Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 227 / Monday, November 25, 2013 / Notices 70259 

Total Burden Hours: 136,000. 

Ruth Brown, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2013–28251 Filed 11–22–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Council for Native American Farming 

and Ranching 

AGENCY: Office of Tribal Relations, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

forthcoming meeting of The Council for 

Native American Farming and Ranching 

(CNAFR) a public advisory committee of 

the Office of Tribal Relations (OTR). 

Notice of the meetings are provided in 

accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2). This 

will be the fifth meeting of the CNAFR 

and will consist of, but not limited to: 

Hearing public comments; update on 

USDA programs and activities; and 

discussion of committee priorities. This 

meeting will be open to the public. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

December 12th, 2013 from 8: 30 a.m. to 

5 p.m. and December 13th, 2013 from 

8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The meeting will 

be open to the public. Note that a period 

for public comment will be held on 

December 11th, 2013 from 1:30 p.m. to 

4:30 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting and public 

comment period will be held at the 

Flamingo Las Vegas, 3555 Las Vegas 

Blvd. South, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109. 

WRITTEN COMMENTS: Written comments 

may be submitted to: John Lowery, 

Designated Federal Officer, Office of 

Tribal Relations (OTR), 1400 

Independence Ave. SW., Whitten Bldg., 

500–A, Washington, DC 20250; by Fax: 

(202) 720–1058; or by email: 

John.Lowery@osec.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions should be directed to John 

Lowery, Designated Federal Officer, 

Office of Tribal (OTR), 1400 

Independence Ave. SW., Whitten Bldg., 

500–A, Washington, DC 20250; by Fax: 

(202) 720–1058 or email: John.Lowery@

osec.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the provisions of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA) as amended (5 U.S.C. App. 2), 

USDA established an advisory council 

for Native American farmers and 

ranchers. The CNAFR is a discretionary 

advisory committee established under 

the authority of the Secretary of 

Agriculture, in furtherance of the 

settlement agreement in Keepseagle v. 

Vilsack that was granted final approval 

by the District Court for the District of 

Columbia on April 28, 2011. 

The CNAFR will operate under the 

provisions of the FACA and report to 

the Secretary of Agriculture. The 

purpose of the CNAFR is (1) to advise 

the Secretary of Agriculture on issues 

related to the participation of Native 

American farmers and ranchers in 

USDA farm loan programs; (2) to 

transmit recommendations concerning 

any changes to FSA regulations or 

internal guidance or other measures that 

would eliminate barriers to program 

participation for Native American 

farmers and ranchers; (3) to examine 

methods of maximizing the number of 

new farming and ranching opportunities 

created through the farm loan program 

through enhanced extension and 

financial literacy services; (4) to 

examine methods of encouraging 

intergovernmental cooperation to 

mitigate the effects of land tenure and 

probate issues on the delivery of USDA 

farm loan programs; (5) to evaluate other 

methods of creating new farming or 

ranching opportunities for Native 

American producers; and (6) to address 

other related issues as deemed 

appropriate. 

The Secretary of Agriculture selected 

a diverse group of members representing 

a broad spectrum of persons interested 

in providing solutions to the challenges 

of the aforementioned purposes. Equal 

opportunity practices were considered 

in all appointments to the CNAFR in 

accordance with USDA policies. The 

Secretary selected the members in May 

2012. Interested persons may present 

views, orally or in writing, on issues 

relating to agenda topics before the 

CNAFR. 

Written submissions may be 

submitted to the contact person on or 

before December 6, 2013. Oral 

presentations from the public will be 

scheduled between approximately 1:30 

p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on December 11th. 

Those individuals interested in making 

formal oral presentations should notify 

the contact person and submit a brief 

statement of the general nature of the 

issue they wish to present and the 

names and addresses of proposed 

participants by December 6, 2013. All 

oral presentations will be given three (3) 

to five (5) minutes depending on the 

number of participants. 

