[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 60 (Friday, March 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17304-17306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06466]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

[Docket No. USDA-2020-0005]


Notice of Request for Approval for Generic Clearance To Conduct 
Multiple Crop and Pesticide Use Surveys

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Economist, Office of Pest Management 
Policy, 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 USDA's Office of Pest Management 
Policy to request approval for a new information collection for 
Multiple Crop and Pesticide Use Surveys.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by May 26, 2020 to be 
assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: USDA invites interested persons to submit comments on this 
notice. Comments may be submitted by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: This website provides the 
ability to type short comments directly into the comment field on this 
web page or attach a file for lengthier comments. Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions at that site for 
submitting comments.
     Mail, Including CD-ROMs, etc.: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist, Office of 
Pest Management Policy, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 3871-South 
Building, Mailstop 3817, Washington, DC 20250.
     Hand- or Courier-Delivered Submittals: Deliver to 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Room 3871--South Building, Washington, DC 
20250. You may also send comments to the Desk Officer for Agriculture, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Washington, DC 20503.
    Instructions: All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must 
include the Agency name and Docket No. USDA-2020-0005. Comments 
received in response to this docket will be made available for public 
inspection and posted without change, including any personal 
information, to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Hill, Office of the Chief

[[Page 17305]]

Economist, Office of Pest Management Policy, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250, (202) 
720-3846.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Generic Clearance to Conduct Multiple Crop and Pesticide Use 
Surveys.
    OMB Number: 0503-New.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from approval date.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Abstract: The Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP) of the United 
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requests approval from the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for generic clearance that will 
allow OPMP to collect information from agricultural entities. The 
primary purpose of this information will be to support OPMP's 
understanding of agricultural practices pertaining to pest management. 
OPMP is undertaking this effort to satisfy legislative requirements 
outlined in Title X, Section 10109 of the 2018 Farm Bill, which 
mandates that the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Office 
of the Chief Economist's Director of OPMP, collect this information.
    Pest management information is critical to supporting a key 
responsibility of OPMP, i.e., to ``consult with agricultural producers 
that may be affected by pest management or pesticide-related activities 
or actions of the Department or other agencies,'' as outlined in the 
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998. 
This request for approval will improve OPMP's ability to better 
understand the utilization of pest management tools by agricultural 
producers via input from pest management advisors--including Extension 
experts and crop consultants, who in addition to being advisors are 
often agricultural producers themselves. Data collected are intended to 
capture agricultural practices and needs to support Federal activities 
that pertain to pest management, which are typically time-sensitive and 
necessitate the need for rapid data collection.
    In most cases, the turnaround time for these information 
collections will be a function of 60-day public comment periods 
associated with pesticide licensing actions, making it essential for 
OPMP to promptly administer requests and collect responses. Various 
factors drive what types of questions OPMP may ask, including the 
active ingredient, crop, region, application method, and specific 
target pest problems. Examples of questions include inquiries regarding 
pesticide usage, the availability and comparative utility of 
alternative pest management tactics for target pests, and resistance 
management concerns. Further, OPMP often needs to understand niche pest 
situations on specific crops and/or regions, which typically is not 
information that is readily available. In certain cases, a single 
information collection may be administered to pest management advisors 
across several active ingredients for a use site. This would avoid 
multiple outreach efforts to the same respondents, reducing both 
respondent and government burden.
    This effort does not intend to duplicate information collection 
activities administered by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics 
Service (NASS) that pertain to pest management. When needed data are 
current and available through NASS collection efforts, it is OPMP's 
policy to utilize and recognize such information as Best Available 
Data.
    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, 7 U.S.C. 
2276. This Notice is submitted in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-113) and OMB's regulations at 5 CFR 
part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995).
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 15 minutes per response. Outside of 
upfront demographic questions, no more than 10 questions will be asked 
per response.
    Type of Respondents: American Society of Agronomy Certified Crop 
Advisors (CCAs), Crop Consultants associated with the National Alliance 
of Independent Crop Consultants (NAICC), and university agricultural 
specialists (including Extension experts) that work with or on behalf 
of agriculturalists, such as farmers, ranchers, nursery operators, 
animal operations (cattle, chickens, catfish, etc.), foresters, 
beekeepers, farm managers, farm contractors, extermination and pest 
control operators, postharvest crop packing and/or processing 
activities, and/or cotton ginning.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Given that it is impossible to 
predict the number of impactful Federal actions that pertain to pest 
management in any given year, the entire universe of specialists 
employed in the areas outlined above could be considered as possible 
respondents. Realistically, however, only a small subset of these 
individuals is expected to respond or even be requested to participate 
in providing information. Using estimates provided by the American 
Society of Agronomy and NAICC, as of June 2019 there were 11,695 CCAs 
in the United States and approximately 800 NAICC independent crop 
consultants. Although some individuals are both CCAs and independent 
crop consultants, at most the total universe of crop advisors/
consultants is 12,495 respondents. Of these respondents, NASS survey 
methodologists estimate a response rate of 15 percent should be 
expected until further empirical data is available, or 1,874 
respondents if crop consultants across all agricultural systems were 
surveyed.
    Of the institutions represented under the North American Industry 
Classification System (NAICS) code ``Universities, and Professional 
Schools'' (NAICS 6113), respondents are limited to land grant 
universities housing agricultural experts and/or Extension specialists. 
Typically, only one expert/specialist from a land grant university has 
the knowledge to respond to the types of questions that would be 
included in the proposed information collection, with an estimate of 
130 such entities existing according to the Association of Public and 
Land-Grant Universities. This would result in 20 respondents assuming a 
15 percent response rate. In all, across crop advisors/consultants and 
university specialists, the number of respondents per request is likely 
no greater than 1,894. The actual number of respondents for any given 
information request is expected to be far less than this, as requests 
will be for specific crops, regions, and/or pest management needs.
    Estimated Number of Responses: It is not possible to precisely 
predict the number of significant actions or activities that would 
necessitate OPMP conducting an information collection request. From 
2016 to 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made 
approximately 40 requests to OPMP for information across a total of 
more than 85 crops. Additionally, as of June 2019, EPA had 73 
Preliminary Interim Decisions (PIDs) and 55 Draft Risk Assessments 
(DRAs) scheduled for completion in Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19), which is 
likely representative of the number of PID and DRA actions on an annual 
basis for the foreseeable future. OPMP does not plan to seek additional 
information for all actions and each action typically only applies to a 
subset of crops grown in the United States. Historically, for most 
actions that necessitate OPMP input, individual inquiries typically 
address one to five

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crops, although in some cases inquiries may target the same crop and 
could result in the target population being contacted more than once 
annually. This is a function of more than one EPA action out for public 
comment in a given year being registered for use on the same crop. EPA 
actions are posted to the docket in quarterly batches which allows OPMP 
to limit contacting individual respondents to four or fewer times 
annually, as OPMP will be able to combine questions across multiple 
crops onto one survey. For this new collection request, 1,894 
respondents could be contacted four times annually, or 7,576 responses 
per year.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: Respondents will be 
contacted no more than four times annually, i.e., on a quarterly basis.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 3,166 burden hours 
annually, or 9,498 hours over the 3-year life of the approved 
collection. [As stated in 13c of the Form OMB 83-1.]
    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 notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public 
record.

Robert Johansson,
Chief Economist.
[FR Doc. 2020-06466 Filed 3-26-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-GL-P