Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA); Market Facilitation Program (MFP) Payments to Producers, 36565-36567 [2019-15767]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Commodity Credit Corporation
• Farm Service Agency

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 145 (Monday, July 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36565-36567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15767]


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Notices
                                                Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 145 / Monday, July 29, 2019 / 
Notices

[[Page 36565]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

Commodity Credit Corporation


Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA); Market Facilitation Program 
(MFP) Payments to Producers

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency and Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: MFP provides payments to producers with commodities that have 
been impacted by trade actions of foreign governments resulting in the 
loss of exports. This NOFA announces the availability of MFP funds for 
eligible producers of specified agricultural commodities for 2019 that 
include certain non-specialty crops, specialty crops, dairy, and 
livestock as specified in this NOFA. On behalf of the Commodity Credit 
Corporation (CCC), the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will administer MFP. 
MFP dairy and livestock payments will be calculated on the eligible 
production amount multiplied by the participant's share in the 
commodity multiplied by the MFP payment rate. MFP participants of non-
specialty and specialty crops will receive an MFP payment based upon 
the participant's ownership interest in the 2019 crop that was planted 
and reported to FSA for the 2019 crop year, including cover crops that 
are planted for harvest following a prevented planted non-specialty 
crop. The payment rate used by CCC to issue payments for non-specialty 
crops will be on a county-by-county basis and reflects the amount of 
damage incurred in a county by producers of the non-specialty crops 
from the imposition of tariffs by other countries on U.S. agricultural 
products. The payment rate for specialty crops will be on a state-by-
state basis if sufficient data is available, otherwise payments will be 
on a national basis. This NOFA also announces the availability of 2018 
MFP payments for a limited number of producers who are now eligible for 
assistance as the result of a provision of the Additional Supplemental 
Appropriations For Disaster Relief Act, 2019 (2019 Disaster Relief 
Act).

DATES: 
    Application period: July 29, 2019 through December 6, 2019.
    Comment Date: We will consider comments on the Paperwork Reduction 
Act that we receive by: September 27, 2019.

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on the information 
collection requirements for MFP. In your comments, include the date, 
volume, and page number of this issue of the Federal Register, and the 
title of this notice. You may submit comments by any of the following 
methods, although FSA and CCC prefer that you submit comments 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID CCC-2019-0003. Follow the 
online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: William L. Beam, Deputy Administrator, Farm 
Programs, Farm Service Agency, USDA, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, 
Washington, DC 20250.
    All comments received, including those received by mail, will be 
posted without change and publicly available on https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Beam, Deputy Administrator 
for Farm Programs, telephone: (202) 720-3175.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    CCC revised 7 CFR part 1409 in a final rule published in the Rules 
and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register 
specifying the eligibility requirements, payment calculations, and 
application procedures for MFP. MFP provides assistance to producers 
with commodities that have been impacted by trade actions of foreign 
governments resulting in the loss of exports. This NOFA announces the 
availability of MFP payments for 2019 agricultural commodities.
    For the purposes of MFP for 2019, agricultural commodities referred 
to as ``non-specialty crops'' include the following row crops: Alfalfa 
hay, barley, canola, corn, crambe, dried beans, dry peas, extra-long 
staple cotton, flaxseed, lentils, long grain and medium grain rice, 
millet, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, rapeseed, rye, safflower, sesame 
seed, small and large chickpeas, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower seed, 
temperate japonica rice, triticale, upland cotton, and wheat. Specialty 
crops are: Almonds, cranberries, cultivated ginseng, fresh grapes, 
fresh sweet cherries, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, 
and walnuts.
    Section 103 of Title I of the 2019 Disaster Relief Act (Pub. L. 
116-20) provides that if the average adjusted gross income of a person 
or legal entity is greater than $900,000 the person or entity is not 
eligible to receive a MFP payment unless at least 75 percent of the 
adjusted gross income of the person or entity is derived from farming, 
ranching, or forestry related activities. This provision is applicable 
to 2018 and 2019 MFP payments and is less restrictive than the 2018 MFP 
eligibility provisions established by CCC. Accordingly, CCC will reopen 
the 2018 MFP program application process for just those producers 
affected by this statutory mandate and that application period will run 
concurrently with the 2019 MFP application period. All other provisions 
of the 2018 MFP apply to these newly eligible producers.

