Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops Program, 53382-53386 [2024-14022]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Farm Service Agency

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53382-53386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14022]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

[Docket ID FSA-2024-0002]


Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the Food Safety 
Certification for Specialty Crops Program

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation and Farm Service Agency, 
Department of Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notification of fund availability.

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SUMMARY: The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is announcing the availability 
of $19 million through the new Food Safety Certification for Specialty 
Crops Program (FSCSC) for specialty crop operations that incur eligible 
on-farm food safety program expenses to obtain or renew a food safety 
certification in calendar years 2024 and 2025. To be eligible for 
assistance with expenses

[[Page 53383]]

related to a 2024 food safety certification, the certification must 
have been issued on or after June 26, 2024. Specialty crop operations 
incur significant costs to comply with regulatory requirements and 
market-driven food safety certification requirements each year with 
little opportunity to recover the increased costs. In this document, 
FSA is providing the eligibility requirements, application process, and 
payment calculation for FSCSC.

DATES: Funding availability: Implementation will begin June 26, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy Sayers; telephone: (202) 720-
6870; email: [email protected]. Individuals with disabilities who 
require alternative means for communication should contact the USDA 
Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and text telephone TTY) or dial 
711 for Telecommunications Relay Service (both voice and text telephone 
users can initiate this call from any telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    FSA, on behalf of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), is announcing 
the availability of FSCSC to assist specialty crop operations that 
incurred eligible on-farm food safety certification and related 
expenses in order to obtain or renew a:
     2024 food safety certification issued between June 26, 
2024 and December 31, 2024; or
     2025 food safety certification issued at any time during 
the 2025 calendar year.
    For each year, FSCSC will cover a portion of the specialty crop 
operation's cost of obtaining or renewing their certification, as well 
as a portion of their related costs as described in this NOFA.
    FSA will administer FSCSC for 2024 and 2025 in a similar manner as 
the previous FSCSC NOFA for 2022 and 2023 published on June 21, 2022 
(87 FR 36816-36820); however, FSA has made changes to FSCSC as noted in 
this NOFA, including revising the definition of ``small business'' for 
2024 and 2025 to mean an applicant that had an average annual monetary 
value of specialty crops sold during the applicable 3-year period not 
to exceed $500,000. FSA is adding eligibility for medium size business, 
by adding the definition of ``medium size business'' which means the 
average annual monetary value of specialty crops sold during the 
applicable 3-year period from $500,001 to $1,000,000. Medium size 
businesses are included as eligible in order to allow broader 
participation of diverse specialty crop operations that can qualify for 
FSCSC. FSA has also increased the maximum payment amounts for 
maintaining or updating a Food Safety Plan and Training due to 
additional certification compliance requirements included in the 
Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and holding of Produce 
for Human Consumption Relating to Agricultural Water final rule, which 
was published on May 6, 2024 (89 FR 37448-37519). Based on feedback 
following the publication of the 2022 FSCSC NOFA, all payment 
categories will be paid at a higher rate due to the program being 
beneficial to the applicant.
    Specialty crops intended for human consumption are subject to 
concerns about safety, particularly since specialty crops sold as raw 
agricultural commodities do not undergo a ``kill step'' like cooking, 
canning, or pasteurizing used for other agricultural commodities such 
as meat or dairy products. As a result, specialty crop operations face 
increasing demand from grocery stores, schools, and other institutional 
buyers and retailers to obtain certification through programs that 
address the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of their 
crops. The need to develop, implement, and maintain on-farm food safety 
programs has resulted in additional costs for many specialty crop 
operations that seek alternate markets for their products due to 
changes in demand from traditional markets such as restaurants and food 
service. As they identify new markets, many specialty crop operations 
also find they need to undergo food safety audits and absorb the 
additional costs to achieve food safety certification through a private 
or government-based certification program in order to meet buyers' 
requirements to sell their products.
    FSCSC funding of $19 million is provided through the CCC Charter 
Act, which authorizes CCC to increase the domestic consumption of 
agricultural commodities (other than tobacco) by expanding or aiding in 
the expansion of domestic markets or by developing or aiding in the 
development of new and additional markets, marketing facilities, and 
uses for such commodities (15 U.S.C. 714c(e)). FSCSC will aid in the 
expansion of domestic markets and development of new and additional 
markets by assisting specialty crop operations with costs that they 
incur to obtain or renew food safety certifications in order to comply 
with government and retail buyers' demands for food safety 
certification, ultimately expanding the markets available to those 
operations and increasing domestic consumption of specialty crops. To 
that end, only producers that successfully obtain or renew a food 
safety certification after publication of this notice are eligible to 
be compensated for a portion of the cost of that certification, as 
explained further below.

