Department of Agriculture May 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) announces that it is inviting proposals for the 2018 Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) program. The intended effect of this notice is to solicit proposals from the private sector and from government agencies for fiscal year 2018 and to set out the criteria for the awarding of funds under the program. The TASC program is administered by personnel of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) announces that it is inviting proposals for the 2018 Foreign Market Development Cooperator (Cooperator) program. The intended effect of this notice is to solicit applications from eligible applicants for fiscal year 2018 and to set out criteria for the awarding of funds under the program. The Cooperator program is administered by personnel of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

Consistent with Executive Order 13781, ``Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch,'' and using the authority of the Secretary to reorganize the Department under section 4(a) of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting public comment on the proposed reorganization announced by Secretary Perdue on May 11, 2017.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing and requesting comment on its plan to adjust inspection coverage at official establishments that slaughter fish of the order Siluriformes, which include catfish, from all hours of operation to once per production shift.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), herein referred to as RUS or the Agency, announces its Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program application window for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. This notice is being issued in order to allow potential applicants time to submit proposals and give the Agency time to process applications within the current fiscal year. RUS will publish on its Web site at https:// www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/notices-solicitation-applications-no sas the amount of funding received in the final appropriations act. Enactment of additional continuing resolutions or an appropriations act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program. In addition to announcing the application window, RUS announces the minimum and maximum amounts for DLT grants applicable for the fiscal year. The DLT Grant Program regulation can be found at 7 part CFR 1703 (Subparts D through E).

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is proposing a revision to the United States Standards for Lentils to (1) establish an additional grading factor, definition, grade requirements, and visual reference images for ``wrinkled lentils,'' and (2) establish a special grade, definition, special grade requirements, designation, and visual reference images for ``green lentils.'' These revisions are being proposed at the request of the lentil industry. GIPSA believes that this proposed revision of the United States Standards for Lentils would improve the application of the standards and facilitate the marketing of lentils.

We are extending the comment period for our notice advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has reached a preliminary decision to extend our determination of nonregulated status of InVigor[supreg] MS8 canola (hereinafter MS8 canola) to Bayer's canola event MS11 in response to a request from Bayer CropScience LP. MS11 canola has been genetically engineered for male sterility and resistance to the herbicide glufosinate-ammonium using the same mechanism of action as MS8 canola. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments on our draft environmental assessment, preliminary regulatory determination, preliminary finding of no significant impact, and plant pest risk similarity assessment for the proposed determination of nonregulated status.

This rule updates the list of institutions that are granted Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for the period starting October 1, 2016, and ending September 30, 2017.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is delaying the effective date of the rule published on January 19, 2017, for an additional six months to November 14, 2017, to allow time for further consideration by USDA. The effective date for this rule was initially March 20, 2017, and was subsequently delayed to May 19, 2017, by a document published in the Federal Register on February 9, 2017. The final rule amends the organic livestock and poultry production requirements by adding new provisions for livestock handling and transport for slaughter and avian living conditions; and expands and clarifies existing requirements covering livestock care and production practices and mammalian living conditions.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request a revision to and extension of approval of an information collection associated with the regulations for the importation of tomatoes with stems from the Republic of Korea.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing the 2017 rates it will charge for voluntary grading, inspection, certification, auditing and laboratory services for a variety of agricultural commodities including meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables, eggs, dairy products, and cotton and tobacco. The 2017 regular, overtime, holiday, and laboratory services rates will be applied at the beginning of the crop year, fiscal year or as required by law (June 1 for most cotton programs) depending on the commodity. Other starting dates are added to this notice based on cotton industry practices. This action establishes the rates for user-funded programs based on costs incurred by AMS.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request the reinstatement of an information collection to support the National Animal Health Monitoring System's Beef 2017 Study.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to Oregon State University of Corvallis, Oregon, an exclusive license to the variety of blackberry described in U.S. Plant Patent Application Serial No. 15/330,508, ``BLACKBERRY PLANT NAMED `COLUMBIA SUNRISE','' filed on September 29, 2016.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA), Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is revising the U.S. Standards for Barley (barley standards) under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA) by revising the definitions of other terms to remove Six-rowed Blue Malting barley and the reference to kernels with white aleurone layers. Further, GIPSA is revising the barley standards to add the factors injured-by mold and mold-damaged kernels to the subclass Six-rowed Malting barley. Finally, GIPSA is revising the grade requirements for Two-rowed Malting Barley and Six-rowed Malting barley, and removing those for Six-rowed Blue Malting barley.

The Department of Agriculture published a document in the Federal Register of April 24, 2017, to request a renewal to a currently approved information collection for race, ethnicity, and gender along with comments. The document contained the wrong OMB number.