[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4982-4984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2106]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding the Smith-Lever 
3(d) Extension Integrated Pest Management Competitive Grants Program

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for stakeholder input.

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SUMMARY: Section 7403 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 
(Pub. L. 110-246) (FCEA) amended section 3(d) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 
U.S.C. 343(d)) to provide the

[[Page 4983]]

opportunity for 1862 and 1890 Land-Grant Institutions, including 
Tuskegee University and West Virginia State University to compete for 
section 3(d) funds. Section 7417 of FCEA also provided the University 
of the District of Columbia the opportunity to compete for section 3(d) 
funds. The Extension Integrated Pest Management Coordination and 
Support Program (EIPM-CS) is among the Extension programs funded under 
this authority. By this notice, NIFA is designated to act on behalf of 
the Secretary of Agriculture in soliciting public comment from 
interested persons regarding the future design and implementation of 
this program.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Thursday, March 29, 2012, 
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Central time. All comments not otherwise 
presented or submitted for the record at the meeting must be submitted 
by close of business Wednesday, May 2, 2012, to assure consideration in 
the next RFA.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the Nashville Meeting Room, 
Memphis Marriott Downtown Hotel, 250 North Main Street, Memphis, 
Tennessee 38103, phone--(888) 557-8740 (toll-free in USA); (901) 527-
7300 (outside USA). You may submit comments, identified by NIFA-2012-
0003, by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected]. Include NIFA-2012-0003 in the subject 
line of the message.
    Fax: (202) 401-1794.
    Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions should be submitted to 
newEIPM; Division of Plant Protection, Institute of Food Production and 
Sustainability, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture; STOP 2220, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20250-2220.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: newEIPM; Division of Plant Protection, 
Institute of Food Production and Sustainability, National Institute of 
Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Room 3105, 
Waterfront Centre, 800 9th Street SW., Washington, DC 20024.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and the identifier NIFA-2012-0003. All comments received will be posted 
to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Elizabeth Ley, (202) 401-6195 
(phone), (202) 401-1794 (fax), or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Additional Meeting and Comment Procedures

    Because of the diversity of subjects, and to aid participants in 
scheduling their attendance, the following schedule is anticipated for 
the March 29, 2012, meeting:
    2-2:15 p.m. Introduction to the Extension Integrated Pest 
Management Coordination and Support Competitive Grant Program (EIPM).
    2:15-4 p.m. Stakeholder input on general administration of EIPM, 
including: solicitation of proposals, types of projects and awards, 
length of awards, evaluation criteria, and protocols to ensure the 
widest program participation, allocation of funds including protocols 
to solicit and consider stakeholder input, determination of priority 
areas, and determination of activities to be supported.
4 p.m. Adjourn
    Persons wishing to present oral comments at the March 29, 2012, 
meeting are requested to pre-register by contacting Elizabeth Ley, 
(202) 401-6195 (phone), by fax at (202) 401-1794, or by email to 
[email protected].
    Participants may reserve one 5-minute comment period. More time may 
be available, depending on the number of people wishing to make a 
presentation and the time needed for questions following presentations. 
Reservations for oral comments will be confirmed on a first-come, 
first-served basis. All other attendees may register at the meeting.
    Written comments may also be submitted for the record at the 
meeting. All comments not presented or submitted for the record at the 
meeting must be received by close of business Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 
to be considered in the next RFA. All comments and the official 
transcript of the meeting, when they become available, may be reviewed 
on the NIFA Web page for six months. Participants who require a sign 
language interpreter or other special accommodations should contact Ms. 
Ley as directed above.

Background and Purpose

    Stakeholder listening sessions have been held by NIFA and its 
predecessor agency, CSREES, on October 6, 2008 and March 26, 2009 about 
the restructuring of the Smith-Lever 3(d) IPM program due to changes 
found in section 7403 of the FCEA. Changes to Smith-Lever 3(d) funding 
include: (1) The requirement for a competitive program delivery model 
as opposed to a long-standing formula-based delivery model; and (2) the 
inclusion of 1890 Institutions and the University of the District of 
Columbia as eligible entities to receive 3(d) funds. The primary intent 
of the listening session was to gather stakeholder input on program 
focus and design. Prior to the listening session, National Program 
Leaders presented stakeholders with the following questions:
    1. What should be the primary goals and objectives of the program?
    2. How can NIFA funding be optimized?
    3. Should there be a limit on the number of proposals that can be 
submitted by each eligible institution?
    4. What criteria should be used in the proposal review and 
selection process?
    5. Should regional, multi-institutional or multi-state proposals be 
encouraged?
    6. Should proposals addressing gaps in current program coverage 
(organic, small farms, etc.) be given greater emphasis in the 
evaluative process?
    7. What limits should be set on funding and project duration?
    The 2008 written comment period ran from October 6 through November 
15, with over 400 written comments received. A written summary of the 
comments is available at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/business/reporting/stakeholder.eipm_stakeholder.html. Contained in the comments are many 
areas with broad agreement among stakeholders.
    The Agency responded by promptly issuing the EIPM-CS RFA and 
proceeding with the competition on a compressed schedule and 
incorporating as many of the suggestions as allowable by law.
    The additional input from the 2009 listening session helped to 
better define the program. Again, written comments were accepted for 5 
weeks, from March 26 through April 29 and more than 300 comments were 
received. A written summary of the comments is available at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/business/reporting/stakeholder.eipm_stakeholder.html. Those comments were weighed and incorporated to the 
greatest degree possible.
    Additional input is sought now regarding the structure of the 
program going forward. The March 2012, Listening Session is scheduled 
to assist NIFA leadership in more fully addressing stakeholder needs 
and assuring that the program has influence on the adoption of IPM 
principles and end users are best served.

[[Page 4984]]

Implementation Plans

    NIFA plans to consider stakeholder input received from this public 
meeting as well as other written comments in developing the FY 2013 
program guidelines. NIFA anticipates releasing the FY 2013 Request for 
Applications (RFA) by winter 2012-13.

    Done at Washington, DC, this 25th day of January 2012.
Chavonda Jacobs-Young,
Acting Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2012-2106 Filed 1-31-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P