Application Process

    Each eligible producer applies for MFP participation once by 
completing a ``Market Facilitation Program 2019 (MFP 2019) 
Application'' (form CCC-913). Each applicant must submit a complete 
form CCC-913 either in person, by mail, email, or facsimile to an FSA 
county office, or online through www.farmers.gov. Producers may submit 
form CCC-913 in any county office nationwide for all crops for which 
they have an interest. Payments will not be issued until a producer 
certifies, as applicable, the:
     Quantity of production of dairy or hogs; and
     For non-specialty and specialty crops, the producer's 
ownership share interest of the crop as specified on the ``Report of 
Acreage'' (form FSA-578) filed with FSA for each farm that is the

[[Page 36566]]

subject of the request for payment under MFP.

Payment Rates

    The MFP payment rates will be as determined by CCC and will be in 
effect July 29, 2019.
    The non-specialty crop payment rates have been established as a 
single rate per acre basis for each county. These rates will be posted 
to FSA's website www.fsa.usda.gov. A nationwide MFP payment rate of $15 
per acre will be used to provide MFP assistance to producers who were 
prevented from planting a 2019 non-specialty crop on a farm but were 
able to plant a CCC approved cover crop intended for harvest. This will 
assist in the marketing of the anticipated lesser production of the 
cover crop. Prevented planting is the inability to plant the intended 
crop acreage with proper equipment by the USDA recognized final 
planting date for the crop because of a natural disaster. Cover crops 
that are planted for harvest following a prevented planted crop must be 
planted no later than August 1, 2019. Cover crops and non-specialty 
crops planted after August 1, 2019, are not eligible for assistance 
under MFP.
    The total number of acres used to calculate a MFP payment on a farm 
is equal to 2019 planted acres of non-specialty crops, not to exceed 
2018 planted acres and prevented planted acres of non-specialty crops 
as adjusted for acreage that is available for planting as the result of 
2018 expired Conservation Reserve Program contracts.
    For specialty crops, the payment will be calculated by multiplying 
the state per acre payment rate if sufficient data is available for the 
specific commodity by the producer's reported share interest in the 
specialty crop as reported to FSA on a FSA-578, or according to the 
applicable crop insurance policy. If sufficient data is not available, 
national data will be used. For specialty crops, only acreage with 
fruit or nut bearing plants will be eligible under MFP. State per acre 
payment rates by specific commodity will be posted to FSA's website 
www.fsa.usda.gov.
    The payment rates and units of measure for hogs and milk will be 
posted to FSA's website www.fsa.usda.gov.
    The payment rate will apply to the producer's total production of 
hogs and milk, as defined below. The MFP payment will be made after a 
producer certifies the amount of production for hogs and milk.
    The actual production used to calculate an MFP payment under this 
NOFA is for 2019 production in which the applicant had an ownership 
share for livestock commodities. Specifically, required production 
information is as follows:
     For hogs, the number of head of live hogs owned on a day 
selected by the applicant between April 1, 2019 and May 15, 2019; and
     For milk, the historical production reported for the Dairy 
Margin Coverage (DMC) Program.
    The ownership share for milk will be as reported to FSA for the DMC 
Program for dairy operations that were in business as of June 1, 2019. 
Dairy operations that are not in business as of June 1, 2019, are 
ineligible for MFP. Ownership for live hogs will be reported to FSA on 
form CCC-913; if a person or legal entity has a contract to grow the 
hogs, but does not own the hogs on a day between April 1, 2019 and May 
15, 2019, the person or legal entity is ineligible for MFP.
    Producers must comply with the provisions of:
     7 CFR part 1409;
     This notice of funding availability; and
     Form CCC-913.

