SuptStmt- Part A Farmers Market Questionnaire -2'27'2013

2013 SUPPORTING STATEMENT-Part A

National Farmers Market Directory and Survey with Modules

OMB NO. 0581-0169



Terms of Clearance with 2010 Approval:

OMB approves this collection for three years. USDA should continue its very good efforts to address the underrepresentation of U.S. farmers markets in the Western region, and, in its next request for extension, report on these efforts.

USDA seeks to improve the representation of U.S. farmers markets in the Western region and improve response rates of farmers market managers nationwide in the National Farmers Market Managers Survey by combining it with the annual update of the USDA National Farmers Market Directory. By integrating both existing initiatives into one single information collection, AMS will reduce the number of times that it seeks to make contact with market managers, and can expect to gain access to larger numbers of motivated respondents, thereby improving the potential survey response rate overall and in turn, the response rate of market managers located in Western states. Each year, farmers market managers nationwide voluntarily list their markets in USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory, which receives two million visits per year online, during a prescribed update period in the spring. Of the 7,865 market listings that appeared in the latest August 2012 update of the Directory, more than 44 percent (representing 3,445 markets) were actively updated by market managers between April and June 2012. We were not able to make contact with the remaining 4,420 market managers. Given the ongoing popularity of the Directory platform among farmers market managers, USDA seeks to take advantage of the annual contact made with market managers through the annual Directory update process by inviting market managers who list or update their listing in the Directory to participate in USDA’s National Farmers Market Managers Survey.

A. Justification.

1. EXPLAIN THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MAKE THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION NECESSARY. IDENTIFY ANY LEGAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS THAT NECESSITATE THE COLLECTION.

The primary legislative basis for conducting farmers market research is the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621-1627). This act broadened the scope of USDA activities to include the entire spectrum of agricultural marketing, including direct marketing. Sec. 203a of the Act states that the Secretary of Agriculture is directed and authorized, “to determine the needs and develop or assist in the development of plans for efficient facilities and methods of operating such facilities for the proper assembly, processing, storage, transportation, distribution, and handling of agricultural products...” In addition, the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976 supports USDA’s work to enhance the effectiveness of direct marketing, such as the development of modern farmers markets.

In line with this legislative mandate, the Marketing Services Division (MSD) of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service identifies marketing opportunities, provides analysis to help take advantage of those opportunities and develops and evaluates solutions including improving farmers markets and other direct-to-consumer marketing activities. Various types of farmers markets serve different parts of the food marketing chain, but all focus on the small-to medium-sized agricultural producers that have difficulty obtaining access to large-scale commercial distribution channels. Markets are maintained by State Departments of Agriculture, local public authorities, grower organizations and non-profit organizations. Some markets were developed as a part of an ongoing effort to provide alternative marketing channels for small and medium-sized producers moving from cash crops, and allotment based marketing, and bulk commodities.

Direct marketing through the nation’s farmers markets provides an opportunity to increase the utilization of successful USDA programs, such as the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program, WIC Cash Value Voucher, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formally called “food stamps”). They also provide a “teachable moment” for diet, health, and nutrition services and programs. Efforts to enhance direct marketing opportunities supplement a continuing cross-Departmental program that promotes food access, economic development, enhances the quality of life in disadvantaged communities, and works to combat obesity by providing a convenient and affordable source of fresh fruits and vegetables to underserved populations.

