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Notices Federal Register

49 

Vol. 86, No. 1 

Monday, January 4, 2021 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Solicitation of Commodity Board 

Topics and Contribution of Funding 

Under the Agriculture and Food 

Research Initiative Competitive Grants 

Program 

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture (NIFA), USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for 

commodity boards to submit topics and 

contribute funding under the 

Agriculture and Food Research 

Initiative Competitive Grants Program. 

SUMMARY: NIFA is soliciting topics 

commodity board entities (Federal and 

State-level commodity boards, as 

defined below) are willing to co-fund 

equally with NIFA. To be considered for 

inclusion in future Agriculture and 

Food Research Initiative (AFRI) 

competitive grants program Requests for 

Applications (RFAs), topics must relate 

to the established priority areas of AFRI. 

Commodity boards are those entities 

established under a commodity 

promotion law, as such term is defined 

under the Federal Agriculture 

Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, 

or a State commodity board or other 

equivalent State entity. See the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this Notice under the heading 

‘‘Eligibility for Submitting Topics’’ for 

further information. 

DATES: Commodity boards may submit 

topics at any time; however, all topics 

received by 5:00 p.m. EDT on March 5, 

2021 will be considered for the fiscal 

year 2021 AFRI RFAs. Topics submitted 

by eligible commodity board entities 

after this date are not guaranteed review 

for fiscal year 2021 but will be 

considered for RFAs to be issued in 

future years. Frequently asked questions 

about commodity board topics are 

available on the NIFA website (https:// 

nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boardsfrequently-asked-questions). 

ADDRESSES: You may submit topics by 

the following method: Website: https:// 

nifa.usda.gov/resource/commodityboard-submission-form. Instructions: 

The topic submission must be emailed 

to commodityboards@usda.gov using 

the website form. Required fields are 

marked. Topics submitted through this 

form will not be posted to a public site. 

Submitted topics will receive an email 

with acknowledgment of receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Mirando; Phone: (202) 445–5575, 

or Email: commodityboards@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If, after 

NIFA’s evaluation, proposed topics are 

accepted for inclusion, they will be 

incorporated into AFRI competitive 

grants program RFAs. As a condition of 

funding grants pertaining to a topic, 

NIFA will require an agreement with the 

commodity board to provide funds 

equal to the amount NIFA is 

contributing under the agreed upon 

topic. 

This Notice invites topic submissions 

from commodity boards as defined 

above, outlines the process NIFA will 

use to evaluate the appropriateness of 

these topics for inclusion in AFRI RFAs, 

and describes the commitment required 

of commodity boards for NIFA to jointly 

fund competitively selected AFRI 

awards within a topic area submitted by 

the commodity boards. 

Background and Purpose 

This Notice begins the sixth topic 

submission cycle to implement section 

2(b)(4)(F) of the Competitive, Special, 

and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 

U.S.C. 3157(b)(4)(F)), as added by 

section 7404 of the Agricultural Act of 

2014, Public Law 113–79, which 

requires NIFA to ‘‘establish procedures, 

including timelines, under which an 

entity established under a commodity 

promotion law (as such term is defined 

under section 501(a) of the Federal 

Agriculture Improvement and Reform 

Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7401(a))) or a State 

commodity board (or other equivalent 

State entity) may directly submit to 

[NIFA] for consideration proposals for 

requests for applications’’ within the 

AFRI Program. 

Stakeholder feedback gathered in 

previous years informed this Notice and 

the process NIFA is using to implement 

section 7404. This Notice invites 

entities established under a commodity 

promotion law or State commodity 

boards (or other equivalent State 

entities) to submit topics they are 

proposing for inclusion in fiscal year 

2021 AFRI RFAs. Topics must relate to 

the established AFRI priority areas, 

which are: Plant health and production 

and plant products; animal health and 

production and animal products; food 

safety, nutrition, and health; bioenergy, 

natural resources, and environment; 

agriculture systems and technology; and 

agriculture economics and rural 

communities. A summary statement on 

AFRI is included below. To learn more 

about AFRI programs, including 

program priorities, typical award budget 

amounts, and examples of RFAs, please 

visit: https://nifa.usda.gov/commodityboards/. 

AFRI Program Overview 

The AFRI program is the largest 

agricultural competitive grants program 

in the United States and a primary 

funding source for research, education, 

and extension projects that bring 

practical solutions to some of today’s 

most critical societal challenges. AFRI 

programs impact all components of 

agriculture, including farm and ranch 

efficiency and profitability, bioenergy, 

forestry, aquaculture, rural 

communities, human nutrition, food 

safety, biotechnology, and genetic 

improvement of plants and animals. 

In FY 2021, NIFA plans to solicit 

applications for AFRI funding 

opportunities in the six AFRI priority 

areas (Plant health and production and 

plant products; Animal health and 

production and animal products; Food 

safety, nutrition, and health; Bioenergy, 

natural resources, and environment; 

Agriculture systems and technology; 

Agriculture economics and rural 

communities). It is anticipated these 

will include the AFRI Foundational and 

Applied Science Program RFA and the 

AFRI Education and Workforce 

Development RFA. The annual AFRI 

Foundational and Applied Science 

Program RFA solicits grant applications 

focused predominately, but not 

exclusively, on fundamental scientific 

research addressing statutory priorities. 

The AFRI Education and Workforce 

Development RFA solicits grant 

applications for training K–14 

educational professionals, workforce 

training, undergraduate research and 

extension experiential learning 

fellowships, and pre- and post-doctoral 

50 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 1 / Monday, January 4, 2021 / Notices 

fellowships. Any additional AFRI RFAs 

made available in FY 2021 may be 

included in this solicitation. 