OTR will also make meeting room and 

all agenda topics available to the public 

via the OTR Web site: http://

www.usda.gov/tribalrelations no later 

than 10 business days before the 

meeting and at the meeting. In addition, 

the minutes from the meeting will be 

posted on the OTR Web site. OTR 

welcomes the attendance of the public 

at the CNAFR meetings and will make 

every effort to accommodate persons 

with physical disabilities or special 

needs. If you require special 

accommodations due to a disability, 

please contact John Lowery, at least 10 

business days in advance of the 

meeting. 

Dated: November 15, 2013. 

Leslie Wheelock, 

Director, Office of Tribal Relations. 

[FR Doc. 2013–28176 Filed 11–22–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0075] 

2013–2015 Fruit and Vegetable 

Industry Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice; call for nominations. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, the 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is 

announcing a call for nominations to the 

Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory 

Committee. The charter for the 

Committee was re-established for the 

2013–2015 two-year term. 

DATES: Written nominations must be 

received on or before December 26, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: Nominations should be sent 

to Charles W. Parrott, Deputy 

Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable 

Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Room 

2077–S, Stop 0235, Washington, DC 

20250–0235; Facsimile: (202) 720–0016. 

Email: Charles.parrott@ams.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pamela Stanziani, Designated Federal 

Official; Phone: (202) 690–0182; Email: 

Pamela.stanziani@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA) (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby 

given that the Secretary of Agriculture 

has reestablished the Fruit and 

Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee 

for two years. The purpose of the 

Committee is to examine the full 

spectrum of issues faced by the fruit and 

vegetable industry and provide 

suggestions and ideas to the Secretary 

on how USDA can tailor its programs to 

better meet the fruit and vegetable 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
70260 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 227 / Monday, November 25, 2013 / Notices 

industry’s needs. The Deputy 

Administrator of the Agricultural 

Marketing Service’s Fruit and Vegetable 

Programs will serve as the Committee’s 

Executive Secretary. Representatives 

from USDA mission areas and agencies 

affecting the fruit and vegetable industry 

will be called upon to participate in the 

Committee’s meetings as determined by 

the Committee Chairperson. 

Industry members will be appointed 

by the Secretary of Agriculture and 

serve two or three year terms. These 

staggered terms include a concurrent 

two year term for members of the most 

recent, previously chartered committee, 

and three year terms for members new 

to the advisory committee, a measure 

implemented to initiate required 

staggered member terms for continual 

committee operation. Membership will 

consist of up to twenty-five (25) 

members who represent the fruit and 

vegetable industry and will include 

individuals representing fruit and 

vegetable growers/shippers, 

wholesalers, brokers, retailers, 

processors, fresh cut processors, 

foodservice suppliers, state agencies 

involved in organic and non-organic 

fresh fruits and vegetables at local, 

regional and national levels, state 

departments of agriculture, and trade 

associations. The members of the reestablished Committee will elect the 

Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of 

the Committee. In absence of the 

Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson will 

act in the Chairperson’s stead. 

The Secretary of Agriculture invites 

those individuals, organizations, and 

groups affiliated with the categories 

listed above to nominate individuals for 

membership on the reestablished 

Committee. Nominations should 

describe and document the proposed 

member’s qualifications for membership 

to the Committee, and list their name, 

title, address, telephone, and fax 

number. The Secretary of Agriculture 

seeks a diverse group of members 

representing a broad spectrum of 

persons interested in providing 

suggestions and ideas on how USDA 

can tailor its programs to meet the fruit 

and vegetable industry’s needs. 

Individuals who are nominated will 

receive necessary forms from USDA for 

membership. The biographical 

information and clearance forms must 

be completed and returned to USDA 

within 10 working days of notification, 

to expedite the clearance process that is 

required before selection of Committee 

members by the Secretary of 

Agriculture. 