Definitions

    The following definitions apply to this notice:
    Certification upload fee means the fee paid by a specialty crop 
operation to upload reports and other documentation to a commercial 
database.
    Certifier means either a private entity accredited for the purpose 
of providing food safety certification or a government-based certifier.
    Deputy Administrator means the FSA Deputy Administrator for Farm 
Programs.
    Food safety certification means certification that a specialty crop 
operation meets regulatory or market-driven food safety standards.
    Food safety management system means a documented system developed 
by a group of specialty crop operations to obtain food safety 
certification, also referred to as a ``quality management system.''
    FSMA means the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (Pub. L. 111-353).
    Food safety plan means a documented plan implemented by a specialty 
crop operation to obtain food safety certification.
    Medium size business means an applicant that had an average annual 
monetary value of specialty crops the applicant sold during the 3-year 
period preceding the program year of at least $500,001 but not more 
than $1,000,000.
    Produce Safety Rule means the final rule titled ``Standards for the 
Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human 
Consumption'' published on November 27, 2015 (80 FR 74354-74568).
    Program year means the calendar year in which the applicant's food 
safety certification is issued (that is, 2024 or 2025).
    Raw agricultural commodity means any food in its raw or natural 
state, including all fruits that are washed, colored, or otherwise 
treated in their unpeeled natural form prior to marketing.
    Small business means an applicant that had an average annual 
monetary value of specialty crops the applicant sold during the 3-year 
period preceding the program year of not more than $500,000.

[[Page 53384]]

    Specialty crop means any fruit or vegetable (including mixes of 
intact fruits and vegetables) and includes mushrooms, sprouts 
(irrespective of seed source), tree nuts, and herbs. A fruit is the 
edible reproductive body of a seed plant or tree nut (such as apple, 
orange, and almond) such that fruit means the harvestable or harvested 
part of a plant developed from a flower. A vegetable is the edible part 
of an herbaceous plant (such as cabbage or potato) or fleshy fruiting 
body of a fungus (such as white button or shiitake) grown for an edible 
part such that vegetable means the harvestable or harvested part of any 
plant or fungus whose fruit, fleshy fruiting bodies, seeds, roots, 
tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food and 
includes mushrooms, sprouts, and herbs (such as basil or cilantro). 
``Specialty crop'' does not include peanuts or food grains, meaning the 
small, hard fruits or seeds of arable crops, or the crops bearing these 
fruits or seeds, which are primarily grown and processed for use as 
meal, flour, baked goods, cereals, and oils rather than for direct 
consumption as small, hard fruits or seeds (including cereal grains, 
pseudo cereals, oilseeds, and other plants used in the same fashion). 
Examples of food grains include barley, dent- or flint-corn, sorghum, 
oats, rice, rye, wheat, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, and oilseeds (for 
example, cotton seed, flax seed, rapeseed, soybean, and sunflower 
seed).
    Specialty crop operation means a farming operation that produces 
specialty crops that are raw agricultural commodities. It includes both 
individuals and legal entities.

