[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 233 (Monday, December 4, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75663-75665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-30823]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 233 / Monday, December 4, 2000 / 
Notices  

[[Page 75663]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[No. LS-00-11]


Market Promotion Funding--Lamb Meat Adjustment Assistance 
Measures Program

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice: Invitation to submit proposals.

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SUMMARY: Interested parties are invited to submit proposals for the 
availability of approximately $1 million in competitive cooperative 
agreements to carry out ``The Summary of Assistance Measures'' of the 
Domestic Lamb Industry Adjustment Assistance Program. Approximately 
$3.85 million was previously awarded for proposals submitted under this 
program as announced in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 95, 
Tuesday, May 16, 2000. Funds have been made available through a 
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Agricultural Marketing 
Service (AMS) and the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center 
(NSIIC) to be awarded in fiscal year (FY) 2001--with projects completed 
by FY 2002. AMS hereby request proposals for projects from eligible 
entities interested in applying for competitively awarded cooperative 
agreements for lamb meat marketing and promotion. The intent is to fund 
a variety of marketing proposals that will complement previously 
awarded projects or demonstrate a new strategy to increase the sale of 
U.S. lamb.

DATES: Proposals must be received at the address below by close of 
business January 3, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Proposals (original and six copies) should be mailed to: 
Barry L. Carpenter, Deputy Administrator, Livestock and Seed Program, 
Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA, Room 2092-S, Stop 0249, 1400 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0249; telephone (202) 
720-5705.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin O'Connor, International 
Marketing Specialist, Standardization Branch on (202) 720-7046, E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

General Information

    This program resulted from the United States International Trade 
Commission (USITC) findings in Investigation Number TA-201-68 and 
Presidential Proclamation 7208 of July 7, 1999, made subsequent to 
those findings, which initiates a 3-year assistance package for the 
domestic lamb industry. The Secretary of Agriculture outlined the 
assistance measures that were then incorporated by the Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) and the Office of Management and Budget into the 
Domestic Lamb Industry Adjustment Assistance proposal for the U.S. lamb 
industry. AMS is the lead agency implementing the assistance measures 
and will administer funds that have been made available through a MOU 
with the NSIIC for the Marketing and Promotion section of the Domestic 
Lamb Industry Adjustment Assistance Program for the U.S. lamb industry. 
AMS is authorized under 7 U.S.C. 1622 of the Agricultural Marketing Act 
to administer programs of this nature.
    The NSIIC is authorized to conduct marketing and promotion programs 
under section 375 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act 
of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 2008j). A fund is established in the Treasury of the 
United States, without fiscal year limitation, to provide funds for the 
enhancement and marketing of sheep or goat products in the United 
States. Cooperative agreements for these purposes are authorized by 
section 375 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, 7 
U.S.C. 2008j.
    Under the terms of the MOU, a total of up to $1 million in addition 
to funds previously awarded will be provided in competitive cooperative 
agreements during FY 2001. Projects that are submitted in the proposals 
should be completed in a timely fashion as provided in the proposal, 
but under no circumstances later than July 21, 2002. The primary 
objective of the Domestic Lamb Industry Adjustment Assistance Program 
is to fund a number of diverse projects that will increase the sale of 
U.S. lamb regionally, nationally or internationally. The program is 
administered through USDA, AMS, in accordance with the MOU with NSIIC.

Eligible Applicants

    An eligible entity is an organization that promotes the betterment 
of the United States sheep industry and that is: (a) a public, private, 
or cooperative organization; (b) an association, including a 
corporation not operated for profit; (c) a federally recognized Indian 
Tribe; or (d) a public or quasi-public agency. Under the Lobbying 
Disclosure Act of 1995, an organization described in section 501(c)(4) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501 (c)(4)) which 
engages in lobbying activities, is not eligible to apply.

Use of Funds

    Use of funds should directly increase the sale of U.S. lamb meat by 
focusing on, but not limited to, marketing, promotion, merchandizing, 
value-added proposals, market feasibility analysis, or market 
identification. Funds may not be used to: (a) pay costs of preparing 
the application package; (b) fund political activities; or (c) pay 
costs incurred prior to the effective date of the cooperative 
agreement.

Available Funds and Award Limitations

    The total amount of additional funds available for cooperative 
agreements in FYs 2001 and 2002 is approximately $1.0 million. It is 
anticipated that all funds will be awarded in FY 2001 for projects that 
will be completed by July 21, 2002. It is expected that there will be 
submissions that propose to address a variety of needs in promoting 
U.S. lamb. Proposals may be fully or partially funded. Awards will be 
segregated so that a variety of marketing strategies and marketing 
situations will be addressed by the funded proposals. Additionally, 
proposals which further develop projects previously awarded under AMS 
Notice No. LS-00-07 will be considered equally with other submissions. 
The actual number of cooperative agreements funded will depend on the 
quality of proposals received and the amount of funding requested. The 
maximum amount of Federal funds

[[Page 75664]]

awarded for any one proposal will be $250,000. Eligible entities will 
have the option of withdrawing proposals that are partially funded, if 
in their opinion, the portion funded does not meet their needs.

