Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA); Market Facilitation Program (MFP) Payments to Producers
| Published date | 29 July 2019 |
| Citation | 84 FR 36565 |
| Record Number | 2019-15767 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Agriculture Department,Commodity Credit Corporation,Farm Service Agency |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 145 (Monday, July 29, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 145 (Monday, July 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36565-36567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15767]
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Notices
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 145 / Monday, July 29, 2019 /
Notices
[[Page 36565]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Farm Service Agency
Commodity Credit Corporation
Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA); Market Facilitation Program
(MFP) Payments to Producers
AGENCY: Farm Service Agency and Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: MFP provides payments to producers with commodities that have
been impacted by trade actions of foreign governments resulting in the
loss of exports. This NOFA announces the availability of MFP funds for
eligible producers of specified agricultural commodities for 2019 that
include certain non-specialty crops, specialty crops, dairy, and
livestock as specified in this NOFA. On behalf of the Commodity Credit
Corporation (CCC), the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will administer MFP.
MFP dairy and livestock payments will be calculated on the eligible
production amount multiplied by the participant's share in the
commodity multiplied by the MFP payment rate. MFP participants of non-
specialty and specialty crops will receive an MFP payment based upon
the participant's ownership interest in the 2019 crop that was planted
and reported to FSA for the 2019 crop year, including cover crops that
are planted for harvest following a prevented planted non-specialty
crop. The payment rate used by CCC to issue payments for non-specialty
crops will be on a county-by-county basis and reflects the amount of
damage incurred in a county by producers of the non-specialty crops
from the imposition of tariffs by other countries on U.S. agricultural
products. The payment rate for specialty crops will be on a state-by-
state basis if sufficient data is available, otherwise payments will be
on a national basis. This NOFA also announces the availability of 2018
MFP payments for a limited number of producers who are now eligible for
assistance as the result of a provision of the Additional Supplemental
Appropriations For Disaster Relief Act, 2019 (2019 Disaster Relief
Act).
DATES:
Application period: July 29, 2019 through December 6, 2019.
Comment Date: We will consider comments on the Paperwork Reduction
Act that we receive by: September 27, 2019.
ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on the information
collection requirements for MFP. In your comments, include the date,
volume, and page number of this issue of the Federal Register, and the
title of this notice. You may submit comments by any of the following
methods, although FSA and CCC prefer that you submit comments
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID CCC-2019-0003. Follow the
online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: William L. Beam, Deputy Administrator, Farm
Programs, Farm Service Agency, USDA, 1400 Independence Ave. SW,
Washington, DC 20250.
All comments received, including those received by mail, will be
posted without change and publicly available on http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Beam, Deputy Administrator
for Farm Programs, telephone: (202) 720-3175.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
CCC revised 7 CFR part 1409 in a final rule published in the Rules
and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register
specifying the eligibility requirements, payment calculations, and
application procedures for MFP. MFP provides assistance to producers
with commodities that have been impacted by trade actions of foreign
governments resulting in the loss of exports. This NOFA announces the
availability of MFP payments for 2019 agricultural commodities.
For the purposes of MFP for 2019, agricultural commodities referred
to as ``non-specialty crops'' include the following row crops: Alfalfa
hay, barley, canola, corn, crambe, dried beans, dry peas, extra-long
staple cotton, flaxseed, lentils, long grain and medium grain rice,
millet, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, rapeseed, rye, safflower, sesame
seed, small and large chickpeas, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower seed,
temperate japonica rice, triticale, upland cotton, and wheat. Specialty
crops are: Almonds, cranberries, cultivated ginseng, fresh grapes,
fresh sweet cherries, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios,
and walnuts.
Section 103 of Title I of the 2019 Disaster Relief Act (Pub. L.
