Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Notices 29553 

maximizing the participation of 

minority farmers and ranchers in the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture; and to 

plan mechanisms for best providing 

advice to the Secretary on the issues 

outlined above. 

DATES: The public portion of the 

conference call will be held on 

Wednesday, June 9, 2021 at 3:00–3:45 

p.m. Central Standard Time (CST). 

Public Call-In Information 

The conference begins at 1:00 p.m. 

Central Time on June 9, 2021; you may 

join the conference 10 minutes prior. 

Step 1: Dial into the conference. 

Dial-in: 888–251–2949 or 215–861– 

0694. 

Access Code: 5416488#. 

Need an international dial-in number? 

Step 2: Join the conference on your 

computer. 

Entry Link: https://ems8.intellor.com/ 

login/838969. 

When you access the entry link above, 

you will be provided a choice—to 

install the WebEx plug-in for your 

preferred browser or to join the web 

conference using a temporary path. 

Either option is acceptable. 

Need technical assistance? 

Audio Connection: 1–888–796–6118. 

WebEx Connection: 1–888–793–6118. 

Public Comments: Written comments 

for the Committee’s consideration may 

be submitted to email: ACMF@usda.gov. 

Written comments must be received by 

June 8th, 2021. 

Availability of Materials for the 

Meeting: General information about the 

ACMF as well as any updates 

concerning the meeting announced in 

this notice, may be found on the ACMF 

website at https://www.usda.gov/ 

partnerships/advisory-committee-onminority-farmers. 

Accessibility: USDA is committed to 

ensuring that all persons are included in 

our programs and events. If you are a 

person with a disability and require 

reasonable accommodations to 

participate in this meeting Please 

contact Eston Williams at 

Eston.Williams@usda.gov or (202) 596– 

0226. 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

General information about the 

committee can also be found at https:// 

www.usda.gov/partnerships/advisorycommittee-on-minority-farmers. Any 

member of the public wishing to obtain 

information concerning this public 

meeting may contact Eston Williams, 

Designated Federal Officer (DFO), at 

Eston.Williams@usda.gov or at (202) 

596–0226. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: The Committee was 

established in the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture pursuant to section 14008 of 

the Food Conservation and Energy Act 

of 2008, Public Law 110–246, 122 Stat. 

1651, 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2279). 

The Committee works in the interest 

of the public to ensure socially 

disadvantaged farmers have equal 

access to USDA programs. The 

Committee advises the Secretary on the 

implementation of section 2501 of the 

Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 

Trade Act of 1990; methods of 

maximizing the participation of 

minority farmers and ranchers in U.S. 

Department of Agriculture programs; 

and civil rights activities within the 

Department, as such activities relate to 

participants in such programs. 

Dated: May 25, 2021. 

Cikena Reid, 

USDA Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11595 Filed 6–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3412–88–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Risk Management Agency 

Notice of Funding Availability; 

Pandemic Cover Crop Program 

AGENCY: Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation, and Risk Management 

Agency, USDA. 

ACTION: Notification of funding 

availability. 

SUMMARY: The Risk Management 

Agency (RMA), on behalf of the Federal 

Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), is 

announcing the availability of funding 

under the Pandemic Cover Crop 

Program (PCCP) to help agricultural 

producers impacted by the effects of the 

COVID–19 outbreak. Given cover crop 

cultivation requires sustained, long-term 

investments to improve soil health and 

gain other agronomic benefits, the 

economic challenges due to the 

pandemic made maintaining cover 

cropping systems financially 

challenging for many producers. For the 

2021 crop year, PCCP premium support 

is available to eligible producers for 

eligible insured acres on a spring crop 

insurance policy on which the producer 

planted a qualifying cover crop during 

the 2021 crop year. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Zanoni, Senior Underwriter, 

david.zanoni@usda.gov, 816–926–6142. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This notice of funding availability 

specifies the terms and conditions of 

PCCP. PCCP provides premium support 

to eligible producers who planted and 

reported to Farm Service Agency (FSA) 

a qualifying cover crop on acreage 

insured under a spring crop insurance 

policy during the 2021 crop year. Funds 

from Division N of the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021, (Pub. L. 116– 

260) will be used for this notice of 

funding availability. 

Definitions 

Approved Insurance Provider (AIP) 

means a legal entity that has entered 

into a reinsurance agreement with FCIC 

for the applicable reinsurance year and 

is authorized to sell and service policies 

or plans of insurance under the Federal 

Crop Insurance Act. 