Selection Criteria

    Initially, the proposal will be reviewed to determine whether the 
entity submitting the proposal meets the eligibility requirements and 
whether the proposal application contains the information required. 
After this initial evaluation, the following criteria will be used to 
rate and rank proposals received in response to this notice of funding 
availability. Failure to address any of the criteria will disqualify 
the proposal. Equal weight shall be given to each of the criteria 
listed below and points will be awarded to each criterion on a scale of 
5, 4, 3, 2, 1. A score of 5 indicates that the proposal was judged to 
be highly relevant to the criteria and a score of 1 indicates that the 
proposal was judged not to sufficiently address the criteria. A 
proposal with an average score from the evaluation panel of AMS and 
NSIIC technical experts of less than 2 for any one criterion will 
disqualify the proposal.
    Each proposal criteria area will be evaluated and judged on its own 
merits using the following criteria: (Clarification points are given in 
the italicized format following each question. They are not part of the 
criteria, but are provided to help the applicant better understand what 
the criteria means.)
    (1) Demonstrates the potential to positively influence the U.S. 
lamb market.
    Does the promotion place U.S. lamb on the center of the plate or 
position it well in the market? Does the proposal stress U.S. lamb?
    (2) Demonstrates a merchandising strategy to create new sales or 
expand existing accounts.
    Does the proposal address an improvement in product quality or a 
more consumer friendly product? Is this a new or better merchandising 
strategy?
    (3) Demonstrates a strategy to create value-added linkages among 
various industry sectors.
    Is there a value-added component to the plan? This could be 
coordination between any two or more sectors of the industry from 
producers through retailers. Is there production-to-final consumer or 
``gate-to-plate'' component to the proposal?
    (4) Demonstrates how the marketing proposal will coincide with the 
product marketing cycles.
    Does the marketing strategy identify and address the cyclical 
nature of some markets in the lamb industry? That is, in some markets 
there is a surplus autumn supply with increased demand in the spring.
    (5) Identifies coordination throughout the marketing chain to 
insure supply of the product being marketed in the proposal.
    What segment(s) of the marketing chain does the proposal hope to 
influence? Is there a supplier commitment to provide the product to be 
marketed?
    (6) Provides a detailed analysis of the product, geographic area 
and target market that will be affected.
    Does the proposal identify lamb in general, a specific cut of lamb 
meat, pelts or other lamb products or processes that will be marketed? 
Is the target market area well defined? This could be local, regional, 
national, or international. Are the demographics of the proposed market 
area well defined and understood? Does the demographic information make 
the target audience a good candidate for cost efficient marketing?
    (7) Provides a timetable and objectives along with quantifiable 
benchmark and expected results.
    Does the proposal include: (a) a clear objective; (b) well-defined 
tasks that will accomplish the objectives; (c) realistic benchmarks; 
and (d) a realistic timetable for the completion of the proposed tasks?
    (8) Identifies how the proposal coordinates with existing or 
previous marketing programs.
    Is there an existing marketing campaign through a cooperative, 
Federal Agency, industry group, packer, breaker, or retailer that this 
proposal compliments? Are there any previous programs that this 
proposal will help continue? If there is a sheep industry checkoff, 
what is the likelihood that they would continue this proposed project? 
If there is no coordination; how will this project make positive impact 
in lamb marketing?
    (9) Identifies the resources needed and a management team with the 
ability to administer the proposed project.
    Does the proposal identify the qualified personnel to complete the 
proposed project?
    What experience does the management team have in marketing this 
type of product? Does the management team have the experience needed to 
secure the supply of product to be promoted? Is there a good 
understanding of the marketing tools being proposed? For example, if 
the proposal calls for use of radio, show how this fits into the 
overall marketing strategy, cost, prior experience and expected result.
    (10) Identifies other resources that will be used to leverage the 
funds requested in the proposal.
    Does this proposal augment an existing program? Are there other 
sources of funding or personnel being used to complete the proposed 
project?

Selection Process

    A panel of AMS and NSIIC technical experts will evaluate proposal 
applications. Applications will be evaluated competitively and points 
awarded as specified in the Selection Criteria section of this notice. 
Cooperative agreements will be awarded on a competitive basis to 
eligible entities. After assigning points upon those criteria, 
applications will be listed in rank order and presented, along with 
funding level recommendations, to the Administrator of AMS, who will 
make the final decision on awarding agreements. AMS reserves the right 
to make selections out of rank order to provide a diversity of projects 
targeting various marketing situations, geographic areas or subject 
matter distribution of funded projects. With respect to any approved 
proposal, the amount of funding and the project period during which the 
project may be funded and will be completed, are subject to negotiation 
prior to finalization of the cooperative agreement.

