[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 3, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5729-5731]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02035]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0047]


U.S. Department of Agriculture Stakeholder Workshop on 
Coexistence

ACTION: Notice of workshop listening session and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture is holding a 2-day, invitation-only workshop on 
agricultural coexistence, the concurrent cultivation of conventional, 
organic, identity-preserved, and genetically engineered crops 
consistent with farmer choices and consumer preferences. The objective 
of the workshop is to advance an understanding of agricultural 
coexistence and discuss how to make coexistence achievable and a basic 
consideration for all stakeholders. Workshop participants will 
represent a broad range of interests and experience relating to 
agricultural coexistence. The public is invited to listen to or watch 
the workshop sessions via phone and/or Webcast, after which they will 
have the opportunity to provide comments on the proposals discussed.

DATES: The workshop will be held on March 12-13, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. 
to 6 p.m. Comments on the workshop will be accepted from March 13, 
2015, through March 27, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Call-in and Webcast information is available at the 
agricultural coexistence workshop Web page at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/!ut/p/a1/nVFNU4MwEP0tHjxmEkgk4Ug7foBKD9W25MJskyixFChEx_57gem1aN3bzr739u1bLPEGywq-7Ds4W1dQDr0MchYL36fEj8ULFyQi8zBZxCtC6E0PyHoAOVMRGfnJ4sH3Zj3_fhnekjhd3T2LJ04fZwFeY4mlqlzjCpxBU9guV3XlTOXy0m5baI_XpIMctvWny8f52HcOdqaoS23ablBolNU4CxljRocaBYp6iCnOkdAAiAPVEBiujQcnxxOWfrl4dDyhkPATYCKUrPfAzy5JAry88KjkD3-yH4eDjPq0h3y_Hd78M-5m_7oX9Ih2b2mKZHb1A2VTHxo!/?1dmy&urile=wcm%3apath%3a%2Faphis_content_library%2Fsa_about_aphis%2Fsa_stakeholders%2Fct_coexistence_meeting.
    You may submit comments following the workshop by either of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0047.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2013-0047, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Any comments we receive on this docket may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0047 or in our reading 
room, which is located in room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th 
Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room 
hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. 
To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 799-7039 
before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Tadle, Program Analyst, 
Planning, Evaluation, and Decision Support, PPD, APHIS, 4700 River Road 
Unit 120, Riverdale, MD 20737, (301) 851-3140; 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Over the past decade, the number of acres on 
which American farmers are growing genetically engineered (GE) plants 
has increased significantly, and GE crop production continues to rise 
in output and variety. At the same time, farmers across the United 
States are producing greater quantities of identity-preserved non-GE 
and organic crops to meet growing consumer demand. As a result, the 
interactions of GE and identity-preserved non-GE production chains are 
becoming more significant for American farmers and consumers, the 
agriculture industry, and the United States Department of Agriculture 
(USDA or the Department). USDA supports the successful coexistence of 
these different forms of agricultural production and recognizes that 
each contributes to the overall health of farming and rural

[[Page 5730]]

communities throughout the United States.
    The USDA Advisory Committee of Biotechnology and 21st Century 
Agriculture (AC21) provides guidance to the Department on issues 
relating to agricultural coexistence, including examining the long-term 
impacts of biotechnology on the U.S. food and agriculture system and 
recommending how the Department might address those impacts. In 2011, 
the AC21 was tasked with recommending appropriate compensation 
mechanisms, if any, for addressing economic losses by farmers resulting 
from the unintended presence of GE materials in their crops, 
determining how such mechanisms would be implemented and how 
compensable claims would be decided, and identifying what other steps 
USDA might take to bolster coexistence.
    During its deliberations, the AC21 examined practices used within 
the agricultural community for mitigating the economic risk posed by 
gene flow between different forms of production. They also reviewed 
stewardship practices, the importance of seed quality, and ways to 
facilitate communication and collaboration among stakeholders on 
matters of coexistence. In November 2012, they presented a report \1\ 
to the Secretary recommending actions in five major areas: Potential 
compensation mechanisms, stewardship, education and outreach, research, 
and seed quality. The recommendations reinforced the importance of 
agricultural coexistence and the need to educate farmers and other 
stakeholders in the food and feed production chain about coexistence 
and each stakeholder's role in its success. Following the report, USDA 
also assembled several cross-Agency working groups to consider the 
recommendations in depth. The results of their work will be discussed 
at the workshop.
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    \1\ ``Enhancing Coexistence: A Report of the AC21 to the 
Secretary of Agriculture.'' The report can be viewed at: http://www.usda.gov/documents/ac21_report-enhancing-coexistence.pdf.
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    Among the recommendations made by the AC21 were the following:
     USDA should ``spearhead and fund a broad-based, 
comprehensive education and outreach initiative to strengthen 
understanding of coexistence between diverse agricultural production 
systems,'' and
     USDA should ``work with agricultural stakeholders to 
develop a package of specific mechanisms that: (1) Foster good crop 
stewardship and mitigate potential economic risks derived from 
unintended gene flow between crop varieties and unintended presence in 
general; and (2) promote and incentivize farmer adoption of appropriate 
stewardship practices.''

