Overview
Title
Notice of Request for Approval of an Existing Information Collection in Use Without an OMB Control Number
Agencies
ELI5 AI
The Agricultural Marketing Service wants to get permission from another government office to collect information about milk and cheese prices to help farmers and businesses. They need people to share their thoughts about this by February 21, 2025.
Summary AI
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the USDA announced its intent to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an existing information collection related to Dairy Market News. This effort aligns with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and involves collecting market data on milk and dairy products without an OMB control number. The aim is to provide timely market insights for farmers and businesses. Comments on this proposal are invited, with a submission deadline of February 21, 2025.
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) intent to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of an existing information collection in use without an OMB control number for Dairy Market News pursuant to Section 203(g) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended.
Keywords AI
Sources
AnalysisAI
The document under discussion is a notice from the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). It announces AMS's intent to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an existing information collection related to Dairy Market News. This effort is in line with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and relates to the collection of data on milk and dairy products, which currently lacks an OMB control number.
General Overview
This notice serves several purposes. Primarily, it is a procedural step toward gaining formal approval for the information collection process related to the Dairy Market News, which aims to deliver timely market insights beneficial to farmers and businesses. Stakeholders are invited to comment on the proposal by February 21, 2025.
Significant Issues and Concerns
The document makes extensive use of technical language, such as “OMB Control Number” and references to legal sections like “Section 203(g)” and “7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.” These terms might not be easily understood by all readers, particularly those without a legal or bureaucratic background. Additionally, the document outlines a precise estimate of the public reporting burden but lacks a detailed explanation of how these numbers were derived. Transparency regarding how AMS calculated these estimates would enhance understanding.
Moreover, while the notice assures compliance with the E-Government Act to improve online access, it could benefit from specific examples of how technology will be leveraged in this information collection process. The report's commitment to being “timely, accurate, unbiased, and continuous” is commendable, yet these attributes invite further clarification to avoid potential ambiguity.
Another potential concern is how certain organizations might unintentionally be favored in the collection process, particularly those better equipped to engage in frequent communications. It would be beneficial for the document to clarify how it ensures equal opportunity and representation among different respondent groups.
Finally, while the notice advises against including personally identifiable information in comments, it doesn’t clearly explain how such submissions will be screened and protected before being made public.
Impact on the Public
For the general public, especially those involved in the dairy industry, this notice represents a formal step toward capturing more reliable market data. Farmers, processors, retailers, and others in the dairy chain stand to benefit from having access to unbiased market trends that can inform decision-making processes. However, there might be concerns about the clarity with which the public can engage with the process due to the technical nature of the language used.
Impact on Stakeholders
For stakeholders like dairy producers, processors, traders, and brokers, the document's objectives are likely to be positively perceived as they stand to benefit from improved market insights. The voluntary participation outlined suggests stakeholders have a degree of flexibility in how they interact with the Dairy Market News services.
However, small businesses that may lack the resources to frequently communicate could potentially feel disadvantaged if participation inadvertently favors larger entities with greater capacity to engage regularly.
In summary, while this document makes a step towards improving market data collection for the agricultural sector, it raises significant issues concerning clarity and inclusivity that warrant careful consideration and possibly further refinement.
Issues
• The document uses technical terminology such as 'OMB Control Number', 'Section 203(g)', and '7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq' which may not be easily understood by all readers.
• The public reporting burden estimate is precise but the methodology behind the calculation could be more explicitly detailed to ensure transparency.
• The procedures for how AMS developed estimates of burden and costs using publicly available listings and labor costs could be expanded for greater clarity.
• The mention of compliance with the E-Government Act could include specific examples of how AMS intends to utilize technology to enhance the collection process.
• Use of terms such as 'timely, accurate, unbiased, and continuous' in describing the DMN's duties might benefit from further explanation or definitions to avoid ambiguity.
• The potential for the collection process to inadvertently favor certain organizations or types of respondents, especially those more able to engage in frequent communication, could be clarified.
• The instruction to not include personally identifiable or confidential business information does not explicitly describe how submissions will be screened for such data before public posting.