[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 213 (Monday, November 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65960-65962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-26288]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0047]
Enhancing Agricultural Coexistence; Request for Public Input
ACTION: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: We are informing the public that the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting comments to identify ways to foster
communication and collaboration among those involved in diverse
agricultural production systems in order to further agricultural
coexistence. We are taking this action in response to recommendations
from the USDA's Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century
Agriculture.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
January 3, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0047-0001.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2013-0047, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-
0047 or in our reading room, which is located in room 1141 of the USDA
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington,
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Meghan Klingel, Acting Advisor for
State and Stakeholder Relations, Office of the Deputy Administrator,
LPA, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 51, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301)
851-4055, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Background
Agricultural coexistence refers to the concurrent cultivation of
crops produced through diverse agricultural systems, including
traditionally produced, organic, identity preserved (IP),\1\ and
genetically engineered crops. As the complexity and diversity of U.S.
agriculture increases, so does the importance of managing issues that
affect agricultural coexistence, such as seed purity, gene flow, post-
harvest mixing, identity testing, and market requirements.
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\1\ An identity preserved crop is a crop of an assured quality
in which the identity of the material is maintained from the
germplasm or breeding stock to the processed product on a retail
shelf.
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On November 19, 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture (AC21)
presented a report \2\ to Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack entitled,
``Enhancing Coexistence: A Report of the AC21 to the Secretary of
Agriculture.'' The AC21 report on coexistence made recommendations in
five major areas regarding agricultural coexistence: (1) Potential
compensation mechanisms, (2) stewardship, (3) education and outreach,
(4) research, and (5) seed quality. In the area of education and
outreach, we are seeking public input regarding the implementation of
the recommendation that USDA foster communication and collaboration to
strengthen coexistence. Following the comment period, USDA intends to
hold a public forum to discuss input provided by commenters and further
explore ways to implement the recommendations in the AC21 report on
enhancing coexistence, particularly in the area of education and
outreach.
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\2\ To view the report and learn more about the AC21, go to
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=AC21Main.xml.
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USDA's goal in seeking comment is to determine how we can best
foster communication and collaboration among those involved in diverse
agricultural systems on the topic of coexistence as well as how USDA
can best communicate and collaborate with those entities. To do this,
USDA needs to better understand our stakeholders' needs and the
challenges they face when it comes to communicating and collaborating
about coexistence. Specific topics for input are discussed below. To
aid in our evaluation of comments, we request that commenters identify
which topic number(s) they are addressing in their comment when
practicable. We also request that commenters indicate where any tools
or information that they identify in their comment can be obtained.
1. As we seek improved communication and collaboration among
agricultural stakeholders, we are interested in identifying information
needs and exploring successful communication methods.
When you or members of your organization seek information
related to coexistence, what type of information are you seeking and
where do you go to get it? Why?
What information regarding coexistence, in what format, is
currently available (printed or electronic brochures, factsheets, blog
posts, Web sites, discussion forums, etc.)? Is this information useful?
Why or why not? What additional information, in what format, would be
useful to you or members of your organization?
Please indicate your preferences with respect to receiving
information or communications from USDA. Would you be interested in
receiving information or communications from non-USDA sources? How
might you or your organization, as agricultural stakeholders, want to
be involved in disseminating information?
Where should USDA focus its efforts to best foster
communication and collaboration amongst stakeholders? What would best
facilitate farmer-to-farmer communication and collaboration?
Please share any examples of and feedback regarding
successful communication models, including those that have worked well
for other issues.
2. As part of USDA's outreach and education efforts, we are
interested in identifying education needs and exploring the creation of
``outreach toolkits'' that will encourage communication, planning, and
crop-specific practices to facilitate successful coexistence.
What tools and educational services are already available?
Are these tools and services useful? What tools and educational
services would be useful to you?
How might USDA assist farmers to better understand the
contracts they enter into (e.g., contracts to provide organic products
and IP products for specialty markets) and their commitments with
respect to coexistence?
What geographic information, in what format, is available
regarding the location of crops that are planted and grown using
different types of agricultural systems (e.g., pinning maps)? Is the
information updated regularly? What are stakeholders doing to make this
type of geographic information more widely available? What can USDA do
to assist in these efforts?
Would a decision support system, i.e., a computer-based
information system that could be used to support data-based, planting-
related decisions, with topics such as when and where to plant,
suitable isolation distances, and gene flow, be useful? Why or why not?
If such a decision support system would be useful, what data would be
needed for the system to be effective?
3. Farmers and others in the food and feed production chain have an
important role in collaborating to make coexistence work, particularly
with reference to stewardship, contracting, and attention to gene flow.
As we seek to improve collaboration among those involved in diverse
agricultural systems, we are interested in hearing what practices and
activities that support collaboration are available or in use and how
USDA can help make collaboration and coexistence work for everyone
involved.
What are factors that might prevent or promote the broad
adoption of local, voluntary solutions aimed at facilitating
coexistence?
Please provide examples of effective coexistence practices
(e.g., between neighboring farmers or among regional networks of farms)
and on-farm and off-farm techniques for mitigating the potential
economic risks from occurrences that affect successful coexistence. How
might they be made to be more effective?
What types of coexistence practices could be supported in
potential joint coexistence plans,\3\ i.e., voluntary written plans
specifying farming practices (such as farmer-to-farmer communication,
cropping plans, temporal and physical isolation, and harvesting
techniques) that can be used to support coexistence and identity-
preserved production? What might an effective, supportable, joint
coexistence plan look like? How might USDA encourage adoption of joint
coexistence plans?
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\3\ The AC21 report (see footnote 2) recommends that USDA
consider supporting the development of such plans among neighboring
farmers.
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4. We also welcome any recommendations regarding collaborative
meeting formats that would best ensure coexistence issues will be
frankly and fully explored at the public forum that USDA intends to
hold following the close of the public comment period.
Any comments submitted will be available for review as indicated
under ADDRESSES above. USDA will evaluate
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all the comments received during the comment period. Input provided by
commenters and ways to implement the recommendations in the AC21 report
on enhancing coexistence (see footnote 2), particularly in the area of
education and outreach, will be further explored at a public forum that
USDA intends to hold following the close of the public comment period.
The time and place of the public forum will be announced in the Federal
Register.
Dated: October 28, 2013.
Thomas J. Vilsack,
Secretary of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2013-26288 Filed 11-1-13; 8:45 am]
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