[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 1, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14767-14768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7252]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary


Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders on the Roadmap for 
Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension

AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics Office, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public comment period for written stakeholder input.

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SUMMARY: The Research, Education, and Extension Office (REEO) of the 
Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area of the Department 
of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting written stakeholder input on the 
preparation of a roadmap for agricultural research, education, and 
extension at USDA. The preparation of the Roadmap is mandated by the 
Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008. By this notice, the 
Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics has been 
designated to act on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) 
in soliciting public comment from interested parties regarding the 
preparation of the Roadmap.

DATES: All written comments must be received by 5 p.m. EST, May 31, 
2009, to be considered.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by REE-2009-0001, by any 
of the following methods:

[[Page 14768]]

    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    E-mail: [email protected]. Include REE-2009-0001 in the subject 
line of the message.
    Fax: (202) 690-1677.
    Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions should be submitted to: 
Michele Simmons; Research, Education, and Extension Office (REEO); U.S. 
Department of Agriculture; Mail Stop 0114; 1400 Independence Avenue, 
SW.; Washington, DC 20250-0114.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: Michele Simmons; Research, Education, and 
Extension Office (REEO); U.S. Department of Agriculture; Room 3858-S; 
1400 Independence Avenue, SW.; Washington, DC 20250-0114.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the title 
``Roadmap'' and REE-2009-0001. All comments received will be posted to 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Simmons, (202) 720-1777 
(phone), (202) 690-1677 (fax), or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Additional Comment Procedures

    Information on the REEO and Roadmap is available for review at 
http://www.ree.usda.gov. Written comments must be received by 5 p.m. 
EST, May 31, 2009, to be considered. All comments, when they become 
available, may be reviewed on the REE Web page for six months.

Background and Purpose

    The preparation of the roadmap for agricultural research, 
education, and extension is mandated in section 7504 of the Food, 
Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008, (Pub. L. 110-246, 7 U.S.C. 
7614a. The Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Research, 
Education, and Education (Under Secretary), will prepare the Roadmap. 
The Secretary will implement and use the Roadmap to set the 
agricultural research, education, and extension agenda of the 
Department of Agriculture.
    The Under Secretary is also the Chief Scientist for USDA, 
responsible for the coordination of the research, education, and 
extension activities of the Department. [7 U.S.C. 6971(c)]. The 
Research, Education, and Extension Office (REEO) recently organized 
within the Office of the Under Secretary is the office that provides 
such coordination, per 7 U.S.C. 6971(e)(1). Therefore the 
Office of the Chief Scientist and Under Secretary is inviting input on 
the Roadmap to be provided to the REEO by all interested parties from 
the Federal Government and nongovernmental entities.
    The Roadmap will identify current trends and constraints and major 
opportunities and gaps that no single entity within the Department of 
Agriculture would be able to address individually. Stakeholder input is 
encouraged on any and all aspects of the development and implementation 
of the Roadmap, including responses to the following questions:
    1. What types of current and future critical issues (including 
those affecting citizens, communities and natural resources) does 
agriculture face that no USDA entity could address individually?
    2. What criteria should USDA use to prioritize agricultural science 
(i.e., research, education, and extension) investments to address these 
issues?
    3. How might USDA better coordinate agricultural sciences among its 
various agencies and with its partners?
    4. What are some examples where agricultural sciences are 
successfully coordinated for maximum benefit? Why are they successful?
    5. What are some examples where agricultural sciences are not 
coordinated effectively? Why is coordination lacking? What are the 
barriers?
    6. What else might USDA do to improve coordination of science; 
enhance USDA's ability to identify issues and prioritize investments; 
and elevate its role in science implementation and coordination?

Implementation Plans

    The Under Secretary and the REEO plan to consider stakeholder input 
received from written comments in developing the Roadmap. The Secretary 
will make the Roadmap available to the public, with an expected 
publication date of not later than September 16, 2009.

    Done at Washington, DC, this 4th day of March, 2009.
Katherine Smith,
Acting Deputy Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics.
 [FR Doc. E9-7252 Filed 3-31-09; 8:45 am]
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