Crop insurance policy means an 

insurance policy reinsured by FCIC 

under the provisions of the Federal Crop 

Insurance Act, as amended. It does not 

include private plans of insurance. 

Crop year means the period within 

which the insured crop is normally 

grown and is designated by the calendar 

year in which the insured crop is 

normally harvested. 

Eligible insured acres means insured 

acres on which the producer planted a 

qualifying cover crop during the 2021 

crop year, as reported on the CLU(s) to 

FSA via a completed and signed Form 

578-Report of Acreage on or before June 

15, 2021, which may be prior to FSA’s 

acreage reporting date, and reported the 

same CLU(s) on their crop insurance 

acreage report by the applicable Federal 

crop insurance acreage reporting date 

for a 2021 crop year spring crop 

insurance policy. 

Eligible producer means a producer 

meeting all of the eligibility 

requirements for PCCP. 

FCIC means the Federal Crop 

Insurance Corporation, a wholly owned 

Government Corporation of USDA that 

administers the Federal crop insurance 

program. 

FSA means the Farm Service Agency, 

USDA. 

FSA Common Land Unit (CLU) means 

the smallest unit of land that has a 

permanent, contiguous boundary, 

common land cover and land 

management, common owner, and 

common producer association. 

Insured crop means a crop for which 

the participant has purchased a crop 

insurance policy from an AIP. 


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29554 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Notices 

Insured acres means the participant’s 

share of insurable acreage that is 

insured in accordance with a crop 

insurance policy purchased from an 

AIP. 

PCCP means Pandemic Cover Crop 

Program. 

Person means a person as defined in 

7 CFR 457.8(1). 

Qualifying cover crop means any of 

the four types of cover crops: (1) Cereals 

and other grasses; (2) legumes; (3) 

brassicas; and (4) other non-legume 

broadleaves, and mixtures of two or 

more cover crop species planted at the 

same time. For the purposes of PCCP, an 

insured crop is not considered a 

qualifying cover crop. 

RMA means the Risk Management 

Agency, USDA. 

Spring crop means insured crops 

reported for the 2021 crop year with a 

Federal crop insurance acreage 

reporting date of April 15, 2021, to 

August 15, 2021, in accordance with the 

crop insurance policy. 

USDA means United States 

Department of Agriculture. 

Eligibility for PCCP 

For the 2021 crop year, to be eligible 

for premium support under PCCP, the 

participant must be a person who is 

eligible to receive Federal benefits and 

who has purchased a crop insurance 

policy for a spring crop from an AIP for 

insured acres on which the participant 

planted and reported a qualifying cover 

crop during the 2021 crop year. Cover 

crops must be specifically reported to 

FSA via the Form-578 with the 

corresponding crop code. Potential 

participants that are uncertain of 

whether their cover crop was reported 

to the FSA are encouraged to contact 

their local FSA county office 

(farmers.gov/service-locator). Only 

acreage reports that are filed or 

amended prior to June 15 will be 

considered for the program. 

Participants who are in violation of 

Highly Erodible Land or Wetlands 

Conservation (16 U.S.C. 3811–12, and 

3821) are not eligible for premium 

support under PCCP. 

A person is not eligible to receive 

benefits under PCCP if at any time that 

person is determined to be ineligible for 

crop insurance. 

Whole Farm Revenue Protection, 

Supplemental Coverage Option, 

Enhanced Coverage Option, and 

Hurricane Insurance Protection—Wind 

Index policies or endorsements are not 

eligible for PCCP. Stacked Income 

Protection Plan (STAX) and Margin 

Protection (MP) policies are only 

eligible for PCCP when insured as a 

standalone policy. STAX and MP 

endorsements to underlying polices are 

not eligible for PCCP. 

Calculating and Accounting PCCP 

Amounts 

For the 2021 crop year, for eligible 

insured acres covered under a spring 

crop insurance policy, the amount 

under PCCP for each insured acre will 

be $5, calculated on a CLU basis, with 

a maximum equal to the amount of 

premium owed by the insured. Amounts 

under PCCP are limited to the full 

amount of premium owed by the 

insured for the eligible insured acres on 

a CLU basis. If the full amount under 

PCCP would result in a negative 

premium balance for the insured on a 

CLU basis, PCCP amounts will be 

limited to the full amount of premium 

owed on a CLU basis. If the eligible 

insured acres are amended for any 

reason, such as an overreporting of 

insured acres, the amount under PCCP 

will be based on the eligible insured 

acres after any such amendment. 

