Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
| Citation | 84 FR 62502 |
| Record Number | 2019-24789 |
| Published date | 15 November 2019 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Agriculture Department |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 221 (Friday, November 15, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 221 (Friday, November 15, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 62502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24789]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2019 /
Notices
[[Page 62502]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
November 12, 2019.
The Department of Agriculture will submit the following information
collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 on or after the date
of publication of this notice. Comments are requested regarding: (1)
Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the
agency's estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology
and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to 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 should be addressed to: Desk
Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), New Executive Office Building,
Washington, DC; New Executive Office Building, 725 17th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20503. Commenters are encouraged to submit their
comments to OMB via email to: [email protected] or fax (202)
395-5806 and to Departmental Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop
7602, Washington, DC 20250-7602.
Dates: Comments regarding these information collections are best
assured of having their full effect if received by December 16, 2019.
Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by calling (202) 720-8681.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless
the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control
number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to
the collection of information that such persons are not required to
respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently
valid OMB control number.
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
Title: Field Crops Production--County Estimates Survey--Row Crops--
Substantive Change.
OMB Control Number: 0535-0002.
Summary of Collection: General authority for these data collection
activities is granted under U.S. Code Title 7, Section 2204 which
specifies that ``The Secretary of Agriculture shall procure and
preserve all information concerning agriculture which he can obtain . .
. by the collection of statistics . . .''. The primary objective of the
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is to provide data
users with timely and reliable agricultural production and economic
statistics, as well as environmental and specialty agricultural related
statistics. To accomplish this objective, NASS relies on the use of
diverse surveys that show changes within the farming industry over
time.
Numerous surveys included in the Agricultural Surveys Program
(0535-0213) and the Field Crops Production docket (0535-0002) are used
to set State and National estimates for numerous commodities. In order
to publish data on a county level, much larger samples are needed.
Within the Field Crops docket, are two surveys that collect
supplemental data for the purpose of publishing county level data.
Historically, the data collection costs for these two surveys has been
partially funded through a cooperative agreement between NASS and the
USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA). Due to program changes, RMA withdrew
from this cooperative agreement this year. As a result, NASS is forced
to reduce the County Estimates program. In the first step, NASS will
reduce the number of commodities for which county level data will be
made available. The commodities for which county level data will be
discontinued are: Dry edible beans, flaxseed, hay (alfalfa and other),
potatoes, sugarbeets, sugarcane, sunflower (non-oil and oil varieties)
and tobacco. In addition, NASS will discontinue county estimates based
on irrigated/non-irrigated practices. In the second step, in early 2020
NASS will evaluate the need for potentially more cost savings to the
county estimate programs. If additional savings are needed, changes to
small grain county estimates will be published in the Federal Register.
This substantive change resulted in an overall decrease in response
burden of approximately 13,940 hours. The target sample size for
enumerated questionnaires will be reduced by approximately 51,000.
Need and Use of the Information: County estimates for field crops
are used by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to carry out their
legislative mandates. The primary use of the data is to determine
average yields by county, used in determining participating farmers'
compensation payments. The information is useful to the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for administering programs. The
information will also benefit the agricultural sector more generally by
enabling the rental market for cropland to operate more competitively.
Description of Respondents: Farms sampled for the County
Estimates--Row Crops.
Number of Respondents: 124,000.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Once.
Total Burden Hours: 33,894.
Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-24789 Filed 11-14-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-20-P