Proposal Submission

    All proposals are to be submitted on standard 8.5x11 inch paper 
with typing on one side of the page only. In addition, margins must be 
at least 1 inch, type must be 12 characters per inch (12 pitch or 10 
point) or larger, no more than 6 lines per inch.

Content of a Proposal

    A proposal must contain the following:
    1. Form SF-424 ``Application for Federal Assistance.''
    2. Form SF-424A ``Budget Information-Non Construction Programs.''
    3. Form SF-424B ``Assurances-Non Construction Programs.''
    4. Table of Contents--For ease of locating information, each 
proposal must contain detailed Table of Contents immediately following 
the required forms. The Table of Contents should include page numbers 
for each component of the proposal. Pagination should begin immediately 
following the Table of Contents.
    5. Project Summary: The proposal must contain a project summary of 
one

[[Page 75665]]

page or less on a separate page. This page must include the title of 
the project and the names of the primary project contacts and the 
applicant organization, followed by the summary. The summary should be 
self-contained and should describe the overall goals and relevance of 
the project. The summary should also contain a listing of all 
organizations involved in the project. The Project Summary should 
immediately follow the Table of Contents.
    6. Project Narrative: The narrative portion of the Project Proposal 
is limited to ten Pages of text and should contain the following:
    a. Introduction. A clear statement of the goals and objectives of 
the project. The problem should be set in context of the present-day 
situation. Summarize the body of knowledge which substantiates the need 
for the proposed project.
    b. Rationale and Significance. Substantiate the need for the 
proposed project. Describe the impact of the project on the United 
States lamb market. Describe the project's specific relationship to the 
segment of lamb market being addressed.
    c. Objectives and Approach. Discuss the specific objectives to be 
accomplished under the project. A detailed description of the approach 
must include:
    (1) techniques or procedures used to carry out the proposed 
activities and for accomplishing the objectives; and (2) the results 
expected.
    d. Timetable. Tentative schedule for conducting the major steps of 
the project.
    e. Evaluation. Provide a plan for assessing and evaluating the 
accomplishments of the stated objectives during the project and 
describe ways to determine the effectiveness (impact) of the end 
results upon conclusion of the project. Awardees will be required to 
submit written project performance reports on a quarterly basis.
    f. Coordination and Management Plan. Describe how the project will 
be coordinated among various participants and the nature of the 
collaborations. Describe plans for management of the project to ensure 
its proper and efficient administration.

What To Submit

    An original and 6 copies must be submitted. Each copy must be 
stapled in the upper left-hand corner. (DO NOT BIND). All copies of the 
proposal must be submitted in one package.

Other Federal Statutes and Regulations That Apply

    Several other Federal, statutes and regulations apply to proposals 
considered for review and to cooperative agreements awarded under this 
program. These include but are not limited to:

7 CFR part 1.1--USDA implementation of the Freedom of Information Act.
7 CFR part 15, subpart A--USDA implementation of title VI of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964, as amended.
7 CFR part 3015--USDA Uniform Federal Assistance Regulations.
7 CFR part 3016--Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and 
Cooperative Agreement to State and Local Governments.
7 CFR part 3019--Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grant 
Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other 
Nonprofit Organizations.
7 CFR part 3051--Audits of Institutions of Higher Education and Other 
Nonprofit Institutions.

Public Burden in This Notice

Form SF-424, ``Application for Federal Assistance''

    This form is used by applicants as a required face sheet for 
applications for Federal assistance.

Form SF-424A, ``Budget Information-Non Construction Programs''

    This form must be completed by applicants to show the project's 
budget breakdown, both as to expense categories and the division 
between Federal and non-Federal sources.

Form SF-424B, ``Assurances-Non Construction Programs''

    This form must be completed by the applicant to give the Federal 
government certain assurances that the applicant has the legal 
authority to apply for Federal assistance and the financial capability 
to pay the non-Federal share of project costs. The applicant also gives 
assurance it will comply with various legal and regulatory requirements 
as described in the form.

Reporting Requirements

    Awardees will be required to submit written project performance 
reports on a quarterly basis and a final report at the completion of 
the project. The project performance report and final report shall 
include, but need not be limited to: (1) A comparison of timeline, 
tasks and objectives outlined in the proposal as compared to the actual 
accomplishments; (2) If report varies from the stated objectives or 
they were not met, the reasons why established objectives were not met; 
(3) Problems, delays, or adverse conditions which will materially 
affect attainment of planned project objectives; (4) Objectives 
established for the next reporting period; and (5) Status of compliance 
with any special conditions on the use of awarded funds.

    Dated: November 28, 2000.
Kathleen A. Merrigan,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 00-30823 Filed 12-1-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P