55000 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 172 / Tuesday, September 6, 2011 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Doc. No. AMS–NOP–11–0071; NOP–11–12] 

Notice of Agricultural Management 

Assistance Organic Certification CostShare Program 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Funds Availability: 

Inviting Applications from State 

Departments of Agriculture for the 

Agricultural Management Assistance 

Organic Certification Cost-Share 

Program. 

SUMMARY: This Notice invites the 

following eligible States: Connecticut, 

Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, 

Massachusetts, Nevada, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, 

Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming, 

to submit an Application for Federal 

Assistance (Standard Form 424), and to 

enter into a Cooperative Agreement with 

the Agricultural Marketing Service 

(AMS) for the allocation of organic 

certification cost-share funds. The AMS 

has allocated $1.5 million for this 

organic certification cost-share program 

in Fiscal Year 2011. Funds are available 

to 16 designated States to provide costshare assistance to organic crop and 

livestock producers certified under the 

USDA Organic Standards (7 CFR 205). 

Eligible States interested in obtaining 

cost-share funds for their organic 

producers must submit an Application 

for Federal Assistance via http:// 

www.grants.gov and enter into a 

cooperative agreement with AMS for the 

allocation of funds. 

DATES: Completed Applications for 

Federal Assistance and signed 

cooperative agreements must be 

received by the National Organic 

Program (NOP) no later than September 

23, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Applications for Federal 

Assistance must be submitted via 

Grants.Gov. Paper applications will not 

be accepted. Instructions and additional 

information are available on the 

National Organic Program’s Web site at 

http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

NOPCostSharing. 

Signed cooperative agreements should 

be sent via express mail to Betsy Rakola, 

Agricultural Marketing Specialist, 

National Organic Program, USDA/AMS/ 

NOP, Room 2640–South, Ag Stop 0268, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0268. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Betsy Rakola, Agricultural Marketing 

Specialist, National Organic Program, 

USDA/AMS/NOP, Room 2640–South, 

Ag Stop 0268, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250– 

0268; Telephone: (202) 720–3252. Email: Betsy.Rakola@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

Organic Certification Cost-Share 

Program is part of the Agricultural 

Management Assistance (AMA) Program 

authorized under the Federal Crop 

Insurance Act (FCIA), as amended (7 

U.S.C. 1524). Under the applicable FCIA 

provisions, the Department is 

authorized to provide cost-share 

assistance to organic producers in the 

States of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, 

Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, 

Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, 

New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 

Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and 

Wyoming. The AMS has allocated $1.5 

million for this organic certification 

cost-share program in Fiscal Year 2011. 

This program provides financial 

assistance to organic producers certified 

under the USDA Organic Regulations (7 

CFR part 205), which were authorized 

under the Organic Foods Production Act 

of 1990, as amended (7 U.S.C. 6501 et 

seq.). This program is in addition to and 

separate from the National Organic 

Certification Cost-Share Program, which 

is also administered by AMS and is 

open to all States and U.S. Territories. 

To participate in the program, eligible 

States, through their State Departments 

of Agriculture, must complete an 

Application for Federal Assistance 

(Standard Form 424) and enter into a 

written cooperative agreement with 

AMS. State Department of Agriculture 

refers to agencies, commissions, or 

departments of State government 

responsible for implementing 

regulation, policy or programs on 

agriculture within their State. The 

program will provide cost-share 

assistance, through participating States, 

to organic crop and livestock producers 

receiving certification or incurring 

expenses for the continuation of 

certification by a USDA accredited 

certifying agent during the period of 

October 1, 2011, through September 30, 

2012. The Department has determined 

that payments will be limited to 75% 

(seventy-five percent) of an individual 

producer’s certification costs, up to a 

maximum of $750 (seven-hundred and 

fifty dollars). 

To receive cost-share assistance, 

organic producers should contact their 

State agencies. Procedures for applying 

are outlined in the cost share policies 

and procedures at http://1.usa.gov/ 

OrganicCostShare. The total amount of 

cost-share payments provided to any 

eligible producer under all AMA 

programs cannot exceed $50,000. 

How to Submit Applications: To 

receive fund allocations to provide costshare assistance, a State Department of 

Agriculture must complete an 

Application for Federal Assistance 

(Standard Form 424), and enter into a 

written cooperative agreement with 

AMS. Interested States must submit the 

Application for Federal Assistance 

(Standard Form 424) electronically via 

Grants.gov, the Federal grants Web site, 

at http://www.grants.gov. For 

information on how to use Grants.Gov, 

please consult http://www.grants.gov/ 

GetRegistered. Applications must be 

filed by Friday, September 23, 2011. 

Cooperative agreements will be sent by 

the AMS to participating State 

Departments of Agriculture via express 

mail. The cooperative agreement must 

have the original signature of an official 

who has authority to apply for Federal 

assistance. The signed cooperative 

agreement must be sent by express mail 

or courier service and received by the 

NOP at the address above by September 

23, 2011. 

The AMA Organic Certification CostShare Program is listed in the ‘‘Catalog 

of Federal Domestic Assistance’’ under 

number 10.171. Subject agencies must 

adhere to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act 

of 1964, which bars discrimination in 

all Federally-assisted programs. 

Additional information on the AMA 

Organic Certification Cost-Share 

Program can be found on the NOP’s 

Web site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

NOPCostSharing. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1524. 

Dated: August 29, 2011. 

Ellen King, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–22613 Filed 9–2–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Research Service 

Notice of Intent To Renew Information 

Collection 

AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The notice announced 

Agricultural Research Service intent to 

seek comments on renewing the 

National Arboretum’s information 

collection that expires on December 31, 

2011. The notice was published in the 

Federal Register on August 26, 2011. 

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