[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 95 (Tuesday, May 17, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28416-28418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12100]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Statistics Service


Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Reinstate an Information 
Collection

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces the intention of the National Agricultural Statistics 
Service

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(NASS) to seek reinstatement of an information collection, the 2012 
Census of Agriculture.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by July 18, 2011 to be 
assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number 0535-
0226, by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include docket number 
above in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 720-6396.
     Mail: Mail any paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions to: 
David Hancock, NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Room 5336 South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20250-2024.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Hand deliver to: David Hancock, 
NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 5336 South 
Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Joseph T. Reilly, Associate 
Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, (202) 720-4333.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: The 2012 Census of Agriculture.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-0226.
    Expiration Date of Previous Approval: July 31, 2009.
    Type of Request: Intent to Seek Reinstatement of an Information 
Collection.
    Abstract: The census of agriculture is the primary source of 
statistics concerning the nation's agricultural industry. It provides 
the only basis of consistent, comparable data for each county, county 
equivalent, and State in the United States and its outlying insular 
areas. The census is conducted every 5 years, the last one being for 
the reference year of 2007. The 2012 census of agriculture will again 
cover all agricultural operations in the 50 States, Puerto Rico, Guam, 
the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands 
(CNMI), and American Samoa which meet the census definition for a farm. 
For the 50 States, Guam, and CNMI, a farm is any place that produced 
and sold, or normally would produce and sell, $1,000 or more of 
agricultural products during the census reference year. For Puerto Rico 
and the U.S. Virgin Islands it is any place with $500 in production and 
sales. American Somoa is not limited by a threshold for production or 
sales and includes items grown for home consumption.
    Data collection for the censuses of agriculture for the 50 States 
and Puerto Rico will be conducted primarily by mail-out/mail-back 
procedures, with phone and field enumeration for targeted non-
respondents. Data collection for Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 
CNMI will be conducted using direct enumeration methods. For the 50 
States, respondents will be contacted up to 3 times by mail, and 
additional telephone or personal interview follow-up for mail non-
respondents. Questionnaires that are returned by the Post Office as 
non-deliverable will be removed from our target population and 
subsequent mailings. Respondents who contact one of our phone centers 
to notify NASS of their farming status or to complete a questionnaire 
will also be removed from any subsequent mailings.
    NASS conducted a census form content test (OMB 5035-0243) 
during the winter of 2010-2011 to evaluate new content items, report 
form design and format, and processing procedures.
    To minimize respondent burden, NASS limits the items asked on 75 
percent of the report forms to the basic subjects asked in the previous 
census, such as land use and ownership, crop acreage and production, 
grain storage, livestock and poultry inventories, federal farm program 
payments, income from farm-related sources, and operator 
characteristics. The other 25 percent of report forms include 
additional questions on hired labor, production expenses, fertilizer 
and chemical usage, machinery and equipment, and market value of land 
and buildings. NASS is working to increase the speed and ease at which 
any respondent may fill out the form by incorporating improved 
screening questions at the beginning of each section of the form. This 
reduces overall respondent burden, particularly for small operations 
and operations specializing in only a few commodities. Report forms are 
tailored to various regions of the country to further reduce burden. A 
screening survey, conducted prior to the census, will enable NASS to 
eliminate non-farm operations from the census mail list and determine 
respondent eligibility for receiving the appropriate census mail 
package.
    The census of agriculture is required by law under the ``Census of 
Agriculture Act of 1997,'' Public Law 105-113, 7 U.S.C. 2204(g). 
Individually identifiable data collected under this authority are 
governed by Section 1770 of the Food Security Act of 1985 as amended, 7 
U.S.C. 2276, which requires USDA to afford strict confidentiality to 
non-aggregated data provided by respondents. This Notice is submitted 
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-
13 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) and Office of Management and Budget 
regulations at 5 CFR part 1320.
    NASS also complies with OMB Implementation Guidance, 
``Implementation Guidance for Title V of the E-Government Act, 
Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 
2002 (CIPSEA),'' Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 115, June 15, 2007, p. 
33362. The law guarantees farm operators that their individual 
information will be kept confidential. NASS uses the information only 
for statistical purposes and publishes only tabulated total data. These 
data are used by Congress when developing or changing farm programs. 
Many national and state programs are designed or allocated based on 
census data, i.e., soil conservation projects, funds for cooperative 
extension programs, and research funding. Private industry uses the 
data to provide more effective production and distribution systems for 
the agricultural community.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information will be about 50 minutes per census form, 10 minutes per 
screening form, and 2 minutes per refusal from all sources.
    Respondents: Farm and ranch operators.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,025,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,410,000 hours.
    In 2007, the burden for the Census of Agriculture was calculated by 
assigning the average burden to the target population. The 2007 burden 
did not account for the multiple mailings of the questionnaires and 
instruction sheets to non-respondents. After adjusting the previous OMB 
submission to include the level of detail used this time, there are no 
significant changes in respondent burden or population size. The data 
collection procedures used in 2007 are relatively the same as what is 
being proposed for the 2012 Census of Agriculture.
    Copies of this information collection and related instructions can 
be obtained without charge from David Hancock, NASS--OMB Clearance 
Officer, at (202) 690-2388 or at [email protected].
    Comments: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed collection of information including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

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(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, 
technological or other forms of information technology collection 
methods.
    All responses to this notice will become a matter of public record 
and be summarized in the request for OMB approval.

    Signed at Washington, DC, April 20, 2011.
Joseph T. Reilly,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2011-12100 Filed 5-16-11; 8:45 am]
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