Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2012 / Notices 23451 

[FR Doc. 2012–9400 Filed 4–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–10–C 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation 

Funding Opportunity Title; Risk 

Management Education and Outreach 

Partnerships Program 

Announcement Type: Announcement 

of Availability of Funds and Request for 

Application for Competitive 

Cooperative Partnership Agreements. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Number (CFDAs): 10.459. 

DATES: All applications, which must be 

submitted electronically through 

Grants.gov, must be received by close of 

business (COB) at 11:59 p.m. EST, on 

June 4, 2012. Hard copy applications 

will NOT be accepted. 

SUMMARY: The following paragraph has 

been added to the beginning of the 

Summary portion of Federal Register 

Notice 77 FR 21067, April 9, 2012: 

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) 

is changing the Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number 

from 10.460 to 10.459. The CFDA 

number is needed in order to process an 

application through Grants.gov. The 

original CFDA number 10.460 published 

in the Federal Register on April 9, 2012, 

is not valid. If you tried to process your 

application using 10.460, please login to 

Grants.gov and use CFDA Number 

10.459. 

All other portions and sections of the 

full text Notice remain unchanged. 

The Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation (FCIC), operating through 

the Risk Management Agency (RMA), 

announces its intent to award 

approximately $3,000,000 (subject to 

availability of funds) to fund the Risk 

Management Education and Outreach 

Partnerships Program. 

Purpose: The purpose of this 

competitive cooperative partnership 

agreement program is to deliver crop 

insurance education and risk 

management training to U.S. 

agricultural producers to assist them in 

identifying and managing production, 

marketing, legal, financial and human 

risk. The program gives priority to: (1) 

Educating producers of crops currently 

not insured under Federal crop 

insurance, specialty crops, and 

underserved commodities, including 


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livestock and forage; and (2) providing 

collaborative outreach and assistance 

programs for limited resource, socially 

disadvantaged and other traditionally 

under-served farmers and ranchers. 

Education activities developed under 

the Risk Management Education and 

Outreach Partnerships Program shall 

provide U.S. farmers and ranchers with 

training and information opportunities 

to be able to understand: 

1. The kinds of risks addressed by 

existing and emerging risk management 

tools; 

2. The features and appropriate use of 

existing and emerging risk management 

tools; and 

3. How to make sound risk 

management decisions. 

The minimum award for any 

cooperative partnership agreement is 

$20,000. The maximum award for any 

cooperative partnership agreement is 

$99,999. The cooperative partnership 

agreements will be awarded on a 

competitive basis up to one year from 

the date of the award. Awardees must 

demonstrate non-financial benefits from 

a cooperative partnership agreement 

and must agree to the substantial 

involvement of RMA in the project. 

Funding availability for this program 

may be announced at approximately the 

same time as funding availability for 

similar but separate programs—CFDA 

No. 10.458 (Crop Insurance Education 

in Targeted States). Prospective 

applicants should carefully examine 

and compare the notices of each 

announcement. 

The collections of information in this 

Announcement have been approved by 

OMB under control numbers 0563–0066 

and 0563–0067. 

This Announcement Consists of Eight 

Sections 

Section I—Funding Opportunity Description 

A. Legislative Authority 

B. Background 

C. Definition of Priority Commodities 

D. Project Goal 

Section II—Award Information 

A. Type of Application 

B. Funding Availability 

C. Location and Target Audience 

D. Minimum and Maximum Award 

E. Project Period 

F. Description of Agreement Award— 

Awardee Tasks 

G. RMA Activities 

H. Other Tasks 

Section III—Eligibility Information 

A. Eligible Applicants 

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Funding 

C. Other—Non-Financial Benefits 

Section IV—Application and Submission 

Information 

A. Electronic Application Package 

B. Content and Form of Application 

Submission 

C. Funding Restrictions 

D. Limitation on Use of Project Funds for 

Salaries and Benefits 

E. Indirect Cost Rates 

F. Other Submission Requirements 

G. Acknowledgement of Applications 

Section V—Application Review Information 

A. Criteria 

B. Review and Selection Process 

Section VI—Award Administration 

Information 

A. Award Notices 

B. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements 

1. Requirement To Use USDA Logo 

2. Requirement To Provide Project 

Information to an RMA-selected 

Representative 

3. Access to Panel Review Information 

4. Confidential Aspects of Applications 

and Awards 

5. Audit Requirements 

6. Prohibitions and Requirements 

Regarding Lobbying 

7. Applicable OMB Circulars 

8. Requirement To Assure Compliance 

with Federal Civil Rights Laws 

9. Requirement To Participate in a Post 

Award Teleconference 

10. Requirement To Participate in a Post 

Award Civil Rights Training 

Teleconference 

11. Requirement To Submit Educational 

Materials to the National AgRisk 

Education Library 

12. Requirement To Submit a Project Plan 

of Operation in the Event of a Human 

Pandemic Outbreak 

C. Reporting Requirements 

Section VII—Agency Contact 

Section VIII—Additional Information 

A. The Restriction of the Expenditure of 

Funds To Enter Into Financial 

Transactions 

B. Required Registration With the Central 

Contract Registry (CCR) for Submission 

of Proposals 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

A. Legislative Authority 

The Risk Management Education and 

Outreach Partnership Program is 

authorized under section 522(d)(3)(F) of 

the Federal Crop Insurance Act (Act) (7 

U.S.C. 1522(d)(3)(F)). 

B. Background 

RMA promotes and regulates sound 

risk management solutions to improve 

the economic stability of American 

agriculture. On behalf of FCIC, RMA 

does this by offering Federal crop 

insurance products through a network 

of private-sector partners, overseeing the 

creation of new risk management 

products, seeking enhancements in 

existing products, ensuring the integrity 

of crop insurance programs, offering 

programs aimed at equal access and 

participation of underserved 

communities, and providing risk 

management education and information. 

One of RMA’s strategic goals is to 

ensure that its customers are well 

informed as to the risk management 

solutions available. This educational 

goal is supported by section 522(d)(3)(F) 

of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

(FCIA) (7 U.S.C. 1522(d)(3)(F), which 

authorizes FCIC funding for risk 

management training and informational 

efforts for agricultural producers 

through the formation of partnerships 

with public and private organizations. 

With respect to such partnerships, 

priority is to be given to reaching 

producers of Priority Commodities, as 

defined below. A project is considered 

as giving priority to Priority 

Commodities if 75 percent of the 

educational and training activities of the 

project are directed to producers of any 

one of the three classes of commodities 

listed in the definition of Priority 

Commodities or any combination of the 

three classes. 

C. Definition of Priority Commodities 

For purposes of this program, Priority 

Commodities are defined as: 

1. Agricultural commodities covered 

by (7 U.S.C. 7333). Commodities in this 

group are commercial crops that are not 

covered by catastrophic risk protection 

crop insurance, are used for food or 

fiber (except livestock), and specifically 

include, but are not limited to, 

floricultural, ornamental nursery, 

Christmas trees, turf grass sod, 

aquaculture (including ornamental fish), 

and industrial crops. 

2. Specialty crops. Commodities in 

this group may or may not be covered 

under a Federal crop insurance plan and 

include, but are not limited to, fruits, 

vegetables, tree nuts, syrups, honey, 

roots, herbs, and highly specialized 

varieties of traditional crops. 

3. Underserved commodities. This 

group includes: (a) Commodities, 

including livestock and forage, that are 

covered by a Federal crop insurance 

plan but for which participation in an 

area is below the national average; and 

(b) commodities, including livestock 

and forage, with inadequate crop 

insurance coverage. 

D. Project Goal 

The goal of this program is to ensure 

that ‘‘* * * producers will be better 

able to use financial management, crop 

insurance, marketing contracts, and 

other existing and emerging risk 

management tools.’’ 

For the 2012 fiscal year, the FCIC 

Board of Directors and the FCIC 

Manager are seeking projects that 

address one or more of the Priority 

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Commodities. In addition, the 

application must clearly designate that 

education or training shall be provided 

on at least one (1) of the Special 

Emphasis Topics listed below. 

