[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 1, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14767-14768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7252]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders on the Roadmap for
Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension
AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics Office, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public comment period for written stakeholder input.
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SUMMARY: The Research, Education, and Extension Office (REEO) of the
Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area of the Department
of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting written stakeholder input on the
preparation of a roadmap for agricultural research, education, and
extension at USDA. The preparation of the Roadmap is mandated by the
Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008. By this notice, the
Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics has been
designated to act on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary)
in soliciting public comment from interested parties regarding the
preparation of the Roadmap.
DATES: All written comments must be received by 5 p.m. EST, May 31,
2009, to be considered.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by REE-2009-0001, by any
of the following methods:
[[Page 14768]]
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected]. Include REE-2009-0001 in the subject
line of the message.
Fax: (202) 690-1677.
Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions should be submitted to:
Michele Simmons; Research, Education, and Extension Office (REEO); U.S.
Department of Agriculture; Mail Stop 0114; 1400 Independence Avenue,
SW.; Washington, DC 20250-0114.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Michele Simmons; Research, Education, and
Extension Office (REEO); U.S. Department of Agriculture; Room 3858-S;
1400 Independence Avenue, SW.; Washington, DC 20250-0114.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the title
``Roadmap'' and REE-2009-0001. All comments received will be posted to
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Simmons, (202) 720-1777
(phone), (202) 690-1677 (fax), or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Additional Comment Procedures
Information on the REEO and Roadmap is available for review at
http://www.ree.usda.gov. Written comments must be received by 5 p.m.
EST, May 31, 2009, to be considered. All comments, when they become
available, may be reviewed on the REE Web page for six months.
Background and Purpose
The preparation of the roadmap for agricultural research,
education, and extension is mandated in section 7504 of the Food,
Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008, (Pub. L. 110-246, 7 U.S.C.
7614a. The Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Research,
Education, and Education (Under Secretary), will prepare the Roadmap.
The Secretary will implement and use the Roadmap to set the
agricultural research, education, and extension agenda of the
Department of Agriculture.
The Under Secretary is also the Chief Scientist for USDA,
responsible for the coordination of the research, education, and
extension activities of the Department. [7 U.S.C. 6971(c)]. The
Research, Education, and Extension Office (REEO) recently organized
within the Office of the Under Secretary is the office that provides
such coordination, per 7 U.S.C. 6971(e)(1). Therefore the
Office of the Chief Scientist and Under Secretary is inviting input on
the Roadmap to be provided to the REEO by all interested parties from
the Federal Government and nongovernmental entities.
The Roadmap will identify current trends and constraints and major
opportunities and gaps that no single entity within the Department of
Agriculture would be able to address individually. Stakeholder input is
encouraged on any and all aspects of the development and implementation
of the Roadmap, including responses to the following questions:
1. What types of current and future critical issues (including
those affecting citizens, communities and natural resources) does
agriculture face that no USDA entity could address individually?
2. What criteria should USDA use to prioritize agricultural science
(i.e., research, education, and extension) investments to address these
issues?
3. How might USDA better coordinate agricultural sciences among its
various agencies and with its partners?
4. What are some examples where agricultural sciences are
successfully coordinated for maximum benefit? Why are they successful?
5. What are some examples where agricultural sciences are not
coordinated effectively? Why is coordination lacking? What are the
barriers?
6. What else might USDA do to improve coordination of science;
enhance USDA's ability to identify issues and prioritize investments;
and elevate its role in science implementation and coordination?
Implementation Plans
The Under Secretary and the REEO plan to consider stakeholder input
received from written comments in developing the Roadmap. The Secretary
will make the Roadmap available to the public, with an expected
publication date of not later than September 16, 2009.
Done at Washington, DC, this 4th day of March, 2009.
Katherine Smith,
Acting Deputy Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics.
[FR Doc. E9-7252 Filed 3-31-09; 8:45 am]
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