Eligible Applicants

    To be eligible for FSCSC, the applicant must meet all of the 
following:
     Be a specialty crop operation;
     Be a small business or medium size business;
     Have obtained or renewed a:
    [cir] 2024 food safety certification that was issued between June 
26, 2024 and December 31, 2024; or
    [cir] 2025 food safety certification issued during the 2025 
calendar year; and
     Have paid eligible expenses as described in the following.
    FSCSC is available to specialty crop operations located in the 50 
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Eligible Expenses

    FSCSC provides assistance for eligible expenses that the applicant 
both incurs and pays in order to obtain or renew a 2024 or 2025 food 
safety certification. Expenses that have been incurred by an applicant 
who does not ultimately obtain a 2024 or 2025 food safety certification 
are not eligible for assistance through FSCSC.
    Some specialty crop operations obtain food safety certification 
through a group model, which enables multiple producers to form a group 
that develops a food safety management system and is audited and 
certified as one unit. This approach enables group members to pool 
resources to implement food safety training programs and share the cost 
of certification. Specialty crop operations that obtain certification 
through a group model are eligible to apply for assistance for their 
share of eligible expenses paid by the group, in addition to any 
eligible expenses they incur individually.
    Specialty crop operations may receive assistance for the costs that 
are described in the following six items, including any associated 
postage costs.
    Developing a food safety plan for first-time food safety 
certification. A food safety plan is a requirement for any specialty 
crop operation or group undergoing formal food safety certification, 
and the majority of costs associated with food safety plan development 
occur the first year an operation undergoes food safety certification. 
There are 2 general approaches to plan development--the specialty crop 
operation may develop its own plan, hire a consultant, or a combination 
of both. FSCSC will cover a percentage of the costs of seminars and 
tools used by specialty crop operations to create a food safety plan. 
FSCSC will also cover a percentage of the consulting fees and other 
associated expenses incurred if the specialty crop operation hires a 
consultant to develop a food safety plan. For specialty crop operations 
certified through a group, this category of expenses will cover a 
percentage of their share of the cost for developing a food safety or 
quality management system for the group.
    Maintaining or updating an existing food safety plan. Certification 
programs typically require an annual review of the food safety plan to 
ensure it is current and addresses any new audit or regulatory 
requirements, as well as incorporates any new hazards. FSCSC will cover 
a percentage of the costs of maintaining and updating existing food 
safety plans. For specialty crop operations certified through a group, 
this category of expenses will cover a percentage of their share of the 
cost for maintaining or updating an existing food safety management 
system for the group.
    Food safety certification. FSCSC will cover a percentage of the 
cost of obtaining food safety certification issued by a certifier, 
including application fees, inspection costs, inspection fees 
(including travel costs and per diem for certifiers), and user fees or 
certifier sales assessments.
    Certification upload fees. FSCSC will cover a percentage of the 
cost to upload audit reports and certification documentation into 
commercial audit databases, which may be required by buyers of 
specialty crops.
    Microbiological testing. FSCSC will cover a percentage of the cost 
of microbiological testing for products, soil amendments, and water as 
specified by a food safety plan or food safety management system. The 
FSMA Produce Safety Rule requires covered farms to test their 
agricultural water, and commercial food safety standards may require 
additional testing to determine if water meets the microbial 
requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water 
standard (40 CFR part 141). Retail, food service, and institutional 
buyers are also increasingly requiring microbiological testing of 
finished products. Testing of soil amendments, particularly amendments 
of animal origin (composting), is also required by many food safety 
audit programs.
    Training. FSCSC will cover the cost of food safety training for the 
specialty crop operation. The FSMA requires all covered operations to 
take a training course annually. Additionally, most certification 
programs require training as well.

Ineligible Expenses

    Any expenses not listed above are not covered by FSCSC. The 
following expenses are examples of costs that are not eligible for cost 
share under FSCSC:
     Infrastructure improvements (such as improvements to 
buildings, cold storage, flooring, restrooms, and handwashing 
stations);
     Equipment (such as grading or packing lines and sanitation 
equipment);
     Supplies (such as sanitation and cleaning supplies and 
personal protective equipment);
     Salaries and benefits of employees or other costs for 
labor, except for expenses for consultants described above; and
     Fees or penalties for late payment.

