[Federal Register: July 27, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 145)]
[Notices]
[Page 39136-39138]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27jy01-31]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Notice of Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently
Approved Information Collection
AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the intention of the Commodity Credit Corporation
(CCC) to request an extension for and revision to a currently-approved
information collection for the Non-recourse Cotton Loan Program. This
notice requests comments on proposed revisions to CCC-605, Designation
of Agent--Cotton. The primary revision being proposed would provide
producers the option of authorizing the Commodity Credit Corporation to
use an electronic record of the producer's designation of an agent.
Other format revisions to the CCC-605 are also proposed. The
information collected is used to support the operation of the marketing
assistance loan programs for cotton under authority of the Commodity
Credit Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714 et seq.) and the Federal
Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.)
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before September
25, 2001 to be assured consideration.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gene S. Rosera, USDA/Farm Service
Agency, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 0512; Washington, DC 20250-
0512, telephone number (202) 720-8481. Comments may also be submitted
by e-mail to: gene_rosera@wdc.fsa.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Non-recourse Cotton Loan Program.
OMB Control Number: 0560-0074.
Expiration Date of Approval: October 31, 2002.
Type of Request: Extension and revision to a currently approved
information collection.
Abstract: On behalf of CCC, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) has
developed an Internet-based process (referred to as Centralized
Certificate Redemption (CCR)) that will allow agents designated and
approved by cotton producers to obtain and exchange commodity
certificates for cotton loan collateral. Cotton producers commonly
authorize entities engaged in the marketing of cotton to repay cotton
loan obligations or obtain and exchange commodity certificates for
cotton loan collateral at county FSA offices. The CCR will allow these
approved entities to conduct these loan settlement functions online and
ultimately obtain loan collateral without physically presenting paper
documents and payments at multiple county FSA offices.
Cotton producers currently designate and approve agents for these
loan functions using CCC-605, Designation of Agent--Cotton. The CCC-605
is also frequently used by the producer's agent to transfer their
repayment authority to a subsequent agent. This form additionally
identifies the loan to which the agent-designation applies, the
quantity of the loan collateral applicable to the agent-designation,
the number of bales, and other loan information.
For loan collateral redemptions, the agent or subsequent agent
presents the CCC-605, the list of bales to be redeemed from loan, and
payment at the county FSA office that ``holds'' the cotton warehouse
receipts or electronic warehouse receipts. Based on receipt of these
documents, CCC accepts repayment of the loan and releases the loan
collateral to the agent designated by the producer. This same process
is followed when the producer's agent requests to exchange commodity
certificates for the loan collateral. For such exchanges, the agent
additionally signs a statement acknowledging receipt of the commodity
certificate and its exchange for loan collateral valued at the
marketing loan repayment rate.
When the CCR process becomes fully operational, producers will be
offered the option of authorizing CCC to accept certificate exchanges
for their loan collateral from the agent identified on the electronic
warehouse receipt (EWR) for the cotton. (This option is not being
offered at this time for loan redemptions with cash.) This field of
information on the EWR is referred to as the Electronic Agent
Designation (EAD). However, for CCC to accept certificate redemptions
from the agent identified on the EWR, the producer will need to
authorize CCC to use such electronic records. This authorization will
be required to protect both the producer and CCC from any liability
arising from CCC's use of such records. Under the CCR process, the CCC-
605 form will not be required to be returned to the county FSA office
in order to establish the CCR as a totally on-line process. The EAD
will be entered onto the EWR by the EWR Provider based on procedures
acceptable to the cotton producer, the producer's designated agent, and
the EWR Provider. The establishment of the EAD and the use of the CCR
process are entirely optional and producers will continue to have the
option of requiring repayment or certificate exchanges at the county
FSA office.
CCC will request approval of a revised CCC-605, Designation of
Agent--Cotton that would contain the following parts. Parts A, B, C, F,
and G to the revised CCC-605 would provide functions that are new to
the CCC-605. Part A would identify the contact producer authorizing CCC
to use an EAD. This part would additionally identify the loan or loans
for which the authorization is established by loan number, maturity
date and farm number. The producer would have the option of providing
authorization for CCC to use the EAD for all loans of a specific crop
year. Part B would contain the definitions and terms of the
authorization for CCC to use the EAD. Part C of the form would provide
for the signatures and dates of signatures for all producers providing
CCC authorization to use the EAD. Part D would provide the terms under
which the producer authorizes an agent or, if applicable, the
subsequent agent to redeem all or a portion of the cotton pledged as
collateral for the identified loans. The terms of agent designation in
Part D will not be revised from those currently provided by CCC-605
(version dated 10-13-00) except for necessary notational corrections.
Part F, Endorsements, will provide space for the producer's agent to
transfer, by endorsement, the functions to a subsequent agent. The
current version of the CCC-605 provides space for six such subsequent
endorsements and the proposed CCC-605 will have room for only four such
subsequent endorsements. It is proposed that a new Part F be added as a
convenience to agents that may present the CCC-605 at a county FSA
office by providing the following statement that would be followed by
space for the agent's signature and date of the signature: `` I
acknowledge: (1) Receipt of CCC Commodity Certificate which I requested
to purchase from CCC; (2) that the certificate will be exchanged with
CCC in the manner specified in CCC regulations at 7 CFR Part 1400 in
order that I may receive commodities from CCC which had previously been
pledged as collateral for a CCC marketing assistance loan; and (3) that
for purposes of valuing the commodity acquired under this transaction,
such value will be the marketing loan repayment rate applicable under 7
CFR Parts 1427 for the commodity as of the day I made payment to CCC
for the commodity certificate.'' Part G is
[[Page 39138]]
proposed to be added for use by CCC only to enter the holder ID of the
entity to which the cotton loan collateral was released.
Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for the revised CCC-605
is estimated to average 4 minutes per producer and 2 minutes per
producers' agent for a total burden of 6 minutes per completed form.
Respondents: Individual producers and cotton merchants.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 24,450 producers x 4 minutes per
response and 24,450 agents x 2 minutes per response.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,445 burden hours
times $12.00 per hour=$29,340.
Proposed topics for comment include: (a) Whether the collection of
the proposed EAD authorization is necessary for the proper performance
of the CCR, including whether the information will have practical
utility and protect the interests of CCC and the producer; (b) the
accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used; (c) alternatives to the proposed
information collection; or (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of the information on cotton producers expected to respond,
including the use of appropriated automated, electronic, mechanical, or
techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments should be sent to the Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, DC 20503 and to Gene S. Rosera, USDA/Farm Service Agency,
1400 Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 0512; Washington, DC 20250-0512,
telephone number (202) 720-8481. All responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments
will become a matter of public record.
Signed at Washington, DC on July 24, 2001.
Larry Walker,
Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 01-18837 Filed 7-26-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 2001/07/27 EST