Applications that do not include at least 

one (1) Special Emphasis Topic will not 

be considered for funding. 

Special Emphasis Topics: 

Production: AGR and AGR-Lite; 

Livestock Gross Margin Dairy; Pasture, 

Rangeland, Forage Rainfall and/or 

Vegetative Index; Common Crop 

Insurance Policy Basic Provisions 

(‘‘COMBO’’); Enterprise Units; Specialty 

Crops; Prevented Planting; or Other 

Existing Crop Insurance Programs; 

Irrigation; Erosion Control Measures; 

Good Farming Practices; Wildfire 

Management; Forest Management; and 

Range Management or other similar 

topics. 

Legal: Legal and Succession Planning 

or other similar topics; 

Marketing: Marketing Strategies; Farm 

Products Branding; Farmers Markets or 

other similar topics; 

Financial: Financial Tools and 

Planning; Farm Management Strategies; 

Farm Financial Benchmarking or other 

similar topics; or 

Human: Farm Labor; Farm Safety; 

Food Safety, Risk Management 

Education to Students; or other similar 

topics. 

In addition, the application must 

clearly demonstrate that the education 

or training shall be provided to at least 

one (1) of the Producer Types listed 

below. Applications that do not include 

at least one (1) of the Producer Types 

will not be considered for funding. 

Producer Types: 

Producers and Ranchers; 

New and Beginning Farmers; 

Women Producers and Ranchers; 

Hispanic Producers and Ranchers; 

African American Producers and 

Ranchers; 

Native American Producers and 

Ranchers; 

Limited Resource Producers and 

Ranchers; 

Asian American and Pacific Islander 

Producers and Ranchers; 

Transitional Farmers and Ranchers; 

Senior Farmers and Ranchers; 

Small Acreage Producers; 

Specialty Crop Producers; or 

Military Veteran Producers and 

Ranchers. 

II. Award Information 

A. Type of Application 

Only electronic applications will be 

accepted and they must be submitted 

through Grants.gov. Hard copy 

applications will NOT be accepted. 

Applications submitted to the Risk 

Management Education and Outreach 

Partnerships Program are new 

applications: There are no renewals. All 

applications will be reviewed 

competitively using the selection 

process and evaluation criteria 

described in Section V—Application 

Review Process. Each award will be 

designated as a Cooperative Partnership 

Agreement, which will require 

substantial involvement by RMA. 

B. Funding Availability 

There is no commitment by USDA to 

fund any particular application. 

Approximately $3,000,000 is expected 

to be available in fiscal year 2012 but it 

is possible that this amount may be 

reduced or not funded. In the event that 

all funds available for this program are 

not obligated after the maximum 

number of agreements are awarded or if 

additional funds become available, 

these funds may, at the discretion of the 

Manager of FCIC, be used to award 

additional applications that score highly 

by the technical review panel or 

allocated pro-rata to awardees for use in 

broadening the size or scope of awarded 

projects, if agreed to by the awardee. In 

the event that the Manager of FCIC 

determines that available RMA 

resources cannot support the 

administrative and substantial 

involvement requirements of all 

agreements recommended for funding, 

the Manager may elect to fund fewer 

agreements than the available funding 

might otherwise allow. All awards will 

be made and agreements finalized no 

later than September 30, 2012. 

C. Location and Target Audience 

RMA Regional Offices and the States 

serviced within each RMA Region are 

listed below. Staff from the respective 

RMA Regional Offices will provide 

substantial involvement for projects 

conducted within the Region. 

Billings, Montana Regional Office: (MT, 

ND, SD, and WY). Davis, California Regional 

Office: (AZ, CA, HI, NV, and UT). Jackson, 

Mississippi Regional Office: (AR, KY, LA, 

MS, and TN). Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 

Regional Office: (NM, OK, and TX). Raleigh, 

North Carolina Regional Office: (CT, DE, ME, 

MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, PA, RI, VT, VA, 

and WV). 

Spokane, Washington Regional Office: (AK, 

ID, OR, and WA). Springfield, Illinois 

Regional Office: (IL, IN, MI, and OH). St. 

Paul, Minnesota Regional Office: (IA, MN, 

and WI). Topeka, Kansas Regional Office: 

(CO, KS, MO, and NE). Valdosta, Georgia 

Regional Office: (AL, FL, GA, PR, and SC). 

Each application must clearly 

designate the RMA Region where 

educational activities will be conducted 

in the application narrative in block 12 

of the SF–424 form. Applications 

without this designation will be 

rejected. Applications may designate 

more than one state but cannot 

designate more than one RMA Region. 

Applications with proposed activities in 

more than one state all serviced by the 

same RMA Region are acceptable. Single 

applications proposing to conduct 

educational activities in states served by 

more than one RMA Region will be 

rejected. Applications serving Tribal 

Nations will be accepted and managed 

from the RMA Regional office serving 

the designated Tribal Office. 

D. Minimum and Maximum Award 

Any application that requests Federal 

funding of less than $20,000 or more 

than $99,999 for a project will be 

rejected. RMA also reserves the right to 

fund successful applications at an 

amount less than requested if it is 

judged that the application can be 

implemented at a lower funding level. 

E. Project Period 

Projects will be funded for a period of 

up to one year from the project starting 

date. 

F. Description of Agreement Award— 

Awardee Tasks 

In conducting activities to achieve the 

purpose and goal of this program in a 

designated RMA Region, the awardee 

shall be responsible for performing the 

following tasks: 

1. Develop and conduct a promotional 

program in English or a non-English 

language to producers as appropriate to 

the audience. This program shall 

include activities using media, 

newsletters, publications, or other 

appropriate informational dissemination 

techniques that are designed to: (a) 

Raise awareness for crop insurance and 

risk management; (b) inform producers 

of the availability of crop insurance and 

risk management tools; and (c) inform 

producers and agribusiness leaders in 

the designated RMA Region of training 

and informational opportunities. 

2. Deliver crop insurance and risk 

management training in English or nonEnglish language as appropriate to the 

audience as well as informational 

opportunities to agricultural producers 

and agribusiness professionals in the 

designated RMA Region. This will 

include organizing and delivering 

educational activities using the 

instructional materials assembled by the 

awardee to meet the local needs of 

agricultural producers. Activities should 

be directed primarily to agricultural 

producers, but may include those 

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23454 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2012 / Notices 

agribusiness professionals that have 

frequent opportunities to advise 

producers on risk management tools and 

decisions. 

3. Document all educational activities 

conducted under the cooperative 

partnership agreement and the results of 

such activities, including criteria and 

indicators used to evaluate the success 

of the program. The awardee shall also 

be required to provide information to 

RMA as requested for evaluation 

purposes. 

G. RMA Activities 

FCIC, working through RMA, will be 

substantially involved during the 

performance of the funded project 

through RMA’s ten (10) Regional 

Offices. Potential types of substantial 

involvement may include, but are not 

limited to, the following activities. 

1. Collaborate with the awardee in 

assembling, reviewing, and approving 

crop insurance and risk management 

materials for producers in the 

designated RMA Region. 

2. Collaborate with the awardee in 

reviewing and approving a promotional 

program for raising awareness for crop 

insurance and risk management and for 

informing producers of training and 

informational opportunities in the RMA 

Region. 

3. Collaborate with the awardee on 

the delivery of education to producers 

and agribusiness leaders in the RMA 

Region. This will include: (a) Reviewing 

and approving in advance all producer 

and agribusiness leader educational 

activities; (b) advising the project leader 

on technical issues related to crop 

insurance education and information; 

and (c) assisting the project leader in 

informing crop insurance professionals 

about educational activity plans and 

scheduled meetings. 

4. Conduct an evaluation of the 

performance of the awardee in meeting 

the tasks and subtasks of the project. 

Applications that do not address 

substantial involvement by RMA will be 

rejected. 

