2024-12216. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

The Department of Agriculture will submit the following information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 on or after the date of publication of this notice. Comments are requested regarding: (1) whether the 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 agency's estimate of burden 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 through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments regarding these information collections are best assured of having their full effect if received by July 5, 2024. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information that such persons are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

Title: Milk and Milk Products.

OMB Control Number: 0535-0020.

Summary of Collection: The National Agricultural Statistics Service's primary function is to prepare and issue official State and national estimates of crop and livestock production, disposition, and prices and to collect information on related environmental and economic factors. Estimates of milk production and manufactured dairy products are an integral part of this program. Milk and dairy statistics are used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help administer price support programs and by the dairy industry in planning, pricing, and projecting supplies of milk and milk products.

General authority for these data collection activities is granted under U.S. Code title 7, section 2204. The legislative actions which affect these surveys are from November 2000, when Congress enacted the “Dairy Market Enhancement Act of 2000,” U.S. Code title 7, section 1621, and Public Law 106-532 which changed the program from voluntary to mandatory for reporting the moisture content of cheddar cheese plus the price and quantity of cheddar cheese, butter, non-fat dry milk, and dry whey.

Amendments have been published to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 in conformance with legislated changes enacted by the Dairy Market Enhancement Act of 2000 and the Farm Security and Rural Development Act of 2002. The amendments established a program of mandatory dairy product information reporting. The program requires each manufacturer to report to the USDA information concerning the price, quantity, and moisture content of dairy products sold by the manufacturer. In addition, entities storing dairy products are to report information on the quantity of dairy products stored. Any manufacturer or other entity that processes, markets, or stores less than 1,000,000 pounds of dairy products per year are exempt. The program will provide timely, accurate, and reliable market information; facilitate more informed marketing decisions; and promote competition in the dairy product manufacturing industry.

In April 2012 the authority for collecting Dairy Product Prices was moved from NASS to the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). NASS will continue to collect milk production and manufactured dairy product data under this OMB approval.

Need and Use of the Information: NASS will collect information quarterly with the Milk Production Survey. The monthly Milk and Milk Products surveys obtain basic agricultural statistics on milk production and manufactured dairy products from farmers and processing plants throughout the nation. Data are gathered for milk production, evaporated and condensed milk, dairy products, manufactured dry milk and manufactured whey products. Estimates of total milk production, number of milk cow, and milk production per cow, are used by the dairy industry in planning, pricing, and projecting supplies of milk and milk products. The mandatory dairy product information reporting requires each manufacturer to report the price, quantity and moisture content of dairy products sold and each entity storing dairy products to report information on the quantity of dairy products stored. Collecting data less frequently would prevent USDA and the agricultural industry from keeping abreast of changes at the State and National level.

Description of Respondents: Farms; Business or other for-profit.

Number of Respondents: 14,475.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Quarterly; Monthly; Annually.

Total Burden Hours: 11,596.

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

Title: Hemp Production and Disposition Inquiry.

OMB Control Number: 0535-0270.

Summary of Collection: As defined in the 2018 Farm Bill, the term “hemp” means the plant species Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the primary intoxicating component of cannabis. Cannabis with a THC level exceeding 0.3 percent is considered marijuana, which remains classified as a schedule I controlled substance regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Under the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill), Public Law 113-79, State departments of agriculture and institutions of higher education were permitted to produce hemp as part of a pilot program for research purposes. The authority for hemp production provided in the 2014 Farm Bill was extended by the 2018 Farm Bill, which was signed into law on December 20, 2018.

Hemp is a commodity that can be used for numerous industrial and horticultural purposes including fabric, paper, construction materials, food products, cosmetics, production of cannabinoids (such as cannabidiol or CBD), and other products.

In determining the type of data that would need to be collected and the frequency of the data collections, NASS management attended a joint meeting with representatives from the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), Risk Management Agency (RMA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), and the Office of the Secretary.

Need and Use of the Information: The data will be collected under the authority of the Domestic Hemp Production Program, which is mandated by the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill). In addition the data will be collected under the authority of Title 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.

Description of Respondents: Farms; Business or other for-profit.

Number of Respondents: 8,525.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annually.

Total Burden Hours: 2,918.

Levi S. Harrell,

Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.