Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 2014 / Notices 42493 

Summary of Collection: Most Farm 

Service Agency (FSA) programs are 

administered on the basis of ‘‘farm’’. For 

program purposes, a farm is a collection 

of tracts of land that have the same 

owner and the same operator. Land with 

different owners may be considered to 

be a farm if all the land is operated by 

one person and additional criteria are 

met. A farm is typically administered in 

the FSA county office where the farm is 

physically located. A farm transfer can 

be initiated if the farm is being 

transferred back to the county where the 

farm is physically located, the principal 

dwelling on the farm operator has 

changed, a change has occurred in the 

operation of the land, or there has been 

a change that would cause the receiving 

administrative county to be more 

accessible. Form FSA–179, ‘‘Transfer of 

Farm Record Between Counties,’’ is 

used as the request for a farm transfer 

from one county to another initiated by 

the producer. 

Need and Use of the Information: The 

information collected on the FSA–179 is 

collected only if a farm transfer is being 

requested and is collected in a face-toface setting with county office 

personnel. The information is used by 

county office employees to document 

which farm is being transferred, what 

county it is being transferred to, and 

why it is being transferred. Without the 

information county offices will be 

unable to determine whether the 

producer desires to transfer a farm. 

Description of Respondents: Farms. 

Number of Respondents: 21,240. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

On occasion. 

Total Burden Hours: 24,780. 

Ruth Brown, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2014–17095 Filed 7–21–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

July 16, 2014. 

The Department of Agriculture has 

submitted the following information 

collection requirement(s) to OMB for 

review and clearance under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13. Comments 

regarding (a) 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; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of burden including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; (d) 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 should be addressed to: Desk 

Officer for Agriculture, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov 

or fax (202) 395–5806 and to 

Departmental Clearance Office, USDA, 

OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington, DC 

20250–7602. Comments regarding these 

information collections are best assured 

of having their full effect if received 

within 30 days of this notification. 

Copies of the submission(s) may be 

obtained by calling (202) 720–8958. 

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. 

Food and Nutrition Service 

Title: Supplemental Nutrition 

Assistance Program Repayment Demand 

and Program Disqualification. 

OMB Control Number: 0584–0492. 

Summary of Collection: Section 13(b) 

of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, 

as amended (7 U.S.C. 2202(b)), and 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program (SNAP) regulations at 7 CFR 

273.18(a)(2) require State agencies to 

initiate collection action. State agencies 

must provide an affected household 

with written notification informing the 

over-issued household of the claim and 

demanding repayment. 

Need and Use of the Information: 

State agency personnel will collect the 

information from individuals collecting 

SNAP benefits. The State agencies must 

maintain all records associated with this 

collection for a period of three years so 

that FNS can review documentation 

during compliance reviews and other 

audits. Without the information, FNS 

would not be able to correct accidental 

or fraudulent overpayment errors in the 

SNAP Program. 

Description of Respondents: State, 

Local, and Tribal Government; 

Individuals or households. 

Number of Respondents: 917,619. 

Frequency of Responses: 

Recordkeeping; Reporting: Annually. 

Total Burden Hours: 207,833.705. 

Ruth Brown, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2014–17097 Filed 7–21–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA); 

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance 

for 2012 Fruit Crop Losses 

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation 

and Farm Service Agency, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC) and the Farm Service 

Agency (FSA) are announcing the 

availability of Noninsured Crop Disaster 

Assistance Program (NAP) payments 

under the 2012 NAP Frost Freeze 

(NAPFF) Program, which will provide 

payments for losses to 2012 annual fruit 

crops grown on bushes or trees in 

counties that received Secretarial 

disaster designations due to frost or 

freeze for the 2012 crop year. This 

retroactive assistance for 2012 losses is 

authorized by the Agricultural Act of 

2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill). Eligible 

causes of loss for NAPFF are not limited 

to frost or freeze, although to be eligible 

for payment, losses must have occurred 

in a county that had a Secretarial 

disaster designation due to frost or 

freeze for the 2012 crop year. Other 

qualifying causes of loss, as specified in 

the current NAP regulations, include 

damaging weather or adverse natural 

occurrences such as flooding. The 

funding available for this program is 

such sums as may be necessary to cover 

eligible 2012 fruit losses. 

DATES: Applications: Applications for 

payment must be submitted to Farm 

Service Agency (FSA) county offices by 

September 22, 2014. 

Comments: To comment on the 

information collection request in 

Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements 

section of this document, we will 

consider comments we receive by 

September 22, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Peterson, telephone (202) 720– 

7641. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

NAP is operated by the Farm Service 

Agency (FSA) for CCC as authorized by 

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42494 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 2014 / Notices 

section 196 of the Federal Agriculture 

Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, 

as amended (7 U.S.C. 7333). The current 

NAP regulations are in 7 CFR part 1437. 

NAP is administered under the general 

supervision of the Executive VicePresident of CCC (who also serves as 

Administrator, FSA) and is carried out 

by FSA State and county committees. 

NAPFF is a one-time program 

authorized by section 12305 of the 2014 

Farm Bill (Pub. L. 113–79) to provide 

NAP payments to producers who had 

losses to 2012 annual fruit crops grown 

on a bush or tree. Except as otherwise 

specified in this NOFA, NAPFF will be 

administered using the existing 

regulations and procedures for NAP. 