H. Other Tasks 

In addition to the specific, required 

tasks listed above, the applicant may 

propose additional tasks that would 

contribute directly to the purpose of this 

program. For any proposed additional 

task, the applicant must identify the 

objective of the task, the specific 

subtasks required to meet the objective, 

specific time lines for performing the 

subtasks, and the specific 

responsibilities of the applicant and any 

entities working with the applicant in 

the development or delivery of the 

project. The applicant must also identify 

specific ways in which RMA would 

have substantial involvement in the 

proposed project task. 

III. Eligibility Information 

A. Eligible Applicants 

Eligible applicants include: State 

Departments of Agriculture, State 

Cooperative Extension Services; 

Federal, State, or tribal agencies; groups 

representing producers, community 

based organizations or a coalition of 

community-based organization that has 

demonstrated experience in providing 

agricultural or other agricultural-related 

services to producers; nongovernmental 

organizations; junior and four-year 

colleges or universities or foundations 

maintained by a college or university; 

private for-profit organizations; faithbased organizations and other 

appropriate partners with the capacity 

to lead a local program of crop 

insurance and risk management 

education for producers in an RMA 

Region. 

1. Individuals are not eligible 

applicants. 

2. Although an applicant may be 

eligible to compete for an award based 

on its status as an eligible entity, other 

factors may exclude an applicant from 

receiving Federal assistance under this 

program governed by Federal law and 

regulations (e.g. debarment and 

suspension; a determination of nonperformance on a prior contract, 

cooperative partnership agreement, or 

grant; or a determination of a violation 

of applicable ethical standards.) 

Applications in which the applicant or 

any of the partners are ineligible or 

excluded persons will be rejected in 

their entirety. 

3. Private organizations that are 

involved in the sale of Federal crop 

insurance, or that have financial ties to 

such organizations, are eligible to apply 

for funding under this Announcement. 

However, such entities and their 

partners, affiliates, and collaborators for 

this Announcement will not receive 

funding to conduct activities that are 

already required under a Standard 

Reinsurance Agreement or any other 

agreement in effect between FCIC/RMA 

and the entity, or between FCIC/RMA 

and any of the partners, affiliates, or 

collaborators for awards under this 

Announcement. In addition, such 

entities and their partners, affiliates, and 

collaborators for this Announcement 

will not be allowed to receive funding 

to conduct activities that could be 

perceived by producers as promoting 

the services or products of one company 

over the services or products of another 

company that provides the same or 

similar services or products. If applying 

for funding, such organizations must be 

aware of potential conflicts of interest 

and must describe in their application 

the specific actions they shall take to 

avoid actual and perceived conflicts of 

interest. 

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Funding 

Although RMA prefers cost sharing by 

the applicant, this program has neither 

a cost sharing nor a matching 

requirement. 

C. Other—Non-Financial Benefits 

To be eligible, applicants must also be 

able to demonstrate that they will 

receive a non-financial benefit as a 

result of a cooperative partnership 

agreement. Non-financial benefits must 

accrue to the applicant and must 

include more than the ability to provide 

employment income to the applicant or 

for the applicant’s employees or the 

community. The applicant must 

demonstrate that performance under the 

cooperative partnership agreement shall 

further the specific mission of the 

applicant (such as providing research or 

activities necessary for graduate or other 

students to complete their educational 

program). Applications that do not 

demonstrate a non-financial benefit will 

be rejected. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

A. Electronic Application Package 

Only electronic applications will be 

accepted and they must be submitted 

via Grants.gov to the Risk Management 

Agency in response to this 

Announcement. Prior to preparing an 

application, it is suggested that the 

Project Director (PD) first contact an 

Authorized Representative (AR) (also 

referred to as Authorized Organizational 

Representative or AOR) to determine if 

the organization is prepared to submit 

electronic applications through 

Grants.gov. If the organization is not 

prepared, the AR should see, http:// 

www.grants.gov/applicants/ 

get_registered.jsp, for steps for preparing 

to submit applications through 

Grants.gov. 

Grants.gov assistance is available as 

follows: 

• Grants.gov customer support Toll 

Free: 1–800–518–4726 

Business Hours: 24 Hours a day 

Email: support@grants.gov 

B. Content and Form of Application 

Submission 

The title of the application must 

include the (1) RMA Region, (2) the 

State or States within the RMA Region 

where the educational activities will be 

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conducted, (3) the Special Emphasis 

Topic(s); and (4) the Producer Type 2 

(For example only: Billings RO, 

Montana, Crop Insurance for Military 

Veterans). 

A complete and valid application 

must include the following: 

1. A completed OMB Standard Form 

424, ‘‘Application for Federal 

Assistance.’’ 

2. A completed OMB Standard Form 

424–A, ‘‘Budget Information—Nonconstruction Programs.’’ Federal 

funding requested (the total of direct 

and indirect costs) must not exceed 

$99,999. 

3. A completed OMB Standard Form 

424–B, ‘‘Assurances, Non-constructive 

Programs.’’ 

4. An Executive Summary (One page) 

of the Project. 

5. A Proposal Narrative (Not to 

Exceed 15 single-sided pages in 

Microsoft Word), which shall also 

include a Statement of Work. The 

Statement of Work (SOW) must include 

each task and subtask associated with 

the work, the objective of each task and 

subtask, specific time lines for 

performing the tasks and subtasks, and 

the responsible party for completing the 

activities listed under each task and 

subtask including the specific 

responsibilities of partners and/or RMA. 

The SOW must be very clear on who 

does what, where, and when, as well as, 

the objective for each task and subtask. 

Letters of support for the applicant 

should be an appendix to the 

application and should not be included 

as part of the Proposal Narrative. 

6. Budget Narrative (in Microsoft 

Excel) describing how the categorical 

costs listed on the SF 424–A are 

derived. The budget narrative must 

provide enough detail for reviewers to 

easily understand how costs were 

determined and how they relate to the 

goals and objectives of the project. 

7. Partnering Plan that includes how 

each partner of the applicant (who will 

be working on this project) shall aid in 

carrying out the specific tasks and 

subtasks. The Partnering Plan must also 

include ‘‘Letters of Commitment’’ from 

each partner who shall do the specific 

task or subtask as identified in the SOW. 

The Letters must (1) be dated within 45 

days of the submission and (2) list the 

specific tasks or subtasks the committed 

partner has agreed to do with the 

applicant on this project. 

8. Project Plan of Operation in the 

Event of a Human Pandemic Outbreak 

(Pandemic Plan). RMA requires that 

project leaders submit a project plan of 

operation in case of a human pandemic 

event. The plan must address the 

concept of continuing operations as they 

relate to the project. This plan must 

include the roles, responsibilities, and 

contact information for the project team 

and individuals serving as back-ups in 

case of a pandemic outbreak. 

9. Current and Pending Report. The 

application package from Grants.gov 

contains a document called the Current 

and Pending Report. On the Current and 

Pending Report you must state for this 

fiscal year if this application is a 

duplicate application or overlaps 

substantially with another application 

already submitted to or funded by 

another USDA Agency, including RMA, 

or other private organization. The 

percentage of each person’s time 

associated with the work to be done 

under this project must be identified in 

the application. The total percentage of 

time for both ‘‘Current’’ and ‘‘Pending’’ 

projects must not exceed 100% of each 

person’s time. Applicants must list all 

current public or private employment 

arrangements or financial support 

associated with the project or any of the 

personnel that are part of the project, 

regardless of whether such 

arrangements or funding constitute part 

of the project under this Announcement 

(supporting agency, amount of award, 

effective date, expiration date, 

expiration date of award, etc.). If the 

applicant has no projects to list, ‘‘N/A’’ 

should be shown on the form. An 

application submitted under this RFA 

that duplicates or overlaps substantially 

with any application already reviewed 

and funded (or to be funded) by any 

other organization or agency, including 

but not limited to other RMA, USDA, 

and Federal government programs, will 

not be funded under this program. RMA 

reserves the right to reject your 

application based on the review of this 

information. 