Specific activities carried out by MSD include conducting and sponsoring research and technical assistance to help farmers market planners, managers and vendors develop or improve market operations and performance, so that small and mid-size farmers have a viable outlet for their local farm production, and consumers have greater access to high-quality, farm-fresh foods. Recommendations are made available to local decision makers and other key stakeholders interested in establishing or improving farmers markets to serve area producers and consumers. As part of this portfolio of services, AMS maintains the most robust database of U.S. farmers markets known to exist, the USDA National Farmers Market Directory, which currently contains information about more than 7,800 markets, and receives more than two million visits annual via our Directory search engine. Beyond those data users who are directly involved in the farmers market sector, the data collected by AMS on farmers markets are widely used by community planners, public health officials and GIS research specialists to guide decisions pertaining to community quality of life and investment decisions, by software developers looking to develop popular mobile applications, and by general members of the public seeking local sources of high-quality fresh food. The growing interest in farmers market data from a broad segment of the public corresponds with unprecedented levels of demand for locally-grown foods, a steady increase in direct farm marketing nationally, the and the expansion in the number of farmers markets that has occurred in recent years. The 1997 Census of Agriculture reported that consumers purchased $551 million in farm products directly from farmers for human consumption. By 2007, the level of direct to consumer purchases of edible farm products had grown to $1.2 billion, representing a 118 percent increase within the span of ten years. Meanwhile USDA’s Economic Research Service, using a broader parameter of direct and intermediated local food sales, estimated in a 2011 report that 2008 sales of local food in the U.S. approached $4.8 billion. In line with this surge in local food sales, the number of farmers markets listed in USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory grew significantly during the same time period, increasing from 2,746 in 1998 to 4,685 in 2008, a 71 percent growth rate. Such trends underscore the growing popularity of this industry and the increased demand for timely data accessible in the public domain that provides information on farmers market location, operations, performance and trends.

2. INDICATE HOW, BY WHOM, AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE THE INFORMATION IS TO BE USED. EXCEPT FOR A NEW COLLECTION, INDICATE THE ACTUAL USE THE AGENCY HAS MADE OF THE INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM THE CURRENT COLLECTION.

Data and reports developed from TM-6 have been utilized by various USDA agencies, State Departments of Agriculture, extension educators, industry stakeholders and trade associations, community planners, public health officials, farmer groups, and non-profit organizations to improve market operations and performance, and evaluate the impact of federal nutrition programs on farmers market sales. Data extracted from survey results has been presented and shared by AMS personnel at the request of a variety of agricultural stakeholders including the Farmers Market Consortium (comprised of leading farmers market funders and technical service providers), Board members of the Farmers Market Coalition (the largest farmers market trade association in the U.S.), the Food Distribution Research Society, the Arkansas Land Development Corporation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Roots of Change, VISA, the USDA Office of Budget and Program Analysis, various State Departments of Agriculture and several mainstream news media outlets. USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory has been identified as one of the Departments first-move candidates to meet OMB’s call for web application programming interfaces and mobile optimized services to go on line by May 23, 2013.

USDA has identified several first-move candidates that can be improved to meet the call for web APIs and mobile optimized services by May 23, 2013. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs):

Using the farmers market questionnaire, a national database of the farmers market industry is developed to provide researchers and planners with a national overview of the current conditions and resource requirements giving them the opportunity to develop informed plans and business strategies. Analysis is developed for markets of different age groups, size (in terms of the number of vendors), and regional location. Information from this study provides market managers and market organizers pertinent information regarding the typical product mix at markets, budget requirements, and changes in months of operation and other data to assist them in their planning decisions.

If our data collection request is approved, data obtained from markets will represent a varied range of sizes, geographical locations, types, and structure. These markets will provide an overview of farmers markets in the United States. The information collected by this survey will evaluate the growth of the farmers market sector, provide a more in-depth understanding of the resource requirements and challenges facing markets, identify promising market practices, and guide the development of appropriate strategic decisions that can be used to support the establishment of new markets, or enhance the profitability of existing markets.

A number of changes have occurred since the last survey of farmers markets in 2009. The number of farmers markets across the country has continued to increase substantially from 5,274 markets in the 2009 season listed in USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory to 7,865 in 2012, representing a 49 percent increase. Product mix and offerings at farmers markets have adapted to emerging consumer demands, months of operation at the typical farmers market have lengthened, new government programs have emerged that have exerted influence on farmers market sales, and a number of non-profit organizations and state government agencies have begun to provide financial incentives to recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to encourage them to shop at farmers markets In particular, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, administered by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, was expanded in 2009 to allow recipients to make purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets. The collection instrument has been designed to gain a better understanding of the effects of such marketing, operational and administrative changes on this alternative marketing outlet. The collection modification attachment describes the changes made with a brief explanation of why these changes were made to the collection instrument. Questions 1 through 26 of the questionnaire pertain to the Directory update and questions 27 through 95 are the farmers market survey.