NAP coverage is limited to crops 

other than livestock that are 

commercially produced for food and 

fiber, and to other specific crops 

(christmas trees, turfgrass sod, 

aquaculture including ornamental fish, 

ornamental nursery, etc.) for which 

catastrophic risk protection plan of 

insurance under 7 U.S.C. 1508(b) is not 

available through the Risk Management 

Agency (RMA). Qualifying losses to 

eligible NAP crops must be due to an 

eligible cause of loss as specified in 7 

CFR part 1437, which includes 

damaging weather (drought, hurricane, 

freeze, etc.) or adverse natural 

occurrence (volcanic eruption, flood, 

etc.). 

NAP coverage is not automatic; 

producers must apply for NAP and pay 

a service fee at their FSA county office 

to obtain coverage, as well as meet 

certain other eligibility criteria. 

Information about the service fee is 

discussed below in the Service Fee 

section. Catastrophic level NAP covers 

the amount of losses due to low yield 

greater than 50 percent of expected 

production. As specified in current 

regulations in 7 CFR part 1437, NAP 

payments for low yield loss are 

calculated based on the loss of an 

eligible NAP crop in excess of 50 

percent of expected production 

(guarantee) times 55 percent of the 

average market price for the crop. This 

means that the maximum payment for a 

total loss under NAP catastrophic 

coverage is 27.5 percent (50 percent of 

55 percent). 

The 2014 Farm Bill adds the 

availability of higher coverage levels for 

most crops (other than those grown for 

grazing) and retroactive coverage for 

2012 fruit losses, as described in more 

detail in the following section of this 

document. The 2014 Farm Bill does not 

change the basic scope of NAP as a risk 

management program for crops not 

otherwise covered by a catastrophic risk 

protection plan of insurance. 

2014 Farm Bill Changes to NAP 

The 2014 Farm Bill modifies NAP to 

permit producers an opportunity to 

obtain additional risk management 

coverage ranging from 50 to 65 percent 

of production, in 5 percent increments, 

and for 100 percent of the average 

market price. This ‘‘additional 

assistance’’ coverage is discussed below 

in the Additional Assistance Coverage 

Levels for 2012 Fruit Losses section. As 

specified in the 2014 Farm Bill, the 

premium for this additional level of 

coverage is 5.25 percent times the level 

of coverage. The premium is discussed 

below in the Premium Calculation 

section. The coverage levels and 

premium calculations are specified in 

the 2014 Farm Bill and FSA has no 

discretion to offer different coverage 

levels or premiums. 

As noted earlier, the 2014 Farm Bill 

authorized NAP assistance retroactively 

for losses to 2012 fruit crops grown on 

trees and bushes in counties that had 

Secretarial disaster designations for frost 

or freeze for the 2012 crop year. This 

additional 2012 NAP assistance is being 

provided under NAPFF. Where the 2014 

Farm Bill was silent with respect to 

NAPFF, FSA made a discretionary 

decision to make all producers of 

eligible fruit crops with eligible losses 

in disaster counties in 2012 eligible for 

NAPFF, whether or not they purchased 

2012 NAP coverage during the original 

application period for 2012. Any 

producers of NAP eligible fruit crops 

intended for harvest as fresh or 

processed fruit or juice fruit (and not 

fruit for intended uses of seed or root 

stock), without regard to whether or not 

the producer previously obtained 2012 

NAP coverage on eligible fruit crops in 

eligible counties, will be able to apply 

for NAPFF assistance for eligible causes 

of loss to these fruit crops in eligible 

counties. 

Definitions 

NAPFF will be implemented using 

the existing regulations for NAP (7 CFR 

part 1437), including the definitions in 

those regulations. 

The following definitions from similar 

disaster assistance programs also apply 

to this NOFA: 

• ‘‘Beginning farmer’’ and ‘‘socially 

disadvantaged farmer’’ as defined in 7 

CFR 1416.102, and 

• ‘‘Bush,’’ ‘‘tree,’’ and ‘‘vine’’ as 

defined in 7 CFR 1416.402. 

The following terms are specifically 

defined for NAPFF. They are similar to 

the way these terms are defined in the 

existing NAP and disaster assistance 

regulations, but are revised to reflect 

that NAPFF is only available for 2012 

losses: 

‘‘Limited resource farmer’’ means a 

farmer or rancher who is both the 

following: 

(a) A person whose direct or indirect 

gross farm sales did not exceed 

$163,200 in each of calendar years 2009 

and 2010, and 

(b) A person whose total household 

income was at or below the national 

poverty level for a family of four in each 

of the same two previous years 

referenced in paragraph (a) of this 

definition. 

Limited resource producer status may 

be determined using the USDA Limited 

Resource Farmer and Rancher Online 

Self Determination Tool located on the 

Limited Resource Farmer and Rancher 

Web site at http://www.lrftool.sc.

egov.usda.gov/. 

For legal entities requesting to be 

considered Limited Resource Farmer or 

Rancher, the sum of the gross sales and 

household income must be considered 

for all members. 

‘‘Crop year’’ means the calendar year 

in which the crop is normally harvested 

or in which the majority of the crop 

would have been harvested. For the 

purpose of NAPFF assistance, the 

eligible crop year is 2012. 

The 2014 Farm Bill sections on AGI 

and payment limits refer to ‘‘benefits’’ 

from FSA and CCC programs. (Most 

FSA and CCC program benefits are cash 

payments, but some programs provide 

non-cash benefits such as technical 

assistance and subsidized risk 

management products.) This NOFA uses 

the terms ‘‘assistance,’’ ‘‘coverage,’’ and 

‘‘payments’’ to refer to NAP and NAPFF 

benefits. For NAP, in general, the period 

to apply for coverage ends before the 

crop is planted and coverage begins at 

least 30 days after application for 

coverage. Producers who had previously 

purchased NAP may be eligible to also 

receive assistance under NAPFF. For 

NAPFF only, assistance may be 

obtained retroactively by producers who 

did not previously apply for 2012 NAP 

coverage. In the case of NAPFF, 

assistance will provide payments for 

known losses. 

