Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 233 / Tuesday, December 4, 2012 / Notices 71773 

connection between the amounts of 

organic matter produced and how crop 

residues impact future crop yields. 

General authority for these data 

collection activities is granted under 

U.S. Code Title 7, Section 2204(a) which 

specifies that ‘‘The Secretary of 

Agriculture shall procure and preserve 

all information concerning agriculture 

which he can obtain * * * by the 

collection of statistics * * * and shall 

distribute them among agriculturists.’’ 

Individually identifiable data collected 

under this authority are governed by 

Section 1770 of the Food Security Act 

of 1985 as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2276, 

which requires USDA to afford strict 

confidentiality to non-aggregated data 

provided by respondents. 

Need and Use of the Information: 

This study will investigate the effect 

crop residue removal has on soil and 

water quality. The study will use, as a 

sampling universe fields in the South 

Fork watershed in central Iowa. The 

study will be conducted in several 

phases. Permission forms will be 

presented to farm operators. With the 

farmers permission the field 

enumerators will return several times 

during the growing season to measure 

and collect samples from the target 

areas. Measurements of crop residues 

will be compared with remote sensed 

data to measure crop residue cover and 

soil tillage intensity for the entire 

watershed. After measurements and 

samples are taken the farm operators 

will be asked to complete a 

questionnaire and, if possible provide a 

yield map. The questionnaire and yield 

maps help associate measured residue 

and biomass to specific field 

management plans and provide realistic 

operation files for the water and soil 

quality models. Without this collection, 

our knowledge of the management 

practices in the watershed would be 

severely limited. 

Description of Respondents: Business 

or other for-profit; Farms. 

Number of Respondents: 100. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

One time. 

Total Burden Hours: 52. 

Charlene Parker, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–29162 Filed 12–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–20–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Doc. No. AMS–LS–12–0047] 

Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling 

of Covered Commodities: Notice of 

Request for Revision of a Currently 

Approved Information Collection 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice 

announces the Agricultural Marketing 

Service’s (AMS) intention to request 

approval, from the Office of 

Management and Budget, for an 

extension and revision to the currently 

approved information collection of the 

Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling 

(COOL) of Covered Commodities. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

February 4, 2013. 

Comments: Comments should be 

submitted electronically at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Comments may 

also be submitted to Julie Henderson, 

Director, COOL Division, Livestock, 

Poultry, and Seed Program, Agricultural 

Marketing Service, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA); STOP 0216; 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Room 

2620–S; Washington, DC 20250–0216. 

All comments should reference docket 

number AMS–LS–12–0047 and note the 

date and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register. 

Submitted comments will be available 

for public inspection at http:// 

www.regulations.gov or at the above 

address during regular business hours. 

Comments submitted in response to this 

Notice will be included in the records 

and will be made available to the 

public. Please be advised that the 

identity of the individuals or entities 

submitting the comments will be made 

public on the Internet at the above 

address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie 

Henderson, Director, COOL Division, 

AMS, USDA, by telephone at (202) 720– 

4486, or email at 

julie.henderson@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Mandatory Country of Origin 

Labeling of Covered Commodities. 

OMB Number: 0581–0250. 

Expiration Date of Approval: March 

31, 2013. 

Type of Request: Request for Revision 

of a Currently Approved Information 

Collection 

Abstract: The 2002 and 2008 Farm 

Bills amended the Agricultural 

Marketing Act of 1946 to require 

retailers to notify their customers of the 

country of origin of muscle cuts and 

ground beef (including veal), lamb, 

pork, chicken, and goat; wild and farmraised fish and shellfish; perishable 

agricultural commodities; peanuts, 

pecans, and macadamia nuts; and 

ginseng. An interim final rule for 

mandatory COOL for fish and shellfish 

became effective on April 4, 2005. An 

interim final rule for the remaining 

covered commodities became effective 

on September 30, 2008. On January 15, 

2009, a final rule was published for all 

covered commodities which became 

effective March 16, 2009. Enforcement 

activities have been conducted since 

2006 utilizing cooperative agreements 

established with State agencies. 

Individuals who supply covered 

commodities, whether directly to 

retailers or indirectly through other 

participants in the marketing chain, are 

required to establish and maintain 

country of origin and, if applicable, 

method of production information for 

the covered commodities and supply 

this information to retailers. As a result 

producers, handlers, manufacturers, 

wholesalers, importers and retailers of 

covered commodities are affected. 

