[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 4, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71772-71773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29162]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

November 28, 2012.
    The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following 
information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. Comments 
regarding (a) 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; (b) the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; (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.
    Comments regarding this information collection received by January 
3, 2013 will be considered. Written comments should be addressed to: 
Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), New Executive Office 
Building, 725-17th Street NW., Washington, DC, 20503. Commenters are 
encouraged to submit their comments to OMB via email to: OIRA_Submission@OMB.EOP.GOV or fax (202) 395-5806 and to Departmental 
Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington, DC 20250-
7602. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by calling (202) 720-
8681.
    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

    Title: Residue and Biomass Field Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-NEW.
    Summary of Collection: The primary function of the National 
Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is to prepare and issue official 
State and national estimates of crop and livestock production, 
disposition and prices. The purpose of this collection is for NASS and 
the Agricultural Research Service/Hydrology and Remote Sensing 
Laboratory to make an objective

[[Page 71773]]

connection between the amounts of organic matter produced and how crop 
residues impact future crop yields. General authority for these data 
collection activities is granted under U.S. Code Title 7, Section 
2204(a) which specifies that ``The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
procure and preserve all information concerning agriculture which he 
can obtain * * * by the collection of statistics * * * and shall 
distribute them among agriculturists.'' 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.
    Need and Use of the Information: This study will investigate the 
effect crop residue removal has on soil and water quality. The study 
will use, as a sampling universe fields in the South Fork watershed in 
central Iowa. The study will be conducted in several phases. Permission 
forms will be presented to farm operators. With the farmers permission 
the field enumerators will return several times during the growing 
season to measure and collect samples from the target areas. 
Measurements of crop residues will be compared with remote sensed data 
to measure crop residue cover and soil tillage intensity for the entire 
watershed. After measurements and samples are taken the farm operators 
will be asked to complete a questionnaire and, if possible provide a 
yield map. The questionnaire and yield maps help associate measured 
residue and biomass to specific field management plans and provide 
realistic operation files for the water and soil quality models. 
Without this collection, our knowledge of the management practices in 
the watershed would be severely limited.
    Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Farms.
    Number of Respondents: 100.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: One time.
    Total Burden Hours: 52.

Charlene Parker,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-29162 Filed 12-3-12; 8:45 am]
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