SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description of Information Collection Requests

Title: Disaster Assistance—General.

OMB Control Number: 0560-0170.

Expiration Date: January 31, 2027.

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information collection.

Abstract: The Disaster Assistance-General information collection is needed to establish county eligibility for Secretarial disaster designations, which make emergency loans available to eligible farmers and ranchers and may also be used to qualify counties for other disaster assistance programs if required by statute or a program's regulations. The regulations in 7 CFR part 759 define the responsibilities of the Secretary of Agriculture in making disaster designations, the types of incidents that can result in a disaster designation, and the factors used in making disaster designations. Secretarial disaster designations must be requested in writing from a State governor (or authorized representative), Indian Tribal Council, or the FSA State Executive Director (SED) unless a county qualifies through the Fast Track process for drought using data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. For each county included in a request, the FSA county office and the County Emergency Board (CEB) will complete a Loss Assessment Report (LAR) that includes information about crop losses due to the disaster. If the LAR does not indicate a 30 percent or greater loss of at least one crop in the ( printed page 65161) county, FSA employees will conduct a survey of farmers in the county to assess whether other criteria justify a Secretarial disaster designation for the county.

FSA is requesting a revision of the approved information collection. The revisions are intended to accurately reflect the expected number of requests and need to conduct farmer surveys and will remove responses and burden hours for the collection of information from FSA employees rather than the public. For the following estimated total annual burden on respondents, the formula used to calculate the total burden hours is the estimated average time per response hours multiplied by the estimated total annual responses.

Estimate of Average Time To Respond: Public reporting burden for the information collection is estimated to average 0.3724 hours per response.

Type of Respondents: Farms, Tribal Governments, and State Governments.

Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 98.

Estimated Number of Reponses per Respondent: 1.

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 98.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 37 hours.

Title: Critical Customer Data.

OMB Control Number: 0560-0265.

Expiration Date: January 31, 2027.

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information collection.

Abstract: FSA collects critical customer data (such as customer name, contact information, and taxpayer identification number) from new customers and updates records of existing customers with AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet. This data is used by FSA and other USDA agencies to administer USDA programs and perform functions such as administering conservation compliance for federal crop insurance participants. The title of this information collection was formerly “Customer Data Worksheet Request for Business Partner Record Change”.

Critical customer data is typically provided directly to a service center employee while a customer is physically visiting the USDA Service Center. This approach minimizes the burden on customers by allowing them to provide this data as part of a routine office visit. AD-2047 is also available from the USDA e-Forms website for customers to download, complete, and submit to their local Service Center. Customers may submit the information by mail, fax, email, phone, or through Box or OneSpan (see www.farmers.gov/​working-with-us/​signing-and-sharing-documents).

FSA is currently reviewing how customers interact with USDA as part of the “One Farmer, One File” modernization initiative (see www.fsa.usda.gov/​news-events/​news/​03-02-2026/​usda-launches-one-farmer-one-file-initiative-better-support-farmers). Through “One Farmer, One File,” USDA's mission is to create a single, streamlined record that follows the farmer throughout the USDA system while reducing the administrative burden for farmers and making program delivery more efficient. As part of that initiative, FSA is establishing an electronic method for customer submission of critical customer data. The responses and burden hours associated with use of this electronic method are included in this information collection request.

The estimated number of respondents and responses increased by 170,981, and the burden hours increased by 8,549 due to the change in estimated responses since the last OMB approval. These changes reflect adjustments based on recent use of AD-2047. This increase is primarily due to an increase in the number of new customers who are participating in new programs. For the following estimated total annual burden on respondents, the formula used to calculate the total burden hours is the estimated average time per response multiplied by the estimated total annual responses.

Estimated Respondent Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.05 hours per response.

Type of Respondents: Farms and Businesses.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 332,231.

Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.

Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 332,231.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 16,612 hours.

Request for Comments

FSA is requesting comments on all aspects of this information collection to help us to:

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of FSA, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of FSA's estimate of burden of the collection of information including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(3) Evaluate the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

All comments received in response to this notice, including names and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record. Comments will be summarized and included in the submission for Office of Management and Budget approval.

91 FR 65160