In response to these recommendations, USDA solicited public input on 
ways that it could further agricultural coexistence by fostering better 
communication and collaboration among those involved in diverse 
agricultural production systems. On November 4, 2013, the Department 
published a Request for Information \2\ in the Federal Register and 
invited public comments. These comments were considered by the cross-
Agency working groups that were established to address the report 
recommendations.
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    \2\ 78 FR 65960-65962. To view the Request for Information, the 
comments we received, and a USDA-prepared summary of those comments, 
go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0047.
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Workshop Activities

    USDA intends to host a 2-day, invitation-only workshop on March 12-
13, 2015, to provide an opportunity to learn from stakeholders 
representing a wide range of interests with respect to agricultural 
coexistence and to build upon the Department's leadership and outreach 
efforts to promote coexistence. The workshop will achieve these aims by 
providing a forum for stakeholders to discuss current and potential 
USDA responses to the AC21 recommendations. USDA has organized the 
workshop around three sessions: (1) The current state of affairs of 
coexistence; (2) knowledge gaps, challenges, and USDA's responses so 
far to the AC21 recommendations; and (3) additional steps USDA is 
considering to respond to the challenges. During the workshop, 
participants representing industry, farmers, government, and academia 
will have the chance to expand their understanding of coexistence-
related issues and raise questions, voice concerns, and share their 
expertise and insights about addressing the challenges of coexistence. 
The public will have an opportunity to listen to or watch the workshop 
remotely and submit comments, questions, and proposals after the event. 
Details for accessing the workshop and submitting comments are provided 
below.
    In the first session, presentations will cover the current state of 
agricultural coexistence in the United States, including the science of 
GE crops, the economic implications of coexistence, and growing market 
demand for organic and identity-preserved non-GE products.
    The second session will focus on current challenges to agricultural 
coexistence and what is being and can be done to address these 
challenges. This session will include discussion of actions that USDA 
has already taken in response to the AC21 report, insurance options for 
organic growers, germplasm purity, and reports on current coexistence-
related research projects.
    The final session will focus on looking ahead at what USDA intends 
to do to promote agricultural coexistence. Topics of discussion will 
include USDA initiatives, including a stakeholder outreach/
communication plan, a survey of organic producers on GE-related 
economic losses, a study on the economic implications of coexistence, 
and the potential use of conservation programs, when applicable, in 
support of coexistence.
    Due to time and space constraints, we found it necessary to limit 
participation in the workshop to invitation only. As noted above, 
participants attending the workshop have been selected from all sectors 
of the agricultural community and bring with them a diversity of 
perspectives and experiences regarding agricultural coexistence. We 
invite the public to listen in and watch the presentations and 
discussions during both days of the workshop. Information for accessing 
the workshop via phone and Webcast is available on the agricultural 
coexistence workshop Web page (see link included above under 
ADDRESSES). A full listing of workshop activities can also be found 
there. Persons interested in submitting comments on any of the topics 
presented during the workshop are welcome to do so through either of 
the methods listed above under ADDRESSES. We will thoroughly review all 
submissions and draw upon them as we develop ways of promoting 
coexistence that consider the needs of all types of producers.
    Several new USDA draft proposals and products concerning 
coexistence will also be made available for public review via the 
agricultural coexistence workshop Web page, including resources for 
coexistence communication and planning, education on crop-specific 
stewardship practices and agricultural contracting, and other 
information on agricultural production and associated governmental 
programs, as well as earlier reports of the AC21. Also available is 
information about a new pilot program in which entities that submit a 
petition to USDA for a determination of nonregulated status for certain 
regulated articles

[[Page 5731]]

under 7 CFR part 340 may voluntarily submit a conflict analysis and 
coexistence plan to advance agricultural coexistence strategies.
    Additional coexistence documents will be made available in the 
weeks prior to the March workshop. Workshop presentations and summaries 
from plenary sessions and working group meetings will be made available 
after the event. Documents can be found as indicated above via the 
agricultural coexistence workshop Web page.
    Additional information regarding the workshop may be obtained from 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of January 2015.
Tom Vilsack,
Secretary of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2015-02035 Filed 2-2-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P