[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 46 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16524-16525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04832]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Statistics Service


Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Reinstate an Information 
Collection

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics Service, 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 seek reinstatement of an information collection, the 
2024 Tenure, Ownership and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) 
survey.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by May 6, 2024 to be 
assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number 0535-
0240, 2024 TOTAL, by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include docket number 
above in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 720-6396.
     Mail: Mail any paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions to: 
Richard Hopper, 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: Richard Hopper, 
NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 5336, 
South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph L. Parsons, Associate 
Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, (202) 720-4333. Copies of this information 
collection and related instructions can be obtained without charge from 
Richard Hopper, NASS Clearance Officer, at (202) 720-2206.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: 2024 Tenure, Ownership and Transition of Agricultural Land 
(TOTAL) Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-0240.
    Type of Request: Intent to Seek Reinstatement of an Information 
Collection.
    Abstract: The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of 
the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will request 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the 2024 
Tenure, Ownership and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) surveys 
to be conducted as follow-on surveys to the 2022 Census of Agriculture 
and are authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 as 
amended.
    The 2024 TOTAL surveys will be conducted in 2025, referencing the 
calendar year of 2024. In 2025 the Agricultural Resource Management 
Survey (ARMS) Phase 3 (OMB # 0535-0275) will be suspended for a period 
of one year. The scope of the TOTAL survey is greater than that of the 
ARMS 3 survey. To maintain the ARMS 3 data series, data will be gleaned 
from the TOTAL surveys to replace the 2024 ARMS 3 data collection.
    The TOTAL survey will be conducted in two phases. The first phase 
will be the creation of a list of land owners who rent out land for 
agricultural purposes. These landlords will be excluded from the sample 
if they are also active farm or ranch operators as these entities are 
part of the phase II version 1 sampling population discussed below. The 
area segments that are used during the June Area Survey (OMB # 0535-
0213) will be used as the target areas. NASS will compare the land 
inside these segments with land ownership data from the Farm Services 
Agency (FSA) along with property tax information purchased from 
CoreLogic (a privately owned company). After the removal of any 
duplication within this list NASS will have the target sample for the 
Landlord only version of the survey which will be conducted in Phase 
II. The current NASS List Frame of known farmers and ranchers will be 
used to create the sample for the Operator version of the survey. No 
list building will be conducted in Phase I for the operator 
questionnaire.
    The second phase of the survey will include data collection and 
reporting using two versions of the TOTAL questionnaires. Version 1 of 
the TOTAL

[[Page 16525]]

survey will target farm and ranch operators in all 50 States. The 
sample will be drawn from a list of all known farming operations that 
sold at least $1,000 in agricultural products in 2024. The stratified 
sample will be representative of the farm operator population. The 
sample will be large enough to publish State level data for the 25 
largest agricultural producing States based on value of sales. These 25 
core States account for a significant amount of the total value of 
agricultural products produced in the three-year period of 2020-2022. 
Version 2 of the TOTAL survey will target individuals who own and rent 
out farm land in all 50 States. Individuals who are both farm operators 
and landlords will be excluded from the Version 2 sample since they are 
included in the Version 1 sample population. The Version 2 population 
should be large enough to publish State level data for the 25 core 
States. The remaining 25 States that will be included in the survey 
will have their data combined in the all other States category, so that 
US level estimates can be published.
    Data collection for both Versions should begin around January 1, 
2025, using 2024 as the reference period. A final report is targeted to 
be published in October 2025.
    Authority: The Tenure, Ownership and Transition of Agricultural 
Land (TOTAL) surveys are required by law under the ``Census of 
Agriculture Act of 1997,'' Public Law 105-113, 7 U.S.C. 2204(g) as 
amended. 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, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) and Office of 
Management and Budget regulations at 5 CFR part 1320.
    All NASS employees and NASS contractors must also fully comply with 
all provisions of the Confidential Information Protection and 
Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2018, title III of Public Law 
115-435, codified in 44 U.S.C. ch. 35. CIPSEA supports NASS's pledge of 
confidentiality to all respondents and facilitates the agency's efforts 
to reduce burden by supporting statistical activities of collaborative 
agencies through designation of NASS agents, subject to the limitations 
and penalties described in CIPSEA. NASS uses the information only for 
statistical purposes and publishes only tabulated total data.
    These data are used by Congress when developing, updating, or 
changing farm programs. These data will also be used to produce 
estimates of sector-wide production expenditures and other components 
of income that are used in constructing the estimates of income and 
value-added which are transmitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 
Bureau of Economic Analysis, by the USDA Economic Research Service 
(ERS) for use in constructing economy-wide estimates of Gross Domestic 
Product. The data will also be used to construct demographic data on 
the owners and operators of farm land in the United States and their 
potential transition strategies.
    Many national and state programs are designed or allocated based on 
these data. Farm operators, landlords, and financial institutions rely 
on these data to make informed business decisions when selling or 
renting land, applying for business loans, or making decisions on 
expanding or diversifying their operations.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for Version 1 (farm 
operators) is estimated to average 100 minutes per response. Public 
reporting burden for Version 2 (landlords only) is estimated to average 
30 minutes per response. Multiple data collection modes will be 
incorporated to help minimize data collection costs. The questionnaires 
will be available on the internet to the targeted sample. NASS will 
mail the questionnaires to the respondents at least twice and may use 
autodial or a postcard reminder, before attempting phone or personal 
interviews to collect the data.
    Respondents: Version 1--farm operators: Version 2 landlords who 
rent out farm land but do not operate farms.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 45,600 farm or ranch operators and 
44,000 landlords who do not operate farms or ranches.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 114,500 hours. In 
order to minimize data collection costs, NASS will attempt to collect 
data by utilizing an internet version of the questionnaire as well as 
the U.S. Postal Service. NASS will then attempt to collect the data 
from non-respondents by either phone or personal enumeration. With the 
initial mailing, respondents will be provided with instructions on how 
to access the internet and complete the questionnaire on line.
    The primary objectives of the National Agricultural Statistics 
Service are to prepare and issue State and national estimates of crop 
production, livestock production, economic statistics, and 
environmental statistics related to agriculture and to conduct the 
Census of Agriculture and its follow-on surveys, which includes the 
TOTAL surveys.
    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, February 14, 2024.
Joseph L. Parsons,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2024-04832 Filed 3-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-20-P