Agriculture and Food Act of 1981

Agriculture and Food Act of 1981
Citations

Long title	An Act to provide price and income protection for farmers, assure consumers an abundance of food and fiber at reasonable prices, continue food assistance to low-income households, and for other purposes.
Nicknames	1981 U.S. Farm Bill Agricultural Land Resources Policy Act
Enacted by	the 97th United States Congress
Effective	December 22, 1981
Public Law	97–98
Statutes at Large	95 Stat. 1213
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 884 by Jesse Helms (R–NC) on April 7, 1981 Committee consideration by Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Passed the Senate on September 18, 1981 (49–32) Passed the House of Representatives on October 22, 1981 (192–160) Reported by the joint conference committee on December 9, 1981; agreed to by the Senate on December 10, 1981 (68-31) and by the House of Representatives on December 16, 1981 (205–203) Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on December 22, 1981
Major amendments
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982

The Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 (Pub.L. 97–98, also known as the 1981 U.S. Farm Bill) was the 4-year omnibus farm bill that continued and modified commodity programs through 1985. It set specific target prices for 4 years, eliminated rice allotments and marketing quotas, lowered dairy supports, and made other changes affecting a wide range of USDA activities. The next year this farm bill was amended to freeze the dairy price support level and mandate loan rates and acreage reserve provisions for the 1983 crops (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982, Pub.L. 97–253). Again in 1984, amendments were adopted to freeze target prices, authorize paid land diversion for feed grains, upland cotton, and rice, and provide a wheat payment-in-kind program for 1984 (Agricultural Programs Adjustment Act of 1984, Pub.L. 98–258).

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Congressional Research Service document "Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition" by Jasper Womach.

United States federal agriculture legislation

Farm Bills	Federal Farm Loan Act (1916) Agricultural Adjustment Act (1933) Agricultural Adjustment Act Amendment of 1935 Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936 Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 Agricultural Act of 1948 Agricultural Act of 1949 Agricultural Act of 1954 Agricultural Act of 1956 Agricultural Act of 1961 Food and Agriculture Act of 1965 Agricultural Act of 1970 Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 Food Security Act of 1985 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 Agricultural Act of 2014

Additional Legislation	Hatch Act of 1887 Agriculture Appropriation Act of 1905 Cotton Futures Act (1914) Cotton Futures Act (1916) Grain Standards Act (1916) Future Trading Act (1921) Grain Futures Act (1922) Capper–Volstead Act (1922) Agricultural Marketing Act (1929) Farm Credit Act of 1933 Frazier–Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act (1934) Bankhead–Jones Act of 1935 Commodity Exchange Act (1936) Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (1937) Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 National Wool Act of 1954 Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967 Farm Credit Act of 1971 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1972 Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974 Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1980 National Aquaculture Act of 1980 Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act of 1983 Extra-Long Staple Cotton Act of 1983 Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 Alien Species Prevention and Enforcement Act of 1992 National Wool Act Amendments of 1993 Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000