116-20) provides that if the average adjusted gross income of a person
or legal entity is greater than $900,000 the person or entity is not
eligible to receive a MFP payment unless at least 75 percent of the
adjusted gross income of the person or entity is derived from farming,
ranching, or forestry related activities. This provision is applicable
to 2018 and 2019 MFP payments and is less restrictive than the 2018 MFP
eligibility provisions established by CCC. Accordingly, CCC will reopen
the 2018 MFP program application process for just those producers
affected by this statutory mandate and that application period will run
concurrently with the 2019 MFP application period. All other provisions
of the 2018 MFP apply to these newly eligible producers.
Application Process
Each eligible producer applies for MFP participation once by
completing a ``Market Facilitation Program 2019 (MFP 2019)
Application'' (form CCC-913). Each applicant must submit a complete
form CCC-913 either in person, by mail, email, or facsimile to an FSA
county office, or online through www.farmers.gov. Producers may submit
form CCC-913 in any county office nationwide for all crops for which
they have an interest. Payments will not be issued until a producer
certifies, as applicable, the:
Quantity of production of dairy or hogs; and
For non-specialty and specialty crops, the producer's
ownership share interest of the crop as specified on the ``Report of
Acreage'' (form FSA-578) filed with FSA for each farm that is the
[[Page 36566]]
subject of the request for payment under MFP.
Payment Rates
The MFP payment rates will be as determined by CCC and will be in
effect July 29, 2019.
The non-specialty crop payment rates have been established as a
single rate per acre basis for each county. These rates will be posted
to FSA's website www.fsa.usda.gov. A nationwide MFP payment rate of $15
per acre will be used to provide MFP assistance to producers who were
prevented from planting a 2019 non-specialty crop on a farm but were
able to plant a CCC approved cover crop intended for harvest. This will
assist in the marketing of the anticipated lesser production of the
cover crop. Prevented planting is the inability to plant the intended
crop acreage with proper equipment by the USDA recognized final
planting date for the crop because of a natural disaster. Cover crops
that are planted for harvest following a prevented planted crop must be
planted no later than August 1, 2019. Cover crops and non-specialty
crops planted after August 1, 2019, are not eligible for assistance
under MFP.
The total number of acres used to calculate a MFP payment on a farm
is equal to 2019 planted acres of non-specialty crops, not to exceed
2018 planted acres and prevented planted acres of non-specialty crops
as adjusted for acreage that is available for planting as the result of
2018 expired Conservation Reserve Program contracts.
For specialty crops, the payment will be calculated by multiplying
the state per acre payment rate if sufficient data is available for the
specific commodity by the producer's reported share interest in the
specialty crop as reported to FSA on a FSA-578, or according to the
applicable crop insurance policy. If sufficient data is not available,
national data will be used. For specialty crops, only acreage with
fruit or nut bearing plants will be eligible under MFP. State per acre
payment rates by specific commodity will be posted to FSA's website
www.fsa.usda.gov.
The payment rates and units of measure for hogs and milk will be
posted to FSA's website www.fsa.usda.gov.
The payment rate will apply to the producer's total production of
hogs and milk, as defined below. The MFP payment will be made after a
producer certifies the amount of production for hogs and milk.
The actual production used to calculate an MFP payment under this
NOFA is for 2019 production in which the applicant had an ownership
share for livestock commodities. Specifically, required production
information is as follows:
For hogs, the number of head of live hogs owned on a day
selected by the applicant between April 1, 2019 and May 15, 2019; and
For milk, the historical production reported for the Dairy
Margin Coverage (DMC) Program.
The ownership share for milk will be as reported to FSA for the DMC
Program for dairy operations that were in business as of June 1, 2019.
Dairy operations that are not in business as of June 1, 2019, are
ineligible for MFP. Ownership for live hogs will be reported to FSA on
form CCC-913; if a person or legal entity has a contract to grow the
hogs, but does not own the hogs on a day between April 1, 2019 and May
15, 2019, the person or legal entity is ineligible for MFP.
Producers must comply with the provisions of:
7 CFR part 1409;
This notice of funding availability; and
Form CCC-913.
Production Evidence
On the application for hogs and milk, the producer will certify the
amount of production and note the source of production evidence. If
requested, the producer must also provide supporting documentation as
determined by CCC for the amount of production. For non-specialty
crops, if requested, the producer must provide supporting documentation
as determined by CCC to support the reported acreage reported on form
FSA-578. For specialty crops, if requested, the producer must provide
supporting documentation as determined by CCC to support the reported
acreage reported on form FSA-578 or as reported to the producer's crop
insurance provider.
CCC may require a producer to supply documentation that can be used
to verify the actual production of hogs and milk and the producer's
share in non-specialty and specialty crops. Examples of acceptable
documentation include evidence provided by the participant that is used
to substantiate the amount of production reported, custom harvesting
records, production costs records, contemporaneous measurements, truck
scale tickets, or other records that are determined acceptable by the
FSA county committee.
MFP Payments
As stated in the final rule published in this issue of the Federal
Register and in 7 CFR 1409.105(d), the payments will be provided in up
to 3 payments. The first payment will be up to 50 percent of the total
calculated payment. CCC will determine if any further payments are
warranted. If CCC determines that a second payment is warranted, it
will be up to 75 percent of the total calculated payment less the
amount received in the first payment and the second payment period will
begin in November 2019. If CCC determines that a final payment is
warranted, it will be for the remaining amount of the total calculated
payment, unless otherwise adjusted by CCC, and the last payment period
will begin in January 2020.
Payment Limitation
For 2019 MFP payments, there will be 3 separate payment limitations
for each person or legal entity:
1. $250,000 for non-specialty crops announced in this NOFA;
2. $250,000 for specialty crops announced in this NOFA; and
3. $250,000 for hogs and milk.
No person or legal entity can receive more than $500,000 under 2019
MFP.
Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), FSA is requesting comments from interested individuals and
organizations on the information collection activities related to MFP.
The burden hours in this NOFA cover the additional respondents, and
still use the approved numbers in the request of 0560-0292 for MFP.
To start the MFP information collection approval, FSA received
emergency approval from OMB for 6 months. Upon receiving the emergency
approval with a new temporary OMB control number, this information
collection request will be merged with an approved information
collection request of 0560-0292 to update the numbers and forms.
Title: Market Facilitation Program (MFP).
OMB Control Number: 0560-New.
Type of Request: New Collection.
Abstract: This information collection is required to support all
MFP information collection activities (applicable NOFAs and the
regulation in 7 CFR part 1409) to provide eligible producers payments
with respect to agricultural commodities that have been impacted by
trade actions of foreign governments resulting in the loss of exports.
The information collection is necessary to evaluate the application and
other required paperwork for determining the producer's eligibility
[[Page 36567]]
and assist in producer's payment calculations.
For the following estimated total annual burden on respondents, the
formula used to calculate the total burden hour is the estimated
average time per response multiplied by the estimated total annual
responses.
Public reporting burden for this information collection is
estimated to average 0.39 hours per response.
Type of Respondents: Producers or farmers.
Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 780,000.
Estimated Number of Reponses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 1,445,400.
Estimated Average Time per Response: 0.39 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 519,067.
FSA is requesting comments on all aspects of this information
collection to help us to:
(1) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the FSA, including whether
the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the FSA's estimate of burden including
the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
All comments received in response to this notice, including names
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record.
Comments will be summarized and included in the submission for Office
of Management and Budget approval.
Environmental Review
The environmental impacts for MFP have been considered in a manner
consistent with the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347), the regulations of the Council on
Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and the FSA regulation
for compliance with NEPA (7 CFR part 799).
As stated in the MFP final rule, the implementation of MFP and the
participation in MFP do not constitute major Federal actions that would
significantly affect the quality of the human environment, individually
or cumulatively. The final rule served as documentation of the
programmatic environmental compliance decision for this federal
program; therefore, CCC will not prepare additional environmental
compliance documentation for this NOFA.
Federal Assistance Programs
The title and number of the Federal assistance programs, as found
in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, to which this NOFA
applies is 10.123--Market Facilitation Program.
Richard Fordyce,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
Robert Stephenson,
Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2019-15767 Filed 7-25-19; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P