Eligible Losses 

NAPFF assistance is available only for 

losses that meet specific eligibility 

criteria and requirements established by 

the 2014 Farm Bill. All eligibility 

requirements described below for 

eligible fruit crops, eligible counties, 

eligible causes of loss, and eligible 

coverage period must be met in order to 

receive payment. 

NAPFF assistance is available only for 

losses to fruit crops grown on a tree or 

bush. The following fruit crops are 

eligible: Apples, apricots, aronia, 

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atemoya, avocados, bananas, 

blueberries, breadfruit, caimito, 

carambola (starfruit), cherimoya, 

cherries, coconuts, currants, dates, 

elderberries, figs, gooseberries, 

grapefruit, guanabana (soursop), guava, 

guavaberry, huckleberries, jack fruit, 

jojoba, jujube, kiwifruit, kumquats, 

lemons, limes, longan, lychee (litchi), 

mangos, mangosteen, mayhaw berries, 

mesple, mulberries, nectarines, noni, 

olives, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears, 

persimmons, pineapple, plantain, 

plumcots, plums, pomegranates, prunes, 

pummelo, quinces, rambutan, sapodilla, 

sapote, tangelos, tangerines, and wax 

jamboo fruit. 

Fruit crops grown on canes or vines 

are not eligible. This requirement is 

statutory and FSA has no discretion to 

extend NAPFF assistance to crops that 

do not meet this requirement. To 

administer NAPFF assistance, FSA is 

using the definitions of ‘‘bush,’’ ‘‘tree,’’ 

and ‘‘vine’’ as specified in the 

regulations for the Tree Assistance 

Program (TAP) at 7 CFR part 1416, 

subpart E, for consistency in 

determining the eligible fruit crops for 

NAPFF. 

Losses must have occurred in an 

eligible county. Eligible counties for 

NAPFF are primary counties that 

received Secretarial disaster 

designations for the 2012 crop year due 

to frost or freeze and those counties 

contiguous to such counties that 

received Secretarial disaster 

designations for the 2012 crop year due 

to frost or freeze. A total of 731 counties, 

located in the following 37 States, are 

eligible counties for NAPFF: Arizona, 

California, Colorado, Connecticut, 

Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, 

Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, 

Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, 

Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, 

New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, 

North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, 

Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South 

Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, 

Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and 

Wyoming. A map and a list of eligible 

counties are available on the FSA Web 

site and at FSA county offices. If any 

portion of a producer’s fruit crop unit 

was physically located in an eligible 

county, the entire crop unit (as unit is 

defined in the current NAP regulations 

at 7 CFR 1437.8) is eligible for 

assistance under NAPFF. 

The requirement to provide NAPFF 

assistance only in eligible counties is 

specified in the 2014 Farm Bill. CCC has 

no discretion to offer additional 

assistance under this NOFA for crops in 

other counties that did not have frost or 

freeze Secretarial disaster designations 

for the 2012 crop year. 

As specified in 7 U.S.C. 7333 and in 

the current NAP regulations in 7 CFR 

1437.4, NAP coverage is available only 

in counties where RMA does not offer 

catastrophic crop insurance coverage for 

those crops. CCC has no discretion to 

offer 2012 NAP coverage, including 

NAPFF, in counties for crops where 

catastrophic risk plan of insurance 

coverage was available for 2012. 

While the county in which the loss 

occurred must have received a 

Secretarial disaster designation for the 

2012 crop year specifically due to frost 

or freeze, eligible causes of loss in that 

county for the eligible fruit crop include 

all the eligible causes of loss specified 

in the current NAP regulations, not just 

frost or freeze. For example, if a fruit 

producer in a county that had a 2012 

Secretarial disaster designation due to 

frost or freeze had losses due to floods 

or tornadoes, those losses would be 

eligible for coverage under this NOFA. 

Eligible causes of loss as specified in the 

current NAP regulations at 7 CFR 1437.9 

include: 

• Damaging weather occurring before 

or during harvest, including, but not 

limited to, drought, hail, excessive 

moisture, freeze, tornado, hurricane, 

excessive wind, or any combination of 

those; 

• Adverse natural occurrence before 

or during harvest, such as earthquake, 

flood, or volcanic eruption; or 

• A related condition, including, but 

not limited to, heat, insect infestation, 

or disease, which occurs as a result of 

an adverse natural occurrence or 

damaging weather occurring before or 

during harvest that directly causes, 

accelerates, or exacerbates the 

destruction or deterioration of an 

eligible crop, as determined by FSA. 

The regulations in 7 CFR 1437.9(c) 

and (e), which specify eligible and 

ineligible causes of loss, respectively, 

apply to losses under this NOFA. Only 

losses to quantity are eligible losses 

under NAPFF. Value loss crops are not 

eligible for NAPFF. Payment will not be 

provided based on losses to quality. 

Losses must have occurred during the 

2012 crop year NAP coverage period as 

specified in 7 CFR 1437.5, which varies 

by crop. The 2012 coverage period for 

NAP, which applies to any eligible fruit 

crop grown on a tree or bush under 

NAPFF, began 30 days after the 

application closing date for the crop and 

ended on the earliest of: 

• 10 months from the application 

closing date for the crop, 

• The date harvest was complete, 

• The normal harvest date, 

• Abandonment of the crop, or 

• Total destruction of the crop. 

