Department of Agriculture 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (Agency), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), published a Notice of Solicitation of Applications (NOSA) in the Federal Register on December 20, 2021 for the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) grant program. Following publication of the NOSA, the Agency found that corrections due to error, omissions or need for clarity were necessary. This notice corrects those errors to clarify the time applications are due and to provide the correct regulation references.

This rule changes the maturity requirements currently prescribed under the Florida avocado marketing order. The marketing order regulates the handling of avocados grown in South Florida and is administered locally by the Avocado Administrative Committee (Committee). This change establishes beginning and end dates for the annual maturity shipping schedule. A corresponding change will be made to the avocado import regulation as required under section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937.

The Huron-Manistee Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will hold a virtual meeting by phone and/or video conference. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self- Determination Act (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with Title II of the Act, as well as to make recommendations on recreation fee proposals for sites on the Huron-Manistee National Forests within Occoda and Wexford Counties, consistent with the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. General information can be found at the following website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/secure- rural-schools.

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of the rules and regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), that the inaugural meeting of the USDA Equity Commission (EC or Commission) and Subcommittee for Agriculture will convene to begin its work reviewing USDA programs, services and policies for the purpose of making recommendations for how the Department can improve access and advance equity.

This rule announces the Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP) to provide support for agricultural producers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic for the 2022 crop year. USDA is dedicating funding to reach a broader set of producers than in previous COVID-19 assistance programs, with a specific focus on strengthening outreach to underserved producers and communities and small and medium agricultural operations. As a part of that initiative, this rule establishes PCCP for 2022.

On December 10, 2021, Rural Development's Rural Business- Cooperative Service, Rural Housing Service, and Rural Utilities Service, agencies of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), published a final rule with comment for the oneRD Guarantee Loan Program (oneRD). The final rule made necessary revisions to the policy and procedures that strengthened the oversight and management of the growing Community Facilities, Water and Waste Disposal, Business and Industry, and Rural Energy for America guarantee portfolios. The final rule had an omission of information in the preamble and contained errors in the amendatory language. This document corrects the final regulation.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing a final rule to amend its Direct Single Family Housing Loans and Grants (DSFHLG) programs regulation. This final rule adopts most changes as presented in the proposed rule published on November 25, 2019, in the Federal Register. This final rule also addresses public comments received by the Agency and makes some modifications based on consideration of those comments, including revisions to the refinancing provisions which will help provide relief to homeowners who have difficulty keeping their accounts current (e.g., coming off a payment moratorium), based on the availability of funds and Agency priorities.

USDA is finalizing its November 25, 2020, proposed rulemaking regarding child nutrition meal pattern requirements. This final rule will establish transitional standards to support the continued provision of nutritious school meals as schools respond to and recover from the pandemic and while USDA engages in notice-and-comment rulemaking to update the meal pattern standards to more comprehensively reflect the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. This final rule will provide immediate relief to schools during the return to traditional school meal service following extended use of COVID-19 meal pattern flexibilities. This rule finalizes the proposed milk provision by allowing local operators of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program to offer flavored, low-fat milk (1 percent fat) for students in grades K through 12 and for sale as a competitive beverage. It will also allow flavored, low-fat milk in the Special Milk Program for Children and in the Child and Adult Care Food Program for participants ages 6 and older. Beginning in SY 2022-2023, this final rule will require at least 80 percent of the weekly grains in the school lunch and breakfast menus to be whole grain-rich. Lastly, this final rule will modify the proposed sodium standards and establish Sodium Target 1 as the sodium limit for school lunch and breakfast in SY 2022-2023 as proposed, but implement a Sodium Interim Target 1A effective for school lunch beginning in SY 2023-2024.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 and the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces a meeting of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board.

The El Dorado County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will hold a virtual meeting. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with the Act. RAC information can be found at the following website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/eldorado/ workingtogether/advisorycommittees.

The Dixie Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will hold a virtual meeting by phone and/or video conference. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self- Determination Act (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with Title II of the Act, as well as make recommendations on recreation fee proposals for sites on the Dixie National Forest within Garfield, Iron, Kane, and Washington Counties, consistent with the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. RAC information and virtual meeting information can be found at the following website: https:// www.fs.usda.gov/main/dixie/workingtogether/advisorycommittees .

