La Niña - a Cyclical disruption in the ocean-atmosphere system characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. These ocean conditions are just the opposite of El Niño; in latin La Niña means temperature fall.
Land capability (classification) - The quality of soil resources for agricultural use is commonly expressed as land capability classes and subclasses, which show, in a general way, the suitability of soils for most kinds of field crops. Soils are grouped according to their limitations when they are used to grow field crops, the risk of damage when they are used, and the way they respond to treatment. Capability classes, the broadest groups, are designated by Roman numerals I through VIII, with I being the best soils and VIII being the poorest.
Land evaluation and site assessment system (LESA) - A technique that can be used at the local level to determine the quality of land or agricultural uses and to assess sites or areas of land for their agricultural viability. It was first used in the early 1980s.
Land grant colleges of agriculture - The Morrill Act of 1862 granted federal land to states to sell, and instructed each state to use the proceeds to endow a college to teach "agriculture and the mechanical arts." States not having any federal land within their borders were given "land in scrip," permitting them to sell federal land located in other (usually western) states in order to establish an agricultural college. The original schools are called the 1862 Institutions. Subsequently, the Morrill Act of 1890 created the black colleges of agriculture, called the 1890 Institutions. The Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 1994 gave land grant status to 29 Native American colleges, called the 1994 Institutions.
Land-Grant university - The term used to identify a public university in each state that was originally established as a land grant college of agriculture pursuant to the Morrill Act of 1862. In most states the original agricultural colleges grew over time into full-fledged public universities by adding other colleges (e.g., arts and sciences, medicine, law, etc.); in states where a public university existed prior to 1862, the first Morrill Act resulted in a college of agriculture being added to the university. USDA funds go only to the original land grant colleges of agriculture within the so-called land grant universities.
Land management services contracts - A proposed national forest timber sale contract where purchasers would be required to perform activities, other than those directly related to timber cutting and removal, in or near the sale area, in exchange for a reduction in the stumpage price. Pilot tests of this contract arrangement have been conducted, but its general use is not authorized.
Land treatment - Any activity or project to improve conservation of soil, water, or other resources and to improve production.
Land trust - A private nonprofit organization, under § 501 (c)(3) of the federal tax code, that may receive donations of money, property or development rights, and may use its assets to purchase property or development rights.
Land use and development controls - Ordinances, resolutions, and controls enacted by local government under the authority of state enabling legislation to protect public health, safety, or welfare. Many controls can affect agricultural enterprises; how they are affected depends on the design of the control.
Land-use plan - A coordinated collection of data, programs, and activities related to existing and potential uses of land and resources within a defined area. Commonly associated with local units of government trying to anticipate and organize uses of space so as to meet defined goals. For producers, conservation plans are a type of land use plan.
Leaching - The process by which chemicals are dissolved and transported through the soil by percolating water. Pesticides and nutrients from fertilizers or manures may leach from fields, areas of spills, or feedlots and thereby enter surface water, groundwater, or soil. Leaching from concentrated sources such as waste sites and loading areas vulnerable to spills can be prevented by paving or containment with a liner of relatively impermeable material designed to keep leachate inside a treatment pond, landfill, or a tailings disposal area. Liner materials include plastic and dense clay.
Legumes - A family of plants, including many valuable food, forage and cover species, such as peas, beans, soybeans, peanuts, clovers, alfalfas, sweet clovers, lespedezas, vetches, and kudzu. Sometimes referred to as nitrogen-fixing plants, they can convert nitrogen from the air to build up nitrogen in the soil. Legumes are an important rotation crop because of their nitrogen-fixing property.
Less Developed Countries (LDCs) or "Developing" Countries - The
poorer, underdeveloped countries of the world, which as a group are
distinguished from the "industrialized" or
"developed" group of countries and the
"state-trading" countries. The more advanced among the
LDCs are referred to as the "newly-industrialized
countries" (NICs).
Levy - The USDA defines levy as an import charge assessed by a country or group of countries not in accordance with a definite tariff schedule. The "variable import levy" of the European Community was an example. The EC’s levy on grains varied from day to day, depending on the offering price of third-country suppliers. In USDA’s view the variable import levy is a nontariff trade barrier because, unlike a moderate customs duty or even a quota, it can completely bar imports. The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture resulted in the replacement of variable levies by fixed tariffs.