10. A completed and signed OMB 

Standard Form LLL, Disclosure of 

Lobbying Activities. 

11. A completed and signed AD–1049, 

Certification Regarding Drug-Free 

Workplace. Applications that do not 

include the items listed above will be 

considered incomplete, will not receive 

further consideration, and will be 

rejected. 

C. Funding Restrictions 

Cooperative partnership agreement 

funds may not be used to: 

a. Plan, repair, rehabilitate, acquire, or 

construct a building or facility including 

a processing facility; 

b. Uurchase, rent, or install fixed 

equipment; 

c. Purchase portable equipment (such 

as laptops, projectors, etc.) 

d. Repair or maintain privately owned 

vehicles; 

e. Pay for the preparation of the 

cooperative agreement application; 

f. Fund political activities; 

g. Purchase alcohol, food, beverage, 

give-away promotional items, or 

entertainment; 

h. Lend money to support farming or 

agricultural business operation or 

expansion; 

i. Pay costs incurred prior to receiving 

a cooperative agreement; 

j. Provide scholarships to meetings, 

seminars or similar events; 

k. Pay entrance fees or other expenses 

to conferences or similar activities; 

l. Pay costs associated 501(c) 

applications; 

m. Purchase electronic devices (such 

as I-pads, cell phones, computers or 

similar items) for consultants or Board 

Members; or 

n. Fund any activities prohibited in 7 

CFR Parts 3015 and 3019, as applicable. 

D. Limitation on Use of Project Funds 

for Salaries and Benefits 

Total costs for salary and benefits 

allowed for projects under this 

Announcement will be limited to not 

more than 70 percent reimbursement of 

the funds awarded under the 

cooperative partnership agreement. The 

reasonableness of the total costs for 

salary and benefits allowed for projects 

under this Announcement will be 

reviewed and considered by RMA as 

part of the application review process. 

Applications for which RMA does not 

consider the salary and benefits 

reasonable for the proposed application 

will be rejected, or will only be offered 

a cooperative agreement upon the 

condition of changing the salary and 

benefits structure to one deemed 

appropriate by RMA for that. The goal 

of the Risk Management Education and 

Outreach Partnerships Program is to 

maximize the use of the limited funding 

available for crop insurance risk 

management education for producers of 

Priority Commodities and Special 

Emphasis Topics. 

E. Indirect Cost Rates 

1. Indirect costs allowed for projects 

submitted under this Announcement 

will be limited to ten (10) percent of the 

total direct cost of the cooperative 

partnership agreement. Therefore, when 

preparing budgets, applicants should 

limit their requests for recovery of 

indirect costs to the lesser of their 

institution’s official negotiated indirect 

cost rate or 10 percent of the total direct 

costs. 

2. RMA reserves the right to negotiate 

final budgets with successful applicants. 

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23456 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2012 / Notices 

F. Other Submission Requirements 

Applicants are entirely responsible for 

ensuring that RMA receives a complete 

application package by the closing date 

and time. RMA strongly encourages 

applicants to submit applications well 

before the deadline to allow time for 

correction of technical errors identified 

by Grants.gov. Application packages 

submitted after the deadline will be 

rejected. 

G. Acknowledgement of Applications 

Receipt of applications may be 

acknowledged by email, whenever 

possible; however it is the responsibility 

of the applicant to check Grants.gov for 

successful submission. Therefore, 

applicants are encouraged to provide 

email addresses in their applications. 

There will be no notification of 

incomplete, unqualified or unfunded 

applications until the award decisions 

have been made. When received by 

RMA, applications will be assigned an 

identification number. This number will 

be communicated to applicants in the 

acknowledgement of receipt of 

applications. An application’s 

identification number must be 

referenced in all correspondence 

submitted by any party regarding the 

application. If the applicant does not 

receive an acknowledgement of 

application receipt by 15 days following 

the submission deadline, the applicant 

must notify RMA’s point of contact 

indicated in Section VII, Agency 

Contact. 

V. Application Review Information 

A. Criteria 

Applications submitted under the 

Risk Management Education and 

Outreach Partnerships Program will be 

evaluated within each RMA Region 

according to the following criteria: 

Project Impacts—Maximum 20 Points 

Available 

Each application must demonstrate 

that the project benefits to producers 

warrant the funding requested. 

Applications will be scored according to 

the extent they can: (a) Identify the 

specific actions producers will likely be 

able to take as a result of the educational 

activities described in the Proposal 

Narrative’s Statement of Work (SOW); 

(b) identify the specific measures for 

evaluating results that will be employed 

in the project; (c) reasonably estimate 

the total number of producers that will 

be reached through the various methods 

and educational activities described in 

the Statement of Work; (d) identify the 

number of meetings that will be held; (e) 

provide an estimate of the number of 

training hours that will be held; (f) 

provide an estimated cost per producer, 

and (e) justify such estimates with 

specific information. Estimates for 

reaching agribusiness professionals may 

also be provided but such estimates 

must be provided separately from the 

estimates of producers. Reviewers’ 

scoring will be based on the scope and 

reasonableness of the application’s clear 

descriptions of specific expected actions 

producers will accomplish, and welldesigned methods for measuring the 

project’s results and effectiveness. 

Applications using direct contact 

methods with producers will be scored 

higher. 

Applications must identify the type 

and number of producer actions 

expected as a result of the projects, and 

how results will be measured, in the 

following categories: 

• Understanding risk management 

tools; 

• Evaluating the feasibility of 

implementing various risk management 

options; 

• Developing risk management plans 

and strategies; 

• Deciding on and implementing a 

specific course of action (e.g., 

participation in crop insurance 

programs or implementation of other 

risk management actions). 

Statement of Work (SOW)—Maximum 

20 Points Available 

Each application must include a clear 

and specific Statement of Work for the 

project as part of the Proposal Narrative. 

For each of the tasks contained in the 

Description of Agreement Award (see 

Section II, Award Information), the 

application must identify and describe 

specific subtasks, responsible entities 

including partners, expected completion 

dates, RMA substantial involvement, 

and deliverables that shall further the 

purpose of this program. Applications 

will obtain a higher score to the extent 

that the Statement of Work is specific, 

measurable and reasonable, has specific 

deadlines for the completion of tasks 

and subtasks, and relates directly to the 

required activities and the program 

purpose described in this 

Announcement. 

Partnering—Maximum 20 Points 

Available 

Each application must demonstrate 

experience and capacity to partner with 

and gain the support of producer 

organizations, agribusiness 

professionals, subject matter experts, 

and agricultural leaders to carry out a 

local program of education and 

information in a designated State. Each 

application must establish a written 

Partnering Plan that describes how each 

partner shall aid in carrying out the 

project goal and purpose stated in this 

announcement and should include 

letters of commitment dated no more 

than 45 days prior to submission of the 

relevant application stating that the 

partner has agreed to do this work. Each 

application must ensure this Plan 

includes a list of all partners working on 

the project, their titles, and how they 

will be contribute to the deliverables 

listed in the application. The Partnering 

Plan will not count towards the 

maximum length of the application 

narrative. Applications will receive 

higher scores to the extent that the 

application demonstrates: (a) That 

partnership commitments are in place 

for the express purpose of delivering the 

program in this announcement; (b) that 

a broad group of producers will be 

reached within the State; (c) that 

partners are contributing to the project 

and involved in recruiting producers to 

attend the training; (d) that a substantial 

effort has been made to partner with 

organizations that can meet the needs of 

producers in the designated State; and 

(e) statements from each partner 

regarding the number of producers that 

partner is committed to recruit for the 

project that would support the estimates 

specified under the Project Impacts 

criterion. 

