This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

12423 

Vol. 87, No. 43 

Friday, March 4, 2022 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

March 1, 2022. 

The Department of Agriculture will 

submit the following information 

collection requirement(s) to OMB for 

review and clearance under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13 on or after the date 

of publication of this notice. Comments 

are requested regarding: (1) 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) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of burden 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 through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments regarding these 

information collections are best assured 

of having their full effect if received by 

April 4, 2022. Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor a collection of information 

unless the collection of information 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number and the agency informs 

potential persons who are to respond to 

the collection of information that such 

persons are not required to respond to 

the collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

(NASS) 

Title: Stocks Reports. 

OMB Control Number: 0535–0007. 

Summary of Collection: The National 

Agricultural Statistics Service’s primary 

function is to prepare and issue current, 

official State and national estimates of 

crop and livestock production, stocks, 

disposition, and prices. As part of this 

function, estimates are made for stocks 

of off-farm grains and oilseeds, hops, 

peanuts, potatoes, and rice. Statistics for 

the set of crops included in this docket 

are collected because of the large 

volume produced, high value of 

production, and significant public 

interest. General authority for data 

collection is granted under U.S. Code 

Title 7, Section 2204. This statute 

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.’’ 

Need and Use of the Information: 

NASS collects information to administer 

farm program legislation and make 

decisions relative to the export-import 

programs. Estimates of stocks provide 

essential statistics on supplies and 

contribute to orderly marketing. Farmers 

and agribusiness firms use these 

estimates in their production and 

marketing decisions. Collecting this 

information less frequently would 

eliminate data needed by the 

government, and industry and farmers 

to keep abreast of changes at the State 

and national level. 

Description of Respondents: Business 

or other for profit; Farms. 

Number of Respondents: 6,330. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

Monthly; Quarterly; Annually. 

Total Burden Hours: 5,062. 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

Title: Generic Clearance of Survey 

Improvement Projects. 

OMB Control Number: 0535–0248. 

Summary of Collection: The primary 

function of the National Agricultural 

Statistics Service is to prepare and issue 

State and National estimates which 

include crop and livestock production, 

economic and environmental inputs, 

whole farm characteristics and operator 

demographics (covered by the Census of 

Agriculture) under the general authority 

of Title 7 U.S.C. Sec. 2204. 

NASS is requesting the renewal of a 

generic clearance in order to respond 

quickly to emerging issues and data 

collection needs. The agricultural 

industry and economy continue to 

change, and NASS needs to 

continuously evaluate its surveys in 

light of these changes. Respondents 

continue to change (e.g., response rates 

decrease over time), technology 

continues to change (e.g., the Web 

quickly became a data collection 

option), and data needs continue to 

change. In addition, our understanding 

of how to improve surveys continues to 

evolve (e.g., the application of cognitive 

psychology to survey methodology has 

increased our understanding of 

surveys). The generic clearance 

structure allows NASS to meet these 

information needs using a means that 

minimizes respondent and 

administrative burden. Thus, NASS 

requests an ongoing OMB clearance 

structure in place to continue to 

improve the overall quality of its 

statistical surveys, to lessen the burden 

it places on respondents, and to shorten 

the time period between changes that 

affect surveys and NASS’ ability to 

formulate and update its surveys to 

address those changes. Prior to each 

test, NASS will submit to OMB a minisupporting statement that will describe 

the details of each specific test, along 

with a sample of the questions or 

questionnaire that will be tested. 

Need and Use of the Information: The 

information obtained from these efforts 

will be used to develop new NASS 

surveys and improve current ones. 

Specifically, the information will be 

used to reduce respondent burden while 

simultaneously improving the quality of 

the data collected in these surveys. 

These objectives are met when 

respondents are presented with plain, 

coherent and unambiguous 

questionnaires that ask for data 

compatible with respondents’ memory 

and/or current reporting and record 

keeping practices. The purpose of the 

survey improvement projects will be to 

ensure that NASS surveys continuously 

attempt to meet these standards of 

excellence. 

Improved NASS surveys will inform 

policy decisions on agriculture, as well 


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12424 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 

as contributing to increased agency 

efficiency and reduced survey costs. In 

addition, methodological findings have 

broader implications for survey research 

and may be presented in technical 

papers at conferences or published in 

the proceedings of conferences or in 

journals. 

The results of these tests won’t be 

disseminated or used to inform policy, 

program, or budget decisions. 

Description of Respondents: Private 

Sector; Businesses or other for-profits; 

Farms. 

Number of Respondents: 25,000. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

On occasion. 

Total Burden Hours: 15,000. 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

Title: Quick Response for Cooperatorfunded Surveys Generic Clearance. 

OMB Control Number: 0535–0264. 