The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Advisory Panel (Panel) was renewed on January 11, 2022, to evaluate and provide recommendations on the selection of collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals to the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) for approval as provided in Section 8629 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. The Secretary has determined that the work of the Panel is in the public's interest and relevant to the duties of the Department of Agriculture. Therefore, the Secretary is seeking nominations to fill vacancies on the Panel. The Panel is a statutory committee. Additional information concerning the Panel can be found by visiting the Panel's website at: https://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/CFLRP/advisory- panel.shtml.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this notice is announcing the intention of the USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reestablish the committee for the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) and its charter. The purpose of NACMCF is to provide impartial, scientific advice and peer reviews to Federal food safety agencies for use in the development of an integrated national food safety systems approach that assures the safety of domestic, imported, and exported foods.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposes amendments to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List) section of the USDA's organic regulations to implement recommendations submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). This rule proposes to add low-acyl gellan gum, a food additive used as a thickener, gelling agent, and stabilizer; and paper- based crop planting aids to the National List, along with a definition of paper-based crop planting aids. If finalized, low-acyl gellan gum would be allowed as an ingredient in processed organic products, and paper-based crop planting aids would be allowed in organic crop production. The rule also proposes the correction of a spelling error on the National List to change ``wood resin'' to ``wood rosin''.

This agenda provides summary descriptions of significant and not significant regulations being developed in agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in conformance with Executive Orders 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' and 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.'' The agenda also describes regulations affecting small entities as required by section 602 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, Public Law 96-354. This agenda also identifies regulatory actions that are being reviewed in compliance with section 610(c) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. We invite public comment on those actions as well as any regulation consistent with Executive Order 13563. USDA has attempted to list all regulations and regulatory reviews pending at the time of publication except for minor and routine or repetitive actions, but some may have been inadvertently missed. There is no legal significance to the omission of an item from this listing. Also, the dates shown for the steps of each action are estimated and are not commitments to act on or by the date shown. USDA's complete regulatory agenda is available online at www.reginfo.gov. Because publication in the Federal Register is mandated for the regulatory flexibility agendas required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 602), USDA's printed agenda entries include only: (1) Rules that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities; and (2) Rules identified for periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. For this edition of the USDA regulatory agenda, the most important regulatory actions are summarized in a Statement of Regulatory Priorities that is included in the Regulatory Plan, which appears in both the online regulatory agenda and in part II of the Federal Register that includes the abbreviated regulatory agenda.

Mary Erickson, the Forest Supervisor for the Custer Gallatin National Forest, Northern Region, signed the record of decision (ROD) for the Revised Land Management Plan (Land Management Plan) for the Custer Gallatin National Forest. The ROD documents the rationale for approving the Land Management Plan and is consistent with the Reviewing Official's response to objections and instructions.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS or Agency), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in the Federal Register on December 13, 2021, entitled Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Biofuel Producer Program for Fiscal Year 2021, to announce the application window, application requirements and the availability of up to $700 million in payments to eligible biofuel producers for unexpected market losses as a result of COVID-19 in order to maintain a viable and significant biofuels market for agricultural producers that supply biofuel producers. This notice will amend Sections A, D and E of the NOFO to include production to meet marketing obligations or fulfill or maintain essential markets in the calculations of a biofuel producer's market losses as a result of COVID-19.

On October 18, 2021, the Food and Nutrition Service revised rules concerning meal pattern tables for the National School Lunch Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The document contained incorrect table entries. This document corrects the final regulations.

The United States Department of Agriculture published a notice of solicitation of nominations for memberships to announce the opening of the solicitation for nominations to fill vacancies on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board and its committees and subcommittees for Fiscal Year 2023 and any vacancies that may occur in the current fiscal year in the Federal Register on January 14, 2022 [FR Doc. 2022-00650 Filed 1-13-22; 8:45 a.m.]. This correction Notice (correction) is being issued to direct individuals to the new website link location for the application form (AD-755 Form) https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ ad-755.pdf on USDA's website.

This notice announces the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) intention to request an extension and a revision to the currently approved Advisory Committee and Research and Promotion Background Information AD-755 Supplemental ListAgricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Commodity Specific Questionnaire. The revised form allows applicants to answer whether the individual is a veteran, has a disability/impairment; further defines current membership terms with the term start and end dates when serving on a USDA federal advisory committee, council, or board; rearranged the preferred name on official correspondence to legal name section; requires an applicant to print name; provides an update to the most recent USDA equal employment opportunity statement; and adds a reset button to the form. The primary objective is to determine the qualifications, suitability and availability of a candidate to serve on advisory committees and/or research and promotion boards.

This rulemaking proposes amendments to Marketing Order No. 925, which regulates the handling of grapes grown in a designated area of southeastern California. The proposed amendments would change the California Desert Grape Administrative Committee's (Committee) size, and its quorum and voting requirements.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) intention to request approval, from the Office of Management and Budget, for a reinstatement with revision to the previously approved information collection under the United States Warehouse Act (USWA).