[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 184 (Monday, September 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53269-53270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20856]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Statistics Service


Notice of Intent To Request Revision and Extension of a Currently 
Approved Information Collection

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 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 the National Agricultural Statistics 
Service (NASS) to request revision and extension of a currently 
approved information collection, the Cost of Pollination Survey. This 
survey gathers data related to the costs incurred by farmers to improve 
the pollination of their crops through the use of honey bees and other 
pollinators.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by November 26, 2021 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number 0535-
0258, by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include docket number 
above in the subject line of the message.
     eFax: (855) 838-6382.
     Mail: Mail any paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions to: 
David Hancock, NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Room 5336 South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20250-2024.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Hand deliver to: David Hancock, 
NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 5336 South 
Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin L. Barnes, Associate 
Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, (202) 720-2707. Copies of this information 
collection and related instructions can be obtained without charge from 
David Hancock, NASS--OMB Clearance Officer, at (202) 690-2388 or at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Cost of Pollination Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-0258.
    Type of Request: Intent to Seek Approval to Revise and Extend an 
Information Collection for 3 years.
    Abstract: The primary objective of the National Agricultural 
Statistics Service (NASS) is to prepare and issue state and national 
estimates of crop and livestock production, prices, and disposition; as

[[Page 53270]]

well as economic statistics, environmental statistics related to 
agriculture, and also to conduct the Census of Agriculture. Pollinators 
(honey bees, bats, butterflies, hummingbirds, etc.) are vital to the 
agricultural industry for pollinating numerous food crops for the 
world's population. Concern for honey bee colony mortality has risen 
since the introduction of Varroa mites in the United States in the late 
1980s and the appearance of Colony Collapse Disorder in the past 
decade.
    In June 2014, the Obama Administration issued a Presidential 
Memorandum directing federal agencies to take steps to protect and 
restore domestic populations of pollinators. The memorandum established 
the Pollinator Health Task Force (Task Force), which is co-chaired by 
the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and includes leaders from 14 executive branch 
departments, agencies, and offices. The Task Force's plan involved 
conducting research and collecting data for the following categories: 
Status & Trends, Habitats, Nutrition, Pesticides, Native Plants, 
Collections, Genetics, Pathogens, Decision Tools, and Economics. The 
pollinators have been classified into Honey Bee, Native Bee, Wasp, 
Moth/Butterfly, Fly, and Vertebrate. The departments that conducted the 
bulk of the research were the Department of the Interior (DOI), the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Science Foundation 
(NSF), the Smithsonian Institute (SI), and the United States Department 
of Agriculture (USDA).
    NASS was given the tasks of collecting economic data related to 
honey bees and quantifying the number of colonies that were lost or 
reduced. NASS is approved to conduct the annual Bee and Honey Inquiry 
(operations with five or more colonies) and the quarterly Colony Loss 
Survey (operations with five or more colonies) under OMB #0535-0153. In 
2019, funding for the Cost of Pollination Survey were cut and the 
survey was suspended. Under the 2022 Senate Appropriations Bill, 
funding is provided for the reinstatement of the Cost of Pollination 
Survey. Provided the Bill is signed into law as written; NASS will 
resume data collection on this survey in 2022.
    NASS will collect economic data from crop farmers who rely on 
pollinators for their crops (fruits, nuts, vegetables, etc.). Data 
relating to the targeted crops are collected for the total number of 
acres that rely on honey bee pollination, the number of honey bee 
colonies that were used on those acres, and any cash fees associated 
with honey bee pollination. Crop Farmers are also asked if beekeepers 
who were hired to bring their bees to their farm were notified of 
pesticides used on the target acres, how many acres they were being 
hired to pollinate, and how much they were being paid to pollinate the 
targeted crops.
    Authority: 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 
as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2276, which requires USDA to afford strict 
confidentiality to non-aggregated data provided by respondents. This 
Notice is submitted in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (Pub. L. 104-113) and the Office of Management and Budget 
regulations at 5 CFR part 1320. This survey is also conducted in 
accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
Efficiency Act of 2018, Title III of Public Law 115-435, codified in 44 
U.S.C. Ch. 35.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 15 minutes per response. Publicity 
materials and an instruction sheet for reporting via internet will 
account for 5 minutes of additional burden per respondent. Respondents 
who refuse to complete a survey will be allotted 2 minutes of burden 
per attempt to collect the data.
    Once a year, NASS will contact approximately 18,000 crop farmers 
who rely on honey bees to pollinate their fruit, nut, vegetable, and 
other crops. NASS will conduct the annual survey using a mail and 
internet approach. This will be followed up with phone and personal 
enumeration for non-respondents. NASS will attempt to obtain at least 
an 80% response rate.
    Respondents: Farmers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 18,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: With an estimated 
response rate of approximately 80%, we estimate the burden to be 5,340 
hours.
    Comments: Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) 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; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, technological, or other forms of information 
technology collection methods. All responses to this notice will become 
a matter of public record and be summarized in the request for OMB 
approval.

    Signed at Washington, DC, September 17, 2021.
Kevin L. Barnes,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2021-20856 Filed 9-24-21; 8:45 am]
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