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

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

44257 

Vol. 83, No. 169 

Thursday, August 30, 2018 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA); 

Market Facilitation Program (MFP) 

Payments to Producers 

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation 

and Farm Service Agency, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: MFP provides payments to 

producers with commodities that have 

been significantly impacted by actions 

of foreign governments resulting in the 

loss of traditional exports. This NOFA 

announces the availability of MFP funds 

for eligible producers of the following 

commodities for 2018: Soybeans, 

sorghum, wheat, extra long staple (ELS) 

cotton, upland cotton, corn, hogs, and 

milk. On behalf of the Commodity 

Credit Corporation (CCC), the Farm 

Service Agency (FSA) will administer 

MFP. MFP participants will receive an 

MFP payment, calculated based on the 

eligible production multiplied by the 

participant’s share multiplied by the 

MFP payment rate. 

DATES: 

Application period: September 4, 

2018, through January 15, 2019. 

Comment Dates: We will consider 

comments on the Paperwork Reduction 

Act that we receive by: October 29, 

2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bradley Karmen, Acting Deputy 

Administrator for Farm Programs, 

telephone: (202) 720–3175. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

CCC published 7 CFR part 1409 in the 

Rules and Regulations section of this 

issue of the Federal Register specifying 

the eligibility requirements, payment 

calculations, and application 

procedures for MFP. MFP provides 

assistance to producers with 

commodities that have been 

significantly impacted by actions of 

foreign governments resulting in the 

loss of traditional exports. This NOFA 

announces the availability of initial 

MFP payments for 2018 for soybeans, 

sorghum, wheat, ELS cotton, upland 

cotton, corn, hogs, and milk. 

Application Process 

Each eligible producer applies for 

MFP on an application form. A 

producer applies for MFP once. 

Payments will not be issued until a 

producer certifies production, as 

described below. 

Payment Rates 

The MFP payment rates will be as 

determined by CCC. 

The MFP payment rates and units of 

measure that will be in effect beginning 

September 4, 2018, are listed in the 

following table. 

Commodity Unit Rate 

($/unit) 

Soybeans .................................................................................... bushels ....................................................................................... $1.65 

Sorghum ...................................................................................... bushels ....................................................................................... 0.86 

Wheat .......................................................................................... bushels ....................................................................................... 0.14 

Cotton (Upland and ELS) ........................................................... pounds ....................................................................................... 0.06 

Corn ............................................................................................ bushels ....................................................................................... 0.01 

Hogs ............................................................................................ head ........................................................................................... 8.00 

Milk .............................................................................................. hundredweight (cwt) ................................................................... 0.12 

The units of measure are: bu = number of bushels; lb. = weight in pounds; head = number of head of hogs; and cwt = hundredweight. 

The initial payment rate will apply to 

the first 50 percent of the producer’s 

total production of the selected 

commodity. On or about December 3, 

2018, CCC may announce a second 

payment rate, if applicable, that will 

apply to the remaining 50 percent of the 

producer’s production for the selected 

commodity. 

MFP payment at either the initial 

payment rate or at a second payment 

rate will be made after a producer 

harvests 100 percent of the crop and 

certifies the amount of production. 

The actual production used to 

calculate an MFP payment under this 

NOFA is for 2018 production in which 

the applicant had an ownership share. 

Specifically, required production 

information is as follows: 

• For crops, harvested production for 

the 2018 crop year; 

• For hogs, the number of head of live 

hogs owned as of August 1, 2018; and 

• For milk, the historical production 

reported for the Margin Protection 

Program—Dairy (following the same 

reporting rules as used for MPP—Dairy). 

An ownership share for a crop will be 

as reported to FSA on the acreage 

report, form FSA–578, ‘‘Report of 

Acreage.’’ With respect to cotton, the 

ownership share applies only to cotton 

harvested as lint cotton and with respect 

to corn, sorghum, and wheat, the 

ownership share applies only to such 

commodities that are harvested as grain. 

The ownership share for milk will be as 

reported to FSA for MPP—Dairy for the 

dairy operation that was in business as 

of June 1, 2018. Dairy operations that 

are not in business as of June 1, 2018, 

are ineligible for MFP. Ownership for 

hogs will be reported to FSA on the 

MFP application; if a person or legal 

entity has a contract to grow the hogs, 

but does not own the hogs as of August 

1, 2018, the person or legal entity is 

ineligible for MFP. 

Production Evidence 

On the application, the producer will 

certify the amount of production and 

note the source of production evidence. 

If requested, the producer must also 

provide supporting documentation as 

determined by CCC for the amount of 

production. 