Equal opportunity practices will be 

followed in all appointments to the 

Committee in accordance with USDA 

policies. To ensure that the 

recommendations of the Committee 

have taken into account the needs of the 

diverse groups served by USDA, 

membership shall include, to the extent 

practicable, individuals with 

demonstrated ability to represent 

minorities, women, persons with 

disabilities, and limited resource 

agriculture producers. 

Dated: November 19, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–28245 Filed 11–22–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

Inviting Applications for Value-Added 

Producer Grants 

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability 

(NOFA). 

SUMMARY: USDA announces the 

availability of competitive grant funding 

through the Value-Added Producer 

Grant (VAPG) program. Approximately 

$10.5 million in carry over funding from 

fiscal year (FY) 2013 is available to help 

agricultural producers enter into valueadded activities. This NOFA is being 

published prior to the Congressional 

enactment of a full-year appropriation 

for FY 2014. Should additional funding 

be made available during FY 2014 for 

this program RBS will continue to fund 

applications received under this 

announcement based upon the 

applications score. At this time, the 

exact amount of funding that will be 

made available to this program for FY 

2014 is unknown. Anyone interested in 

submitting an application for funding 

under this program should consult the 

Rural Development Value Added 

Producer Grant Program Web site at 

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_

VAPG.html periodically for updated 

information regarding any FY 2014 

funding for the program. 

The program purpose is to help U.S. 

agricultural producers enter into valueadded activities. Awards may be made 

for either economic planning or working 

capital activities related to the 

processing and/or marketing of valuedadded agricultural products. The 

maximum grant amount for a planning 

grant is $75,000 and the maximum grant 

amount for a working capital grant is 

$200,000. 

There is a matching funds 

requirement of at least $1 for every $1 

in grant funds provided by the Agency 

(matching funds plus grant funds must 

equal proposed total project costs). 

Matching funds may be in the form of 

cash or eligible in-kind contributions 

and may be used only for eligible 

project purposes. Matching funds must 

be available at time of application and 

must be certified and verified as 

described in 7 CFR 4284.931(b)(3) and 

(4). 

7 CFR 4284.925 and 7 U.S.C. 1632(a) 

provide for the reservation of ten 

percent of available funds for 

applications submitted by Beginning 

and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers or 

Ranchers, and an additional ten percent 

of available funds for applications from 

farmers or ranchers proposing 

development of Mid-Tier Value Chains. 

For this announcement, Reserved Funds 

were not obligated prior to June 30, 

2013 as required by 7 CFR 4284.925 and 

7 U.S.C. 1632(a). Therefore, no reserves 

are available to fund these categories 

from FY 2013 carry over monies. 

However, 7 CFR 4284.925 and 7 U.S.C. 

1632(a) allow the Secretary to repurpose 

and reuse these funds for the general 

VAPG competition. Beginning and 

Socially-Disadvantaged Farmers or 

Ranchers and applicants proposing MidTier Value Chains can still compete and 

benefit by receiving priority through the 

award of Priority Points. Should FY 

2014 funds become available, 20 percent 

of those funds will be reserved for these 

categories. 

DATES: You must submit your 

application by February 24, 2014 or it 

will not be considered for funding that 

may be announced in a subsequent 

Notice. Paper applications must be 

postmarked and mailed, shipped or sent 

overnight by this date. You may also 

hand carry your application to one of 

our field offices, but it must be received 

by close of business on the deadline 

date. Electronic applications are 

permitted via http://www.grants.gov 

only, and must be received before 

midnight Eastern Time on this date. 

Late applications are not eligible for 

grant funding under this Notice. 

ADDRESSES: You should contact your 

USDA Rural Development State Office if 

you have questions about eligibility or 

submission requirements. You are 

encouraged to contact your State Office 

well in advance of the application 

deadline to discuss your project and to 

ask any questions about the application 

process. You may request technical 

assistance from your State Office up to 

14 days prior to the application 

deadline. Application materials are 


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