Where state premium subsidy 

programs are also applicable, if the full 

amount of the premium support under 

the state premium subsidy program and 

PCCP would result in a negative 

premium balance for the insured on a 

CLU basis, state premium subsidy 

would be applied first toward premium 

owed. PCCP would be applied second, 

up to the full amount of producer 

premium owed on a CLU basis. 

The amount under PCCP will not be 

paid directly to participants. FCIC and 

AIPs will account for the amount when 

calculating total producer premium due. 

AIPs will adjust participant bills 

accordingly. All bills still follow the 

same terms and conditions specified in 

the crop insurance policy, regardless of 

PCCP amounts. The payment limitations 

in 7 CFR 760.1507 are not applicable to 

PCCP. 

PCCP premium support will be 

provided via premium billing 

adjustments by the applicable RMA 

premium billing date for the insured 

crop. RMA will obtain cover crop 

records from FSA and determine 

eligibility such that eligible producers 

do not need to take any additional 

specific action through their crop 

insurance agent to enroll in the PCCP. 

In the event that any PCCP amount is 

determined to be incorrect, the amount 

will be recalculated until the 2021 

reinsurance year annual settlement date 

of October 7, 2022, unless otherwise 

specified by the Administrator. After 

that date, the amount will be final 

except in cases of misrepresentation, 

fraud, scheme, or device. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Requirements 

In accordance with the provisions of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. chapter 35, subchapter I), the 

rule does not change the information 

collection approved by OMB under 

control numbers 0563–0053. 

Environmental Review 

In general, the environmental impacts 

of programs are to be considered in a 

manner consistent with the provisions 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321–4347) and 

the regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 

1500–1508). FCIC conducts programs 

and activities that have been determined 

to have no individual or cumulative 

effect on the human environment. As 

specified in 7 CFR 1b.4, FCIC is 

categorically excluded from the 

preparation of an Environmental 

Analysis or Environmental Impact 

Statement unless the FCIC Manager 

(agency head) determines that an action 

may have a significant environmental 

effect. The FCIC Manager has 

determined this notice will not have a 

significant environmental effect. 

Therefore, FCIC will not prepare an 

environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement for this 

action and this notice serves as 

documentation of the programmatic 

environmental compliance decision. 

Federal Assistance Programs 

The title and number of the Federal 

assistance programs, as found in the 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, 

to which this document applies is 

10.450—Crop Insurance. 

USDA Non-Discrimination Policy 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights law and USDA civil rights 

regulations and policies, USDA, its 

Agencies, offices, and employees, and 

institutions participating in or 

administering USDA programs are 

prohibited from discriminating based on 

race, color, national origin, religion, sex, 

gender identity (including gender 

expression), sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family or 

parental status, income derived from a 

public assistance program, political 

beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior 

civil rights activity, in any program or 

activity conducted or funded by USDA 

(not all bases apply to all programs). 

Remedies and complaint filing 

deadlines vary by program or incident. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means of communication for 

program information (for example, 

braille, large print, audiotape, American 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Notices 29555 

Sign Language, etc.) should contact the 

responsible Agency or USDA TARGET 

Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and 

TTY) or contact USDA through the 

Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339. 

Additionally, program information may 

be made available in languages other 

than English. 

To file a program discrimination 

complaint, complete the USDA Program 

Discrimination Complaint Form, AD– 

3027, found online at https://

www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-aprogram-discrimination-complaint and 

at any USDA office or write a letter 

addressed to USDA and provide in the 

letter all the information requested in 

the form. To request a copy of the 

complaint form, call (866) 632–9992. 

Submit your completed form or letter to 

USDA by mail to: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410 or email: OAC@

usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender. 

Richard Flournoy, 

Acting Administrator, Risk Management 

Agency. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11603 Filed 6–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Housing Service 

[Docket No. RHS–21–MFH–0008] 

Notice of Solicitation of Applications 

for the Section 533 Housing 

Preservation Grants for Fiscal Year 

2021 

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service 

(RHS), a Rural Development agency 

(Agency) of the United States 

Department of Agriculture (USDA), 

announces that it is soliciting 

competitive applications under its 

Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) 

program. This action is taken to comply 

with Agency regulations which requires 

the Agency to announce the opening 

and closing dates for receipt of preapplications for HPG funds from eligible 

applicants. The Agency will publish the 

amount of funding on its website at: 

https://www.rd.usda.gov/programsservices/housing-preservation-grants. 