Production Evidence

    On the application for hogs and milk, the producer will certify the 
amount of production and note the source of production evidence. If 
requested, the producer must also provide supporting documentation as 
determined by CCC for the amount of production. For non-specialty 
crops, if requested, the producer must provide supporting documentation 
as determined by CCC to support the reported acreage reported on form 
FSA-578. For specialty crops, if requested, the producer must provide 
supporting documentation as determined by CCC to support the reported 
acreage reported on form FSA-578 or as reported to the producer's crop 
insurance provider.
    CCC may require a producer to supply documentation that can be used 
to verify the actual production of hogs and milk and the producer's 
share in non-specialty and specialty crops. Examples of acceptable 
documentation include evidence provided by the participant that is used 
to substantiate the amount of production reported, custom harvesting 
records, production costs records, contemporaneous measurements, truck 
scale tickets, or other records that are determined acceptable by the 
FSA county committee.

MFP Payments

    As stated in the final rule published in this issue of the Federal 
Register and in 7 CFR 1409.105(d), the payments will be provided in up 
to 3 payments. The first payment will be up to 50 percent of the total 
calculated payment. CCC will determine if any further payments are 
warranted. If CCC determines that a second payment is warranted, it 
will be up to 75 percent of the total calculated payment less the 
amount received in the first payment and the second payment period will 
begin in November 2019. If CCC determines that a final payment is 
warranted, it will be for the remaining amount of the total calculated 
payment, unless otherwise adjusted by CCC, and the last payment period 
will begin in January 2020.

Payment Limitation

    For 2019 MFP payments, there will be 3 separate payment limitations 
for each person or legal entity:
    1. $250,000 for non-specialty crops announced in this NOFA;
    2. $250,000 for specialty crops announced in this NOFA; and
    3. $250,000 for hogs and milk.
    No person or legal entity can receive more than $500,000 under 2019 
MFP.

Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), FSA is requesting comments from interested individuals and 
organizations on the information collection activities related to MFP. 
The burden hours in this NOFA cover the additional respondents, and 
still use the approved numbers in the request of 0560-0292 for MFP.
    To start the MFP information collection approval, FSA received 
emergency approval from OMB for 6 months. Upon receiving the emergency 
approval with a new temporary OMB control number, this information 
collection request will be merged with an approved information 
collection request of 0560-0292 to update the numbers and forms.
    Title: Market Facilitation Program (MFP).
    OMB Control Number: 0560-New.
    Type of Request: New Collection.
    Abstract: This information collection is required to support all 
MFP information collection activities (applicable NOFAs and the 
regulation in 7 CFR part 1409) to provide eligible producers payments 
with respect to agricultural commodities that have been impacted by 
trade actions of foreign governments resulting in the loss of exports. 
The information collection is necessary to evaluate the application and 
other required paperwork for determining the producer's eligibility

[[Page 36567]]

and assist in producer's payment calculations.
    For the following estimated total annual burden on respondents, the 
formula used to calculate the total burden hour is the estimated 
average time per response multiplied by the estimated total annual 
responses.
    Public reporting burden for this information collection is 
estimated to average 0.39 hours per response.
    Type of Respondents: Producers or farmers.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 780,000.
    Estimated Number of Reponses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 1,445,400.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 0.39 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 519,067.
    FSA is requesting comments on all aspects of this information 
collection to help us to:
    (1) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the FSA, including whether 
the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the FSA's estimate of burden including 
the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) 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.
    All comments received in response to this notice, including names 
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record. 
Comments will be summarized and included in the submission for Office 
of Management and Budget approval.

Environmental Review

    The environmental impacts for MFP have been considered in a manner 
consistent with the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347), the regulations of the Council on 
Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and the FSA regulation 
for compliance with NEPA (7 CFR part 799).
    As stated in the MFP final rule, the implementation of MFP and the 
participation in MFP do not constitute major Federal actions that would 
significantly affect the quality of the human environment, individually 
or cumulatively. The final rule served as documentation of the 
programmatic environmental compliance decision for this federal 
program; therefore, CCC will not prepare additional environmental 
compliance documentation for this NOFA.

Federal Assistance Programs

    The title and number of the Federal assistance programs, as found 
in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, to which this NOFA 
applies is 10.123--Market Facilitation Program.

Richard Fordyce,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
Robert Stephenson,
Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2019-15767 Filed 7-25-19; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P