A poundage quota, also called a marketing quota, is a quantitative limit on the amount of a

commodity In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. The price of a comm ...

that can be marketed under the provisions of a permanent law. Once a common feature of price support programs, this supply control mechanism ended with the quota

buyout In finance, a buyout is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" the present equity holders of the target company. A buyout ...

s for

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

s in 2002 and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

in 2004. Marketing quotas (or allotments) — Authorized by the

Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 :''This is an article about the "Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938". For the act by the same name in 1933, see Agricultural Adjustment Act.'' The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 () was legislation in the United States that was enacted as an ...

, these quotas (sometimes called poundage quotas) limit marketings of certain commodities. The marketing quota, which must be approved by at least two-thirds of the eligible producers voting in a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

, is intended to ensure an adequate and normal supply of the commodity, and also ensure that production and supplies are not excessive. Growers who market in excess of their quotas pay penalties on the excess and are ineligible for government price-support loans. Quotas have been suspended for

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

feed grain Feed grain is any grain used for livestock feed, including corn, grain sorghum, oats, rye, and barley. These grains and the farms producing them historically have received federal commodity program support in the United States. They qualify for mark ...

s, and

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

since the 1960s.

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

quotas were abolished in 1981. Tobacco quotas ended after the 2004 crop (P.L. 108–357, Title VI). Authority for standby marketing allotments for domestically-produced

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

and crystalline

fructose Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galacto ...

was mandated by the

1990 farm bill The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade (FACT) Act of 1990 — P.L. 101-624 (November 28, 1990) was a 5-year omnibus farm bill that passed Congress and was signed into law. This bill, also known as the 1990 farm bill, continued to move ag ...

(P.L. 101–624), but eliminated by the

1996 farm bill The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-127), known informally as the Freedom to Farm Act, the FAIR Act, or the 1996 U.S. Farm Bill, was the omnibus 1996 farm bill that, among other provisions, revises and simplifies d ...

(P.L. 104–127). The

2002 farm bill The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, also known as the 2002 Farm Bill, includes ten titles, addressing a great variety of issues related to agriculture, ecology, energy, trade, and nutrition. This act has been superseded by the 2007 ...

(P.L. 107–171) reintroduced marketing allotments for domestically-produced sugar under the

modified sugar program Modified may refer to: * ''Modified'' (album), the second full-length album by Save Ferris *Modified racing, or "Modifieds", an American automobile racing genre See also * Modification (disambiguation) Modification may refer to: * Modification ...

. Marketing allotments are required to be in effect unless

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

projects sugar imports will be above 1.532 million short tons.

References

*{{CRS, article = Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition, url = http://ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/05jun/97-905.pdf, author= Jasper Womach United States Department of Agriculture Foreign trade of the United States Quotas