Producers applying for NAPFF 

assistance are not required to have 

previously filed a 2012 NAP application 

for coverage during the 2012 application 

period. Normally, NAP coverage begins 

no earlier than 30 days after the 

application is filed. However, under the 

terms of this NOFA, and as authorized 

by the 2014 Farm Bill, producers may 

apply for retroactive coverage only for 

eligible 2012 fruit crops. 

NAPFF payments will be calculated 

based on the coverage period for the 

crop as it would have been for the 

producer who filed a timely application 

for coverage for 2012 NAP coverage. The 

coverage period for NAPFF is the 

longest coverage period that could have 

existed for the fruit crop in the county 

without regard to the actual date the 

producer of that crop filed an 

application for coverage. In other words, 

the provision that the coverage period 

cannot begin earlier than 30 days after 

the filing of the application for coverage 

is set aside for NAPFF. 

Additional Assistance Coverage Levels 

for 2012 Fruit Losses 

Prior to the 2014 Farm Bill, NAP had 

only one coverage level—a 

‘‘catastrophic’’ coverage that covered the 

amount of loss greater than 50 percent 

of the expected production based on the 

approved yield and reported acreage, 

and calculated payments based on 55 

percent of the average market price for 

the crop established by the FSA state 

committee. This catastrophic level of 

coverage was the only type of NAP 

coverage previously offered in 2012. 

The 2014 Farm Bill authorizes the 

Secretary to provide additional levels of 

NAP coverage, which requires payment 

of a premium in addition to the NAP 

service fee, beginning with the 2015 

program year, and also retroactively 

applies these additional coverage levels 

to eligible 2012 losses in select counties 

for select eligible tree or bush fruit crops 

under this NOFA. FSA will calculate 

payments for the additional assistance 

coverage based on 100 percent of the 

average market price and: 

• 50 percent of the approved yield, 

• 55 percent of the approved yield, 

• 60 percent of the approved yield, or 

• 65 percent of the approved yield. 

Because FSA is providing this 

coverage retroactively and losses for the 

2012 crop year are known, FSA expects 

that each applicant would select the 

additional assistance coverage level that 

provides the largest payment based on 

the applicant’s known losses and 

amount of the applicable premium. 

Therefore, to minimize the burden on 

the applicants, FSA will calculate 

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42496 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 2014 / Notices 

which coverage level will provide the 

maximum payment for a particular 

producer’s 2012 losses, and 

automatically subtract the premium for 

that level of coverage from the payment 

amount. Producers who already 

received NAP payments for 2012 losses 

will be eligible to receive additional 

NAPFF payments up to the additional 

assistance coverage level (minus the 

original NAP payment received), unless 

such additional payment would exceed 

the payment limit for NAP. For most 

applicants, unless they have already 

received payments at or near the NAP 

payment limit for other 2012 NAP 

losses, the maximum payment will be at 

the 65 percent coverage level. (The 

premium calculation is described in 

more detail later in this document.) 

Service Fee 

If a producer did not previously apply 

for NAP coverage for the 2012 crop year 

and pay the applicable service fee, the 

service fee must be paid at the time of 

NAPFF application. The service fee for 

the 2012 crop year is the lesser of $250 

per crop or $750 per producer per 

administrative county, not to exceed a 

total of $1,875 for a producer with 

farming interests in multiple counties. 

This fee is specified in the 2008 Farm 

Bill and is not changed by the 2014 

Farm Bill. 

Producers who qualify as limited 

resource farmers may request a waiver 

of the service fee. Limited resource 

farmers who do not already have 2012 

NAP coverage must request a service fee 

waiver and provide a certification of 

their eligibility for the waiver on form 

CCC–860 at the time of application. 

(The waiver of service fees for beginning 

and socially disadvantaged farmers 

mandated by the 2014 Farm Bill starts 

with the 2014 NAP program year and 

does not apply for NAPFF assistance.) 

Producers who previously applied for 

2012 NAP coverage and submitted a 

certification of their status as limited 

resource farmers are not required to 

submit an additional certification for 

NAPFF. 

Producers who previously applied for 

2012 NAP coverage for NAPPF eligible 

crops or who and paid the maximum 

applicable service fee are not required to 

pay an additional service fee to apply 

for NAPFF crops. If producers paid less 

than the maximum service fee, then 

they will be required to pay an 

additional service fee, up to the 

maximum, for any additional NAPFF 

crops for which they apply for 

assistance. For example, a producer 

with a farm in a single county who 

bought coverage for any three 2012 NAP 

crops has already paid the maximum fee 

of $750, and therefore would not owe 

any additional service fees for NAPFF. 

A producer who had only purchased 

2012 coverage for one crop in one 

county and who previously paid a 

service fee of $250 would need to pay 

the additional service fee for any 

additional NAPFF crops. 

Premium Calculation 

Premiums for NAPFF assistance will 

be calculated as the product of the 

producer’s share, times the number of 

eligible acres devoted to the crop, times 

the approved yield per acre, times the 

coverage level, times the average market 

price, times a 5.25 percent premium fee. 

The maximum premium per producer, 

as specified in the 2014 Farm Bill, is 

$6,562.50 (the product of the applicable 

payment limitation of $125,000 times a 

5.25 percent premium fee for the 

maximum level of coverage). (This will 

also be the maximum premium for NAP 

coverage in 2015 and subsequent years.) 

