[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 105 (Thursday, May 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46853-46854]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11906]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 105 / Thursday, May 30, 2024 / 
Notices  

[[Page 46853]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Outreach and Assistance 
to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and 
Ranchers Program (2501 Program) Application and Performance Reporting

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, this notice 
announces the Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement's intention 
to request a new information collection titled ``Outreach and 
Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran 
Farmers and Ranchers Program (2501 Program) Application and Performance 
Reporting.''

DATES: We will consider comments we receive by July 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on this notice.
    Electronic Submission of Comments. You may submit comments 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions provided on that site to 
submit comments electronically.
    Submission of Comments by Mail, Hand delivery, or Courier. You may 
submit comments to the USDA, Office of Partnerships and Public 
Engagement, Jamie L. Whitten Building, Room 524A, Mail Stop 0601, 1400 
Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250. USDA strongly encourages 
commenters to submit comments electronically. Electronic submission of 
comments allows you maximum time to prepare and submit a comment and 
ensures timely receipt by USDA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Okahara, Performance Improvement 
Officer, 202-720-6350, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title of Collection: Outreach and Assistance to Socially 
Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers 
Program (2501 Program) Application and Performance Reporting.
    OMB Control Number: 0503-New.
    Type of Request: Notice of intent to request a new information 
collection entitled ``Outreach and Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged 
Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (2501 
Program) Application and Performance Reporting.''
    Abstract: The 2501 program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
(USDA) makes competitively awarded grants to community-based and non-
profit organizations, institutions of higher education, and Tribal 
entities to provide education and training in agriculture, 
agribusiness, forestry, agricultural-related services, and USDA 
programs, develop underserved youths' interest in agriculture, and 
conduct outreach initiatives.
    The objectives of the 2501 Program are to support socially 
disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, military veteran farmers and 
ranchers, and beginning farmers and ranchers with owning and operating 
successful farms and ranches and participating equitably in the full 
range of agricultural, forestry, and related programs offered by USDA. 
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) authorizes 
grants to enhance coordination of the outreach, technical assistance, 
and education efforts authorized under agriculture programs; and to 
assist the Secretary in reaching current and prospective socially 
disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and veteran farmers and ranchers in 
a linguistically appropriate manner; and improving the participation of 
those farmers and ranchers in Department programs (7 U.S.C. 2279).
    Applications: The application package required for eligible 
entities includes the following: Standard Form (SF) 424; Application 
for Federal Assistance; Project/Performance Site Location(s); Project 
Abstract Summary; Project Narrative; Standard Form (SF) 424A; Budget 
Information--Non-Construction Programs; Budget Narrative; Key Contacts 
(list names of all key personnel expected to work on the project); 
Grants.gov Lobbying Form; Resumes of all key personnel working on the 
project; and related documentation (e.g., Articles of Incorporation for 
all nonprofit organizations, 501(c)3 status documentation).
    Performance Reports: Grant recipients are required to submit semi-
annual progress reports on their activities and a final performance 
report at the end of the award period. Under 7 U.S.C. 2279(c)(4)(D), 
USDA must submit to Congress an annual report that includes the 
following:
     The recipients of funds made available under the program;
     The activities undertaken and services provided;
     The number of current and prospective socially 
disadvantaged farmers or ranchers served and outcomes of such service;
     The problems and barriers identified by entities in trying 
to increase participation by current and prospective socially 
disadvantaged farmers or ranchers;
     The number of farms or ranches started, maintained, or 
improved as a result of funds made available under the program; and
     Actions taken by the Secretary in partnership with 
eligible entities to enhance participation in agricultural programs by 
veteran farmers or ranchers and socially disadvantaged farmers or 
ranchers and the effectiveness of those actions.
    USDA will use the information collected to:
    1. Assess program eligibility and compliance with program 
requirements;
    2. Complete the annual report to Congress as required by 7 U.S.C. 
2279(c)(4)(D);
    3. Comply with the newly revised guidance on the collection of 
demographic information, per OMB Statistical Policy Directive No. 15;
    4. Comply with the reporting requirements under the Government 
Performance and Results Modernization Act and Foundations of Evidence-
based Policymaking Act; and
    5. Assess the progress of grant recipients regarding measurable 
goals.
    Data collected from the grantees will provide a nationwide 
description of