Expenses incurred in developing preapplications will be at the applicant’s 

risk. 

DATES: The closing deadline for receipt 

of all paper pre-applications in response 

to this Notice is 5:00 p.m., local time for 

each Rural Development State Office on 

July 7, 2021. If submitting the preapplication in electronic format, the 

closing deadline for receipt is 5:00 p.m. 

Eastern Daylight Time on July 19, 2021. 

Rural Development State Office 

locations can be found at: http://

www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/stateoffices. RHS will not consider any preapplication that is received after the 

closing deadline. Applicants intending 

to mail pre-applications must provide 

sufficient time to permit delivery on or 

before the closing deadline date and 

time. Acceptance by the United States 

Postal Service or private mailer does not 

constitute delivery. Facsimile (FAX) and 

postage due pre-applications will not be 

accepted. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information, applicants may 

contact Bonnie Edwards-Jackson, 

Finance and Loan Analyst, MultiFamily Housing Production and 

Preservation Division, telephone (202) 

690–0759 (voice) (this is not a toll-free 

number) or (800) 877–8339 (TDDFederal Information Relay Service) or 

via email at bonnie.edwards@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview 

Federal Agency Name: Rural Housing 

Service, USDA. 

Funding Opportunity Title: Housing 

Preservation Grants. 

Announcement Type: Notice. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Number: 10.433. 

A. Program Description 

The HPG program is a grant program, 

authorized under 42 U.S.C. 1490m and 

implemented at 7 CFR part 1944, 

subpart N, which provides qualified 

public agencies, private non-profit 

organizations including, but not limited 

to, Faith-Based and neighborhood 

partnerships, and other eligible entities; 

grant funds to assist low- and very lowincome homeowners in repairing and 

rehabilitating their homes in rural areas. 

In addition, the HPG program assists 

cooperative housing complexes and 

rental property owners in rural areas in 

repairing and rehabilitating their units if 

they agree to make such units available 

to very low- and low-income persons. 

Rental property owners can include 

Section 515 rental properties if the 

eligibility requirements for the HPG 

program are met. In accordance with 7 

CFR 1944.663, rental property owners 

must agree to make the units repaired or 

rehabilitated available for occupancy to 

very low- or low-income persons for a 

period of not less than five years. The 

minimum five-year restriction to rent 

the very low- and low-income tenants 

will only apply to the units that are 

repaired with the HPG funding. Any 

units within the property that were not 

repaired with HPG funding will not be 

subject to the five-year restriction. 

B. Federal Award Information 

The funding instrument for the HPG 

program will be a grant agreement. The 

term of the grant can vary from one to 

two years, depending on available funds 

and demand. No maximum or minimum 

grant levels have been established at the 

National level. In accordance with 7 

CFR 1944.652, coordination and 

leveraging of funding for repair and 

rehabilitation activities with housing 

and community development 

organizations or activities operating in 

the same geographic area are expected, 

but not required. Applicants should 

contact the Rural Development State 

Office to determine the allocation for 

their state. 

The amount of funding available for 

the HPG program may be found at the 

following link: http://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

programs-services/housingpreservation-grants. In addition, the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 

(Pub. L. 116–260) established a set-aside 

for grants located in Rural Economic 

Area Partnership Zones (REAP Zones). 

The State Office will indicate on the list 

submitted to the National Office if the 

pre-application is eligible for the REAP 

Zones set-aside. The National Office 

will then compile a national list, rank 

the REAP Zones applicants based on the 

point allocations set forth in this 

Federal Register Notice, and distribute 

the HPG REAP Zones set-aside starting 

with the highest scoring eligible HPG 

REAP Zones applicants. Other funds 

will be distributed under a formula 

allocation to States pursuant to 7 CFR 

part 1940, subpart L, ‘‘Methodology and 

Formulas for Allocation of Loan and 

Grant Program Funds.’’ Decisions on 

funding will be based on preapplication scores. Anyone interested in 

submitting a pre-application for funding 

under this program is encouraged to 

consult the Rural Development website, 

http://www.rd.usda.gov/programsservices/housing-preservation-grants, 

periodically for updated information 

regarding the status of funding 

authorized for this program. 

The commitment of program dollars 

will be made to selected applicants that 

have fulfilled the necessary 

requirements for obligation. 


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