This public reporting burden is a 

necessary to ensure accuracy of country 

of origin and method of production 

declarations relied upon at the point of 

sale at retail. The public reporting 

burden also assures that all parties 

involved in supplying covered 

commodities to retail stores maintain 

and convey accurate information as 

required. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for recordkeeping storage and 

maintenance is estimated to average 19 

hours per year per individual. 

Respondents: Retailers, wholesalers, 

producers, handlers, and importers. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

1,655,905. 

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 

31,437,002. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 19. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 31,437,002. 

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 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with 

71774 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 233 / Tuesday, December 4, 2012 / Notices 

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. 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

become a matter of public record. 

Dated: November 28, 2012. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–29167 Filed 12–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0092] 

Notice of Request for Extension of 

Approval of an Information Collection; 

National Management Information 

System 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Extension of approval of an 

information collection; comment 

request. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service’s intention to 

request an extension of approval of an 

information collection associated with 

cooperative wildlife damage 

management programs. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before February 4, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0092- 

0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0092, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0092 or 

in our reading room, which is located in 

room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 

14th Street and Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading 

room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the national 

management information system for 

cooperative wildlife damage 

management programs, contact Mr. 

Robert Myers, Wildlife Biologist, 

Wildlife Services, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 87, Riverdale, MD 20737; 

(301) 651–8845. For copies of more 

detailed information on the information 

collection, contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, 

APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 851–2908. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: National Management 

Information System. 

OMB Number: 0579–0335. 

Type of Request: Extension of 

approval of an information collection. 

Abstract: As authorized by the 

Animal Damage Control Act of 1931 (7 

U.S.C. 426–426c; 46 Stat. 1468), as 

amended, the Secretary of Agriculture 

may conduct activities and enter into 

agreements with States, local 

jurisdictions, individuals, public and 

private agencies, organizations, and 

institutions in the control of nuisance 

mammals and birds and those mammal 

and bird species that are reservoirs for 

zoonotic diseases. 

Wildlife Services (WS) of the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS), U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, cooperates with Federal 

agencies, State and local governments, 

and private individuals to research and 

implement the best methods of 

managing conflicts between wildlife and 

human health and safety, agriculture, 

property, and natural resources. 

Program activities usually consist of 

either cooperative direct control or 

technical assistance programs. As part 

of its program, WS enters into 

agreements to document the terms and 

conditions for cooperating with parties 

outside of APHIS (those parties are 

referred to as ‘‘cooperators’’). In 

response to requests for assistance in 

managing wildlife damage, WS collects 

information about organizations, 

industry, Federal and non-Federal 

entities, and members of public as part 

of its program. Information is collected 

through the use of work initiation 

documents, cooperative agreement 

forms, supply order forms and sales 

records, project reports, and a resource 

values survey. The information 

collected through these forms is used by 

the Agency to: 

• Identify cooperators appropriately. 

• Identify lands on which WS 

personnel will work. 

• Differentiate between cooperators 

(i.e., property owners, land managers, or 

resource owners) who request assistance 

in managing damage caused by wildlife. 

• Identify the land areas on which 

wildlife damage management activities 

would be conducted. 

• Identify the relationship between 

resources or property, WS’ protection of 

such resources or property, and the 

damage caused by wildlife. 

• Determine the methods or damage 

management activities to deal with the 

damage. 

• Establish a record that a cooperative 

agreement has been entered into with a 

cooperator. 

• Document that permission has been 

obtained from landowners to go on the 

cooperator’s property. 

• Record wildlife damage occurrences 

on cooperator’s property and steps to 

address them. 

• Record occurrences that may have 

affected non-target species or humans 

during, or related to, WS project actions. 

• Determine satisfaction with service 

to help WS evaluate, modify, and 

improve its program. 

We are asking the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve our use of these information 

collection activities for an additional 3 

years. 

The purpose of this notice is to solicit 

comments from the public (as well as 

affected agencies) concerning our 

information collection. These comments 

will help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, through use, as 

appropriate, of automated, electronic, 

mechanical, and other collection 

technologies; e.g., permitting electronic 

submission of responses. 

Estimate of burden: The public 

reporting burden for this collection of 

information is estimated to average 

0.04623497 hours per response. 

Respondents: Federal, State, and local 

agencies, and the public who request 

services from WS or engage in wildlife 

damage management projects with WS. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with