[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 23 (Friday, February 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7354-7356]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02129]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Notice of Request for Approval of an Information Collection

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 renewal of an existing information collection for 
Multiple Crop and Pesticide Use Surveys.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by April 2, 2024 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 https://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 Pest Management Policy, 1400 
Independence Ave. SW, Room3871--South Building, Mailstop 3817, 
Washington, DC 20250-3700.
     Hand- or courier-delivered submittals: Deliver to 1400 
Independence Ave. SW, Room4054--South Building, Washington, DC 20250-
3700. You may also want to 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 number. Comments received in 
response to this docket will be made available for public inspection 
and posted without change, including any personal information, to 
https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Ranville, Office of the Chief 
Economist, Office of Pest Management Policy, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700, 
(202) 577-1980.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Generic Clearance to Conduct Multiple Crop and Pesticide Use 
Surveys.
    OMB Number: 0503-0026.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from approval date.
    Type of Request: Renewal and revision of a currently approved 
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

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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. The 
information collected under this approval improves OPMP's ability to 
better understand the utilization of pest management tools by 
agricultural producers via input from producers and 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, the feasibility 
of pesticide mitigations, 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 from other sources.
    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 Office of Management and 
Budget 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 fifteen questions will be 
asked per response.
    Type of Respondents: American Society of Agronomy (ASA) Certified 
Crop Advisors (CCAs); crop consultants associated with the National 
Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants (NAICC); county extension 
agents affiliated with the National Association of County Agricultural 
Agents (NACAA); other agricultural stakeholders, 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, cotton ginning, etc.; university agricultural 
academics/experts (other than those represented through NACAA); and/or 
other specialists that work with or on behalf of these groups.
    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 to a request. Using estimates 
provided by the ASA, the NAICC, and the NACAA, as of November 2023 
there were 10,720 CCAs in the United States, 604 NAICC independent crop 
consultants, and 3,259 agricultural experts affiliated with the NACAA. 
Although some individuals are both CCAs and independent crop 
consultants, at most the total universe of crop advisors/consultants is 
14,583 respondents. OPMP adds 1,000 to this number to account for 
outreach to smaller stakeholder groups for knowledge/information on 
pest management that may not be readily available from crop consultants 
(e.g., pest management in packing houses, commercial seed treatment 
practices, etc.). On the first iteration of this ICR, NASS survey 
methodologists estimated a response rate of 15% should be expected 
until further empirical data is available. OPMP has retained this 
estimate for the revision of this ICR. This could lead to a maximum 
number of 2,338 total respondents per survey. Potential respondents 
will be contacted by email. They will have the option to quickly read a 
summary of the survey topic and delete the survey request if it is not 
applicable to them. OPMP estimates a burden of 1 minute per non-
response, though it is likely to be even lower.
    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, EPA made approximately 40 requests to OPMP for 
information across a total of more than 85 crops. From 2020 to 2023, 
that number of requests was lower, approximately 30 requests. But EPA 
also issued roughly 200 Proposed Interim Decisions (PIDs) over that 
time period in addition to more than 100 Draft Risk Assessments (DRAs). 
OPMP provided written responses to the vast majority of these actions. 
OPMP does not need to seek additional information for all actions, and 
each action typically only applies to a subset of crops grown in the 
United States. However, for actions that apply broadly to multiple 
crops and regions, OPMP may want to seek broad input from producers of 
many crops. EPA actions are typically posted to the docket in quarterly 
batches. Thus, OPMP may be able to combine questions across multiple 
crops, active ingredients, practices, etc., into one survey. For this 
collection request, the crop consultant groups (total 14,583) could be 
contacted up to eight times annually. Up to 15 percent of those may 
provide responses to questionnaires, or 17,500 responses per year. In 
addition, other niche groups, up to 1,000 respondents total across 
groups, may be contacted up to two times annually for an additional 300 
responses. This amounts to approximately 17,800 responses per year 
maximum.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: Respondents will be 
contacted no more than eight times annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 6,131 burden hours 
annually, or 18,393 hours over the three-year life of the ICR.
    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

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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. Comments may be sent to United States Department of 
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Room 4054, Washington, DC 
20250-9810. All comments received will be available for public 
inspection during regular business hours at the same address.
    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.

Cynthia Nickerson,
Deputy Chief Economist, United States Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2024-02129 Filed 2-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-18-P