[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 117 (Monday, June 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28182-28183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13049]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 117 / Monday, June 18, 2018 / 
Notices  

[[Page 28182]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

[Docket No. FCIC-18-0003]


Notice of Request for Renewal and Revision of the Currently 
Approved Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, USDA.

ACTION: Renewal and revision of the currently approved information 
collection.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) are 
requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations 
on a revision of a currently approved paperwork package associated with 
the Acreage and Crop Reporting Streamlining Initiative (ACRSI).

DATES: Written comments on this notice will be accepted until close of 
business August 17, 2018.

ADDRESSES: FCIC prefers that comments be submitted electronically 
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. You may submit comments, 
identified by Docket ID No. FCIC-18-0003, by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Todd Anderson, United States Department of 
Agriculture, FSA, DAFP, PECD, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Mail Stop 
0570, Washington, DC 20250-0570; or Richard Anderson, RMA, United 
States Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 419205, Kansas City, MO 
64133-6205.
    All comments received, including those received by mail, will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided, and can be accessed by the public. All 
comments must include the agency name and docket number. For detailed 
instructions on submitting comments and additional information, see 
http://www.regulations.gov. If you are submitting comments 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal and want to 
attach a document, we ask that it be in a text-based format. If you 
want to attach a document that is a scanned Adobe PDF file, it must be 
scanned as text and not as an image, thus allowing FCIC to search and 
copy certain portions of your submissions. For questions regarding 
attaching a document that is a scanned Adobe PDF file, please contact 
the RMA Web Content Team at (816) 823-4694 or by email at 
[email protected].
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received for any dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the 
complete User Notice and Privacy Notice for Regulations.gov at http://www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Anderson, United States 
Department of Agriculture, FSA, DAFP, PECD, Washington, DC 20250-0570, 
(202) 720-9106; or Richard Anderson, RMA, United States Department of 
Agriculture, P.O. Box 419205, Kansas City, MO 64133-6205, (816) 926-
3950.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Acreage/Crop Reporting Streamlining Initiative (ACRSI).
    OMB Number: 0563-0084.
    Expiration Date of Approval: September 30, 2018.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: The currently approved information collection of OMB 
Number 0563-0084 is up for renewal and we are requesting an extension 
for 3 years. FSA and RMA are requesting comments from all interested 
individuals and organizations on the information collection request 
associated with ACRSI. FSA and RMA have established the procedures, 
processes, and standards to simplify commodity and acreage reporting by 
producers, eliminate or minimize duplication of information collection 
by multiple agencies, and reduce the burden on producers, allowing 
producers to report this information through FSA county office service 
centers, insurance agents, or through precision ag technology 
capabilities. FSA and RMA implemented a streamlined reporting solution 
to establish a common data collection and reporting capability that 
supports USDA's programs.
    RMA is continuing to improve the existing Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) approved information collections for RMA, 0563-0053, 
Multiple Peril Crop Insurance, acreage information, generally collected 
from the respondent during a personal visit to the FSA Service Center 
and again from the respondent during a personal visit with the 
insurance agent.
    The forms are still available to accommodate respondents with no 
internet access and those who wish to continue to personally visit the 
FSA Service Center and insurance agent to report this common 
information.
    Information reported to the common data collection and reporting 
capability (otherwise known as the Clearinghouse) are shared by both 
FSA and RMA, as well as other USDA agencies, such as NRCS and NASS that 
have the authority and need for such information. In each phase of 
system implementation, some or all of the commodity and acreage 
information in the existing approved information collections are 
reported through this solution. Furthermore, the information collected 
are the same as the information currently approved. Additionally, the 
respondent will continue to report their common information one time 
through a single source thereby reducing the respondent's burden of 
reporting such common information and eliminating the duplicate 
reporting that may be currently required. The information collected 
will continue to be the same as the information currently approved and 
are used in the same manner it would be used if reported separately to 
each agency. The producers are continuing to use their precision-ag 
systems, farm management information systems, or download data files to 
directly report certain commodity and acreage information needed to 
participate in USDA programs.
    The information being collected may consist of, but not be limited 
to: Producer name, customer/tax ID, state, county, commodity name, 
commodity type or variety, intended use, date

[[Page 28183]]

planted, planted acreage, and land location (which may include legal 
description, FSA farm number, FSA tract number, FSA field number, 
geospatial as-planted field boundaries, Resource Land Unit, etc.).
    FSA and RMA are continuing to implement the ACRSI initiative in 
phases. The first phase was initiated in the fall of 2011 in Dickenson, 
Marion, McPherson, and Saline Counties in Kansas, and only for the 
collection of information from producers regarding winter wheat. The 
second phase was implemented in the spring of 2015 in 30 counties of 
Illinois and Iowa covering 9 crops. The third phase was implemented in 
the fall of 2015 in all counties of 15 states covering 9 crops. The 
fourth phase was implemented in the spring of 2016 in all counties 
nationwide covering 13 crops and about 90 percent of reported acreage. 
The fifth phase was implemented in the fall of 2016 expanding 
nationwide coverage to 16 crops and about 93 percent of reported 
acreage. The sixth phase was implemented in the fall of 2017 and spring 
of 2018 expanding nationwide coverage to 25 crops and about 94 percent 
of reported acreage. To ensure statutory criteria are met for Federal 
crop insurance, FSA and Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) programs, 
the collection of commodity and acreage information is necessary. This 
is not a request for a change, addition, or deletion to the currently 
approved information collections.
    However, the existing approved information collection will be 
updated, modified or eliminated, as applicable, to reflect the 
reduction in burden on the respondents when the solution is fully 
implemented.
    Respondents: Producers.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents Utilizing the Web-Based 
Single Source Reporting System and Benefiting From Sharing Information 
Between Agencies: 501,012.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.5.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents Utilizing the Web-
Based Single Source Reporting System and Benefiting From Having That 
Information Shared Between Agencies: 1,377,783 hours.
    We are requesting comments on all aspects of this information 
collection to help us to:
    (1) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agencies, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden 
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to 
be collected;
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond through use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
to technology.
    All comments in response to this notice, including names and 
addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record. Comments 
will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) approval.

Martin R. Barbre,
Manager, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2018-13049 Filed 6-15-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-08-P