• Netscape Navigator/Communicator versions 2.0 and higher
  
  
• Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 3.0 and higher

All new configurations and applications are tested on these browsers. Other internet browsers may or may not work properly. Support for other browsers is not provided.

To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Here is how we handle information about your visit to our Web site:

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the Web site, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store only the following information about your visit:

• The Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a university's domain) and IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our Web site;
  
  
• The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
  
  
• The date and time you access our site;
  
  
• The pages you visit; and
  
  
• If you linked to the FAS Web site from another Web site, the address of that Web site.

We use this information to help us make our site more useful to visitors - to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors are using. We do not track or record information about individuals and their visits.

If You Send Us Personal Information

If you choose to provide us with personal information, as in an e-mail to the Secretary or someone else or by filling out a form with your personal information and submitting it to us through our Web site, we use that information to respond to your message and to help us locate for you the information you have requested. We treat e-mails the same way that we regard letters sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We are required to maintain many documents under the Presidential Records Act for historical purposes, but we do not collect personal information for any purpose other than to respond to you. We only share the information you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency, or as otherwise required by law. Moreover, we do not create individual profiles with the information you provide or to give it to any private organizations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture does not collect information for commercial marketing.

When You Visit FAS or Other USDA Agency/Staff Office Web Sites

Please read the FAS and USDA Agency/Staff Office Privacy Statement when you visit those Web sites. Where necessary, an Agency/Staff Office may have additional privacy criteria, conditions, or information that you should know.

Links to Other Sites

Our Web site has links to many other federal agencies. In a few cases we link to private organizations, with their permission. Once you access another site through a link that we provide, you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site.

Web Site Security

Information presented on the FAS Web site is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested.

• For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.
  
  
• Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes and are scheduled for regular destruction in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration General Schedule 20.
  
  
• Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.

Comments or Questions
If you have any questions or comments about the information presented here, please forward them to lallie.leighton@fas.usda.gov.

| Privacy/Security Notice | USDA Nondiscrimination Policy | Civil Rights Office |
 | FAS EEO Policy | Accessibility Statement | FOIA | Quality of Information |
| Site Map |
 | FAS Public Affairs Division: 202-720-7115 | FAS Legislative Affairs Staff: 202-720-6829 | 
| Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339 | FAS TTY Number: 202-690-4879 |