[[Page 53385]]

Application Process

    The application periods will be:
     for 2024, the application period will begin at a date to 
be announced by the Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs and go 
through January 31, 2025; and
     for 2025, January 1, 2025, through January 31, 2026.
    Applicants may apply for FSCSC at any USDA Service Center.\1\ Each 
applicant must submit Form FSA-888-1, Food Safety Certification for 
Specialty Crops Program (FSCSC) For Program Years 2024 and 2025, by the 
application deadline. Applications may be submitted in person or by 
mail, email, facsimile, or other methods announced by FSA. Applicants 
must also submit the following forms if not already on file with FSA:
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    \1\ USDA Service Center locations and contact information are 
available at https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app.
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     Form AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet; and
     Form SF-3881, ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment 
Form.\2\
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    \2\ Applicants who are unable to receive payment through direct 
deposit are still eligible to participate in FSCSC. Those applicants 
should contact their local FSA county office for further 
information.
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    Eligible expenses are based on the applicant's certification and 
are subject to spot check. Applicants may be required to provide 
additional documentation to FSA, if requested by FSA, to verify 
eligibility or issue payment. Specialty crop operations certified as 
part of a group under a food safety management system must provide 
documentation of the applicant's portion of the group's expenses from 
the entity responsible for maintaining the group's certification if 
requested by FSA. Additional documentation must be received within 30 
days of the request or the application will not be processed.

Payments

    FSCSC payments are calculated separately for each category of 
eligible costs based on the percentages and maximum payment amounts in 
the following table. An applicant may receive the specified percentage 
of their eligible costs, up to the maximum per category, for each 
program year.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Payment amount of eligible
       Category of eligible expenses                    costs
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Food safety certification..................  75 percent, up to a maximum
                                              of $2,000.
Development of a food safety plan for first- 75 percent (no maximum).
 time certification.
Maintaining or updating a food safety plan.  75 percent, up to a maximum
                                              of $675.
Certification upload fees..................  75 percent, up to a maximum
                                              of $375.
Microbiological testing--products..........  75 percent, up to 5 tests.
Microbiological testing--soil amendments...  75 percent, up to 5 tests.
Microbiological testing--water.............  75 percent, up to 5 tests.
Training...................................  100 percent, up to a
                                              maximum of $500.
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    Payments will be equal to the applicant's eligible expenses 
multiplied by the percentage for the applicable category in the table 
above, not to exceed the maximum payment amount for the category, if 
applicable. An applicant must report any previous cost share assistance 
received from any source for the expenses included on their 
application. The amount of the applicant's FSCSC payment plus the 
reported additional cost share assistance cannot exceed the total 
amount of eligible expenses for each category. If the amount of the 
additional cost share plus the calculated FSCSC payment exceed the 
total amount of eligible expenses for a category, the FSCSC payment for 
that category will be equal to the total amount of eligible expenses 
minus the additional reported cost share assistance.
    FSA will issue payments for the 2024 program year as applications 
are processed and approved. Due to the limited amount of funding, FSA 
will issue 50 percent of the calculated amount for 2025 program year 
payments as applications are processed and approved, and an additional 
payment after the end of the 2025 application period. If total 
calculated payments exceed the amount of available funding for 2025, 
the additional payments will be prorated.

Other Provisions

    Participants are required to retain documentation in support of 
their application for 3 years after the date of approval. Participants 
receiving FSCSC payments or any other person who furnishes such 
information to USDA must permit authorized representatives of USDA or 
the Government Accountability Office, during regular business hours, to 
enter the operation and to inspect, examine, and to allow 
representatives to make copies of books, records, or other items for 
the purpose of confirming the accuracy of the information provided by 
the participant.
    Applicants have a right to a decision in response to their 
application. If an applicant files an application with an FSA county 
office after the application deadline, the application will be 
considered a request to waive the deadline.
    Requests to waive or modify program provisions, including requests 
to waive the deadline, are at the discretion of the Deputy 
Administrator. The Deputy Administrator has the authority to waive or 
modify application deadlines and other requirements or program 
provisions not specified in law, in cases where the Deputy 
Administrator determines it is:
    (1) equitable to do so; and
    (2) where the lateness or failure to meet such other requirements 
or program provisions do not adversely affect the operation of FSCSC.
    Applicants who request to waive or modify FSCSC provisions do not 
have a right to a decision on those requests, and the Deputy 
Administrator's refusal to exercise discretion on requests to waive or 
modify FSCSC provisions will not be considered an adverse decision and 
is, by itself, not appealable.
    Equitable relief and finality provisions specified in 7 CFR part 
718, subpart D, apply to determinations under FSCSC. Persons and legal 
entities who file an application with FSA have the right to an 
administrative review of any FSA adverse decision with respect to the 
application under the appeals procedures at 7 CFR parts 780 and 11. The 
determination of matters of general applicability that are not in 
response to, or do not result from, an individual set of facts in an 
individual participant's application for payment are not matters that 
can be appealed. Such matters of general applicability include, but are 
not limited to, the determination of eligible categories of expenses 
and payment rates.
    Any payment under FSCSC will be made without regard to questions of 
title under State law and without regard to any claim or lien. The 
regulations