Limited global quota for upland cotton - A provision of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 that authorizes the President to proclaim an import quota whenever the USDA determines that the spot market average price in any one month exceeds 130% of the previous 36-month average. If triggered by such a determination, the established quota allows for imports of up to 21 days of mill consumption during a 90-day period. Price conditions in the U.S. upland cotton market triggered this limited quota three times — twice in 1980, and once in 1987. A limited global quota cannot overlap with the step 3 quota, one of the cotton competitiveness provisions.
Linola - A new form of linseed known by the generic crop name Solin, which produces a high-quality edible polyunsaturated oil similar in composition to sunflower oil. It was developed and released in Australia in 1992 and first commercially grown in 1994. Linola is being produced in Australia, Canada, the U.K. and in the states of Washington and Idaho. Linola substitutes for flax in cropping rotations, is claimed to have lower production costs than canola, but brings prices comparable to canola or other edible oils. Linola is Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration.
Linters - The short fibers that remain on cottonseed after ginning. They are used mainly for batting, mattress stuffing, and as a source of cellulose.
Listeria - A pathogenic bacterium found widely in nature, can be carried in a variety of foods such as dairy products, red meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables.
Live weight - The weight of live animals purchased or sold by a producer.
Loan deficiency payments - A commodity payment program authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985 that makes direct payments, equivalent to marketing loan gains, to wheat, feed grain, upland cotton, rice, or oilseed producers who agree not to obtain nonrecourse loans, even though they are eligible. Loan deficiency payments are available under the FAIR Act of 1996.
Loan forfeiture - Under commodity program rules, a producer or processor who pledges a stored commodity as collateral to the Commodity Credit Corporation to obtain a nonrecourse loan can settle the repayment obligation by forfeiting the commodity without any penalty. This happens, by design, if forfeiture is more profitable than selling the commodity in the marketplace. In this way the loan program serves a price support function.
Loan forfeiture level, sugar - The lowest market price that a processor must receive before concluding that forfeiting pledged sugar to the Commodity Credit Corporation is more profitable than selling the sugar. In practice, USDA has calculated the loan forfeiture level to be equal to the loan rate, plus transportation costs to a refinery (applicable only for raw cane sugar) plus interest expenses on a nonrecourse loan minus a sugar loan forfeiture penalty.
Loan rate - The price per unit (bushel, bale, pound, or hundredweight, depending on the commodity) at which the government will provide nonrecourse or recourse loans to farmers (or associations acting on their behalf). This short term financing at below market interest rates enables farmers to hold their commodities for later sale.
London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) - The interest rate that major international banks charge each other for large volume loans of Eurodollars (U.S. dollars on deposit outside of the United States).
Long - (1) One who has bought a futures contract or option to establish a market position; (2) a market position that obligates the holder to take delivery; (3) one who owns an inventory of commodities. The opposite of short.
Long ton - A measure of weight equal to 2,240 pounds. By contrast, a short ton is 2,000 pounds; a metric ton equals 2,204.62 pounds.
Low-flow irrigation systems - These systems (drip, trickle, and micro sprinklers) provide water in small volumes and generally provide water to plants with less waste than furrow irrigation. Drip and trickle systems apply water through small holes in small diameter tubes placed on or below the surface of the field. Another type of system, micro sprinklers, supplies water from low-volume sprinkler heads located above the surface. Low flow systems are expensive and their use is generally limited to high-value crops such as vegetables, fruits, and vineyards.
Low Income Food Deficit Country (LIFDC) - The FAO defines LIFDCs as nations that are 1) poor - with an annual net per capital income below the level the World Bank uses to determine eligibility for IDA assistance; currently that level is US$1,505 per person; 2) Net importers of food. In many cases, these nations cannot produce enough food to meet their needs and lack sufficient foreign exchange to purchase food on the international market. Currently, the FAO list 83 nations as LIFDCs - 42 in Africa, 24 in Asia, 7 in Latin America and the Carribean, 7 in Oceania, and 3 in Europe.
Low-Input Sustainable Agriculture (LISA) - Alternative methods of farming
that reduce the application of purchased inputs such as fertilizer,
pesticides, and herbicides. The goals of these alternative practices
are to diminish environmental hazards while maintaining or
increasing farm profits and productivity. Methods include crop
rotations and mechanical cultivations to control weeds; integrated
pest management strategies such as introducing harmless natural
enemies; plating legumes that transform nitrogen from the air into a
form plants can use; application of livestock manures, municipal
sludge, and compost for fertilizer; and overseeding or legumes into
maturing fields of grain crops, or as post-season cover crops to
curtail soil erosion.
Lump-sum sales - A common term for tree measurement sales.