[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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