Structural and Financial Characteristics of U.S. Farms: 2001 Family Farm Report

Family farms vary widely in size and other characteristics, ranging from very small retirement and residential farms to establishments with sales in the millions of dollars. The farm typology developed by the Economic Research Service (ERS) categorizes farms into groups based primarily on occupation of the operator and sales class of the farm. The typology groups reflect operators' expectations from farming, position in the life cycle, and dependence on agriculture. The groups differ in their importance to the farm sector, product specialization, program participation, and dependence on farm income. These (and other) differences are discussed in this report.Agricultural Resource Management Study (ARMS), family farms, farm businesses, farm financial situation, farm operator household income, farm operators, farm structure, farm typology, female farm operators, government payments, spouses of farm operators, taxes, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management,

Border Security: Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues

Some argue that this reorganization of border inspections has been long needed and is resulting in a more streamlined and efficient set of procedures at the border with a clear, single, chain of command. Others warn that the different types of inspections are quite complex in their own right and that the reorganization is exacerbating the conflicting priorities at the border, ultimately resulting in many more people and goods being sent to secondary inspections. This report, discusses a range of legal, administrative, and policy issues that are emerging with the implementation of the unified border inspections

Border Security: Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues

Some argue that this reorganization of border inspections has been long needed and is resulting in a more streamlined and efficient set of procedures at the border with a clear, single, chain of command. Others warn that the different types of inspections are quite complex in their own right and that the reorganization is exacerbating the conflicting priorities at the border, ultimately resulting in many more people and goods being sent to secondary inspections. This report, which will not be updated, discusses a range of legal, administrative, and policy issues that are emerging with the implementation of the unified border inspections

Science and Technology Issues in the 115th Congress

Science and technology (S&T) have a pervasive influence over a wide range of issues confronting the nation. Public and private research and development spur scientific and technological advancement. Such advances can drive economic growth, help address national priorities, and improve health and quality of life. The constantly changing nature and ubiquity of science and technology frequently create public policy issues of congressional interest. The federal government supports scientific and technological advancement directly by funding and performing research and development and indirectly by creating and maintaining policies that encourage private sector efforts. Additionally, the federal government establishes and enforces regulatory frameworks governing many aspects of S&T activities. This report briefly outlines an array of science and technology policy issues that may come before the 115th Congress. Given the rapid pace of S&T advancement and its importance in many diverse public policy issues, S&T-related issues not discussed in this report may come before the 115th Congress. The selected issues are grouped into 9 categories: - Overarching S&T Policy Issues, - Agriculture, - Biomedical Research and Development, - Defense, - Energy, - Environment and Natural Resources, - Homeland Security, - Information Technology, - Physical and Material Sciences, and - Space. Each of these categories includes concise analysis of multiple policy issues. The material presented in this report should be viewed as illustrative rather than comprehensive. Each section identifies CRS reports, when available, and the appropriate CRS experts to contact for further information and analysis

Updated November 6, 2008

This report provides a summary of 2008 farm bill implementation, discusses provisions, and includes a farm bill debate timeline

Evolution of the B3 DNA Binding Superfamily: New Insights into REM Family Gene Diversification

Background: The B3 DNA binding domain includes five families: auxin response factor (ARF), abscisic acid-insensitive3 (ABI3), high level expression of sugar inducible (HSI), related to ABI3/VP1 (RAV) and reproductive meristem (REM). The release of the complete genomes of the angiosperm eudicots Arabidopsis thaliana and Populus trichocarpa, the monocot Orysa sativa, the bryophyte Physcomitrella patens,the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Volvox carteri and the red algae Cyanidioschyzon melorae provided an exceptional opportunity to study the evolution of this superfamily. Methodology: In order to better understand the origin and the diversification of B3 domains in plants, we combined comparative phylogenetic analysis with exon/intron structure and duplication events. In addition, we investigated the conservation and divergence of the B3 domain during the origin and evolution of each family. Conclusions: Our data indicate that showed that the B3 containing genes have undergone extensive duplication events, and that the REM family B3 domain has a highly diverged DNA binding. Our results also indicate that the founding member of the B3 gene family is likely to be similar to the ABI3/HSI genes found in C. reinhardtii and V. carteri. Among the B3 families, ABI3, HSI, RAV and ARF are most structurally conserved, whereas the REM family has experienced a rapid divergence. Thes

Global Analysis of Gene Expression Profiles in Developing Physic Nut (Jatropha curcas L.) Seeds

Background: Physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) is an oilseed plant species with high potential utility as a biofuel. Furthermore, following recent sequencing of its genome and the availability of expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries, it is a valuable model plant for studying carbon assimilation in endosperms of oilseed plants. There have been several transcriptomic analyses of developing physic nut seeds using ESTs, but they have provided limited information on the accumulation of stored resources in the seeds. Methodology/Principal Findings: We applied next-generation Illumina sequencing technology to analyze global gen