aquaculture operators for losses arising from natural disasters. In order to be eligible to apply for an emergency loan, farmers must carry multiperil crop insurance if it is available. Only familysize farms qualify for these loans. Each loan is scheduled for repayment as rapidly as feasible, in annual installments, consistent with the borrower's reasonable ability to pay. The schedule varies according to the purpose of the loan. The interest rate for emergency loans offsetting actual losses is 4.5 percent. Loans are limited to $500,000 or 80 percent of actual losses over and above insurance protection. Farm Ownership Loans These loans to supplement farm income; and Repayment is scheduled according to the borrower's ability to repay, but the maximum term is 40 years. The interest rate is set periodically, based on the cost of Government borrowing. The maximum for insured loans is $200,000 and for guaranteed loans is $300,000. The loan may not exceed the market value of the farm or other security. Loans to Limited-Resource Farmers The Administration makes loans to help low-income farmers and ranchers improve their farming and earn a better living. These loans are made on easier terms than ordinary farm loans and are intended to give the limited-resource farmer a chance to become more successful in farming. Limited-resource farmers are owners or tenants of small farms yielding low production and low income due to factors such as lack of land, equipment, or opportunity to get necessary financing, or limited education in farming or management. Loans to limited-resource farmers may be made for farm purchases or operating expenses. Loans for the purchase of farm real estate are made at lower interest rates. Production loans also are made at lower interest rates and evaluated every 2 years. The borrower pays an interest rate that he or she can afford as long as it is not less than the initial rate charged or more than the full rate ordinarily charged for Administration farm loans. Repayment terms vary according to the purposes of the loan. While the needs of limited-resource farmers are usually well below its limits, the agency can make a real estate loan and a production loan of up to $200,000 under this program. Farm Ownership Loan funds are targeted to members of socially disadvantaged groups. Soil and Water Conservation Loans Loans are made to owners or operators of farms and ranches, including farming partnerships and domestic corporations to assist them in developing, conserving, and making proper use of their land and other resources. Loans are repayable within 40 years. The interest rate for |