3. DESCRIBE WHETHER, AND TO WHAT EXTENT, THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION INVOLVES THE USE OF AUTOMATED, ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICAL COLLECTION TECHNIQUES OR OTHER FORMS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, E.G. PERMITTING ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES, AND THE BASIS FOR THE DECISION FOR ADOPTING THIS MEANS OF COLLECTION. ALSO DESCRIBE ANY CONSIDERATION OF USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE BURDEN.

Market managers will be informed of the availability of filling and returning this form electronically via the Internet. The electronic questionnaire is currently being developed by our cooperators at Michigan State University. We expect that programing will be completed by June 15, 2013. Upon completion of the programing for the electronic questionnaire we will submit a justification for change to OMB, at that time we will provide the web address for the survey, and provide screen shots of the questionnaire.

AMS has made every effort to gather a complete listing of e-mail addresses of farmers markets. The number of respondents that have provided AMS with e-mail addresses is 4,652, representing 59.2 percent of the approximately 7,865 markets listed in USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory.

Market managers that have provided AMS e-mail addresses will be contacted directly to participate in the Directory update/National Farmers Market Managers Survey. In addition, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will contact stakeholders in the farmers market community such as State Departments of Agriculture, state Farmers Market Associations, the Farmers Market Consortium, and the Farmers Market Coalition (the largest national trade association of farmers markets) to announce the start of the Directory update/National Farmers Market Manager Survey and direct market managers to a web portal where market managers can list their market in the Directory and/or participate in the National Farmers Market Managers Survey.

4. DESCRIBE EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY DUPLICATION. SHOW
SPECIFICALLY WHY ANY SIMILAR INFORMATION ALREADY
AVAILABLE CANNOT BE USED OR MODIFIED FOR USE FOR
THE PURPOSE(S) DESCRIBED IN ITEM 2 ABOVE.

No other known information collection on the U.S. farmers market industry in the public domain has the breadth of our information collection, which will attempt to reach each farmers market manager in the country. Consequently we expect that data from this survey will be comprehensive enough to carry out national analysis, as well as reliable regional and scale comparisons.

5. IF THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION IMPACTS SMALL
BUSINESSES OR OTHER SMALL ENTITIES (ITEM 5 OF THE OMB
FORM 83-1), DESCRIBE THE METHODS USED TO MINIMIZE
BURDEN.

The Small Business Administration defines, in 13 CFR Part 121, small agricultural producers as those having annual receipts of no more than $750,000 and small agricultural service firms (handlers and importers) as those having annual receipts of no more than $6.5 million. Based on respondents of the 2009 survey, 100 percent of farmers markets were classified as small businesses. As all of our survey respondents are subjected to the same level of burden, there is no variance in the estimate of the burden across our expected group of respondents.

6. DESCRIBE THE CONSEQUENCE TO FEDERAL PROGRAM OR POLICY ACTIVITIES IF THE COLLECTION IS NOT CONDUCTED OR IS CONDUCTED LESS FREQUENTLY, AS WELL AS ANY TECHNICAL OR LEGAL OBSTACLES TO REDUCING BURDEN.

Previous research studies undertaken by MSD have been utilized by various USDA agencies, State Departments of Agriculture, extension educators, industry stakeholders and trade associations, community planners, public health officials, farmer groups, and non-profit organizations Without this study both governmental and non-governmental organizations who contact our agency frequently for objective national and regional information on farmers markets would be deprived of a strategic marketing resource that facilitates effective planning, business development, resource allocation and policy formulation in the rapidly growing and evolving direct farm marketing sector. The frequent compilation of a robust national database on farmers market activities allows for in-depth analysis of farmers market performance and operations by region and size of operation, and provides essential guidance to market stakeholders at all stages of business development, as well as to policymakers who seek to support the expansion of farmers market activities.