Project Management—Maximum 20 

Points Available 

Each application must demonstrate an 

ability to implement sound and effective 

project management practices. Higher 

scores in this category will be awarded 

to applications that demonstrate 

organizational skills, leadership, and 

experience in delivering services or 

programs that assist agricultural 

producers in the designated State. Each 

application must demonstrate that the 

Project Director has the capability to 

accomplish the project goal and purpose 

stated in this announcement by (a) 

having a previous or existing working 

relationship with the agricultural 

community in the designated State of 

the application, including being able to 

recruit approximately the number of 

producers to be reached in the 

application and/or (b) having 

established the capacity to partner with 

and gain the support of producer 

organizations, agribusiness 

professionals, and agribusiness leaders 

locally to aid in carrying out a program 

of education and information, including 

being able to recruit approximately the 

number of producers to be reached in 

this application. Applications must 

designate an alternate individual to 

assume responsibility as Project Director 

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in the event the original Project Director 

is unable to finish the project. 

Applications that will employ, or have 

access to, personnel who have 

experience in directing local 

educational programs that benefit 

agricultural producers in the respective 

State will receive higher rankings in this 

category. 

Budget Appropriateness and 

Efficiency—Maximum 20 Points 

Available 

Applications must provide a detailed 

budget summary, both in narrative and 

in Microsoft Excel, that clearly explains 

and justifies costs associated with the 

project’s tasks and subtasks. 

Applications will receive higher scores 

in this category to the extent that they 

can demonstrate a fair and reasonable 

use of funds appropriate for the project 

and a budget that contains the estimated 

cost of reaching each individual 

producer. 

Bonus Points for Minority Partnering— 

Maximum 20 Bonus Points Available 

RMA is focused on adding diversity to 

this program. RMA may add up to an 

additional 20 points to the final paneled 

score of any submission demonstrating 

a partnership with another producer 

group or community based group that 

represent minority producers. The 

application must state in the Partnering 

Plan that a Minority Partnership is in 

place as validated by a current Letter of 

Commitment that identifies the 

producer group or community based 

group partner that will represent 

minority producers. 

‘‘Minority’’ producers are defined as: 

• African American producers 

• Asian American, Pacific Islander 

producers 

• Hispanic producers 

• Native American producers 

Bonus Points for StrikeForce 

Partnering—Maximum Bonus 20 Points 

Available 

RMA is focused on providing crop 

insurance education and other risk 

management training and outreach to 

the States and counties identified in the 

USDA StrikeForce initiative 

(www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/ 

usda_strike_force.pdf). 

RMA may add up to an additional 20 

points to the final paneled score of any 

submission demonstrating that the 

activities describe in the proposal will 

be directed to the producers in the 

StrikeForce areas. The application must 

state in the Partnering Plan that a 

StrikeForce Partnership is in place as 

validated by a current Letter of 

Commitment that identifies the 

producer group or community based 

group that represent producers farming 

in the areas identified in the StrikeForce 

areas noted below: 

Arkansas 

StrikeForce Counties: Arkansas, Bradley, 

Chicot, Clark, Columbia, Dallas, Desha, Drew, 

Hempstead, Howard, Jackson, Lafayette, 

Lawrence, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Nevada, 

Newton, Ouachita, Phillips, Randolph, 

Searcy, Sevier, St. Francis, and Woodruff 

Colorado 

StrikeForce Counties: Adams, Alamosa, 

Arapahoe, Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Costilla, 

Conejos, Crowley, Denver, Elbert, El Paso, 

Huerfano, Jefferson, Kiowa, Lake, Las 

Animas, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, 

Montezuma, Otero, Pueblo, Prowers, Rio 

Grande, San Juan, Saquache, Sedgwick, and 

Weld 

Georgia 

StrikeForce Counties: Appling, Atkinson, 

Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bulloch, 

Calhoun, Candler, Charlton, Clay, Clinch, 

Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, 

Dooley, Early, Emanuel, Evans, Grady, 

Hancock, Irwin, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, 

Laurens, Macon, Miller, Mitchell, 

Montgomery, Peach, Pulaski, Quitman, 

Randolph, Screven, Seminole, Stewart, 

Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Taylor, 

Telfair, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, 

Treutlen, Turner, Ware, Warren, Washington, 

Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox, and 

Wilkes 

Mississippi 

StrikeForce Counties: Adams, Amite, 

Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Chickasaw, 

Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Clay, Coahoma, 

Covington, Franklin, Greene, Grenada, 

Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jasper, 

Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, 

Lafayette, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, 

Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Marion, Monroe, 

Montgomery, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, 

Pike, Quitman, Scott, Sharkey, Sunflower, 

Tallahatchie, Walthall, Warren, Washington, 

Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson, Winston, 

Yalobusha, and Yazoo 

Nevada 

StrikeForce Counties: Carson City, Clark, 

Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, 

Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, 

Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe, and White 

Pine 

New Mexico 

StrikeForce Counties: Lincoln, Rio Arriba, 

San Juan, San Miguel, Santa Fe and Taos 

B. Review and Selection Process 

Applications will be evaluated using 

a two-part process. First, each 

application will be screened by USDA 

and RMA personnel to ensure that it 

meets the requirements in this 

Announcement. Applications that do 

not meet the requirements of this 

Announcement or that are incomplete 

will not receive further consideration 

during the next process. Applications 

that meet Announcement requirements 

will be sorted into the RMA Region in 

which the applicant proposes to 

conduct the project and will be 

presented to a review panel for 

consideration. Second, the review panel 

will meet to consider and discuss the 

merits of each application. The panel 

will consist of not less than three 

independent reviewers. Reviewers will 

be drawn from USDA, other Federal 

agencies, and public and private 

organizations, as needed. After 

considering the merits of all 

applications within an RMA Region, 

panel members will score each 

application according to the criteria and 

point values listed above. The panel 

will then rank each application against 

others within the RMA Region 

according to the scores received. The 

review panel will report the results of 

the evaluation to the Manager of FCIC. 

The panel’s report will include the 

recommended applicants to receive 

cooperative partnership agreements for 

each RMA Region. Funding will not be 

provided for an application receiving a 

score less than 60. Funding will not be 

provided for an application that is 

‘‘highly similar’’ to a higher-scoring 

application in the same RMA Region. 

‘‘Highly similar’’ is defined as one that 

proposes to reach the same producers, 

farmers and ranchers who are likely to 

be reached by another applicant that 

scored higher by the panel and provides 

the same general educational material. 

An organization, or group of 

organizations in partnership, may apply 

for funding under other FCIC or RMA 

programs, in addition to the program 

described in this Announcement. 

However, if the Manager of FCIC 

determines that an application 

recommended for funding is sufficiently 

similar to a project that has been funded 

or has been recommended to be funded 

under another RMA or FCIC program, 

then the Manager may elect not to fund 

that application in whole or in part. The 

Manager of FCIC will make the final 

determination on those applications that 

will be awarded funding. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

A. Award Notices 

The award document will provide 

pertinent instructions and information 

including, at a minimum, the following: 

(1) Legal name and address of 

performing organization or institution to 

which the Manager of FCIC has issued 

an award under the terms of this request 

for applications; 

(2) Title of project; 

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(3) Name(s) and employing 

institution(s) of Project Directors chosen 

to direct and control approved 

activities; 

(4) Identifying award number 

assigned by RMA; 

(5) Project period, specifying the 

amount of time RMA intends to support 

the project without requiring 

recompeting for funds; 

(6) Total amount of RMA financial 

assistance approved by the Manager of 

FCIC during the project period; 

(7) Legal authority(ies) under which 

the award is issued; 

(8) Appropriate Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers; 

(9) Applicable award terms and 

conditions (see http:// 

www.rma.usda.gov/business/awards/ 

awardterms.html to view RMA award 

terms and conditions); 

(10) Approved budget plan for 

categorizing allocable project funds to 

accomplish the stated purpose of the 

award; and 

(11) Other information or provisions 

deemed necessary by RMA to carry out 

its respective awarding activities or to 

accomplish the purpose of a particular 

award. 