For example, if Farmer Smith has a 

100 percent share interest in 20 acres of 

apple trees intended for the fresh 

market, and the approved yield per acre 

for that crop is 500 bushels, and the 

average fresh market price is $12.75 per 

bushel, and the coverage level is 65 

percent, the premium will be 1.000 (100 

percent share) times 20 (acres) times 500 

(bushels per acre) times 0.65 (coverage 

level of 65 percent) times $12.75 (price 

per bushel) times 0.0525 (premium 

factor), which equals $4,350.94. 

Premiums will be calculated 

separately for each fruit crop, type, and 

intended use, (or final use, if different 

from intended use) but cannot exceed 

$6,562.50 per producer as explained 

above. A producer’s total premium 

amount will be the sum of the 

premiums calculated for each fruit crop 

and type for which a producer is 

receiving NAPFF assistance. 

The producer will not pay the 

premium for NAPFF separately; FSA 

will deduct it from the NAPFF payment. 

In the example above, if Farmer Smith 

suffered a 100 percent loss, the payment 

would be calculated as 1.000 (100 

percent share) times 20 (acres) times 500 

(bushels per acre) times 0.65 (coverage 

level) minus 0 bushels (actual 

production) times $12.75 (price per 

bushel), minus $4,350.94 (the 

premium), which equals a NAPFF 

payment of $78,524.06. (These example 

calculations do not include any service 

fees Farmer Smith has paid, because 

those would have been paid at the time 

of application for payment.) 

Beginning farmers, limited resource 

farmers, and socially disadvantaged 

farmers are eligible for a 50 percent 

reduction of their calculated premium. 

(If Farmer Smith was a beginning 

farmer, the premium for apple trees for 

the fresh market would be $2,175.47.) 

To be eligible for a premium reduction, 

producers must request a premium 

reduction and provide a certification of 

their eligibility for the premium 

reduction on form CCC–860 at the time 

of application. Producers who 

previously applied for 2012 NAP 

coverage and submitted a certification of 

their status as limited resource 

producers are not required to submit an 

additional certification for NAPFF. 

If a NAPFF payment calculated by 

FSA as specified in this NOFA is not 

sufficient to cover the calculated 

premium, no payment will be issued 

and no premium is due. (This is 

unlikely, and would occur only if the 

producer had relatively small losses, or 

losses determined after application to be 

ineligible.) 

Application 

A producer applying for NAPFF 

payments is required to file a NAPFF 

application by September 22, 2014. As 

noted above, some producers may not 

owe a service fee, but all producers 

must file a NAPFF application to be 

eligible for NAPFF payment, regardless 

of whether they previously applied for 

2012 NAP coverage, filed notices of loss, 

or received NAP payments for the 2012 

crop year. Producers who did not 

previously apply for 2012 NAP coverage 

must pay the service fee as discussed 

above, or request a service fee waiver 

and provide a certification of their 

status as a limited resource farmer, if 

applicable, by September 22, 2014 in 

order for their NAPFF application to be 

considered complete. 

In addition to a NAPFF application, 

any producer applying for NAPFF 

assistance must submit the following 

documents, if not already on file with 

the FSA county office: 

• NAP application for coverage; 

• NAP notice of loss; 

• NAP application for payment; 

• Acreage report, as specified in 7 

CFR part 718; 

• Farm operating plan for payment 

limitation review; and 

• AGI certification of eligibility based 

on the $900,000 AGI limitation as 

specified in the 2014 Farm Bill. 

These supporting documents and 

certifications are required and must be 

filed by September 22, 2014. All other 

general conservation compliance 

eligibility provisions of 7 CFR part 12 

apply to NAPFF in the same way as 

those provisions applied to all other 

2012 NAP assistance. 

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Production Records 

Producers who had 2012 NAP 

coverage and who already filed a report 

of production along with an application 

for payment that met NAP program 

requirements specified in 7 CFR part 

1437 are not required to file additional 

production reports to accompany their 

NAPFF application, if that production 

report included NAPFF crops. 

Producers applying for NAPFF must 

certify the total amount of production of 

crops on the NAP application for 

payment and, unless previously 

submitted as specified in the NAP 

regulations in 7 CFR part 1437, submit 

verifiable or reliable production records, 

if available, to justify the certification of 

harvested production to the FSA county 

committee. Because this assistance is 

being made available retroactively, FSA 

has decided not to require loss 

adjustment appraisals, or other similar 

measures or requirements, because 

physical evidence of the 2012 loss is 

unlikely to be available for examination 

or verification. 

If a producer applies for NAPFF and 

the producer has no acceptable 

verifiable or reliable production records 

because those records are not available, 

the FSA county committee will use the 

higher of the participant’s certification 

of production or a maximum average 

loss level (MALL) established by the 

county committee for that crop to 

determine payment eligibility. This 

policy applies only to NAPFF 

assistance. It applies both to producers 

who have not previously applied for 

2012 NAP assistance, and to producers 

that were previously found ineligible for 

2012 NAP payments on an eligible crop 

for which NAPFF assistance is now 

being made available because they did 

not previously submit acceptable 

production evidence on that fruit crop. 

MALL will only be used for the purpose 

of processing the NAPFF application. It 

will not be used in the producer’s 

approved yield or actual production 

history (APH) database for other 

purposes, including for subsequent NAP 

crop years. 

