[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 113 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 36886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-14729]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Statistics Service


Notice of Intent to Extend and Revise a Currently Approved 
Information Collection

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 
L. No. 104-13) and Office of Management and Budget regulations at 5 CFR 
part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995), this notice announces the 
intent of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to extend 
and revise a currently approved information collection, the 
Agricultural Surveys Program.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by August 16, 2000 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: Contact Rich Allen, Associate 
Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 4117 South 
Building, Washington, D.C. 20250-2000, (202) 720-4333.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Agricultural Surveys Program.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-0213.
    Expiration Date of Approval: November 30, 2000.
    Type of Request: Intent to extend and revise a currently approved 
information collection.
    Abstract: The National Agricultural Statistics Service is 
responsible for collecting and issuing state and national estimates of 
crop and livestock production, grain stocks, farm numbers, land values, 
on-farm pesticide usage, and pest crop management practices. The 
Agricultural Surveys Program contains a series of surveys that obtains 
basic agricultural data from farmers and ranchers throughout the Nation 
for preparing agricultural estimates and forecasts of crop acreage, 
yield, and production; stocks of grains and soybeans; hog and pig 
numbers; sheep inventory and lamb crop; cattle inventory; and cattle on 
feed. Grazing fees, land values, pesticide usage, and pest management 
practices data are also collected.
    Uses of the statistical information are extensive and varied. 
Producers, farm organizations, agribusinesses, state and national farm 
policy makers, and government agencies are important users of these 
statistics. Agricultural statistics are used to plan and administer 
other, related Federal and state programs in such areas as consumer 
protection, conservation, foreign trade, education, and recreation.
    One important modification to the program is the addition of a 
Monthly Hog Survey. NASS was directed to publish on a monthly basis the 
Hogs and Pigs Inventory Report with the passage by Congress and 
signature of the President of H.R. 1906, the FY2000 Department of 
Agriculture budget. The Monthly Hog Survey will supplement the Hog 
Survey Program currently conducted as part of the Quarterly 
Agricultural Surveys. The monthly surveys will use a shorter version of 
the quarterly questionnaire and will be conducted eight times a year, 
during the months between the Quarterly Hog Surveys. The sampling frame 
for the monthly program will be hog owners who reported breeding 
females on the December Quarterly Hog Survey.
    A second revision to the program is the addition of questions 
regarding damage to crops caused by wildlife, methods being used to 
reduce these losses, and the cost of preventative measures. These 
additional questions will be asked only in January 2001. Aggregated 
totals will be provided to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service action agency, Wildlife Services, to help identify 
and monitor crop losses caused by wildlife.
    The third revision is the discontinuance of the Fall Area Survey. A 
reduced sample of the 1999 Fall Area Surveys respondents will be 
selected for an Integrated Pest Management Survey (IPM). This survey 
will be conducted only in January 2001 to collect information on IPM 
practices formerly collected as part of the Fall Area Survey. This is 
the fourth year of the USDA plan to measure the general adoption of IPM 
practices for the Nation's agricultural production.
    The Agricultural Surveys Program has approval from OMB for a 3-year 
period. NASS intends to request that the program be approved for 
another 3 years. These data are collected under the authority of 7 
U.S.C. 2204(a). Individually identifiable data collected under this 
authority are governed by Section 1770 of the Food Security Act of 
1985, 7 U.S.C. 2276, which requires USDA to afford strict 
confidentiality to non-aggregated data provided by respondents.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 15 minutes per response.
    Respondents: Farms.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 547,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 139,000 hours.
    Copies of this information collection and related instructions can 
be obtained without charge from Ginny McBride, the Agency OMB Clearance 
Officer, at (202) 720-5778.

Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) 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. Comments may be sent to: Ginny 
McBride, Agency OMB Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 4162 South Building, Washington, D.C. 
20250-2000. All responses to this notice will become a matter of public 
record and be summarized in the request for OMB approval.

    Signed at Washington, D.C., June 1, 2000.
Rich Allen,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 00-14729 Filed 6-9-00; 8:45 am]
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