Federal Dairy Programs:
Dairy Inventory Management Alternatives
T-RCED-91-70: Published: Jun 18, 1991. Publicly Released: Jun 18, 1991.
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GAO discussed alternatives studied by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to address dairy inventory management problems. GAO noted that: (1) the level of deficiency payments in the target price/deficiency payment program to raise farmer incomes while allowing farm prices to be competitive would depend on the established target price, market demand for dairy products, and the level of producer participation; (2) although the reclassification program to create a new use category for milk that exceeds domestic commercial needs could lead to significantly lower government costs, subsidies would conflict with the U.S. position in international trade negotiations to reduce commodity subsidies; (3) although the two-tier pricing program to establish a national marketing quota for the amount of milk each producer could market at a government-established price would cost less than the $522 million needed to continue current programs, such quotas would limit output, reduce costs per unit, create barriers to entry for future dairy farmers, and limit export opportunities; (4) the milk diversion program to provide payments to dairy producers in return for voluntarily reducing production was effective in the short term for reducing surplus production and USDA purchase and storage costs; and (5) of the programs studied, a temporary milk diversion program with some program design, implementation, and duration modifications would offer the most potential as a transitional program to help the industry adjust.
Jan 15, 2021
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Farmworkers:
Additional Information Needed to Better Protect Workers from Pesticide ExposureGAO-21-63: Published: Jan 15, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 15, 2021.
Nov 20, 2020
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Food Safety:
CDC Could Further Strengthen Its Efforts to Identify and Respond to Foodborne IllnessesGAO-21-23: Published: Oct 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 20, 2020.
Nov 16, 2020
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Farm Programs:
USDA Has Improved Its Completion of Eligibility Compliance Reviews, but Additional Oversight Is NeededGAO-21-95: Published: Oct 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 16, 2020.
Sep 16, 2020
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Agriculture Spending:
Opportunities Exist for USDA to Identify Successes and Challenges of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program to Inform Future EffortsGAO-20-711R: Published: Sep 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 16, 2020.
Sep 14, 2020
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USDA Market Facilitation Program:
Information on Payments for 2019GAO-20-700R: Published: Aug 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 14, 2020.
Aug 10, 2020
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National Bio and Agro-defense Facility:
DHS and USDA Are Working to Transfer Ownership and Prepare for Operations, but Critical Steps RemainGAO-20-331: Published: Jul 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2020.
May 7, 2020
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Food Safety:
FDA and USDA Could Strengthen Existing Efforts to Prepare for Oversight of Cell-Cultured MeatGAO-20-325: Published: Apr 7, 2020. Publicly Released: May 7, 2020.
Apr 13, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
U.S. Department of AgricultureGAO-20-288PR: Published: Apr 6, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 13, 2020.
Dec 23, 2019
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Nutrition Assistance Programs:
Agencies Could Do More to Help Address the Nutritional Needs of Older AdultsGAO-20-18: Published: Nov 21, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 23, 2019.
Dec 6, 2019
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Imported Seafood Safety:
Actions Needed to Improve FDA Oversight of Import Alert Removal DecisionsGAO-20-62: Published: Nov 6, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 6, 2019.
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