[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 216 (Thursday, November 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77257-77258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24715]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 216 / Thursday, November 9, 2023 / 
Notices  

[[Page 77257]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[Doc. No. AMS-SC-23-0073]


Request for Information Specialty Crops Competitiveness 
Initiative

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
(USDA).

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking input 
from stakeholders across the specialty crops industry on how USDA may 
better administratively support the industry in remaining competitive 
in domestic and international marketplaces, as part of USDA's Specialty 
Crops Competitiveness Initiative. This input will strengthen USDA's 
partnership with the specialty crops industry, an agricultural sector 
that has faced significant challenges due to recent natural disasters, 
pandemic-related market disruptions, and other factors. USDA requests 
input on how to further support the industry's domestic marketing and 
consumption, to further support the industry's competitiveness 
internationally, to further support research that will serve the 
industry, to increase producers' awareness of and access to relevant 
USDA programs, to enhance USDA programs that serve the specialty crops 
industry, to aid the evaluation of existing programs, and to understand 
current and future challenges faced by the industry. USDA is asking for 
comments on interactions with USDA programs. All comments will be 
aggregated, summarized, and shared with USDA Leadership.

DATES: Comments must be received by March 8, 2024 to be assured of 
consideration.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments concerning 
this notice by either of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID AMS-SC-23-0073. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. Comments should reference the 
document number and the date and page number of this issue of the 
Federal Register.
     Email: Please submit any email responses to 
[email protected] in the body of an email or as a Word or PDF 
attachment. Include ``SCCI RFI'' in the subject line of the email.
    All comments submitted in response to this notice will be included 
in the record, will be made available to the public, and can be viewed 
at: https://www.regulations.gov. Please be advised that the identity of 
the individuals or entities submitting the comments will be made 
available to the public on the internet at the address provided above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather M. Pichelman, Agricultural 
Marketing Service, Specialty Crops Program, Email: 
[email protected] or Telephone: (202) 720-4722.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USDA has heard growing concern from the 
specialty crops industry regarding their ability to remain competitive. 
Although the specialty crops industry includes a wide array of 
commodities, the challenges facing their markets are similar. USDA is 
actively partnering with specialty crops growers to increase the 
competitiveness of U.S. products in domestic and international markets, 
minimize costs, manage pests and diseases, strengthen supply chains, 
and support climate outcomes.
    In direct response to the industry's request for support, USDA 
launched the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Initiative (SCCI). The 
goal of SCCI is to provide increased support to the specialty crops 
industry by identifying industry needs and taking appropriate available 
administrative action.
    This Request for Information (RFI) is part of the SCCI initiative, 
to provide stakeholders the opportunity to submit feedback on the 
industry's needs and to provide information on how USDA can better 
administratively support the U.S. specialty crops industry to remain 
competitive.
    The SCCI is just one of multiple efforts across the Federal 
government to support the industry. On October 17, 2023, the United 
States Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register, 
the ``Notice of Establishment and Request for Nominations for the 
Seasonal and Perishable Agricultural Products Advisory Committee'' (88 
FR 71638). This Committee, established by USTR and USDA, intends to 
provide advice and recommendations in connection with U.S. trade policy 
that concern administrative actions and legislation that would promote 
the competitiveness of Southeastern U.S. producers of seasonal and 
perishable agricultural products. Whereas this Committee will be 
focused on a specific geographic U.S. region and on seasonal and 
perishable fruits and vegetables, the SCCI will have a nationwide focus 
on the needs of all specialty crops stakeholders to remain competitive 
in both domestic and international markets under USDA's purview.
    Interested persons can refer to the new USDA web page at https://www.usda.gov/specialty.crops, which contains a comprehensive snapshot 
of USDA's resources and services relevant to specialty crops producers 
and businesses. The focus of this request is to collect feedback on 
existing USDA programs and how they might be improved, not on new 
programs that require legislative action to implement.
    Upon collection of feedback from the industry through this RFI and 
stakeholder meetings and events, a gap analysis will be conducted to 
address where USDA services can be enhanced to better support the 
specialty crops industry. Outcomes of the feedback will be communicated 
back to the specialty crops industry to continue to build awareness of 
USDA's support for the industry.
    USDA is seeking feedback on all its services for the industry. 
Respondents may provide information for one or more of the questions or 
topics listed below, as desired. Additionally, respondents may provide 
commodity-specific or geographic-specific input on Department services 
for specialty crops.
    How can USDA administratively support specialty crop producers to 
enhance domestic marketing and increase consumption of domestically 
grown specialty crops?
    How can USDA administratively support specialty crop producers to 
improve their export performance to

[[Page 77258]]

increase competitiveness of U.S. specialty crops in foreign markets?
    What research is needed to minimize costs and maximize returns to 
support the production and processing of specialty crops? What kind of 
research (spanning production, transportation, handling, or beyond) 
could USDA enhance or adapt to support the specialty crop industry?
    How could existing USDA specialty crops farm programs be adapted to 
address current and future challenges faced by the specialty crops 
industry?
    How could USDA increase awareness of available tools and resources 
to support broader participation and engagement by the specialty crops 
industry?
    How could USDA enhance or adapt currently offered programs (loans, 
grants, nutrition programs, conservation programs, insurance programs, 
food safety programs, pest management programs, etc.) to support the 
specialty crops industry to increase its competitiveness?
    How could USDA enhance or adapt procurement to support the 
specialty crops industry?
    Please share any ongoing or anticipated challenges in the specialty 
crops industry that impact your ability to maintain competitiveness.
    Please share any non-financial resources that would be useful to 
improve the specialty crop industry's competitiveness.

Erin Morris,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-24715 Filed 11-8-23; 8:45 am]
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