[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56260-56262]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22437]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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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 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 170 / Tuesday, September 3, 2002 / 
Notices  

[[Page 56260]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

Farm Service Agency


Notice of Funds Availability; 2002 Cattle Feed Program

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice announces the availability of $150 million under 
section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (section 32) and Commodity 
Credit Corporation (CCC)-owned nonfat dry milk (NDM) to implement the 
2002 Cattle Feed Program (CFP). This program will provide feed 
assistance to foundation beef cattle operations in Nebraska, South 
Dakota, Colorado, and Wyoming. The CFP is designed to provide feed 
assistance to eligible foundation beef herd owners/lessees in areas 
most severely stricken by drought. The program is available only in 
Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota. These States were 
selected because the most recent data shows that at least 75 percent of 
the pasture and range crops in these states are rated ``poor'' or 
``very poor'' with more than 50 percent of these acres rated as ``very 
poor.'' At the time of the selection of States for participation in the 
2002 Cattle Feed Program, other drought-impacted States' pasture and 
range crops rating were in the 75 percent category; however, their 
``very poor'' rating was significantly less than 50 percent. 
Accordingly, the four States with the very worst overall rating were 
determined to have the most dire immediate need for assistance to 
prevent further liquidation of foundation beef herds. An approximate 
forty-day supply of feed will be provided under CFP, which should feed 
the eligible livestock in these four States until fall grazing and 
additional roughage becomes available. This forty-day feed assistance 
period is neither too short a time to be ineffective nor an 
unnecessarily long period for sustenance, and was a consideration in 
determining the States to be included as eligible for participation in 
2002 CFP. The Farm Service Agency (FSA), through a signup process, will 
determine eligible producers and the amount of assistance that will be 
available in the form of a feed credit to be used at participating feed 
dealers. FSA will also cooperate with feed mills to help distribute the 
supplemental feed. Stocks of nonfat dry milk owned by the CCC will be 
made available to the feed industry at a reduced price to help reduce 
the feed cost.

DATES: FSA will begin accepting applications on August 28, 2002. The 
deadline for receipt of an application Form FSA-551 is December 2, 
2002. FSA will not consider any application received after the 
deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Tjeerdsma, Chief, Emergency 
Preparedness and Programs Branch, USDA/FSA/DAFP/Stop 0517, 1400 
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-0522; telephone (202) 720-
7641; facsimile (202) 690-3610; electronic mail: [email protected]; or Candy Thompson, Deputy Director, Warehouse 
and Inventory Division USDA/FSA/DACO/Stop 0553, 1400 Independence Ave. 
SW., Washington, DC 20250-0; telephone (202) 720-6004; facsimile (202) 
690-3123; electronic mail: [email protected]. Persons with 
disabilities who require alternative means for communication of 
regulatory information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should 
contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12372

    This program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 
12372, which requires with State and local officials.

Environmental Compliance

    The environmental impacts of the program to be implemented by this 
notice have been considered in accordance with the provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321, et 
seq.) Based on the nature and scope of this notice, FSA has concluded 
that the notice will not have any significant impacts upon the human 
environment as documented through the completion of an environmental 
evaluation. A copy of the environmental evaluation is available for 
inspection and review upon request. Therefore, the agency has 
determined that this program is a categorical exclusion and no further 
environmental review is required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    A request for emergency clearance of the information collections 
associated with this notice has been approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under 5 CFR 1320.13(a)(2)(iii), and been 
assigned clearance number 0560-0222.

I. Definitions Applicable to 2002 Cattle Feed Program

    Agency means the Farm Service Agency, or the Commodity Credit 
Corporation, their employees, and any successor agency.
    Applicant means the individual or business entity applying for 
assistance.
    Beef cattle means bovine livestock produced for the sole purpose of 
providing meat for human consumption.
    Breeding bull means a male bovine of adequate age to be used for 
breeding purposes and is included in a foundation beef herd.
    Brood cow means a female bovine that has delivered one or more 
offspring, and is part of a foundation beef herd.
    Business entity means a corporation, partnership, joint operation, 
trust, limited liability company, or cooperative.
    Deputy Administrator or DAFP means the Deputy Administrator of Farm 
Programs, Farm Service Agency (FSA), or a designee.
    Eligible feed means manufactured feed that is suitable to be fed to 
beef cows, bulls, and replacement heifers, and made available from the 
eligible feed supplier to be exchanged for feed credit.
    Eligible livestock means foundation beef livestock that have been 
owned, or cash leased by the applicant for 3 or more months prior to 
August 12, 2002. Foundation beef livestock subject to a contract for 
purchase by the applicant that was negotiated prior to May 12, 2002, 
are eligible livestock.

[[Page 56261]]

    Eligible State means Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, or Wyoming.
    Eligible Feed Supplier means a feed supplier or dealer who has 
signed a contract with FSA to participate in the 2002 Cattle Feed 
Program, and has been assigned a 4-digit numeric ID code by FSA.
    Foundation livestock means a herd of beef cattle kept for the sole 
purpose of breeding and reproduction of beef cattle. A foundation herd 
consists of brood cows, replacement bred heifers (not to exceed 15 
percent of the number of brood cows in the foundation beef herd), and 
breeding bulls (not to exceed one bull per 15 head of brood cows and 
replacement bred heifers).
    Ineligible livestock means buffalo; beefalo; dairy cattle; cattle 
added to the foundation beef herd after May 12, 2002; neutered beef 
cattle; foundation livestock that died or were sold by the applicant 
before August 12, 2002. All other bovine livestock that are not 
foundation livestock or beef cattle are ineligible.
    Replacement bred heifer means a pregnant female bovine that has not 
borne any offspring.

II. Appeals

    An applicant may request an appeal or review of an adverse decision 
made by the Agency in accordance with 7 CFR parts 11 and 780, or its 
successor regulation.

III. Eligibility Requirements

    Applicants must meet all of the following requirements to be 
eligible for the 2002 Cattle Feed Program:
    1. Timely application. The applicant must submit a signed Form FSA-
551 completed to the best of the applicant's ability to the Agency, no 
earlier than August 28, 2002, and no later than December 2, 2002, or 
such earlier date as FSA may announce.
    2. Foundation livestock owner or lessee. The applicant must own, be 
subject to a contract to purchase, or cash lease, eligible livestock.
    3. Foundation livestock located in eligible state. The applicant's 
eligible livestock must have been physically located in an eligible 
State on August 12, 2002.

IV. Gross Revenue Limitation: None

V. Payment Limitation: None

VI. Determining the Amount of Assistance

    The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and other USDA 
data indicate the following:

                            Foundation Beef Livestock Numbers in Four Eligible States
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Beef cow
                      State                          Beef cows      replacement        Bulls           Total
                                                                      heifers
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado........................................         799,000         120,000          45,000         964,000
Nebraska........................................       1,932,000         285,000         100,000       2,317,000
South Dakota....................................       1,792,000         300,000          95,000       2,187,000
Wyoming.........................................         815,000         165,000          50,000       1,030,000
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................       5,338,000         870,000         290,000       6,498,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A total of $150 million in Section 32 funds is available to FSA. A 
reserve of $546,000 allows a total of $149,454,000 available for feed 
credit. Dividing that available funding by the 6,498,000 estimated 
eligible livestock in the four States results in $23.00. Thus, feed 
credit in the amount of $23.00 will be made available from FSA for each 
head of eligible livestock.

VII. Applicant Certification of Eligible Livestock

    The quantity of eligible livestock must be specified by the owner 
or lessee on Form FSA-551. The applicant will report to FSA the number 
of eligible livestock that died or are sold, beginning with the date of 
application through December 12, 2002, only when the number of dead or 
sold eligible livestock exceeds 5 percent of the total number of 
eligible foundation livestock certified on the Form FSA-551.

VIII. Payment Eligibility

    In order to receive a payment the applicant must, as of May 12, 
2002, be an owner, lessee, or under contract to purchase eligible 
foundation beef livestock in an eligible State; submit a Form FSA-551 
to FSA; receive FSA approval on such form; and meet all other 
eligibility requirements.

IX. Payment Amount (Feed Credit)

    The number of eligible foundation beef cattle multiplied by the 
rate of $23.00 equals the feed credit amount to be used to purchase 
feed for eligible livestock at participating FSA-approved feed 
processor/dealer.

X. Length of Term Feed Assistance Will Provide

    For a beef cow, the feed requirement used for previous FSA-
administered feed assistance programs, such as the Livestock Assistance 
Program found at 7 CFR 1439 is converted to a corn equivalent of 15.7 
pounds of corn per day. Using an Olympic five-year average of 1995-2000 
corn prices, the national average price for corn is calculated at $2.07 
per bushel or $0.037 per pound. The support feeding rate of 15.7 pounds 
of corn multiplied by $0.037 per pound of corn required per day to 
support a beef cow is equivalent to $0.58 per day to feed a beef cow. 
The subsistence level of $0.58 per day divided into the $23.00 feed 
assistance results in an approximate 40 day period that the 2002 Cattle 
Feed Program will provide assistance to feed eligible beef cattle.

XI. How the 2002 CFP Will Work

    On the CFP application, the applicant who is an owner of eligible 
livestock in Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, or Wyoming will provide 
FSA with and certify to (1) The applicant's name; (2) taxpayer 
identification number; (3) address; (4) number of eligible livestock, 
and (5) pasture location and acreage. The applicant also will identify 
from an FSA supplied list of feed suppliers, the supplier where the 
applicant will receive feed credit from FSA for manufactured feed for 
eligible livestock. FSA will enter into a contract with participating 
feed processors/dealers to: (1) Provide feed to producers according to 
their eligibility and at no cost to the producer, and (2) purchase NDM 
at $0.01 per 25 kg/55.115 lb. bag, to be used to supplement the protein 
content of the manufactured feed for the eligible beef cattle under 
CFP. After FSA County Committee approval of the CFP application, the 
information on the application will be transmitted to FSA's Kansas City 
Commodity Office (KCCO) from the county office. KCCO will transmit each 
eligible producer's name, taxpayer identification number, and 
eligibility amount, to feed processors under contract with FSA. Feed 
suppliers will establish a credit for use by the producer to obtain 
eligible feed from the feed supplier. Feed suppliers will invoice FSA 
periodically for

[[Page 56262]]

payment of feed provided to the producers.

XII. Misrepresentation, Scheme or Device

    A person shall be ineligible to receive assistance under this part, 
and be subject to such other remedies as may be allowed by law, if, 
with respect to such program, it is determined by an official of FSA, 
that such person has:
    (a) Adopted any scheme or other device that tends to defeat the 
purpose of the program operated under this Notice;
    (b) Made any fraudulent representation with respect to this 
program; or
    (c) Misrepresented any fact affecting a program determination.

XIII. Liens and Claims of Creditors

    Any benefit or portion thereof due any person under this program 
shall be allowed without regard to questions of title under State law, 
and without regard to any claim or lien in favor of any person, 
including agencies of the U.S. Government.

XIV. Power of Attorney

    In those instances in which, prior to the issuance of this Notice, 
a producer has signed a power of attorney on an approved form FSA-211 
for a person or entity indicating that such power shall extend to all 
programs listed on the form, without limitation, such power will be 
considered to extend to this program unless by September 6, 2000, the 
person granting the power notifies the local FSA office for the control 
county that the grantee of the power is not authorized to handle 
transactions for this program for the grantor.

XV. Administration

    Where circumstances preclude compliance due to circumstances beyond 
the applicant's control, the county or State FSA committee may request 
that relief be granted by the Deputy Administrator under this Notice. 
In such cases, except for statutory deadlines and other statutory 
requirements, the Deputy Administrator may, in order to more equitably 
accomplish the goals of this Notice, waive or modify deadlines and 
other program requirements if the failure to meet such deadlines or 
other requirements does not adversely affect operation of the program 
and are not prohibited by statute.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on August 27, 2002.
Teresa C. Lasseter,
Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency,and Executive Vice President, 
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 02-22437 Filed 8-29-02; 9:04 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P