In order for production reports or 

appraisals to be considered acceptable, 

production reports and appraisals must 

meet the requirements specified in 7 

CFR part 1437. If the eligible crop was 

sold or otherwise disposed of through 

commercial channels, acceptable 

production records include: Commercial 

receipts; settlement sheets; warehouse 

ledger sheets or load summaries; or 

appraisal information from a loss 

adjuster acceptable to FSA. If the 

eligible crop was farm-stored, sold, fed 

to livestock, or disposed of by means 

other than commercial channels, 

acceptable production records for these 

purposes include: Truck scale tickets; 

appraisal information from a loss 

adjuster acceptable to FSA; 

contemporaneous reliable diaries; or 

other documentary evidence, such as 

contemporaneous reliable 

measurements. Determinations of 

reliability will take into account, as 

appropriate, FSA’s ability to verify the 

evidence as well as the similarity of the 

evidence to reports or data received by 

FSA for the crop or similar crops. Other 

relevant factors may also be taken into 

account. FSA may, at any time before or 

after paying any individual NAPFF 

application, verify the production 

evidence submitted with records on file 

at the warehouse, gin, or other entity 

that received or may have received the 

reported production. 

Approved Yield 

An approved yield is used to calculate 

NAPFF payments. These yields will be 

calculated as specified in the current 

NAP regulations, with the exceptions 

discussed below. For producers who 

previously obtained 2012 NAP coverage, 

the approved yield previously 

established for their crop for the 2012 

crop year as specified in 7 CFR 

1437.102(e)(2) will be used to determine 

the NAPFF payment amount. 

The approved yield for NAPFF will be 

calculated as specified in 7 CFR part 

1437 subpart B for producers who did 

not previously obtain 2012 NAP 

coverage. Producers who did not 

previously obtain 2012 NAP coverage 

will be allowed to submit actual yields 

for the APH base period for the 

purposes of NAPFF as long as verifiable 

or reliable records are available to 

confirm the actual yield. 

If production yields were not certified 

in the APH base period for the 2012 

approved yield currently established for 

NAPFF, producers may request that 

FSA replace the missing yields for such 

years with the missing crop year’s actual 

yield as long as verifiable or reliable 

records are provided to justify the actual 

yield. These actual yields updated for 

the purpose of NAPFF will be termed 

‘‘exception actual yields.’’ Any 

exception actual yields used for 

calculating NAPFF payments will not be 

used to calculate any other NAP 

payments for any other year. 

Payment Calculation 

The NAPFF payment to the eligible 

producer will be a net payment, which 

will be calculated as the maximum 

payment for which the producer is 

eligible based on crop losses, minus the 

premium and any other adjustments 

required for payment limits, average 

adjusted gross income (AGI), and other 

requirements. FSA will calculate 

NAPFF payments using a calculation 

similar to the one specified in 7 CFR 

1437.105, with changes to address 

additional assistance coverage, payment 

limits, and any 2012 NAP assistance 

previously issued to a producer. 

Assistance will be calculated separately 

for each crop and use. FSA will use the 

following steps to calculate NAPFF 

payments: 

Step 1: Multiply the total eligible 

acreage planted to the eligible crop by 

the producer’s share. 

Step 2: Multiply the result of step 1 

by the approved yield per acre for the 

eligible crop for the producer times the 

applicable additional assistance 

coverage level elected by the producer. 

(For most producers, the coverage level 

will be 65 percent.) 

Step 3: Multiply the applicable 

production for 2012 by the producer’s 

share. (The applicable production for 

2012 will be either the net production 

of the total eligible acreage based on 

acceptable production records, or the 

higher of the producer’s certified 

production or production arrived at by 

applying MALL.) 

Step 4: Subtract the result of step 3 

from the result of step 2. (This subtracts 

actual or estimated production from 

expected production times the coverage 

level.) If this result is a negative 

number, the producer did not have 

sufficient losses to qualify for a NAPFF 

payment. 

Step 5: Multiply the result of step 4 

by the average market price and apply 

any applicable payment factors for 

harvested, prevented planted, or 

unharvested crops as specified in 7 CFR 

1437.11. 

Step 6: Multiply the value of salvage 

and secondary use by the producer’s 

share, and subtract the result from the 

result of step 5. 

Step 7: Verify that the amount in Step 

6 would not exceed the 2014 Farm Bill 

payment limits 

Step 8: Subtract the amount, if any, of 

2012 NAP assistance previously paid to 

the producer for the same crop from the 

result of step 6. (For example, if the 

producer previously received payment 

for 2012 catastrophic level NAP 

coverage for the same crop, but now 

qualifies for 65 percent coverage of 100 

percent of market price under NAPFF, 

the previous payment is subtracted from 

the NAPFF payment.) 

Step 9: Subtract the applicable 

premium amount based on the 

applicable additional assistance 

coverage level from the result of step 8. 

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42498 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 2014 / Notices 

The result of Step 9 will be the 

NAPFF payment to the producer. 

Payment and Income Limitations 

Sections 1603 and 1605 of the 2014 

Farm Bill establish payment and income 

limitations, respectively, that apply to 

2014 and subsequent crop, program, or 

fiscal year benefits, and retroactive 2012 

crop year benefits for programs that 

were authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. 

FSA already implemented these 

payment and income limitations, which 

are specified in 7 CFR part 1400. 

Under the 2008 Farm Bill, NAP 

assistance for the 2012 crop year was 

limited to $100,000, directly or 

indirectly, per person or legal entity. 