Following approval by the Manager of 

FCIC of the applications to be selected 

for funding, project leaders whose 

applications have been selected for 

funding will be notified. Within the 

limit of funds available for such a 

purpose, the Manager of FCIC will enter 

into cooperative partnership agreements 

with those selected applicants. 

After a cooperative partnership 

agreement has been signed, RMA will 

extend to awardees, in writing, the 

authority to draw down funds for the 

purpose of conducting the activities 

listed in the agreement. All funds 

provided to the applicant by FCIC must 

be expended solely for the purpose for 

which the funds are obligated in 

accordance with the approved 

cooperative partnership agreement and 

budget, the regulations, the terms and 

conditions of the award, and the 

applicability of Federal cost principles. 

No commitment of Federal assistance 

beyond the project period is made or 

implied for any award resulting from 

this notice. 

Notification of denial of funding will 

be sent to applicants after final funding 

decisions have been made and the 

awardees announced publicly. 

Unsuccessful applicants will be 

provided a debriefing upon request to 

the Director, Risk Management 

Education. 

B. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements 

1. Requirement To Use USDA Logo 

Applicants awarded cooperative 

partnership agreements will be required 

to use a USDA logo provided by RMA 

for all instructional and promotional 

materials, when deemed appropriate. 

2. Requirement To Provide Project 

Information to an RMA-Selected 

Representative 

Applicants awarded cooperative 

partnership agreements may be required 

to assist RMA in evaluating the 

effectiveness of its educational programs 

by notifying RMA of upcoming training 

meeting and by providing 

documentation of educational activities, 

materials, and related information to 

any representative selected by RMA for 

program evaluation purposes. 

3. Access to Panel Review Information 

Upon written request from the 

applicant, scores from the evaluation 

panel, not including the identity of 

reviewers, will be sent to the applicant 

after the review and awards process has 

been completed. 

4. Confidential Aspects of Applications 

and Awards 

The names of applicants, the names of 

individuals identified in the 

applications, the content of 

applications, and the panel evaluations 

of applications will all be kept 

confidential, except to those involved in 

the review process, to the extent 

permitted by law. In addition, the 

identities of review panel members will 

remain confidential throughout the 

entire review process and will not be 

released to applicants. At the end of the 

fiscal year, names of panel members 

will be made available. However, 

panelists will not be identified with the 

review of any particular application. 

When an application results in a 

cooperative partnership agreement, that 

agreement becomes a part of the official 

record of RMA transactions, available to 

the public upon specific request. 

Information that the Secretary of 

Agriculture determines to be of a 

confidential, privileged, or proprietary 

nature will be held in confidence to the 

extent permitted by law. Therefore, any 

information that the applicant wishes to 

be considered confidential, privileged, 

or proprietary should be clearly marked 

within an application, including the 

basis for such designation. The original 

copy of an application that does not 

result in an award will be retained by 

RMA for a period of one year. Other 

copies will be destroyed. Copies of 

applications not receiving awards will 

be released only with the express 

written consent of the applicant or to 

the extent required by law. An 

application may be withdrawn at any 

time prior to award. 

5. Audit Requirements 

Applicants awarded cooperative 

partnership agreements are subject to 

audit. 

6. Prohibitions and Requirements 

Regarding Lobbying 

All cooperative agreements will be 

subject to the requirements of 7 CFR 

part 3015, ‘‘Uniform Federal Assistance 

Regulations.’’ A signed copy of the 

certification and disclosure forms must 

be submitted with the application and 

are available at the address and 

telephone number listed in Section VII, 

Agency Contact. 

Departmental regulations published at 

7 CFR part 3018 imposes prohibitions 

and requirements for disclosure and 

certification related to lobbying on 

awardees of Federal contracts, grants, 

cooperative partnership agreements and 

loans. It provides exemptions for Indian 

Tribes and tribal organizations. Current 

and prospective awardees, and any 

subcontractors, are prohibited from 

using Federal funds, other than profits 

from a Federal contract, for lobbying 

Congress or any Federal agency in 

connection with the award of a contract, 

grant, cooperative partnership 

agreement or loan. In addition, for each 

award action in excess of $100,000 

($150,000 for loans) the law requires 

awardees and any subcontractors to 

complete a certification in accordance 

with Appendix A to Part 3018 and a 

disclosure of lobbying activities in 

accordance with Appendix B to Part 

3018.: The law establishes civil 

penalties for non-compliance. 

7. Applicable OMB Circulars 

All cooperative partnership 

agreements funded as a result of this 

notice will be subject to the 

requirements contained in all applicable 

OMB circulars at http://www.white

house.gov/omg/grants_circulars. 

8. Requirement To Assure Compliance 

With Federal Civil Rights Laws 

Awardees and all partners/ 

collaborators of all cooperative 

agreements funded as a result of this 

notice are required to know and abide 

by Federal civil rights laws, which 

include, but are not limited to, Title VI 

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), and 7 CFR part 15. 

RMA requires that awardees submit an 

Assurance Agreement (Civil Rights), 

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assuring RMA of this compliance prior 

to the beginning of the project period. 

9. Requirement To Participate in a Post 

Award Teleconference 

RMA requires that project leaders 

participate in a post award 

teleconference, if conducted, to become 

fully aware of agreement requirements 

and for delineating the roles of RMA 

personnel and the procedures that will 

be followed in administering the 

agreement and will afford an 

opportunity for the orderly transition of 

agreement duties and obligations if 

different personnel are to assume postaward responsibility. 

10. Requirement To Participate in a Post 

Award Civil Rights Training 

Teleconference 

RMA requires that project leaders 

participate in a post award Civil Rights 

and EEO training teleconference to 

become fully aware of Civil Rights and 

EEO law and requirements. 

11. Requirement To Submit Educational 

Materials to the National AgRisk 

Education Library 

RMA requires that project leaders 

upload digital copies of all risk 

management educational materials 

developed because of the project to the 

National AgRisk Education Library at 

http://www.agrisk.umn.edu/ for posting. 

RMA will be clearly identified as having 

provided funding for the materials. 

12. Requirement To Submit a Project 

Plan of Operation in the Event of a 

Human Pandemic Outbreak 

RMA requires that project leaders 

submit a project plan of operation in 

case of a human pandemic event. The 

plan should address the concept of 

continuing operations as they relate to 

the project. This should include the 

roles, responsibilities, and contact 

information for the project team and 

individuals serving as back-ups in case 

of a pandemic outbreak. 

C. Reporting Requirements 

Awardees will be required to submit 

quarterly progress reports using the 

Performance Progress Report (SF–PPR) 

as the cover sheet, and quarterly 

financial reports (OMB Standard Form 

425) throughout the project period, as 

well as a final program and financial 

report not later than 90 days after the 

end of the project period. The quarterly 

progress reports and final program 

reports MUST be submitted through the 

Results Verification System. The Web 

site address is www.agrisk.umn.edu/ 

RMA/Reporting 

VII. Agency Contact 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Applicants and other interested parties 

are encouraged to contact: USDA–RMA– 

RME, phone: 202–720–0779, email: 

RMA.Risk-Ed@rma.usda.gov. You may 

also obtain information regarding this 

announcement from the RMA Web site 

at: http://www.rma.usda.gov/aboutrma/ 

agreements. 

VIII. Additional Information 

A. The Restriction of the Expenditure of 

Funds To Enter Into Financial 

Transactions 

The Agriculture, Rural Development, 

Food and Drug Administration, and 

Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 

2012 (Pub. L. 112–55) contains the 

restriction of the expenditure of funds to 

enter into financial transactions 

Corporations that have been convicted 

of felonies within the past 24 months or 

that have federal tax delinquencies 

where the agency is aware of the 

felonies and/or tax delinquencies. 