[[Page 46854]]

activities funded under the 2501 Program to reach current and 
prospective socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and veteran 
farmers and ranchers in a linguistically appropriate manner and improve 
the participation of those farmers and ranchers in Department programs. 
Data collected from grantees will also provide information for usage by 
Congress, the Department, and the public. In addition, USDA will use 
this data to inform program management, monitoring, and technical 
assistance efforts. Grantees will be able to use the data for internal 
management and program improvement.
    Estimated Program Burden: USDA estimates the burden of this 
collection of information as follows. The information collection has 
three parts:
    (A) Grants.gov collects data from applicants. Applicants submit 
their application package to USDA using grants.gov. The estimated 
average amount of time required to complete the application package is 
160 hours annually. The estimated response burden includes time to 
review instructions, gather existing data, and complete and review the 
application. These estimates are based on the experience of former 
grantees who have previously applied to the program.
    (B) A web-based system that collects data from grantees. Grantees 
report to USDA using a web-based data collection system. The estimated 
average amount of time required to complete all responses to the data 
collection instrument is 20 hours per report, or 40 hours annually. We 
anticipate an additional 10 burden hours for those completing a final 
report, which is approximately \1/3\ of grantee organizations each 
year. All grantees will complete two semiannual reports, regardless of 
whether or not they are completing a final report, as the semiannual 
report serves to provide data on the preceding six-month period, while 
the final report covers the entire grant period. Additionally, the 
estimated number of respondents per year is higher than the total 
number of grantees funded over three years, to account for no-cost 
extensions to existing grant agreements. The estimated response burden 
includes time to review the instructions, gather existing data, and 
complete and review the data entries. These estimates are based on the 
current time reported by grantees to respond to reports, as well as 
efficiencies in the new web-based system anticipated by the staff who 
implement these programs.
    (C) A follow-up survey that grantees collect from program 
participants. Many grantees currently ask program participants to 
complete surveys after attending a program offering or at the 
completion of a training program to assess the effectiveness and 
relevance of the training content to the needs of the participant. In 
this case, we are proposing that OPPE will survey program participants 
directly in order fulfill reporting requirements to Congress on the 
success of the program in meeting its performance measures. This 
information will be used by USDA to measure the program's overall 
performance from the perspective of program participants. Historical 
data from grantees regarding burden hours is helpful, but not 
especially relevant here, as currently grantees create their own 
feedback surveys that are not consistent across different grantee 
organizations. We have estimated the number of burden hours for this 
item based on the number of questions and whether they are multiple 
choice, short answer, or paragraph responses requested. In this 
estimate, we also anticipate administering the survey longitudinally by 
requesting responses from participants at 3 different time intervals.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Estimated
          Respondent/data collection activity            number of    Responses per   Hours per    Annual burden
                                                        respondents    respondent      response        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application...........................................          120               1          160          19,200
Semiannual performance report.........................          150               2           20           6,000
Final performance report..............................           50               1           30           1,500
Follow-up survey (or course evaluation) (ArcGIS Survey        5,000               3           .5           7,500
 123).................................................
                                                       ---------------------------------------------------------
    Total.............................................  ...........  ..............  ...........          34,200
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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; (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, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    USDA will consider the comments received and amend the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) as appropriate. The final ICR package will 
then be submitted to OMB for review and approval. At that time, USDA 
will issue another Federal Register notice to announce the submission 
of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to 
OMB.

Lisa Ramirez,
Director, Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement, U.S. Department 
of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2024-11906 Filed 5-29-24; 8:45 am]
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