FACTA 1990 Conservation and environmental highlights

THE Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act (FACTA) of 1990, commonly called the 1990 “farm bill,” will form the statutory foundation of U.S. agricultural policy for much of the coming decade. The law covers all of the traditional agricultural policy topics, from commodity price and income support to agricultural trade, from food stamps to research. But 14 of FACTA's 25 titles—more than 160 pages of the law—deal directly with some aspect of natural resource conservation, environmental protection, or consumer issues. The 101st Congress not only reauthorized and modified the landmark 1985 Conservation Title, it also enacted new provisions dealing with water quality, pesticides, organic food, sustainable agriculture research, global warming, and other environmental topics. In effect, the omnibus farm law has an environmental omnibus within it. In addition, the 110 representatives and seven senators who constituted the FACTA Conference Committee wrote rather extensive “report language” elaborating their views on the meaning and intent of the new law (House Report 101-916). FACTA's environmental and consumer provisions are both lengthy and complex. What follows is a brief outline drawn from a more detailed summary prepared by the Center …