[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 646-647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-00548]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 21 / Thursday, January 31, 2019 /
Notices
[[Page 646]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Doc. No. AMS-LP-18-0068]
Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved
Information Collection for Commodities Covered by the Livestock
Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing 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 Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) intention
to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
an extension of the currently approved information collection used to
compile and generate cattle, swine, lamb, boxed beef, and wholesale
pork Market News reports under the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of
1999 (1999 Act) (OMB 0581-0186).
DATES: Comments received by April 1, 2019 will be considered.
Additional Information or Comments: Interested persons are invited
to submit comments concerning this information collection document.
Comments should be submitted online at www.regulations.gov or sent to
Sam Jones-Ellard, Assistant to the Director; Livestock, Poultry, and
Grain Market News Division; Livestock and Poultry Program; Agricultural
Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence
Ave. SW, Room 2619-S, STOP 0252; Washington, DC 20250-0252; Telephone
(812) 240-0694; or email [email protected]. All comments should
reference the docket number (AMS-LP-18-0068), the date, and page number
of this issue of the Federal Register. All comments received will be
posted without change, including any personal information provided,
online at www.regulations.gov and will be made available for public
inspection at the above physical address during regular business hours.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sam Jones-Ellard at the above physical
address, by telephone (812) 240-0694, or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999.
OMB Number: 0581-0186.
Expiration Date of Approval: 07-31-2019.
Type of Request: Request for extension of a currently approved
information collection.
Abstract: The 1999 Act was enacted into law on October 22, 1999,
[Pub. L. 106-78; 113 Stat. 1188; 7 U.S.C. 1635-1636(i)] as an amendment
to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1621 et
seq.). On April 2, 2001, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS);
Livestock and Poultry Program (LP); Livestock, Poultry, and Grain
Market News Division (LPGMN) implemented the Livestock Mandatory
Reporting (LMR) program as required by the 1999 Act. The purpose was to
establish a program of easily understood information regarding the
marketing of cattle, swine, lambs, and livestock products; improve the
price and supply reporting services of the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA); and encourage competition in the marketplace for
livestock and livestock products. The LMR regulations (7 CFR part 59)
set the requirements for certain packers and importers to submit
purchase and sales information of livestock and livestock products to
meet this purpose.
The statutory authority for the program lapsed on September 30,
2005. In October 2006, Congress passed the Livestock Mandatory
Reporting Reauthorization Act (2006 Reauthorization Act) [Pub. L. 109-
296]. The 2006 Reauthorization Act re-established the regulatory
authority for the continued operation of LMR through September 30,
2010, and separated the reporting requirements for sows and boars from
barrows and gilts, among other changes. On July 15, 2008, the LMR final
rule became effective (73 FR 28606, May 16, 2008).
On September 28, 2010, Congress passed the Mandatory Price
Reporting Act of 2010 (2010 Reauthorization Act) [Pub. L. 111-239]. The
2010 Reauthorization Act reauthorized LMR for an additional 5 years
through September 30, 2015, and required the addition of wholesale pork
through negotiated rulemaking. On January 7, 2013, the LMR final rule
became effective (77 FR 50561, August 22, 2012).
The Agriculture Reauthorizations Act of 2015 (2015 Reauthorization
Act) [Pub. L. 114-54], enacted on September 30, 2015, reauthorized the
LMR program for an additional 5 years through September 30, 2020, and
amended certain lamb and swine reporting requirements. For lamb, the
definitions of a packer and importer were modified to lower the
reporting thresholds of each, from a processing average of 75,000 lambs
to 35,000 lambs, and from an import average of at least 2,500 metric
tons of lamb meat products to an average of 1,000 metric tons of lamb
meat. On May 31, 2016, a direct final rule to implement these reporting
changes became effective (81 FR 10057, February 29, 2016). For swine,
the 2015 Reauthorization Act added a definition and reporting
requirements for negotiated formula and late day purchases. On October
11, 2016, a final rule became effective (81 FR 52969, August 11, 2016)
to implement these changes as well as a lamb reporting change requested
by industry stakeholders amending the term ``packer-owned lambs'' and
requiring packers to report lambs owned by a packer for at least 28
days immediately before slaughter.
The reports generated by the 1999 Act are used by other Government
agencies to evaluate market conditions and calculate price levels,
including USDA's Economic Research Service and World Agricultural
Outlook Board. Economists at most major agricultural colleges and
universities use the reports to make short and long-term market
projections. Also, the Government is a large purchaser of livestock
related products. A system to monitor the collection and reporting of
data therefore is needed.
In order to comply with the 1999 Act's goal of encouraging
competition in the marketplace for livestock and livestock products,
Section 251 of the Act directs USDA to make available to the public
information and statistics obtained from, or submitted by, respondents
covered by the Act in a
[[Page 647]]
manner that ensures that the confidentiality of the reporting entities
is preserved. AMS is in the best position to provide this service.
Since the last information collection renewal, the AMS Livestock,
Poultry, and Seed Program reorganized to form the AMS Livestock and
Poultry Program. The forms associated with this information collection
reflect this organizational change.
Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection is
estimated to average 0.16 hours per response.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, individuals or
households, farms, and the Federal Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 116 respondents.
Estimated Number of Responses: 135,356 responses.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1,167 responses
(rounded).
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 21,712 hours
(rounded).
Comments are invited on: (1) 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; (2) 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; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who
are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology. All responses to this document will be
summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments
will become a matter of public record.
Dated: January 26, 2019.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-00548 Filed 1-30-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P