[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26859-26860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07929]


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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

[[Page 26860]]

notice announces the intention of the National Agricultural Statistics 
Service (NASS) to request revision and extension of a currently 
approved information collection, 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. A revision to burden hours will be needed due to changes 
in the size of the target population, sampling design, and/or 
questionnaire length.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by June 17, 2024 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: 
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) 720-4557. Copies of this information 
collection and related instructions can be obtained without charge from 
Richard Hopper, NASS--OMB Clearance Officer, at (202) 720-2206 or at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Cost of Pollination Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-0258.
    Expiration Date of Approval: January 31, 2025.
    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 
well as economic statistics, environmental statistics related to 
agriculture, and 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 
mid-2000s.
    The 2018 Farm Bill (extended until September 2024) directs the 
implementation and coordination of USDA pollinator health research 
efforts as recommended by the Federal Pollinator Health Task Force 
(established in 2014 by Presidential Memorandum). 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.
    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 (Public Law 104-113) and the 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.
    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.
    Respondents: Farmers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 16,100.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 5,300 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, April 9, 2024.
Joseph L. Parsons,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2024-07929 Filed 4-15-24; 8:45 am]
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