[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22130-22131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08754]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 27, 2021 / 
Notices  

[[Page 22130]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

April 22, 2021.
    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: 
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; the accuracy of the agency's 
estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and 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 May 27, 2021. 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

    Title: Milk and Milk Products.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-0020.
    Summary of Collection: The National Agricultural Statistics 
Service's primary function is to prepare and issue official State and 
national estimates of crop and livestock production, disposition, and 
prices and to collect information on related environmental and economic 
factors. Estimates of milk production and manufactured dairy products 
are an integral part of this program. Milk and dairy statistics are 
used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help administer price 
support programs and by the dairy industry in planning, pricing, and 
projecting supplies of milk and milk products.
    General authority for these data collection activities is granted 
under U.S. Code Title 7, Section 2204. The legislative actions which 
affect these surveys are from November 2000, when Congress enacted the 
``Dairy Market Enhancement Act of 2000,'' U.S. Code Title 7, Section 
1621, and Public Law 106-532 which changed the program from voluntary 
to mandatory for reporting the moisture content of cheddar cheese plus 
the price and quantity of cheddar cheese, butter, non-fat dry milk, and 
dry whey.
    Amendments have been published to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 
1946 in conformance with legislated changes enacted by the Dairy Market 
Enhancement Act of 2000 and the Farm Security and Rural Development Act 
of 2002. The amendments established a program of mandatory dairy 
product information reporting. The program requires each manufacturer 
to report to the USDA information concerning the price, quantity, and 
moisture content of dairy products sold by the manufacturer. In 
addition, entities storing dairy products are to report information on 
the quantity of dairy products stored. Any manufacturer or other entity 
that processes, markets, or stores less than 1,000,000 pounds of dairy 
products per year are exempt. The program will provide timely, 
accurate, and reliable market information; facilitate more informed 
marketing decisions; and promote competition in the dairy product 
manufacturing industry.
    In April 2012 the authority for collecting Dairy Product Prices was 
moved from NASS to the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). NASS will 
continue to collect milk production and manufactured dairy product data 
under this OMB approval.
    Need and Use of the Information: NASS will collect information 
quarterly with the Milk Production Survey. The monthly Milk and Milk 
Products surveys obtain basic agricultural statistics on milk 
production and manufactured dairy products from farmers and processing 
plants throughout the nation. Data are gathered for milk production, 
evaporated and condensed milk, dairy products, manufactured dry milk 
and manufactured whey products. Estimates of total milk production, 
number of milk cow, and milk production per cow, are used by the dairy 
industry in planning, pricing, and projecting supplies of milk and milk 
products. The mandatory dairy product information reporting requires 
each manufacturer to report the price, quantity and moisture content of 
dairy products sold and each entity storing dairy products to report 
information on the quantity of dairy products stored. Collecting data 
less frequently would prevent USDA and the agricultural industry from 
keeping abreast of changes at the State and National level.
    Description of Respondents: Farms; Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents: 14,450.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Quarterly; Monthly; Annually.
    Total Burden Hours: 10,619.
    Title: Feral Swine Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-0256.
    Summary of Collection: Authority to collect these data is 
authorized under 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. On February 3, 1999, Executive 
Order 13112 was signed by President Clinton establishing the National 
Invasive Species Council. The Executive Order requires that a Council 
of Departments dealing with invasive species be created. Currently 
there are 13 Departments and Agencies on the Council. A benchmark 
survey was conducted in 2015 in 11 States (Alabama, Arkansas, 
California, Florida,

[[Page 22131]]

Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, South 
Carolina, and Texas). Target population within these states consisted 
of farm operations who have historically produced one or more of the 
following crops: Corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, peanuts or sorghum (Texas 
only).
    In 2017, this survey will be conducted in Alabama, Arkansas, 
California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North 
Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, to measure 
the damage to livestock that is associated with the presence of feral 
swine. These States have high feral swine densities and a significant 
presence of cattle, hogs, sheep and/or goats.
    In 2019 the survey was conducted in 12 States: Alabama, Arkansas, 
California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North 
Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. The operators in 11 of 
the States will be selected from operations that recently produced hay/
haylage, tree nuts, melons, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, or cotton. In 
California, operators will be selected from operations that produced 
hay/haylage, tree nuts, grapes, sod, carrots, lettuce, or strawberries. 
APHIS Wildlife Services extrapolated crop damage estimates to the 
state-level in 12 states with reportable damage yielded an estimated 
crop loss of $272 million/yr.
    The Agriculture Improvement Act authorizes $75,000,000 for the 
period of fiscal years 2019 through 2023. The funds are to be divided 
up by the following--50 percent shall be allocated to the Natural 
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to carry out the pilot program, 
including the provision of financial assistance to producers for on-
farm trapping and technology related to capturing and confining feral 
swine; and 50 percent shall be allocated to the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) to carry out the pilot program, including 
the use of established, and testing of innovative, population reduction 
methods.
    The APHIS, Wildlife Services' (WS) National Wildlife Research 
Center (NWRC) is the only Federal research organization devoted 
exclusively to resolving conflicts between people and wildlife through 
the development of effective, selective, and socially responsible 
methods, tools, and techniques. As increased urbanization leads to a 
loss of traditional wildlife habitat, the potential for conflicts 
between people and wildlife increases. Such conflicts can take many 
forms, including property and natural resource damage, human health and 
safety concerns, and disease transmission among wildlife, livestock, 
and humans.
    The high reproductive rate and adaptability of feral swine has 
resulted in populations that have dramatically increased in size and 
distribution. This invasive animal now occurs across much of the United 
States where it causes a range of agricultural and environmental damage 
through depredation, rooting, and wallowing activities. Furthermore, 
feral swine compete with native wildlife and livestock for habitats, 
are carriers of exotic and endemic diseases, and transmit parasites to 
livestock and humans. Feral swine are considered a major emerging 
threat to American agriculture (Seward et al. 2004). Recent data show 
that the proportions of U.S. counties with agricultural production that 
also have feral swine present are increasing.
    General authority for these data collection activities is granted 
under U.S. Code Title 7, Section 2204. This statute specifies that 
``The Secretary of Agriculture shall procure and preserve all 
information concerning agriculture which he can obtain . . . by the 
collection of statistics . . . and shall distribute them among 
agriculturists.''
    Need and Use of the Information: The purpose of the proposed survey 
is to develop national and State estimates of the damage feral swine 
cause to agricultural operations, as well as costs of controls and 
benefits from feral swine hunting. These estimates will be used by 
APHIS to determine which areas have the greatest amount of damage and 
where to focus efforts at dealing with the feral swine problem. 
Financial costs will be measured because these are easily comparable 
across different states and commodities.
    Given the wide range of damages covered in the survey, and the fact 
that we are relying on estimates based on human memory, there may be 
compound problems that are difficult to quantify or to identify a 
single cause. APHIS representatives and NASS survey methodologists 
recognize this and took care to design the questionnaire to target only 
damage and losses directly attributable to feral swine.
    The feral swine survey is designed to establish crucial baseline 
levels of damage to American producers of economically important 
livestock (cattle, hogs, sheep and/or goats). APHIS seeks to work 
cooperatively and with the assistance of other agencies at the 
international, Federal, State, Territorial, Tribal, and local levels, 
and with the cooperation of private management interests, to provide a 
system for allocation of project resources, and to identify management 
methods which may be used to address feral swine damage.
    Description of Respondents: Farms.
    Number of Respondents: 18,000.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annually.
    Total Burden Hours: 9,651.

Levi S. Harrell,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-08754 Filed 4-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-20-P