Section 738 (Felony Provision) 

None of the funds made available by 

this Act may be used to enter into a 

contract, memorandum of 

understanding, or cooperative 

agreement with, make a grant to, or 

provide a loan or loan guarantee to any 

corporation that was convicted (or had 

an officer or agency of such corporation 

acting on behalf of the corporation 

convicted) of a felony criminal violation 

under any Federal or State law within 

the preceding 24 months, where the 

awarding agency is aware of the 

conviction, unless the agency has 

considered suspension or debarment of 

the corporation, or such officer or agent, 

and made a determination that this 

further action is not necessary to protect 

the interest of the Government. 

Section 739 (Tax Delinquency 

Provision) 

None of the funds made available by 

this Act may be used to enter into a 

contract, memorandum of 

understanding, or cooperative 

agreement with, make a grant to, or 

provide a loan or loan guarantee to, any 

corporation that [has] any unpaid 

Federal tax liability that has been 

assessed, for which all judicial and 

administrative remedies have been 

exhausted or have lapsed, and that is 

not being paid in a timely manner 

pursuant to an agreement with the 

authority responsible for collecting the 

tax liability, where the awarding agency 

is aware of the unpaid tax liability, 

unless the agency has considered 

suspension or debarment of the 

corporation and made a determination 

that this further action is not necessary 

to protect the interests of the 

Government. 

B. Required Registration With the 

Central Contract Registry (CCR) for 

Submission of Proposals 

Under the Federal Funding 

Accountability and Transparency Act of 

2006, the applicant must comply with 

the additional requirements set forth in 

Attachment A regarding the Dun and 

Bradstreet Universal Numbering System 

(DUNS) Requirements and the CCR 

Requirements found at 2 CFR part 25. 

For the purposes of this RFA, the term 

‘‘you’’ in Attachment A will mean 

‘‘applicant’’. The applicant shall comply 

with the additional requirements set 

forth in Attachment B regarding 

Subawards and Executive 

Compensation. For the purpose of this 

RFA, the term ‘‘you’’ in Attachment B 

will mean ‘‘applicant’’. The Central 

Contract Registry CCR is a database that 

serves as the primary Government 

repository for contractor information 

required for the conduct of business 

with the Government. This database 

will also be used as a central location 

for maintaining organizational 

information for organizations seeking 

and receiving grants from the 

Government. Such organizations must 

register in the CCR prior to the 

submission of applications. A DUNS 

number is needed for CCR registration. 

For information about how to register in 

the CCR, visit ‘‘Get Registered’’ at the 

Web site, http://www.grants.gov. Allow 

a minimum of 5 business days to 

complete the CCR registration. 

C. Related Programs 

Funding availability for this program 

may be announced at approximately the 

same time as funding availability for 

similar but separate programs—and 

CFDA No. 10.458 (Crop Insurance 

Education in Targeted States). These 

programs have some similarities, but 

also key differences. The differences 

stem from important features of each 

program’s authorizing legislation and 

different RMA objectives. Prospective 

applicants should carefully examine 

and compare the notices for each 

program. 

Attachment A 

I. Central Contractor Registration and 

Universal Identifier Requirements 

A. Requirement for Central Contractor 

Registration (CCR) 

Unless you are exempted from this 

requirement under 2 CFR 25.110, you as the 

recipient must maintain the currency of your 

information in the CCR until you submit the 

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final financial report required under this 

award or receive the final payment, 

whichever is later. This requires that you 

review and update the information at least 

annually after the initial registration, and 

more frequently if required by changes in 

your information or another award term. 

B. Requirement for Data Universal 

Numbering System (DUNS) Numbers 

If you are authorized to make subawards 

under this award, you: 

1. Must notify potential sub recipients that 

no entity (see definition in paragraph C of 

this award) may receive a subaward from you 

unless the entity has provided its DUNS 

number to you. 

2. May not make a subaward to an entity 

unless the entity has provided its DUNS 

number to you. 

C. Definitions for Purposes of This Award 

Term 

1. Central Contractor Registration (CCR) 

means the Federal repository into which an 

entity must provide information required for 

the conduct of business as a recipient. 

Additional information about registration 

procedures may be found at the CCR Internet 

site (currently at http://www.ccr.gov). 

2. Data Universal Numbering System 

(DUNS) number means the nine-digit number 

established and assigned by Dun and 

Bradstreet, Inc. (D & B) to uniquely identify 

business entities. A DUNS number may be 

obtained from D & B by telephone (currently 

866–705–5711) or the Internet (currently at 

http://fedgov.dnb.comlwebform). 

3. Entity, as it is used in this award term, 

means all of the following, as defined at 2 

CFR part 25, subpart C: 

a. A Governmental organization, which is 

a State, local government, or Indian Tribe; 

b. A foreign public entity; 

c. A domestic or foreign nonprofit 

organization; 

d. A domestic or foreign for-profit 

organization; and 

e. A Federal agency, but only as a 

subrecipient under an award or subaward to 

a non-Federal entity. 

4. Subaward: 

a. This term means a legal instrument to 

provide support for the performance of any 

portion of the substantive project or program 

for which you received this award and that 

you as the recipient award to an eligible 

subrecipient. 

b. The term does not include your 

procurement of property and services needed 

to carry out the project or program (for 

further explanation, see Sec. 10 of the 

attachment to OMB Circular A–I33, ‘‘Audits 

of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit 

Organizations’’). 

c. A subaward may be provided through 

any legal agreement, including an agreement 

that you consider a contract. 

5. Subrecipient means an entity that: 

a. Receives a subaward from you under this 

award; and 

b. Is accountable to you for the use of the 

Federal funds provided by the subaward. 

Attachment B 

I. Reporting Sub Awards and Executive 

Compensation 

a. Reporting of First-Tier Subawards 

1. Applicability. Unless you are exempt as 

provided in paragraph d. of this award term, 

you must report each action that obligates 

$25,000 or more in Federal funds that does 

not include Recovery funds (as defined in 

section 1512(a)(2) of the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111– 

5) for a subaward to an entity (see definitions 

in paragraph e. of this award term). 

2. Where and when to report. 

i. You must report each obligating action 

described in paragraph a.I. of this award term 

to http://www.fsrs.gov. 

ii. For sub award information, report no 

later than the end of the month following the 

month in which the obligation was made. 

(For example, if the obligation was made on 

November 7, 2012, the obligation must be 

reported by no later than December 31, 2012.) 

3. What to report. You must report the 

information about each obligating action that 

the submission instructions posted at http:// 

www.fsrs.gov specify. 

b. Reporting Total Compensation of Recipient 

Executives 

1. Applicability and what to report. You 

must report total compensation for each of 

your five most highly compensated 

executives for the preceding completed fiscal 

year, if— 

i. The total Federal funding authorized to 

date under this award is $25,000 or more; 

ii. In the preceding fiscal year, you 

received— 

(A) 80 percent or more of your annual gross 

revenues from Federal procurement contracts 

(and subcontracts) and Federal financial 

assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as 

defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards); 

and 

(B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross 

revenues from Federal procurement contracts 

(and subcontracts) and Federal financial 

assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as 

defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards); 

and 

iii. The public does not have access to 

information about the compensation of the 

executives through periodic reports filed 

under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 

780(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the 

public has access to the compensation 

information, see the U.S. Security and 

Exchange Commission total compensation 

filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/ 

execomp.htm.) 

2. Where and when to report. You must 

report executive total compensation 

described in paragraph b.1. of this award 

term: 

i. As part of your registration profile at 

http://www.ccr.gov. 

ii. By the end of the month following the 

month in which this award is made, and 

annually thereafter. 

c. Reporting of Total Compensation of Sub 

Recipient Executives 

1. Applicability and what to report. Unless 

you are exempt as provided in paragraph d. 

of this award term, for each first-tier sub 

recipient under this award, you shall report 

the names and total compensation of each of 

the sub recipient’s five most highly 

compensated executives for the sub 

recipient’s preceding completed fiscal year, 

if— 

i. in the subrecipient’s preceding fiscal 

year, the subrecipient received— 

(A) 80 percent or more of its annual gross 

revenues from Federal procurement contracts 

(and subcontracts) and Federal financial 

assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as 

defined at ∼ CFR 170.320 (and subawards); 

and 

(B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross 

revenues from Federal procurement contracts 

(and subcontracts), and Federal financial 

assistance subject to the Transparency Act 

(and subawards); and 

ii. The public does not have access to 

information about the compensation of the 

executives through periodic reports filed 

under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 

780(d) or section 6104 of the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the 

public has access to the compensation 

information, see the U.S. Security and 

Exchange Commission total compensation 

filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/ 

execomp.htm.) 