[[Page 53386]]

governing offsets in 7 CFR part 3 apply to FSCSC payments.
    If an FSCSC payment resulted from erroneous information provided by 
a participant, or any person acting on their behalf, the payment will 
be recalculated and the participant must refund any excess payment with 
interest calculated from the date of the disbursement of the payment. 
If FSA determines that the applicant intentionally misrepresented 
information provided on their application, the application will be 
disapproved and the applicant must refund the full payment to FSA with 
interest from the date of disbursement.
    In either applying for or participating in FSCSC, or both, the 
applicant is subject to laws against perjury (including but not limited 
to 18 U.S.C. 1621). If the applicant willfully makes and represents as 
true any verbal or written declaration, certification, statement, or 
verification that the applicant knows or believes not to be true, in 
the course of either applying for or participating in FSCSC, or both, 
then the applicant may be found to be guilty of perjury. Except as 
otherwise provided by law, if guilty of perjury the applicant may be 
fined, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, regardless of 
whether the applicant makes such verbal or written declaration, 
certification, statement, or verification within or outside the United 
States.
    For the purposes of the effect of a lien on eligibility for Federal 
programs (28 U.S.C. 3201(e)), USDA waives the restriction on receipt of 
funds under FSCSC but only as to beneficiaries who, as a condition of 
the waiver, agree to apply the FSCSC payments to reduce the amount of 
the judgment lien.
    In addition to any other Federal laws that apply to FSCSC, the 
following laws apply: 18 U.S.C. 286, 287, 371, and 1001.

Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements

    In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), there are no changes to the approved information collection 
under OMB control number of 0560-0311.

Environmental Review

    The environmental impacts of this notice 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 
regulations for compliance with NEPA (7 CFR part 799).
    The purpose of FSCSC is to provide assistance to specialty crop 
operations for eligible costs related to food safety certification. The 
Categorical Exclusions in 7 CFR 799.31 apply, specifically 7 CFR 
799.31(b)(6)(iii) (that is, financial assistance to supplement income). 
No Extraordinary Circumstances (7 CFR 799.33) exist. FSA has determined 
that this notice does not constitute a major Federal action that would 
significantly affect the quality of the human environment, individually 
or cumulatively. Therefore, FSA will not prepare an environmental 
assessment or environmental impact statement for this regulatory 
action.

Federal Assistance Programs

    The title and number of the Federal assistance program, as found in 
the Assistance Listings, to which this document applies are 10.142, 
Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) Program.

USDA Non-Discrimination Policy

    In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, USDA, its 
Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or 
administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on 
race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including 
gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital 
status, family or parental status, income derived from a public 
assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for 
prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or 
funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and 
complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
    Individuals who require alternative means of communication for 
program information (for example, braille, large print, audiotape, 
American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or 
the USDA TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and text telephone 
(TTY)) or dial 711 for Telecommunications Relay Service (both voice and 
text telephone users can initiate this call from any telephone). 
Additionally, program information may be made available in languages 
other than English.
    To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA 
Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at https://www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-a-program-discrimination-complaint and 
at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in 
the letter all the information requested in the form. To request a copy 
of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form 
or letter to USDA by: (1) mail to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) 
email: [email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Zach Ducheneaux,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency, and Executive Vice President, 
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2024-14022 Filed 6-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-E2-P