7. EXPLAIN ANY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WOULD CAUSE AN INFORMATION COLLECTION TO BE CONDUCTED IN A MANNER:

- REQUIRING RESPONDENTS TO REPORT INFORMATION TO THE AGENCY MORE OFTEN THAN QUARTERLY;

- REQUIRING RESPONDENTS TO PREPARE A WRITTEN RESPONSE TO A COLLECTION OF INFORMATION IN FEWER THAN 30 DAYS AFTER RECEIPT OF IT;

- REQUIRING RESPONDENTS TO SUBMIT MORE THAN AN ORIGINAL AND TWO COPIES OF ANY DOCUMENT;

- REQUIRING RESPONDENTS TO RETAIN RECORDS, OTHER THAN HEALTH, MEDICAL, GOVERNMENT CONTRACT, GRANT-IN-AID, OR TAX RECORDS FOR MORE THAN 3 YEARS;

- IN CONNECTION WITH A STATISTICAL SURVEY, THAT IS NOT DESIGNED TO PRODUCE VALID AND RELIABLE RESULTS THAT CAN BE GENERALIZED TO THE UNIVERSE OF STUDY;

- REQUIRING THE USE OF A STATISTICAL DATA CLASSIFICATION THAT HAS NOT BEEN REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY OMB;

- THAT INCLUDES A PLEDGE OF CONFIDENTIALITY THAT IS NOT SUPPORTED BY AUTHORITY ESTABLISHED IN STATUE OR REGULATION, THAT IS NOT SUPPORTED BY DISCLOSURE AND DATA SECURITY POLICIES THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE PLEDGE, OR WHICH UNNECESSARILY IMPEDES SHARING OF DATA WITH OTHER AGENCIES FOR COMPATIBLE CONFIDENTIAL USE; OR

- REQUIRING RESPONDENTS TO SUBMIT PROPRIETARY TRADE SECRET, OR OTHER CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION UNLESS THE AGENCY CAN DEMONSTRATE THAT IT HAS INSTITUTED PROCEDURES TO PROTECT THE INFORMATION'S CONFIDENTIALITY TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

There are no special circumstances. Data collection plans are consistent with 5 CFR 1320.6

8. IF APPLICABLE, PROVIDE A COPY AND IDENTIFY THE DATE AND PAGE NUMBER OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER OF THE AGENCY'S NOTICE, REQUIRED BY 5 CFR 1320.8(d), SOLICITING COMMENTS ON THE INFORMATION COLLECTION PRIOR TO SUBMISSION TO OMB. SUMMARIZE PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO THAT NOTICE AND DESCRIBE ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE AGENCY IN RESPONSE TO THESE COMMENTS. SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS COMMENTS RECEIVED ON COST AND HOUR BURDEN.

The agency published a notice in the Federal Register on 5th, November 2012, Vol. 77, No.214, page 66432 and 66433, requesting an extension of and revision to a currently approved information collection and a request for comments. The Agency received one comment which was endorsed by four other individuals. The comment suggested that USDA should seek to reduce the number of times market managers are requested to complete survey questionnaires, minimize the time required by market managers to complete questionnaires, address current issues relevant to the sector as efficiently as possible, and improve data accuracy.

The redesign of this information collection addresses all of the concerns identified by this comment. AMS seeks to merge the data collected for USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory into USDA’s National Farmers Market Manager Survey and to refine and streamline the questionnaire and data collection process. The improvements in the data collection efforts results in:

• Eliminating duplicative questions between the Directory and the National Farmers Market Managers Survey, thus saving time for respondents and reducing burden.

• Contact with the respondent is made once instead of twice, which is less intrusive to the respondent and improves the possibility of a higher survey response rate.

• The proposed questionnaire is data driven, meaning that a respondent only sees questions that are relevant to that market operation, which saves the respondent time and improves the ease of completing the questionnaire.

• Merger of the Directory with the National Farmers Market Manager Survey allows market updates provided annually by market managers to be summarized, analyzed and reported out to the public. Prior to merging the Directory into this collection directory, the content of market listings was basically used as a way for farmers market to advertise their markets. (The Directory was created in 1994, preceding many of today’s Federal information collection guidelines.)

• The existing National Farmers Market Managers Survey has been divided into two components, a shorter group of core questions to be asked on an annual basis, and a rotating group of targeted modules that would be asked on a less frequent schedule, minimizing the burden on individual respondents by restricting core questions to those for which annual updates would be meaningful to the industry, while maintaining the Survey’s value in yielding timely data responsive to the public’s needs.

• Questions have been removed from the instrument that the designated respondents couldn’t answer with any credibility thus improving the validity and accuracy of data collected.

The collection modification attachment describes all the changes made to the collection instrument.

