National Institute of Food and Agriculture April 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule establishes the process and procedures to certify a qualifying college or university as a Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) institution. NIFA will publish 7 CFR part 3434 in the Code of Federal Regulations to chronicle the eligibility criteria colleges and universities must satisfy in order to be certified as HSACU institutions by the Secretary of Agriculture. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) amended section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to add a definition for a new group of cooperating educational institutions known as Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities. Section 1404 defines HSACUs as colleges and universities that qualify as Hispanic-serving Institutions (HSIs) and offer associate, bachelors, or other accredited degree programs in agriculture-related fields. HSACUs do not include 1862 land-grant institutions, as defined in the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998. A separate part, 7 CFR part 3437, will be published in the future to provide specific administrative provisions for the HSACU Endowment Program (e.g., applicability of regulations, purpose, definitions, eligibility, use of funds, administrative duties, and other sections, as appropriate).

The President's budget proposal for FY 2013 consolidates six funding lines addressing pest management and integrated pest management (IPM) issues into a single budgetary line, called the Crop Protection Program (CPP). The six budgetary lines being consolidated are Expert Integrated Pest Management Decision Support System, IPM and Biological Control, Minor Crop Pest Management/IR-4, Pest Management Alternatives, Smith-Lever 3(d) Pest Management, and Regional Pest Management Centers. The new program is described broadly to encompass all of the functions of the existing programs. A listening session was previously announced in the Federal Register on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 to be held on March 29 to guide future Request for Applications (RFAs) of the Extension of IPM Coordination and Support Program (EIPM-CS), one of the programs affected by this realignment. That session has been redefined to collect stakeholder input on the broader Crop Protection topic. Additional opportunities for comment are also being scheduled. By this notice, NIFA is designated to act on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture in soliciting public comment from interesting persons regarding the future design and implementation of this proposed program.