### 81466 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 28, 2011 / Notices

Statistics Service (NASS) is to prepare and issue current official State and national estimates of crop and livestock production. General authority for these data collection activities is granted under U.S. Code Title 7, Section 2204. This statue specifies the ‘‘The Secretary of Agriculture shall procure and preserve all information concerning agriculture which he can obtain * * * by the collection of statistics * * * and shall distribute them among agriculturists’’. Data is collected provides yield estimates for corn, cotton, potatoes, soybeans and wheat. The yield estimates are extremely important because they’re used in conjunction with price data to estimate production and in making policy decisions in agricultural sectors.

Need and Use of the Information: NASS will collect information on sample fields of, corn, cotton, potatoes, soybeans, and winter wheat. The information will be used by USDA to anticipate loan receipts and pricing of loan stocks for grains. Farmers and businesses use the production estimates in marketing decisions to evaluate expected prices and to determine when to sell.

Description of Respondents: Farms. Number of Respondents: 8,000. Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Monthly during growing season.

Total Burden Hours: 2,820.

Charlene Parker, Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011–33285 Filed 12–27–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–20–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service** 

**[Docket No. APHIS–2011–0118]**

**Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection;**  **Importation of Small Lots of Seed**

**AGENCY :**  Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

**ACTION :**  Extension of approval of an information collection; comment request.

**SUMMARY :**  In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations for the importation of small lots of seed into the United States.

**DATES :**  We will consider all comments that we receive on or before February 27, 2012.

**ADDRESSES :**  You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/ #!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0118–
0001.

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS–2011–0118, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.

Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may be viewed at http://www. regulations.gov/ #!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0118 or in our reading room, which is located in room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 6902817 before coming.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  For information on regulations for the importation of small lots of seed into the United States, contact Dr. Arnold Tschanz, Senior Plant Pathologist/Risk Manager, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734–5306. For copies of more detailed information on the information collection, contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851–2908.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :** 

Title: Importation of Small Lots of Seed.

OMB Number: 0579–0285. Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information collection.

Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq. ) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to restrict the importation, entry, or interstate movement of plants, plant products, and other articles to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the United States or their dissemination within the United States. The regulations contained in ‘‘Subpart– Plants for Planting’’ (7 CFR 319.37–1 through 319.37–14) prohibit or restrict, among other things, the importation of living plants, plant parts, and seed for propagation. These regulations allow small lots of seed to be imported into the United States under an import permit with specific conditions, including seed packet labeling, as an alternative to a phytosanitary certificate requirement.

We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve our use of these information collection activities for an additional 3
years.

The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public (as well as affected agencies) concerning our information collection. These comments will help us:

(1) Evaluate 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) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the collection of information, 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, through use, as appropriate, of automated, electronic, mechanical, and other collection technologies; e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.035576923 hours per response.

Respondents: Importers, horticultural societies, arboreta, and small business.

Estimated annual number of respondents: 1,600.

Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 13.

Estimated annual number of
responses: 20,800.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 740 hours. (Due to averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden per response.)

All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of public record.

Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of December 2011. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–33208 Filed 12–27–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–34–P**