DESCRIBE EFFORTS TO CONSULT WITH PERSONS OUTSIDE THE AGENCY TO OBTAIN THEIR VIEWS ON THE AVAILABILITY OF DATA, FREQUENCY OF COLLECTION, THE CLARITY OF INSTRUCTIONS AND RECORD KEEPING, DISCLOSURE, OR REPORTING FORMAT (IF ANY), AND ON THE DATA ELEMENTS TO BE RECORDED, DISCLOSED, OR REPORTED.

CONSULTATION WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THOSE FROM WHOM INFORMATION IS TO BE OBTAINED OR THOSE WHO MUST COMPILE RECORDS SHOULD OCCUR AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 3 YEARS -- EVEN IF THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION ACTIVITY IS THE SAME AS IN PRIOR PERIODS. THERE MAY BE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MAY PRECLUDE CONSULTATION IN A SPECIFIC SITUATION. THESE CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD BE EXPLAINED.

AMS has consulted with David Hancock of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistical Service to review the survey questionnaire for statistical soundness of the study. Fred Broughton, South Carolina Department of Agriculture has reviewed the questionnaire for clarity, relevance and if the results of the study would be beneficial to the farmers market sector. The comment received from the Farmers Market Coalition, the industry’s largest trade association, was highly complementary about this research effort in its public comment to the notice about this proposed change in data collection published in November 2012 in the Federal Register, saying that “the USDA National Farmers Market Directory is an unparalleled resource, providing the public, researchers, media, and farmers market practitioners with the only comprehensive census of farmers markets currently available. Maximizing its accuracy is therefore of critical importance, and we applaud USDA AMS’s efforts to upgrade its data collection process to reduce duplication and respondent burden while systematically improving the collective understanding of farmers market characteristics.”

The following reviewers were asked to critique the questionnaire for clarity, relevance and if the results of the study would be beneficial to the farmers market sector.

 Fred Broughton

South Carolina Department of Agriculture

803-387-2564

Amy G. Crone

Maryland Department of Agriculture

410-841-5776

9. EXPLAIN ANY DECISION TO PROVIDE ANY PAYMENT OR GIFT TO RESPONDENTS, OTHER THAN REMUNERATION OF CONTRACTORS OR GRANTEES.

No payments or gifts are provided to respondents.

10. DESCRIBE ANY ASSURANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITY PROVIDED TO RESPONDENTS AND THE BASIS FOR THE ASSURANCE IN STATUTE, REGULATION, OR AGENCY POLICY.

There are no unique confidentiality policies.

11. PROVIDE ADDITIONAL JUSTIFICATION FOR ANY QUESTIONS OF A SENSITIVE NATURE, SUCH AS SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES, RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, AND OTHER MATTERS THAT ARE COMMONLY CONSIDERED PRIVATE. THIS JUSTIFICATION SHOULD INCLUDE THE REASONS WHY THE AGENCY CONSIDERS THE QUESTIONS NECESSARY, THE SPECIFIC USES TO BE MADE OF THE INFORMATION, THE EXPLANATION TO BE GIVEN TO PERSONS FROM WHOM THE INFORMATION IS REQUESTED, AND ANY STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO OBTAIN THEIR CONSENT.

Two questions ask farmers market managers to estimate the percentage of their producers/vendors that belong to specific racial categories and ethnic groups. These questions are being asked to determine if various ethnic communities are being adequately served by the farmers market in their local area and to determine the degree that minorities farmers participate in farmers markets and are able to use farmers markets to generate farm income. These questions comply with OMB Federal Regulation V62 #210, pp. 58781-58790.

12. PROVIDE ESTIMATES OF THE HOUR BURDEN OF THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.

THE STATEMENT SHOULD:

- INDICATE THE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS, FREQUENCY OF RESPONSE, ANNUAL HOUR BURDEN, AND AN EXPLANATION OF HOW THE BURDEN WAS ESTIMATED. UNLESS DIRECTED TO DO SO, AGENCIES SHOULD NOT CONDUCT SPECIAL SURVEYS TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ON WHICH TO BASE HOUR BURDEN ESTIMATES. CONSULTATION WITH A SAMPLE (FEWER THAN 10) OF POTENTIAL RESPONDENTS IS DESIRABLE. IF THE HOUR BURDEN ON RESPONDENTS IS EXPECTED TO VARY WIDELY BECAUSE OF DIFFERENCE IN ACTIVITY, SIZE, OR COMPLEXITY, SHOW THE RANGE OF ESTIMATED HOUR BURDEN, AND EXPLAIN THE REASONS FOR THE VARIANCE. GENERALLY, ESTIMATES SHOULD NOT INCLUDE BURDEN HOURS FOR CUSTOMARY AND USUAL BUSINESS PRACTICES.

