:Food and Agriculture Act of 1977

{{Short description|United States federal law}}

{{Infobox U.S. legislation

| name = Food and Agriculture Act of 1977

| fullname = An Act to provide price and income protection for farmers and assure consumers of an abundance of food and fiber at reasonable prices, and for other purposes.

| nickname = {{unbulleted list|1977 U.S. Farm Bill|Agriculture Act}}

| enacted by = 95th

| effective date = September 29, 1977

| public law url = https://www.law.cornell.edu/topn/food_and_agriculture_act_of_1977

| cite public law = 95–113

| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|91|913}}

| title amended = 7 U.S.C.: Agriculture

| sections created =

| sections amended = {{Usc-title-chap|7|35A}} § 1421

| leghisturl = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d095:SN00275:@@@R

| introducedin = Senate

| introducedbill = {{USbill|95|S.|275}}

| introducedby = Herman Talmadge (D-GA)

| introduceddate = January 18, 1977

| committees = Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry

| passedbody1 = Senate

| passeddate1 = May 24, 1977

| passedvote1 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/95-1977/s169 69–18]

| passedbody2 = House of Representatives

| passedas2 = Agricultural Act of 1977

| passeddate2 = July 28, 1977

| passedvote2 = [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d095:HR07171:@@@R 294–114]

| conferencedate = September 9, 1977

| passedbody3 = Senate

| passeddate3 = September 9, 1977

| passedvote3 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/95-1977/s362 63–8]

| passedbody4 = House of Representatives

| passeddate4 = September 16, 1977

| passedvote4 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/95-1977/h517 283–107]

| signedpresident = Jimmy Carter

| signeddate = September 29, 1977

| amendments = Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1980

}}

The United States Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (P.L. 95–113, also known as the 1977 U.S. Farm Bill) was an omnibus farm bill. The S. 275 legislation was passed by the 95th U.S. Congressional session and signed into law by the 39th President of the United States Jimmy Carter on September 29, 1977.{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=6714 |title=Jimmy Carter: "Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 Remarks on Signing S. 275 Into Law.," September 29, 1977 |author1=Peters,Gerhard |author2=Woolley, John T |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=University of California - Santa Barbara}}

It increased price and income supports and established a farmer-owned reserve for grain. It also established a new two-tiered pricing program for peanuts. Under the peanut program, producers were given an acreage allotment on which a poundage quota was set. Growers could produce in excess of their quota, within their acreage allotment, but would receive the higher of the two price-support levels only for the quota amount. Peanuts in excess of the quota are referred to as "additionals", or additional peanuts.

Title XIII was designated the Food Stamp Act of 1977 and permanently amended the Food Stamp Act of 1964 by eliminating the purchase requirement and simplifying eligibility requirements.{{cite web |url=https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT87202100/PDF |title=A Guide To Understanding The 1977 Food And Agricultural Legislation, by Thomas A. Stucker and WUliam T. Boehm; National Economic Analysis Division; Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service; U.S.Department of Agriculture. AER-411. |access-date=2020-12-04 |archive-date=2020-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025002246/https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT87202100/PDF |url-status=dead }}

Title XIV was designated the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act and made USDA the leading federal agency for agricultural research, extension, and teaching programs. It also consolidated the funding for these programs.