[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 67 (Tuesday, April 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19422-19423]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07220]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

April 1, 2020.
    The Department of Agriculture will submit the following information 
collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 on or after the date 
of publication of this notice. Comments are requested regarding: (1) 
Whether the 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 burden 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 through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    Comments regarding these information collections are best assured 
of having their full effect if received by

[[Page 19423]]

May 7, 2020. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the 
publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by 
selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' 
or by using the search function.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB 
control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to 
respond to the collection of information that such persons are not 
required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

    Title: Agricultural Resource Management and Chemical Use Surveys--
Substantive Change.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-0218.
    Summary of Collection: General authority for these data collection 
activities is granted under U.S. Code Title 7, Section 2204 which 
specifies that ``The Secretary of Agriculture shall procure and 
preserve all information concerning agriculture which he can obtain . . 
. by the collection of statistics . . .''. The primary objective of the 
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is to provide data 
users with timely and reliable agricultural production and economic 
statistics, as well as environmental and specialty agricultural related 
statistics. To accomplish this objective, NASS relies on the use of 
diverse surveys that show changes within the farming industry over 
time.
    Using the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) and the 
Vegetable Chemical Use Survey, NASS collects environmental data which 
includes cropping practices, fertilizer applications, pesticide usage 
for weeds, insects, fungus, mold, etc., and the use of various pest 
management practices. Through cooperative agreements with the Economic 
Research Service and the Office of Pest Management Policy NASS collects 
additional data to aid in there research. The additional questions that 
will be added to the questionnaires that were not in the original 
approval will address topics such as seed treatments, GPS enabled 
equipment, nutrient management, crop insurance, environmental 
regulations, organic production practices, etc. Complete listings of 
the questions added and deleted have been added as supplemental 
documents to this submission.
    This substantive change will not change the sample sizes of any of 
the surveys only the content of the ARMS II surveys for rice, corn and 
soybeans, the Vegetable Chemical Use Survey and the Cropping Practices 
Survey (done under a cooperative agreement with Mississippi State 
University). A detailed listing of the changes are attached to the 
docket submission. Based on the ARMS II and the Fruit Chemical Use 
surveys conducted in 2019, in which the field enumerators were asked to 
record beginning and ending times for personal interviews the changes 
in average burden per questionnaire a 10 to 15 minute increase was 
added to the questionnaires. This resulted in a net increase in 
respondent burden of 442 hours above the currently approved annual 
average total.
    Need and Use of the Information: The Office of Pest Management 
Policy (OPMP), the Economic Research Service (ERS), and the Mississippi 
State University Extension Service (MSUES) will be able to better 
address changes in the farming practices and chemicals used on these 
crops that have occurred since the original approval of this docket.
    Description of Respondents: Farms.
    Number of Respondents: 16,815.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Once.
    Total Burden Hours: 13,610.

Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-07220 Filed 4-6-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-20-P