The 2014 Farm Bill increases the 

payment limitation for NAP benefits to 

$125,000 per person or legal entity. As 

under the 2008 Farm Bill, attribution of 

payments under 7 CFR part 1400 

applies in administering the payment 

limitation of the 2014 Farm Bill. The 

$125,000 payment limit is retroactive to 

2012 for NAPFF only, not for any other 

2012 NAP payments. 

That means that a person or legal 

entity may receive up to $125,000 total 

for NAPFF and other NAP payments for 

2012, but the 2008 Farm Bill payment 

limit of $100,000 for all other 2012 NAP 

payments still applies. A producer can 

receive $125,000 total for the 2012 crop 

year if and only if at least $25,000 of 

such total 2012 crop year payments is 

from NAPFF assistance. (A producer 

could receive up to $125,000 for NAPFF 

payments alone.) If the producer is not 

eligible for any NAPFF payments, the 

total amount of 2012 crop year 

payments under NAP is still limited to 

$100,000. 

The 2014 Farm Bill establishes an 

average AGI limit for most FSA and CCC 

programs of $900,000. The applicable 

years for determining average AGI for 

2012 are 2008, 2009, and 2010. Under 

the 2008 Farm Bill, NAP payments were 

subject to a limit of $500,000 nonfarm 

average AGI. The $900,000 limit under 

the 2014 Farm Bill is for total average 

AGI, and this single AGI limit replaces 

the multiple limits for farm and nonfarm income, and the separate limit for 

conservation programs, that were 

required by the 2008 Farm Bill. The 

$500,000 average AGI limitation from 

the 2008 Farm Bill does not apply to 

NAPFF under the 2014 Farm Bill, but 

remains in effect for any other 2012 

NAP. This means that a producer who 

was not eligible for 2012 NAP due to 

exceeding the 2008 Farm Bill AGI limits 

may be eligible for NAPFF (but not any 

other 2012 NAP payments) if they are 

under the higher 2014 Farm Bill AGI 

limit. 

All persons or legal entities, directly 

or indirectly applying for NAPFF 

assistance under this NOFA, must 

certify by the application deadline that 

the person or legal entity does not 

exceed the $900,000 average AGI limit. 

This includes members of legal entities, 

who must provide a certification by the 

application deadline in accordance with 

the regulations in 7 CFR 1400.502. The 

certification is in addition to any 

previous AGI certifications that the 

person or entity may have previously 

made regarding average AGI limits as 

required by the 2008 Farm Bill. 

Multiple Benefit Exclusion 

The provisions regarding multiple 

benefits in 7 CFR 1437.13 apply. 

Producers are prohibited from receiving 

benefits under both NAP, including 

NAPFF, and any other program 

administered by the Secretary for the 

same crop loss. If a producer is eligible 

to receive payments under NAP, 

including NAPFF, and benefits under 

any other program administered by the 

Secretary for the same crop loss, the 

producer must choose whether to 

receive the other program benefits or 

payments under NAP, including 

NAPFF, but not both. 

Funding Authority and Sequestration 

The NAPFF assistance announced in 

this NOFA is authorized by section 

12305 of the 2014 Farm Bill. CCC 

funding for NAP, including NAPFF, is 

authorized by 7 U.S.C. 7333, as 

amended. The amount of available 

funding is not limited. However, the 

payments in FY 2015 will be subject to 

sequestration as required by the 

Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 

Control Act of 1985, as amended by the 

Budget Control Act of 2011, which 

mandates that federal agencies 

implement automatic, annual 

reductions to discretionary and 

mandatory spending limits. Payments 

made in FY 2014 are not sequestered. 

Miscellaneous Provisions 

The miscellaneous provisions in 7 

CFR 1437.15 apply to NAPFF 

assistance. 

The MALL value for a crop in a 

county will be established by the county 

committee and is not based on 

information from any individual 

program participant or applicant. 

MALLs established for NAPFF will be 

determined by county committees in 

accordance with instructions issued by 

the FSA’s Deputy Administrator for 

Farm Programs. MALLs are matters of 

general applicability; they are not 

individual producer decisions or extent 

of eligibility decisions and are not 

subject to individual appeal or 

administrative review. The only issues 

that can be appealed with regard to 

MALLs are whether or not a particular 

MALL is being correctly applied (that is, 

that the producer either has or does not 

have acceptable production records 

accompanying their application and 

certification of production, or that the 

producer’s certification of production is 

higher or lower than the level of 

production that would be arrived at 

using the county committee’s 

established MALL). 

All certifications of acreage and 

production are subject to verification 

and spot check. CCC may at any time 

request information or review the 

accuracy of any certification or report 

made by producers or applicants and if 

a review is performed that reveals 

unearned payments were issued, 

unearned payments must be refunded to 

FSA with interest from the date of 

disbursement. 

Consistent with regulations in 7 CFR 

part 1437 and NAP’s basic contract 

provisions, if a crop is subject to an 

arrangement, agreement, or contract for 

guaranteed payment, documentation of 

the arrangement, agreement, or contract 

for guaranteed payment must be 

provided in addition to acceptable 

verifiable or reliable records. Concealing 

the existence or failure to divulge or 

report the existence of any guaranteed 

payment contract or similar 

arrangement or agreement constitutes a 

misrepresentation of production 

information to FSA and renders the 

applicant ineligible for assistance under 

the application and possibly additional 

remedies as prescribed for the person or 

legal entity in 7 CFR part 1437 and 

NAP’s basic provisions. 

