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,

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section.

Notices Federal Register

454 

Vol. 89, No. 3 

Thursday, January 4, 2024 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Notice of Request for Extension or 

Renewal of a Currently Approved 

Information Collection 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the intention of the 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights to request a renewal to a 

currently approved information 

collection for race, ethnicity, and gender 

along with comments. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by March 4, 2024 to be assured 

of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: The Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights invites 

interested persons to submit comments 

on this notice. Comments may be 

submitted by one of the following 

methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: This 

website provides the ability to type 

short comments directly into the 

comment field on this web page or 

attach a file for lengthier comments. Go 

to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the on-line instructions on the 

eRulemaking Portal submitting 

comments. 

U.S. Mail, including CD–ROMs, etc.: 

Send to U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250. 

Hand or courier-delivered submittals: 

Deliver to 1400 Independence Avenue, 

Washington, DC 20250. 

Instructions: All items submitted by 

U.S. mail or electronic mail must 

include the Agency name, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. 

Comments received in response to this 

docket will be made available for public 

inspection and posted without changes, 

including any personal information, to 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to background 

documents or comments received, 

please contact the Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights at 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, DC 20250 

between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Contact Winona Scott, Acting Executive 

Director, Center for Civil Rights 

Operations, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250, (202) 720–3808. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

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

chapter 35), this notice announces the 

intention of the Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights to request 

approval for an existing collection in 

use without an Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) control number. 

Title: Race, Ethnicity and Gender Data 

Collection. 

OMB Number: OMB No. 0503–0019. 

Expiration Date of Approval: March 

31, 2024. 

Type of Request: Extension and 

renewal of a currently approved 

information collection. 

Abstract: This data collection is 

necessary to implement sections 14006 

and 14007 of the Food, Conservation, 

and Energy Act of 2008, 7 U.S.C. 8701 

(hereafter referred to as the 2008 Farm 

Bill). Section 14006 of the 2008 Farm 

Bill establishes a requirement for the 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) to 

annually compile application and 

participation rate data regarding socially 

disadvantaged farmers or ranchers by 

computing for each program of the 

USDA that serves agriculture producers 

and landowners (a) raw numbers of 

applicants and participants by race, 

ethnicity, and gender subject to 

appropriate privacy protections, as 

determined by the Secretary of 

Agriculture; and (b) the application and 

participation rate, by race, ethnicity and 

gender, as a percentage of the total 

participation rate of all agricultural 

producers and landowners for each 

county and state in the United States. 

Pursuant to the authority in section 

14006, the agencies of USDA are to 

collect the data and transmit it to the 

Secretary of Agriculture. Section 14007 

requires USDA to use the data collected 

in the conduct of oversight and 

evaluation of civil rights compliance. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 2 minutes per 

response. 

Respondents: Producers, applicants. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

2,011,250. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 67,041. 

Comments are invited on: (1) 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; (2) 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; (3) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (4) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on those who are to respond, including 

the use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments may be sent by any of the 

following methods: 

• Email: Send comments to ccro@

usda.gov. 

• U.S. Mail: Winona Scott, Acting

Executive Director, Center for Civil 

Rights Operations, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Ave. SW, Washington, 

DC 20250. 

All comments received will be 

available for public inspection during 

regular business hours at the same 

address. 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for Office of Management and Budget 

approval. All comments will become a 

matter of public record. 

Penny Brown Reynolds, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil 

Rights. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28949 Filed 1–3–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–9R–P 


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