27182 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 90 / Thursday, May 9, 2013 / Notices 

prospective exclusive licenses will be 

royalty-bearing and will comply with 

the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 

209 and 37 CFR 404.7. The prospective 

exclusive licenses may be granted 

unless, within thirty (30) days from the 

date of this published Notice, the 

Agricultural Research Service receives 

written evidence and argument which 

establishes that the grant of these 

licenses would not be consistent with 

the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 

37 CFR 404.7. 

Robert Griesbach, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2013–11021 Filed 5–8–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2013–0012] 

Notice of Request for Extension of 

Approval of an Information Collection; 

Commercial Transportation of Equines 

for Slaughter 

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 

the regulations for the commercial 

transportation of equines to slaughtering 

facilities. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before July 8, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!document

Detail;D=APHIS-2013-0012-0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2013–0012, 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-2013-0012 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) 799–7039 before 

coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the regulations for the 

commercial transportation of equines to 

slaughtering facilities, contact Dr. P. 

Gary Egrie, Veterinary Medical Officer, 

VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 33, 

Riverdale MD 20737; (301) 851–3304. 

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: Commercial Transportation of 

Equines for Slaughter. 

OMB Number: 0579–0160. 

Type of Request: Extension of 

approval of an information collection. 

Abstract: Under the Federal 

Agriculture Improvement and Reform 

Act of 1996 (‘‘the Farm Bill’’), Congress 

gave responsibility to the Secretary of 

Agriculture to regulate the commercial 

transportation within the United States 

of equines for slaughter. Sections 901– 

905 of the Farm Bill (7 U.S.C. 1901 note) 

authorized the Secretary to issue 

guidelines for the regulation of 

commercial transportation of equines 

for slaughter by persons regularly 

engaged in that activity within the 

United States. As a result of that 

authority, the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

established regulations in 9 CFR part 88, 

‘‘Commercial Transportation of Equines 

for Slaughter.’’ 

The minimum standards for 

transportation cover, among other 

things, the food, water, and rest 

provided to such equines. The 

regulations also require the owner/ 

shipper of the equines to take certain 

actions in loading and transporting the 

equines and to certify that the 

commercial transportation meets certain 

requirements. In addition, the 

regulations prohibit the commercial 

transportation to slaughtering facilities 

of equines considered to be unfit for 

travel, the use of electric prods on such 

animals in commercial transportation to 

slaughter, and the use of double-deck 

trailers for commercial transportation of 

equines to slaughtering facilities. 

These regulations require several 

information collection activities, 

including a USDA-APHIS Owner/ 

Shipper Certificate Fitness to Travel to 

a Slaughter Facility Form/Continuation 

Sheet (Veterinary Services-VS Forms 

10–13/10–13A), the collection of 

business information from any 

individual or other entity found to be 

transporting horses to a slaughtering 

facility, and recordkeeping. 

Since the last approval of these 

collection activities, APHIS amended its 

regulations to require that owners/ 

shippers complete VS Forms 10–13/10– 

13A for each movement of horses 

between assembly points. APHIS 

believes that, on average, a horse bound 

for slaughter will make at least one stop 

at an assembly point within the United 

States before final transport to slaughter. 

As a consequence, APHIS estimates that 

this will result in an increase in the 

number of responses submitted 

annually from 6,700 to 13,100, and 

increase the number of total burden 

hours from 2,603 to 9,803. However, 

this increase in burden hours also 

reflects reevaluation by APHIS of the 

time necessary for respondents to 

complete the forms and the time for 

respondents to inspect the horses prior 

to completion of the form, which was 

not previously accounted for by APHIS. 

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 

0.7483 hours per response. 

Respondents: Owners and shippers of 

slaughter horses, owners/operators of 

slaughtering facilities, and drivers of the 

transport vehicles. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 300. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 43.666. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 90 / Thursday, May 9, 2013 / Notices 27183 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 13,100. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 9,803 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 3rd day of 

May 2013. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–11027 Filed 5–8–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2013–0010] 

Notice of Request for Reinstatement of 

an Information Collection; National 

Animal Health Monitoring System; 

Dairy 2014 Study 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Reinstatement 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 a reinstatement of an 

information collection to support the 

National Animal Health Monitoring 

System’s Dairy 2014 Study to support 

the dairy industry of the United States. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before July 8, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!document

Detail;D=APHIS-2013-0010-0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2013–0010, 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-2013-0010 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) 799–7039 before 

coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the Dairy 2014 Study, 

contact Mr. Chris Quatrano, Industry 

Analyst, Centers for Epidemiology and 

Animal Health, VS, APHIS, 2150 Centre 

Avenue, Building B MS 2E6, Fort 

Collins, CO 80526; (970) 494–7207. 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: National Animal Health 

Monitoring System; Dairy 2014 Study. 

OMB Number: 0579–0205. 

Type of Request: Reinstatement of an 

information collection. 

Abstract: Under the Animal Health 

Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.), 

the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture is authorized, among 

other things, to protect the health of 

U.S. livestock and poultry populations 

by preventing the introduction and 

interstate spread of serious diseases and 

pests of livestock and for eradicating 

such diseases from the United States 

when feasible. In connection with this 

mission, APHIS operates the National 

Animal Health Monitoring System 

(NAHMS), which collects nationally 

representative, statistically valid, and 

scientifically sound data on the 

prevalence and economic importance of 

livestock diseases and associated risk 

factors. 

NAHMS’ national studies are a 

collaborative industry and Government 

initiative to help determine the most 

effective means of preventing and 

controlling diseases of livestock. APHIS 

is the only agency responsible for 

collecting national data on livestock 

health. Participation in any NAHMS 

study is voluntary, and all data are 

confidential. 

APHIS plans to conduct a Dairy 2014 

Study as part of an ongoing series of 

NAHMS studies on the U.S. dairy 

population. This will be the fifth dairy 

study, and the purpose of this study is 

to collect information, through two onfarm questionnaires and biological 

sampling, to: 

• Describe trends in dairy cattle 

health and management practices; 

• Describe management practices and 

production measures related to animal 

welfare; 

• Estimate the herd-level prevalence 

of lameness and identify housing and 

management factors associated with 

lameness; 

• Evaluate dairy calf health from birth 

to weaning; 

• Describe antibiotic use and residue 

prevention methods used to ensure milk 

and meat quality; and 

• Estimate the prevalence and 

antimicrobial resistance patterns of 

foodborne pathogens. 

The information collected will be 

used by APHIS to help define and 

evaluate current management practices 

and trends, help policymakers and 

industry make informed decisions, 

assist researchers and private enterprise 

to identify and focus on vital issues 

related to dairy-cattle health and 

productivity, and conduct economic 

analyses of the health and production of 

the U.S. dairy industry. 

We are asking the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve our use of these information 

collection activities for 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 

1.006 hours per response. 

Respondents: Dairy owners and 

operators. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 7,440. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 1. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 7,440. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 7,482 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.) 

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