[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 95 (Thursday, May 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34895-34896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-12249]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 95 / Thursday, May 16, 2002 / 
Notices  

[[Page 34895]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 02-027-1]


Notice of Request for Approval of an Information Collection

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: New information collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's 
intention to initiate a new information collection activity to support 
the National Animal Health Monitoring System's national Dairy 2002 
study.

DATES: We will consider all comments we receive that are postmarked, 
delivered, or e-mailed by July 15, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery 
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send 
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket 
No. 02-027-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state 
that your comment refers to Docket No. 02-027-1. If you use e-mail, 
address your comment to [email protected]. Your comment must 
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files. 
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No. 
02-027-1'' on the subject line.
    You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our 
reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of the USDA 
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, 
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, 
please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related 
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who 
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the national Dairy 
2002 study, contact Ms. Marj Swanson, Administrative Officer, Centers 
for Epidemiology and Animal Health, VS, APHIS, 555 S. Howes, Fort 
Collins, CO 80521; (970) 490-7978. For copies of more detailed 
information on the information collection, contact Mrs. Celeste 
Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734-7477.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: National Animal Health Monitoring System, Dairy 2002.
    OMB Number: 0579-XXXX.
    Type of Request: Approval of a new information collection.
    Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture is 
responsible for protecting the health of our Nation's livestock and 
poultry populations by preventing the introduction and interstate 
spread of contagious, infectious, or communicable diseases of livestock 
and poultry and for eradicating such diseases from the United States 
when feasible. In connection with this mission, the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) operates the National Animal Health 
Monitoring System (NAHMS), which collects, on a national basis, 
statistically valid and scientifically sound data on the prevalence and 
economic importance of livestock and poultry diseases. Information from 
the studies conducted by NAHMS is disseminated to and used by livestock 
and poultry producers, consumers, animal health officials, private 
veterinary practitioners, animal industry groups, policymakers, public 
health officials, media, educational institutions, and others to 
improve the productivity and competitiveness of U.S. agriculture.
    NAHMS' national studies have evolved into a collaborative industry 
and government initiative to help improve product quality and to 
determine the most effective means of producing animal and poultry 
products. APHIS is the only agency responsible for collecting national 
data on animal and poultry health. Participation in any NAHMS study is 
voluntary, and all data are confidential.
    NAHMS will initiate a national study titled Dairy 2002. NAHMS 
personnel completed a needs assessment, which was a collaborative 
effort with producers, industry, extension specialists, Federal and 
State personnel, and university researchers. The information gathered 
through the collaborative needs assessment was used to determine the 
objectives of the study, i.e.: (1) Evaluating education efforts to 
explain changes in dairy producers' knowledge of Johne's disease since 
the Dairy '96 study, to assess management strategies used to prevent 
Johne's disease, including their associated costs, and to determine the 
level of producer participation in Johne's disease control or herd 
certification programs; (2) determining the change in prevalence of 
fecal shedding in food safety pathogens from Dairy '96 to Dairy 2002, 
evaluating management factors influencing bulk tank milk pathogens, and 
estimating the prevalence of Mycoplasma spp. in bulk tank milk; (3) 
describing dairy producers' knowledge of foreign animal diseases, 
reporting procedures, and expected responses in the event of a foot-
and-mouth disease outbreak in the United States (data collected will be 
used to address industry concerns about foreign animal disease 
detection and control in the United States); (4) describing biosecurity 
operating procedures or plans implemented on U.S. dairy operations, as 
well as the producers' sources of biosecurity information; (5) 
describing animal waste handling systems used on U.S. dairy operations; 
and (6) describing animal identification types and frequency of use on 
U.S. dairy operations and incentives required by producers to increase 
or improve use of animal identification.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
the information collection activity for the national Dairy 2002 study.
    The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public 
(as well as affected agencies) concerning our

[[Page 34896]]

information collection. These comments will help us:
    (1) Evaluate 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;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the 
information collection, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the information collection on those who 
are to respond, through use, as appropriate, of automated, electronic, 
mechanical, and other collection technologies, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection 
of information is estimated to average 0.79476502 hours per response.
    Respondents: Corporate and independent producers, private 
veterinary practitioners, and State veterinary medical officers.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 8,405.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 1.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 8,405.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 6,680 hours. (Due to 
averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of 
the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden per 
response.)
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of 
public record.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 10th day of May, 2002.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-12249 Filed 5-15-02; 8:45 am]
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