Eligibility for Submitting Topics 

Eligible commodity board entities are 

those established under a commodity 

promotion law, as such term is defined 

under 7 U.S.C. 7401(a), or a State 

commodity board (or other equivalent 

State entity). Language in 7 U.S.C. 

7401(a) defines a ‘‘commodity 

promotion law’’ as ‘‘a Federal law that 

provides for the establishment and 

operation of a promotion program 

regarding an agricultural commodity 

that includes a combination of 

promotion, research, industry 

information, or consumer information 

activities, is funded by mandatory 

assessments on producers or processors, 

and is designed to maintain or expand 

markets and uses for the commodity (as 

determined by the Secretary).’’ 7 U.S.C. 

7401(a) includes a list of such Federal 

laws. 

A current list of approved entities is 

maintained at https://nifa.usda.gov/ 

commodity-boards/. Additionally, 

entities eligible to submit topics include 

State commodity boards (or other 

equivalent State entities). This includes 

commodity boards authorized by State 

law; commodity boards that are not 

authorized by State law, but are 

organized and operate within a State 

and meet the requirements of their 

authorizing statute; and commodity 

boards that are authorized by a State 

and operate within the State for 

commodities that have no Federal 

program or oversight. 

Topic Submission Guidance and 

Procedures 

Topics may be submitted at any time 

and will be evaluated by NIFA on an 

annual basis. However, to guarantee 

consideration for the proposed fiscal 

year 2021 AFRI RFAs, topics must be 

received by 5:00 p.m. EDT on March 5, 

2021. 

Each topic proposed must be 

submitted using the topic submission 

form provided at: https://nifa.usda.gov/ 

resource/commodity-board-submissionform. Commodity boards may propose 

support for multiple awards for each 

topic proposed. For each topic the 

commodity board proposes to support, 

the minimum amount contributed by 

the commodity board must align with 

budget guidance for each AFRI area 

https://nifa.usda.gov/commodityboards/ and comply with the maximum 

amount of $5 million allowed per topic. 

NIFA does not intend to match funding 

from a single commodity board in 

excess of $10 million in any year. 

Commodity boards should only submit 

topics that have a strong economic 

impact on their industry and U.S. 

agriculture, as a whole. Examples of 

topics typically supported by AFRI can 

be found at https://nifa.usda.gov/ 

commodity-boards/. 

If topics are accepted for funding, 

they will be incorporated into AFRI 

RFAs, and grants supporting the topic 

area may be awarded to AFRI eligible 

entities based on a competitive peer 

review process. As a condition of 

funding grants in a topic, NIFA will 

require an agreement by the commodity 

board to provide funds in an amount 

equal to the amount NIFA is 

contributing under the agreed upon 

topic. If a topic is selected for inclusion 

in an RFA, the commodity board 

submitting the topic will be required to 

maintain the confidentiality of the topic 

until the RFA is issued by NIFA. All 

commodity board funds and NIFA funds 

must be available at the time projects 

are selected for funding; awards are 

fully funded at the beginning of the 

award. Applications submitted under 

topics provided by commodity boards 

will be required to include a letter of 

support for co-funding from the 

commodity board that proposed the 

topic. 

Evaluation and Notification Process 

NIFA will screen proposed research 

topics to ensure eligibility of the 

submitting commodity boards. NIFA 

will also consult with USDA’s 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to 

determine that submissions and 

proposed financial contributions are 

consistent with commodity promotion 

laws and commodity boards’ charters, as 

applicable. 

Commodity board topics are reviewed 

by an internal panel based on evaluation 

criteria developed using stakeholder 

input from commodity boards and other 

stakeholders from government, industry, 

and academe. Each topic will be 

evaluated based on alignment with one 

or more of the statutory AFRI priority 

areas (six AFRI priority areas authorized 

in the Farm Bill and described in 7 CFR 

3430.309); alignment with the 

President’s budget proposal for NIFA, as 

identified in the Department of 

Agriculture’s annual budget submission; 

and alignment with the priority areas in 

the AFRI RFAs to be released by NIFA 

during the fiscal year for which the 

commodity board is proposing a topic 

for funding (for example, within the 

AFRI Foundational and Applied 

Science RFA, the AFRI Animal Health 

and Production and Animal Products’ 

‘‘Animal Reproduction’’ priority area). 

From those topics received by 5:00 

p.m. EDT on March 5, 2021, NIFA will 

select the topic(s) that were evaluated 

favorably for inclusion in the 

appropriate FY 2021 AFRI RFA. NIFA 

will notify commodity boards as to 

whether their topics will be included by 

April 5, 2021. Based on the evaluation, 

NIFA reserves the right to negotiate with 

commodity boards should changes be 

required to accept topics and funding 

amounts. Any changes to topics and 

funding amounts will be reviewed by 

USDA’s AMS to determine if such 

changes are consistent with applicable 

commodity promotion laws. 

NIFA will evaluate topics submitted 

after the March 5, 2021 deadline on an 

annual basis and notify commodity 

boards whether their topics will be 

included in subsequent RFAs within 

two weeks following the meeting of the 

internal evaluation panel, the date of 

which will be published on NIFA’s 

Commodity Boards web page at (https:// 

nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/). 

Done at Washington, DC, this 21st day of 

December 2020. 

Parag R. Chitnis, 

Acting Director, National Institute of Food 

and Agriculture, Department of Agriculture. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28698 Filed 12–31–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2020–0109] 

Notice of Request for Approval of an 

Information Collection; SARS–CoV–2 

Testing in Animals Reporting Activities 

ACTION: New 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 approval of a new information 

collection associated with the testing 

and reporting of SARS–CoV–2 in 

animals. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before March 5, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2020-0109. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2020–0109, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station