Department of Agriculture March 2025 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the extension with revision of the currently approved information collection, 0596-0225, Timber Sale Contract Operations and Administration.

The Land Between the Lakes Advisory Board will hold a public meeting according to the details shown below. The board is authorized under the Charter for the Land Between the Lakes Advisory Board and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The purpose of the board is to advise the Secretary of Agriculture on means of promoting public participation for the land and resource management plan for the Recreation Area, environmental education, an annual work plan for recreation and environmental education areas in the Recreation Area. This includes the heritage program (with the non- appropriated amounts in the Land Between the Lakes Management Fund), an annual forest management and harvest plan for the Recreation Area and the Land Between the Lakes Management Fund.

The U.S Codex Office is sponsoring a public meeting on May 1, 2025. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items to be discussed at the 34th Session of the Codex Committee on General Principle (CCGP) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), CCGP34 will be held in Lille, France, from June 2-6, 2025. The U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius and the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 34th Session of the CCGP and to address items on the agenda.

The United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development (RD), which is comprised of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS), Rural Utilities Service (RUS), and Rural Housing Service (RHS), announces that it is amending 14 program funding opportunities to remove references to the prior Administration's key priorities and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion)-related scoring criteria to bring them into compliance with the Executive Order, "Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing", issued on January 20, 2025. This notice also confirms that previous Administration key priorities and discretionary points will not be considered during application scoring and makes clear that applicants who already have applied need not reapply. This notice also corrects the Rural Energy for America funding notice to include an omitted funding source.

The Forest Service is withdrawing its notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the greater sage-grouse plan amendment to the Dakota Prairie Grasslands Land and Resource Management Plan.

On May 7, 2024, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service published in the Federal Register a final rule amending the user fee regulations associated with the agricultural quarantine and inspection program. The final rule went into effect on October 1, 2024, with the exception of the removal of an exemption to the commercial aircraft user fee for small commercial passenger aircraft, which was scheduled to go into effect on April 1, 2025. In this document, we are issuing a postponement of the effective date of the removal of the exemption to the commercial aircraft user fee for small commercial passenger aircraft for 60 days, from April 1, 2025, to June 2, 2025.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act requirement, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on an extension of a currently approved information collection request associated with the Measurement Service Record.

This document extends the comment period of the January 16, 2025, notice and request for comments on revisions to the United States Classes, Standards, and Grades for Poultry (the Poultry Standards). The last minor revision to the Poultry Standards occurred in 2018, but the last substantial revision prior to that occurred in 1998. Since then, poultry production and quality assessment methods have changed significantly, as have consumer preferences.

We are reopening the comment period for our interim rule that would amend the regulations pertaining to conditions for payment of indemnity for highly pathogenic avian influenza. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced-price meals and free milk and Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits for the period from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. These guidelines are used by schools, institutions, and facilities participating in the National School Lunch Program (and Commodity School Program), School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program for Children, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program as well as States and Indian Tribal Organizations that administer the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children Program. The annual adjustments are required by section 9 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. The guidelines are intended to direct benefits to those children most in need and are revised annually to account for changes in the Consumer Price Index.

This notice informs the public of the annual adjustments to the levels of monthly benefits in the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) Program. These adjustments reflect changes in the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), as required under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.

The U.S. Codex Office is sponsoring a public meeting on April 10, 2025. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items to be discussed at the 44th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods and Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), which will meet in Budapest, Hungary, from May 5-9, 2025. The U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius and the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 44th Session of the CCMAS and to address items on the agenda.