[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 208 (Tuesday, October 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64165-64166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25609]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Statistics Service


Notice of Intent To Request To Conduct a New 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 (NASS) to seek approval to conduct a new information collection 
consisting of two questionnaires, the Quarterly Colony Loss Survey and 
the Annual Colony Loss Survey.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by December 29, 2014 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number 0535-
NEW, by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include docket number 
above in the subject line of the message.
     eFax: (855) 838-6382.
     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: Renee Picanso, Associate 
Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, (202) 720-2707. 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: Pollinator Surveys.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-NEW.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to conduct a new 
information collection for a period of three years.
    Abstract: The primary objective of the National Agricultural 
Statistics Service (NASS) is to prepare and issue state and national 
estimates of crop and livestock production, prices, and disposition; as 
well as economic statistics, environmental statistics related to 
agriculture and also to conduct the Census of Agriculture.
    Pollinators (honeybees) are vital to the agricultural industry for 
producing food for the world's population. Ad hoc surveys showed a 
dramatic rise in the number of disappearances of honeybee colonies in 
North America in late 2006; disappearances ranged from 10-15 percent 
annual colony loss in some areas to greater than 30 percent in other 
areas. Often called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the condition 
occurs when worker bees from a beehive or a European honeybee colony 
abruptly disappear, with minimal mortality evident near the hive and an 
intact queen and food supply readily available. European beekeepers 
observed similar phenomena in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, 
Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and initial reports have also come in from 
Switzerland and Germany, albeit to a lesser degree, while the Northern 
Ireland Assembly received reports of a decline greater than 50 percent. 
The mechanisms of CCD and the reasons for its apparent increasing 
prevalence remain unclear. The likely combination of factors includes: 
Infections with Varroa mites and other pathogens and viruses; 
pesticides, such as the neonicotinoid class; inadequate nutrition and 
loss of natural forage habitat; genetic factors; and changing 
beekeeping practices and stress on colonies from transportation.
    The collapse of honeybee colonies is significant economically 
because many agricultural crops worldwide are pollinated by European 
honeybees. According to the Agriculture and Consumer Protection 
Department of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the 
worth of global crops with honeybee pollination was estimated to be 
close to $200 billion in 2005. Shortages of honeybees in the United 
States have led to substantial

[[Page 64166]]

increases in the cost to farmers renting them for pollination services. 
USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation 
with other relevant Federal partners, are scaling up efforts to address 
the decline of honeybee health with a goal of ensuring the recovery of 
this critical subset of pollinators. NASS supports this USDA-EPA CCD 
National Action Plan, which emphasizes the importance of coordinated 
action to identify the extent and causal factors in honeybee and 
pollinator declines.
    To efficiently collect critical information on the status and 
health of the commercial honeybee population, NASS proposes two new 
surveys that complement its existing Bee and Honey Inquiry (0535-0153), 
which targets bee keepers with 5 or more colonies. The Colony Loss 
Quarterly Survey will be administered quarterly to a subsample of bee 
keepers responding to the annual Bee and Honey Inquiry. The Colony Loss 
Annual Survey will be administered to bee keepers with fewer than 5 
colonies; these respondents will be asked to report quarterly honeybee 
colony losses on an annual basis. Together, these surveys will yield 
the number of honeybee colonies that are comparable in methodology to 
the Census of Agriculture counts (which is available only every 5 
years). The data collected will include state of colony residence, the 
commercial movement of colonies between states, newly added or 
replacement colonies, colony losses, and presence of colony stress 
factors, such as pests or parasites.
    The Colony Loss Surveys are strongly encouraged by beekeepers, the 
National Academy of Sciences, and the USDA Office of the Inspector 
General. This action will provide an improved baseline, annual, and 
quarterly data to describe any loss or change in the number of colonies 
and issues and practices which may be associated with colony stress and 
decline.
    NASS is committed to collaborating with USDA and the other 
departments on a unified and complementary approach to develop and 
support the Pollinator Health Initiative. This will allow NASS and its 
collaborators to address critical information needs at an accelerated 
pace and guide honeybee management at a national scale.

    Authority:  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. 104-113) and the 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. 
33376.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 10 minutes per response. Publicity 
materials and instruction sheet will account for 5 minutes of 
additional burden per respondent. Respondents who refuse to complete a 
survey will be allotted 2 minutes of burden per attempt to collect the 
data. NASS plans to conduct two different surveys as a part of this 
approval request. Once a year, NASS will contact approximately 20,000 
small bee operations (fewer than 5 colonies). Approximately 3,300 
operations with 5 or more bee colonies will be contacted quarterly to 
collect bee loss data. NASS will conduct the surveys initially using a 
mail and internet approach. This will be followed up with phone and 
personal enumeration for non-respondents. NASS will attempt to obtain 
an 80% response rate.
    Respondents: Farmers and beekeepers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 23,300.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: With an estimated 
response rate of approximately 80%, we estimate the burden to be 7,020 
hours.
    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, October 15, 2014.
R. Renee Picanso,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-25609 Filed 10-27-14; 8:45 am]
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