[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 76 (Monday, April 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22092-22094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09007]


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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

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notice announces the intention of the National Agricultural Statistics 
Service (NASS) to seek reinstatement of an information collection, the 
2014 Tenure, Ownership and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) 
survey, formerly known as the Agricultural Economics and Land Ownership 
Survey (AELOS).

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by June 20, 2014 to be 
assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number 0535-
0240, 2014 TOTAL, by any of the following methods:
     Email: [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. Copies of this information 
collection and related instructions can be obtained without charge from 
David Hancock, NASS Clearance Officer, at (202) 690-2388.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: 2014 TOTAL.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-0240.
    Type of Request: Intent to Seek Reinstatement of an Information 
Collection.
    Abstract: The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of 
the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will request 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the 2014 
Tenure, Ownership and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) surveys 
to be conducted as follow-on surveys to the 2012 Census of Agriculture 
and are authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 as 
amended.
    The 2014 TOTAL surveys will be conducted in 2015, referencing the 
calendar year of 2014. In 2015 the Agricultural Resource Management 
Survey (ARMS) Phase III (OMB  0535-0218) will be suspended for 
a period of 1 year. The scope of the TOTAL survey is greater than that 
of the ARMS III survey. To maintain the ARMS III data series, data will 
be gleaned from the TOTAL surveys to replace the 2014 ARMS collection.
    The TOTAL survey will be conducted in two phases. The first phase 
will be the creation of a list of land owners who rent out land for 
agricultural purposes. These landlords will be excluded from the sample 
if they are also active farm or ranch operators as these entities are 
part of the phase II version 1 sampling population discussed below. The 
area segments that are used during our June Area Survey (OMB  
0535-0213) will be used as the target areas. We will compare the land 
inside these segments with land ownership data from the Farm Services 
Agency (FSA) along with property tax information purchased from 
CoreLogic (a privately owned company). After the removal of any 
duplication within this list we will have our target sample for the 
Landlord only version of the survey which will be conducted in Phase 2. 
The current NASS List Frame of known farmers and ranchers will be used 
to create the sample for the Operator version of the survey. No list 
building will be conducted in Phase 1 for the operator questionnaire.
    The second phase of the survey will include data collection and 
reporting using two versions of the TOTAL questionnaires. Version 1 of 
the TOTAL survey will target farm and ranch operators in the 48 
contiguous States. The sample will be drawn from a list of all known 
farming operations that sold at least $1,000 in agricultural products 
in 2014. The stratified sample will be representative of the farm 
operator population. The sample will be large enough to publish State 
level data for the 25 largest agricultural producing States based on 
value of sales. These 25 core States account for an average rate of 
85.5% of the total value of agricultural products produced in the three 
year period of 2010-2012. Version 2 of the TOTAL survey will target 
individuals who own and rent out farm land. Individuals who are both 
farm operators and landlords will be excluded from the Version 2 sample 
since they are included in the Version 1 sample population. The Version 
2 population should be large enough to publish State level data for the 
25 core States. The remaining 23 States that will be included in the 
survey will have their data combined in the all other States category, 
so that US level estimates can be published.
    Data collection for both Versions should begin around January 1, 
2015, using 2014 as the reference period. A final report is targeted to 
be published in August 2015.

    Authority: The Tenure, Ownership and Transition of Agricultural 
Land (TOTAL) surveys are required by law under the ``Census of 
Agriculture Act of 1997,'' Pub. L. 105-113, 7 U.S.C. 2204(g) as 
amended. These data will be collected under the authority of 7 
U.S.C. 2204(a). 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, Pub. L. 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, updating, or changing farm 
programs. These data will also be used to produce estimates of sector-
wide production expenditures and other components of income that are 
used in constructing the estimates of income and value-added which are 
transmitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, by the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) for use in 
constructing economy-wide estimates of Gross Domestic Product. The data 
will also be used to construct demographic data on the owners and 
operators of farm land in the United States and their potential 
transition strategies.
    Many national and state programs are designed or allocated based on 
these data. Farm operators, landlords, and financial institutions rely 
on these data to make informed business decisions when selling or 
renting land, applying for business loans, or making decisions on 
expanding or diversifying their operations.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for Version 1 (farm 
operators) is estimated to average 90 minutes per response. Public 
reporting burden for Version 2 (landlords only) is estimated to average 
60 minutes per response. Multiple data collection modes will be 
incorporated to help minimize data collection costs. The questionnaires 
will be available on the internet to the targeted sample. NASS will 
mail the

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questionnaires to the respondents at least twice and may use autodial 
or a postcard reminder, before attempting phone or personal interviews 
to collect the data.
    Respondents: Version 1--farm operators: Version 2 landlords who 
rent out farm land but do not operate farms.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 45,000 farm or ranch operators and 
45,000 landlords who do not operate farms or ranches.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 132,000 hours. In 
order to minimize data collection costs, NASS will attempt to collect 
data by utilizing an internet version of the questionnaire as well as 
the U.S. Postal Service. NASS will then attempt to collect the data 
from non-respondents by either phone or personal enumeration. With the 
initial mailing, respondents will be provided with instructions on how 
to access the internet and complete the questionnaire on line.
    The primary objectives of the National Agricultural Statistics 
Service are to prepare and issue State and national estimates of crop 
production, livestock production, economic statistics, and 
environmental statistics related to agriculture and to conduct the 
Census of Agriculture and it's follow on surveys, which includes the 
TOTAL surveys.
    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; (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, 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 10, 2014.
Joseph T. Reilly,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-09007 Filed 4-18-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-20-P