If supporting documentation is 

required for the amount of actual 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES1
44258 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 169 / Thursday, August 30, 2018 / Notices 

production and for ownership share, it 

needs to be verifiable records that 

substantiate the reported amounts. The 

participant’s production for the 

commodity is based on verifiable or 

reliable production records. Examples of 

reliable production records include 

evidence provided by the participant 

that is used to substantiate the amount 

of production reported when verifiable 

records are not available, including 

copies of receipts, ledgers of income, 

income statements of deposit slips, 

register tapes, invoices for custom 

harvesting, and records to verify 

production costs, contemporaneous 

measurements, truck scale tickets, or 

contemporaneous diaries that are 

determined acceptable by the county 

committee. 

Reliable record means any 

nonverifiable record available that 

reasonably supports the eligible 

production, as determined acceptable by 

the FSA county committee. 

Verifiable record means a document 

provided by the producer that can be 

verified by the FSA county committee 

through an independent source and is 

used to substantiate the eligible 

production. 

Payment Limitation 

For MFP payments, there will be a 

single combined $125,000 per person or 

legal entity payment limitation for the 

five crops announced in this NOFA and 

a separate combined per person or legal 

entity $125,000 payment limitation for 

hogs and milk. 

Eligible Crops 

To be eligible to receive an MFP 

payment for a crop, the amount of 

mechanically harvested production for 

soybeans, sorghum, wheat, ELS cotton, 

upland cotton, and corn will be the 

amount based on the crop types, 

intended uses, and status that are 

consistent with the Agriculture Risk 

Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage 

(PLC) program regulations in 7 CFR part 

1412, except grazing is not an eligible 

intended use for MFP. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Requirements 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35), FSA is requesting 

comments from interested individuals 

and organizations on the information 

collection activities related to MFP. 

After the 60-day period ends, the 

information collection request will be 

submitted to OMB for the 3-year 

approval to cover MFP information 

collection. 

To start the MFP information 

collection approval, FSA received 

emergency approval from OMB for 6 

months. The emergency approval covers 

this NOFA and any other MFP 

information collection activities. 

Title: Marketing Facilitation Program 

(MFP). 

OMB Control Number: 0560—New. 

Type of Request: New Collection. 

Abstract: This information collection 

is required to support all MFP 

information collection activities (NOFA 

and the regulation in 7 CFR part 1409) 

to provide eligible producers payments 

with respect to commodities that have 

been significantly impacted by actions 

of foreign governments resulting in the 

loss of traditional exports. The 

information collection is necessary to 

evaluate the application and other 

required paperwork for determining the 

producer’s eligibilities and assist in 

producer’s payment calculations. 

For the following estimated total 

annual burden on respondents, the 

formula used to calculate the total 

burden hour is the estimated average 

time per response multiplied by the 

estimated total annual responses. 

Public reporting burden for this 

information collection is estimated to 

include the time for reviewing 

instructions, searching existing data 

sources, gathering and maintaining the 

data needed and completing and 

reviewing the collections of 

information. 

Type of Respondents: Producers or 

farmers. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents: 784,439. 

Estimated Number of Reponses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 

784,439. 

Estimated Average Time per 

Response: 0.6983 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 863,297. 

FSA is requesting comments on all 

aspects of this information collection to 

help us to: 

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

FSA, including whether the information 

will have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the FSA’s 

estimate of burden including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; 

(4) 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. 

All comments received in response to 

this notice, including names and 

addresses when provided, will be a 

matter of public record. Comments will 

be summarized and included in the 

submission for Office of Management 

and Budget approval. 

Environmental Review 

The environmental impacts for MFP 

have been considered in a manner 

consistent with the provisions of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), the 

regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 

1500–1508), and the FSA regulation for 

compliance with NEPA (7 CFR part 

799). 

As stated in the MFP final rule, the 

implementation of MFP and the 

participation in MFP do not constitute 

major Federal actions that would 

significantly affect the quality of the 

human environment, individually or 

cumulatively. The final rule served as 

documentation of the programmatic 

environmental compliance decision for 

this federal program; therefore, CCC will 

not prepare additional environmental 

compliance documentation for this 

NOFA. 

Federal Assistance Programs 

The title and number of the Federal 

assistance programs, as found in the 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, 

to which this NOFA applies is: 

10.123 Market Facilitation Program. 

Richard Fordyce, 

Administrator, Farm Service Agency. 

Robert Stephenson, 

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18819 Filed 8–28–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food and Nutrition Service 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request—Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance Program— 

Disaster Supplemental Nutrition 

Assistance Program (D–SNAP) 

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice invites the general public and 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES1