[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 175 (Wednesday, September 10, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53343-53344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22979]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 175 / Wednesday, September 10, 2003 / 
Notices  

[[Page 53343]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service


Notice of the Availability of the Draft National Animal 
Agriculture Conservation Framework (NAACF) for Public Review and 
Comment

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NRCS is seeking public comments on the draft National Animal 
Agriculture Conservation Framework (NAACF). NRCS is asking for comments 
from individuals; the livestock and poultry industries; private 
consultants; Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments or subgroups 
thereof; universities and colleges; environmental groups; conservation 
organizations; and other entities. These comments will assist NRCS in 
the development of the final NAACF. This National Framework presents an 
approach for assisting livestock and poultry producers with voluntary, 
proactive efforts to foster environmentally sound and economically 
viable production.

DATES: Comments must be received by October 27, 2003.
    Location of the Document: The full text of the NAACF and related 
documents can be found on the NRCS Homepage at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/afo, or can be obtained by hard copy from 
the contact address below.

ADDRESSES: Address all requests and comments to: Angel L. Figueroa, 
Natural Resources Specialist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 
5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Stop Code 5473, Beltsville, Maryland 20705; 
phone: 301-504-2225; fax: 301-504-2264, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Addressing the conservation needs of 
America's livestock and poultry producers is a public policy priority. 
The natural resource conservation provisions of the Farm Security and 
Rural Investment Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-171, made clear that 
producers should receive assistance to improve their operations' 
environmental performance, address Federal, Tribal, State, and local 
environmental regulatory requirements, and maintain economically viable 
operations.
    In January 2003, Bruce I. Knight , Chief, NRCS, called for NRCS 
State Conservationists to work with their State Technical Committees to 
develop State Frameworks with the objective of meeting the conservation 
challenges facing animal production agriculture over the next 10 to 15 
years. These State Frameworks provided the foundation for the 
development of the draft NAACF. More importantly, this National 
Framework recognizes that meaningful action will take place on farms 
and ranches across the Nation, and that programmatic objectives and 
concrete goals will be appropriately established at the local level in 
a manner consistent with the authorized and required purposes and 
objectives of the underlying conservation programs. This National 
Framework also envisions that these locally established goals, 
consistent with the underlying national guidance, will become NRCS 
objectives through established agency planning processes that build 
State and national priorities from local input.
    The NAACF presents a vision for voluntary, proactive efforts to 
foster environmentally sound and economically viable livestock and 
poultry production. It envisions collaboration among Federal, Tribal, 
State, and local governments; producers; the public; and the private 
sector to bring the initiative, resources, and commitment to support 
environmental stewardship in animal agriculture. Four objectives guide 
this vision:

--Helping producers to meet environmental regulatory requirements;
--Helping producers reduce the need for further regulation through 
flexible, results-based multi-media solutions;
--Promoting innovation and market-based opportunities; and
--Sharing knowledge and increasing accountability.

    The draft NAACF identifies six guiding principles that lay the 
groundwork for approaching environmental stewardship:
    [sbull] Local Decision-making and Action--Defining the locally 
important issues, opportunities, and needs as the basis for developing 
workable objectives and actions. It is based on the principle that 
local stakeholders are best suited to deal with local resource 
challenges and opportunities.
    [sbull] Building and Enhancing Partnerships--A broad cross section 
of partners with interests and concerns related to animal agriculture, 
and new partners not traditionally engaged in agriculture will be 
needed.
    [sbull] Flexible and Practical--To be workable, approaches must be 
practical and adaptive in order to respond to changes in animal 
agriculture and its environmental, social, and economic conditions. 
Animal production is dynamic, and approaches must be flexible to 
respond to the demands of changing conditions.
    [sbull] Progressive Implementation--The progression toward complete 
resource management systems must be based on the implementation of 
individual decisions over a reasonable period of time. Progressive 
conservation implementation ensures steady and logical advancements in 
achieving environmental objectives. Incremental achievement of 
environmental benefits enables livestock and poultry operations to 
remain economically viable while progressing toward the attainment of 
environmental objectives.
    [sbull] Forward Looking and Innovative--Innovative approaches and 
technologies will be needed to bring new solutions to current resource 
concerns, as well as providing solutions for emerging concerns.
    [sbull] Science-based--Sound science must form the basis for 
solutions to ensure that that they deliver what is expected by 
producers and the public. Through advancements in science, new 
innovations that are more effective and practical will be discovered, 
proven, and justified.
    NRCS is committed to working effectively with its current partners 
in the agricultural and environmental communities, and bringing new 
partners to the table, to develop and implement

[[Page 53344]]

approaches to help the Nation's livestock and poultry producers achieve 
environmental and economic objectives. The NAACF is intended to be a 
representation of NRCS' commitment to this critical conservation 
opportunity.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on August 29, 2003.
Bruce I. Knight,
Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 03-22979 Filed 9-9-03; 8:45 am]
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