2. Where and when to report. You must 

report subrecipient executive total 

compensation described in paragraph c.1. of 

this award term: 

i. To the recipient. 

ii. By the end of the month following the 

month during which you make the subaward. 

For example, if a subaward is obligated on 

any date during the month of October of a 

given year (i.e., between October 1 and 31), 

you must report any required compensation 

information of the subrecipient by November 

30 of that year. 

d. Exemptions 

If, in the previous tax year, you had gross 

income, from all sources, under $300,000, 

you are exempt from the requirements to 

report: 

i. Subawards, and 

ii. The total compensation of the five most 

highly compensated executives of any sub 

recipient. 

e. Definitions. For purposes of This Award 

Term 

1. Entity means all of the following, as 

defined in 2 CFR part 25: 

i. A Governmental organization, which is 

a State, local government, or Indian tribe; 

ii. A foreign public entity; 

iii. A domestic or foreign nonprofit 

organization; 

iv. A domestic or foreign for-profit 

organization; 

v. A Federal agency, but only as a 

subrecipient under an award or subaward to 

a non-Federal entity. 

2. Executive means officers, managing 

partners, or any other employees in 

management positions. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2012 / Notices 23461 

3. Subaward: 

i. This term means a legal instrument to 

provide support for the performance of any 

portion of the substantive project or program 

for which you received this award and that 

you as the recipient award to an eligible 

subrecipient. 

ii. The term does not include your 

procurement of property and services needed 

to carry out the project or program (for 

further explanation, see Sec. 210 of the 

attachment to OMB Circular A–133, ‘‘Audits 

of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit 

Organizations’’). 

iii. A subaward may be provided through 

any legal agreement, including an agreement 

that you or a subrecipient considers a 

contract. 

4. Subrecipient means an entity that: 

i. Receives a sub award from you (the 

recipient) under this award; and 

ii. Is accountable to you for the use of the 

Federal funds provided by the subaward. 

5. Total compensation means the cash and 

noncash dollar value earned by the executive 

during the recipient’s or subrecipient’s 

preceding fiscal year and includes the 

following (for more information see 17 CFR 

229.402(c)(2): 

i. Salary and bonus. 

ii. Awards of stock, stock options, and 

stock appreciation rights. Use the dollar 

amount recognized for financial statement 

reporting purposes with respect to the fiscal 

year in accordance with the Statement of 

Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 

(Revised 2004) (FAS 123R), Shared Based 

Payments. 

iii. Earnings for services under non-equity 

incentive plans. This does not include group 

life, health, hospitalization or medical 

reimbursement plans that do not 

discriminate in favor of executives, and are 

available generally to all salaried employees. 

iv. Change in pension value. This is the 

change in present value of defined benefit 

and actuarial pension plans. 

v. Above-market earnings on deferred 

compensation which is not tax-qualified. 

vi. Other compensation, if the aggregate 

value of all such other compensation (e.g. 

severance, termination payments, value of 

life insurance paid on behalf of the 

employee, perquisites or property) for the 

executive exceeds $10,000. 

Dated: Signed in Washington, DC, on April 

12, 2012. 

William J. Murphy, 

Manager, Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9320 Filed 4–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture 

Notice of Request for Applications for 

the Veterinary Medicine Loan 

Repayment Program 

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food 

and Agriculture (NIFA) is announcing 

the release of the Veterinary Medicine 

Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) 

Request for Applications (RFA) at 

www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp. 

DATES: The FY 2012 Veterinary 

Medicine Loan Repayment Program 

(VMLRP) application package will be 

available at www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp 

on Monday, April 16, 2012 and 

applications are due by Friday, June 15, 

2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary 

Sherman; National Program Leader, 

Veterinary Science; National Institute of 

Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department 

of Agriculture; STOP 2240; 1400 

Independence Avenue SW.; 

Washington, DC 20250–2240; Voice: 

202–401–4952; Fax: 202–401–6156; 

Email: gsherman@nifa.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

October 1, 2009, the Cooperative State 

Research, Education, and Extension 

Service (CSREES) became the National 

Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) 

as mandated by the Food, Conservation, 

and Energy Act of 2008, section 7511(f) 

[Pub. L. 110–246]. Accordingly, the 

authority to administer the VMLRP 

transferred from CSREES to NIFA. 

Background and Purpose 

In January 2003, the National 

Veterinary Medical Service Act 

(NVMSA) was passed into law adding 

section 1415A to the National 

Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

Teaching Policy Act of 1997 

(NARETPA). This law established a new 

Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment 

Program (7 U.S.C. 3151a) authorizing 

the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out 

a program of entering into agreements 

with veterinarians under which they 

agree to provide veterinary services in 

veterinarian shortage situations. In 

November 2005, the Agriculture, Rural 

Development, Food and Drug 

Administration, and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 109– 

97) appropriated $495,000 for CSREES 

to implement the VMLRP and 

represented the first time funds had 

been appropriated for this program. 

In February 2007, the Revised 

Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 

2007 (Pub. L. 110–5) appropriated an 

additional $495,000 to CSREES for 

support of the program, in December 

2007, the Consolidated Appropriations 

Act, 2008 appropriated an additional 

$868,875 to CSREES for support of this 

program, in March 2009, the Omnibus 

Appropriations Act, 2009 (Pub. L. 111– 

8) was enacted, providing an additional 

$2,950,000 for the VMLRP, in October 

2009, the Agriculture, Rural 

Development, Food and Drug 

Administration, and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 

111–80) appropriated an additional 

$4,800,000 for the VMLRP, and in April 

2011, the President signed into law, 

Public Law 112–10, Department of 

Defense and Full-Year Continuing 

Appropriations Act, 2011, which, after 

the .2% rescission, appropriated an 

additional $4,790,400 for the VMLRP. 

On November 18, 2011, the President 

signed into law the Consolidated and 

Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 

2012 (Pub. L. 112–55), which 

appropriated $4,790,000 for the VMLRP. 

Section 7105 of the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, 

Public Law 110–246, (FCEA) amended 

section 1415A to revise the 

determination of veterinarian shortage 

situations to consider (1) geographical 

areas that the Secretary determines have 

a shortage of veterinarians; and (2) areas 

of veterinary practice that the Secretary 

determines have a shortage of 

veterinarians, such as food animal 

medicine, public health, epidemiology, 

and food safety. This section also added 

that priority should be given to 

agreements with veterinarians for the 

practice of food animal medicine in 

veterinarian shortage situations. 

NARETPA section 1415A requires the 

Secretary, when determining the 

amount of repayment for a year of 

service by a veterinarian to consider the 

ability of USDA to maximize the 

number of agreements from the amounts 

appropriated and to provide an 

incentive to serve in veterinary service 

shortage areas with the greatest need. 

This section also provides that loan 

repayments may consist of payments of 

the principal and interest on 

government and commercial loans 

received by the individual for the 

attendance of the individual at an 

accredited college of veterinary 

medicine resulting in a degree of Doctor 

of Veterinary Medicine or the 

equivalent. This program is not 

authorized to provide repayments for 

any government or commercial loans 

incurred during the pursuit of another 

degree, such as an associate or bachelor 

degree. Loans eligible for repayment 

include educational loans made for one 

or more of the following: Loans for 

tuition expenses; other reasonable 

educational expenses, including fees, 

books, and laboratory expenses, 

incurred by the individual; and 

reasonable living expenses as 

determined by the Secretary. In 

addition, the Secretary is directed to 

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