Agriculture of USA
Agriculture of USAAlmost 21mln. people or about 17 % of all population works in the agriculture of USA. Nearly 3 millions independent farms deliver feed products to the American consumers. The area of an average farm in the USA makes about 400 acres. In 1984 there were more than 2.3 million farms in the country. However, the very large farms -those with 1000 acres and more account for more than 40% of farm acreage. The largest manufacturers of grains making up 2,3% of total of farms, produce about 50 % of wheat in the country. Similarly, the largest 2 % of the manufacturers of chickens - broilers own 70 % of market sales. Number of firms producing selected products in the USA. 1980es. There is therefore some concentrations of agricultural production in hands of the largest manufacturers in the USA. But even largest agricultural manufacturers accept the established prices for production. For example, 2 % of the manufacturers of grain, that make up 50 % of grain production in the USA, are represented by 27000 independent firms. The new firms can also penetrate into the majority of agricultural branches with relative ease. There are special branches - exceptions. For example, there have been state regulation that have limited for many years the number of tobacco producers. However, even domestic manufacturer, who are protected against entry must compete for sales to the foreign manufacturers in the export markets. State tax regulation plays important roll in encouraging of farm development in USA. Since 1988 the tax rates on profit in an agriculture have been established at a rate of 15 and 28% whereas earlier they ranged from 11 up to 50 % with the intermediate rates. Farms with the income up to 50000 dollars pay tax at the 15 % rate, and every next 25000 dollars at - 28% rate. Since 1989 the size of the tax-free profit has increased up to 2000, and since 1990 - up to 5000 dollars. The tax rules for corporations limit the sizes of the allowed allocation from the taxed income connected with expenses for fodder, seeds and fertilizer. The farmer corporation can receive the right for discounts only after actual complete consumption of materials. The special tax privileges are given to farmer cooperative societies. Thus, fruit growing cooperative societies? marketing, and also those purchasing farm machines are released from surtax payment. One of major functions of tax privileges in agriculture is to stimulate scientific and technical development, accelerate realization of technical novelties, which, as a rule, require large additional capital investments. To stimulate investments of the farmer capital in technical innovations the special conditions of the taxation are provided these tax laws: • Establishment of the tax discounts on the investments gain; Farmer has the right to take advantage of one of the favorable taxation terms, if he introduce innovations, which are found in the state or regional agrarian programs. The farmers participating in the state agrarian programs, have the right to detain tax payment capital investments gain as long as the investment process is completed. The tax volume decreases by inflation, and the sum of the tax is distributed per years in regular intervals. The state tax regulation in the USA enables the farmers of the advanced countries to change the size tax volume at the expense of use of various tax privileges and discounts. The numerous tax privileges reduce fiscal functions of taxation system in agrarian sector to a minimum level. The main role in belongs to the agrarian legislation. The acts determine the basic forms and methods of state influence on an agriculture. In recent years the role of budget assignments for support of the prices on agricultural production and incomes of the farmers, as well for regulation of market structure of agricultural production and foodstuffs has increased. Organization of Economic Assistance to Development (ОEAD) estimates that the USA farmers received 22 milliards dollars for financial support. Specific feature of financing of USA economy, is that the means from the federal budget are primary allocated for the target programs having national importance. So, two programs work in agroindustrial complex at the federal level: "Stabilization of the Incomes" and "science and scientific service". Besides more than 10 interbranch target programs of national importance providing interests of an agriculture and farmers work at a federal level. There are soil conservation and land withdrawal program, food help to needy population, marketing and inspection, social development of rural areas. The budget means distributed according with this programs are summarized and allocated to the branch federal budget of the USA agriculture. Its basic part (more than 80 %) is supervised by the US Ministry of an agriculture through good-credit corporation (GCC) and other financial-credit bodies. The rest of 20 % of means are distributed through state and local management bodies. Of all US budget charges about 60 % is necessary for realization of farmer income stabilization program and social - charitable support of needy farmers, almost 10 % is distributed for the programs development village at the state and regional level, about 5 % — for scientific researches and scientific service, 25 % — for social and native-protective purposes. Thus, 3/4 of budget assignments allocated to US agriculture are spent for farm production regulation and 1/4 for social purposes. The US agricultural policies provide minimal and steady prices for agricultural products. The price support frequently results in huge surpluses of agricultural products, which authorities are compelled to buy and to keep prices from sharp fall. Agricultural price support, alongside with other policies inducing farmers to keep their land idle have also brought contributed in the prices paid by the American consumers to subsidize the farmers. In recent years government purchases of surplus milk have amounted to about 10% of total production. During the early 1980s the federal government spent over $2 billion annually to purchase surplus milk. To help reduce the program in 1986 the government purchased dairy herds of farmers who agreed to stay out of the milk business for 5 years The dairy cows purchased through this program were then slaughtered The price support floors for milk were also reduced in 1986. However, the new program is not expected to eliminate the surplus. The federal government also intervenes in the market for other agricultural commodities in various ways. The method most recently used to support the incomes of grain producers has been the imposition of target prices for crops. Target prices are price floors 10 sellers However unlike the price supports discussed above for milk target prices do not directly increase the market price paid by buyers. Instead, the entire quantity supplied by farmers at the target price is dumped on the market. The resulting price depends on the demand for the commodity. Farmers are then subsidized by the government through a payment for each bushel sold equal to the difference between the target price and the price paid by buyers . The government does not buy grain surplus, on the target price instead all produced graine amount is offered for sale at the market. Consumers are clearly better under the target price program than they would be under a price floor of $4.38 per bushel. In fact, one of the justifications of the target price program in recent years has been that it does contribute to lower prices for U.S. crops, thereby increasing the ability of U.S. producers to compete with foreign competitors in international commodity markets. However, because of the acreage restrictions that go along with the program, prices can be higher than would be the case. Subsidizing farmers in this way therefore transfers income from taxpayers in general to farmers, but it does not necessarily result in lower commodity prices to consumers compared to those that would prevail in a free market The United States Is not the only nation that subsidizes farmers in ways that increase quantities supplied. Other nations have their own subsidy programs that tend to raise prices received by their farmers above the equilibrium level. The result of these programs has in recent years has been a glut of grain on international markets, sharply reducing prices. Farmers in nations without subsidy programs have suffered. For example, in Canada where farm subsidies are below those in other nations, many farmers have been forced out of business. Скачать |