Rulemaking 

FSA does not consider this NOFA to 

be subject to rulemaking requirements 

because NAPFF is a limited program for 

2012 losses only, is not of general 

application and future effect, and the 

existing NAP regulation applies as 

discussed above. NAPFF is subject to 

specific requirements of the 2014 Farm 

Bill for which FSA has little discretion. 

If this NOFA is considered to be a rule, 

then the rulemaking exceptions of the 

Administrative Procedure Act would 

apply. Specifically, if this notice is 

considered a rule, then it would be 

contrary to the public interest to delay 

its effectiveness to allow for public 

comment. This NOFA provides 

payments for producers for 2012 losses, 

and it would be contrary to public 

interest to delay the effective date for 

public comments on payments that are 

already at least 2 years after the eligible 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 2014 / Notices 42499 

losses have occurred and for which FSA 

has no discretion. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Requirements 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

chapter 35), FSA submitted an 

emergency information collection 

request on NAPFF so FSA can begin the 

application period upon publication of 

this NOFA. FSA is also requesting 

comments from all interested 

individuals and organizations on a new 

information collection request. This 

information collection is one-time 

activity. If FSA needs to continue this 

request, the information collection 

request will be merged with 0560–0175, 

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance 

Program information collection request 

upon the expiration date. Additionally, 

NAP is authorized by 7 CFR 7 U.S.C. 

7333 and implemented under 

regulations in 7 CFR 1437. In NAP, the 

information FSA collects allows FSA to 

provide assistance under NAP for losses 

of commercial crops or other 

agricultural commodities (except 

livestock) for which catastrophic risk 

protection under 7 U.S.C. 1508(b) is not 

available, and that are not produced for 

food or fiber. 

In the emergency request, NAPFF will 

only apply to 2012 annual fruit crops 

grown on bushes and trees. Therefore, 

FSA is making payments for losses to 

2012 annual fruit crops grown on 

bushes or trees and located in counties 

that received Secretarial disaster 

designations, including counties 

contiguous to such counties, due to frost 

or freeze for the 2012 crop year. 

Title: 2012 Noninsured Crop 

Assistance Program (NAP) Frost Freeze 

Program (NAPFF). 

OMB Number: 0560–NEW. 

Type of Request: New information 

collection. 

Abstract: This information collection 

is needed for FSA to identify eligible 

producers of 2012 annual fruit crops 

grown on bushes or trees located in 

eligible counties and to make payments 

to those producers through NAPFF. FSA 

requires each producer to submit an 

application on a form specified by FSA 

to the FSA county office to apply for 

payments for losses to their eligible 

crops in eligible counties. The majority 

of producers will only need to submit 

the new application form (CCC–473) 

because the rest of their information 

will already be on-file from their 2012 

NAP application and will be up to date 

in the FSA county office. However, 

some producers will also need to 

complete forms CCC–473, CCC–452, 

CCC–471, CCC–576, Part B and Part G, 

FSA–578, CCC–860, CCC–941, CCC– 

902, AD–1026, and other required 

documentation if FSA does not have 

them on file as discussed above in the 

Application section. 

The formula used to calculate the 

total burden hours is the estimated 

average time per response (including 

travel time) times the total estimated 

annual responses. 

Respondents: Producers. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

3,191. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Response: 

3,191. 

Estimated Average Time per Response 

(The average travel time, which is 

included in the average annual burden, 

is estimated to be 1 hour per 

respondent.): 5.2572 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Response: 16,776 hours. 

We are requesting comments on this 

information collection to help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of burden, including 

the validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; or 

(4) 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. 

All responses to this notice, including 

names and addresses, when provided, 

will be summarized and included in the 

request for OMB approval. All 

comments will also become a matter of 

public record. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

The title and number of the Federal 

assistance program in the Catalog of 

Federal Domestic Assistance to which 

this NOFA applies is 10.451, 

Noninsured Assistance. 

Signed on July 16, 2014. 

Juan M. Garcia, 

Administrator, Farm Service Agency, and 

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2014–17237 Filed 7–21–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Tongass Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Tongass Advisory 

Committee (Committee) will meet in 

Ketchikan, Alaska. The Committee is 

established consistent with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 

U.S.C. App. 2). Additional information 

concerning the Committee, including 

the meeting agenda, can be found by 

visiting the Committee’s Web site at: 

http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/R10/

Tongass/TAC. 

DATES: The meetings will be held on the 

following dates: 

• Wednesday, August 6, 2014—10:00 

a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

• Thursday, August 7, 2014—8:30 

a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

• Friday, August 8, 2014—8:30 a.m. 

to 12:30 p.m. 

All meetings are subject to 

cancellation. For status of the meetings 

prior to attendance, please contact the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at 

the Best Western Landing Hotel, Sunny 

Point Ball Room, 3434 Tongass Avenue, 

Ketchikan, Alaska. Written comments 

may be submitted as described under 

Supplementary Information. All 

comments, including names and 

addresses, when provided, are placed in 

the record and available for public 

inspection and copying. The public may 

inspect comments received at the 

Tongass National Forest Office. Please 

call ahead to facilitate entry into the 

building. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nicole McMurren, Committee 

Coordinator, by phone at 907–772–5875, 

or by email at nmcmurren@fs.fed.us. 

Individuals who use telecommunication 

devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the 

Federal Information Relay Service 

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 between 8:00 

a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard 

Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the meeting is to: 

(1) Perform administrative tasks such 

as ethics training, Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA) training, and 

discuss the committee members goals 

and interest; and 

(2) Define areas where the committee 

can provide the most valuable input for 

developing an ecologically, socially, and 

economically sustainable forest 

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