Summary of Collection: The primary 

objectives of the National Agricultural 

Statistics Service (NASS) are to prepare 

and issue official State and national 

estimates of crop and livestock 

production, disposition and prices, 

economic statistics, and environmental 

statistics related to agriculture and to 

conduct the Census of Agriculture and 

its follow-on surveys. In addition to the 

many statistical activities directly 

related to its mission, the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 

will lend technical expertise to other 

Federal agencies, State governments, 

land grant universities, and other 

organizations which have a 

Memorandum of Understanding with 

NASS. These entities will be referred to 

as cooperators. NASS provides support 

and assistance in the areas of 

questionnaire & sample design as well 

as analysis of survey results. NASS 

would like to include data collection to 

its list of services, utilizing the existing 

Cooperative Agreement with the 

National State Departments of 

Agriculture (NASDA). The data 

collection activities in this generic 

clearance request would be conducted 

through cooperative agreements with 

Federal agencies, State departments of 

agriculture, land-grant universities, or 

other organizations with which NASS 

has a Memorandum of Understanding 

(MOU). The surveys will be conducted 

under a full-cost recovery basis. These 

cooperators have sought out NASS’s 

assistance to provide statistics beneficial 

to agriculture, but are not covered by 

NASS’s annual Congressional 

appropriation. General authority for 

conducting cooperative projects is 

granted under U.S. Code Title 7, Section 

450a which states that USDA officials 

may, ‘‘enter into agreements with and 

receive funds . . . for the purpose of 

conducting cooperative research 

projects. . .’’ This authority has been 

delegated to NASS. Response to all 

surveys collected under this generic 

clearance is voluntary. 

NASS benefits from these cooperative 

agreements by: (1) Obtaining additional 

data to update its list of farm operators; 

(2) encouraging both parties to 

coordinate Federal survey activities and 

activities funded under a cooperative 

agreement to reduce the need for 

overlapping data collection and/or 

spread out respondent burden; and (3) 

facilitating additional promotion of 

NASS surveys and statistical reports 

funded by annual Congressional 

appropriations. Respondents benefit 

from these cooperative agreements by: 

(1) Having their reported data protected 

by Federal Law (U.S. Code Title 18, 

Section 1905; U.S. Code Title 7, Section 

2276; and Title III of Pub. L. 115–435 

codified in 44 U.S.C. Ch. 35 and other 

applicable Federal laws, (CIPSEA)); (2) 

having data collection activities for 

Federal and Cooperative surveys 

coordinated to minimize respondent 

burden; and (3) having high-quality 

agricultural data that are important to a 

state or region be collected and 

published. 

Need and Use of the Information: 

NASS would like to conduct up to 10 

surveys each year in response to 

requests from cooperators who have 

data needs that cannot be met through 

NASS’s annual Congressional 

appropriations. 

NASS would like to include surveys 

that would cover topics such as: 

—Farm management practices, 

—Food safety, 

—Workplace safety, 

—Conservation and land use practices, 

—Chemical use management practices, 

—Crop quality, 

—Agri-tourism, local foods, or other 

specific agricultural promotion 

programs. 

The summarized and published 

information will be analyzed by the 

sponsoring cooperators and 

stakeholders in agriculture. Results will 

be used to study 

—production agriculture as well as 

—various programs and policies to 

determine their impact on agricultural 

producers and consumers. 

Description of Respondents: Private 

Sector; Businesses or other for-profits; 

Farms. 

Number of Respondents: 225,000. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

Annually. 

Total Burden Hours: 111,512. 

Levi S. Harrell, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04634 Filed 3–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–20–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

[Docket No. RBS–22–Business–0001] 

Notice of Extension of a Currently 

Approved Information Collection 

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the Rural BusinessCooperative Service’s (RBCS or Agency), 

an agency within the United States 

Department of Agriculture, Rural 

Development, intention to request an 

extension of a currently approved 

information collection package for the 

Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion 

Program (MPPEP). The MPPEP program 

promotes competition and gives more 

and better options to producers by 

increasing meat and poultry processing 

capacity. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by May 3, 2022 to be assured 

of consideration. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pamela Bennett, Regulations 

Management Division, Innovation 

Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Email: pamela.bennett@usda.gov. 

Telephone: (202) 720–9639. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Management and Budget’s (OMB) 

regulation (5 CFR part 1320) 

implementing provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 

L. 104–13) requires that interested 

members of the public and affected 

agencies have an opportunity to 

comment on information collection and 

recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)). This notice identifies an 

information collection that RUS is 

submitting to OMB for approval. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Rural BusinessCooperative Service, including whether 

the information will have practical 

utility; (b) the accuracy of the Rural 

Business-Cooperative Service’s estimate 

of the burden of the proposed collection 

of information including validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 


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