- IF THIS REQUEST FOR APPROVAL COVERS MORE THAN ONE FORM, PROVIDE SEPARATE HOUR BURDEN ESTIMATES FOR EACH FORM AND AGGREGATE THE HOUR BURDENS IN ITEM 13 OF OMB FORM 83-I.

It is estimated that it will take 22 minutes to complete the National Farmers Market Directory listing and the National Farmers Market Managers survey questionnaire. The estimated amount of time to complete the Directory listing is 8 minutes for market managers listing in the Directory for the first time (those that have previously participated would use less time because they would be able to access a largely pre-populated form). The market managers who opt to take the National Farmer Market Manager Survey are estimated to need an additional 14 minutes to complete the survey questionnaire. Time estimates for completed National Farmers Market Directory listing survey is based on the average time that market managers took to list their market in 2012; the time estimate for completion of the National Farmers Market Managers Survey was estimated by staff based on previous experience administering similar surveys. Analysis will be undertaken of those managers who decline to complete the survey to determine the characteristics of the farmers markets that did not respond and to measure potential non-response bias. The questions in the Directory update that will be used to evaluate non-response bias are questions 3, 12, 13, 18 and 22. We estimate that it takes 4 minutes to answer these questions.

Combining the National Farmers Market Managers Survey with the annual update of USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory should improve the response rate of the National Farmers Market Manager Survey (because manager interest in posting their market information in the Directory database is so popular) This survey will be conducted every year to match the frequency of the Farmers Market Directory and provide the public more comprehensive and current data on this growing sector of agriculture. To minimize respondent burden, the core section of the survey, which would be administered on an annual basis, has been shortened, and other existing questions have been incorporated into a rotating group of targeted modules that would be asked on a less frequent schedule. Total burden for this study is estimated to be 832.5 hours. The estimated cost incurred is:

1,500 X .067 hour X $21.97 = $2,208 Non-response questions for market managers that choose not to respond to the farmers market survey, plus

2,000 X .133 hour X $21.97 = $5,844 (Respondents to the USDA National Farmers Market Directory update, managers that choose to complete farmers market questionnaire), plus

2,000 X .233 hour X $21.97 = $10,238 (Respondents to the USDA National Farmer Market Manager Survey)

Total = $18,290

This calculation was based on the median wage rate for occupation code 45-1011 (First-Line Supervisor/Managers of Farming, Fishing and Forestry Workers) reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics ($21.97 per hour) and a 57 percent response rate of the managers that update their listing in the Directory. All questions asked in the questionnaire refer to data that market managers can be expected to have ready access to as part of their normal routine.

13. PROVIDE AN ESTIMATE OF THE TOTAL ANNUAL COST BURDEN TO RESPONDENTS OR RECORD KEEPERS RESULTING FROM THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. (DO NOT INCLUDE THE COST OF ANY HOUR BURDEN SHOWN IN ITEMS 12 AND 14).

- THE COST ESTIMATE SHOULD BE SPLIT INTO TWO COMPONENTS: (a) A TOTAL CAPITAL AND START-UP COST COMPONENT (ANNUALIZED OVER ITS EXPECTED USEFUL LIFE); AND (b) A TOTAL OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE AND PURCHASE OF SERVICES COMPONENT. THE ESTIMATES SHOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH GENERATING, MAINTAINING, AND DISCLOSING OR PROVIDING THE INFORMATION. INCLUDE DESCRIPTIONS OF METHODS USED TO ESTIMATE MAJOR COST FACTORS INCLUDING SYSTEM AND TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION, EXPECTED USEFUL LIFE OF CAPITAL EQUIPMENT, THE DISCOUNT RATE(S), AND THE TIME PERIOD OVER WHICH COSTS WILL BE INCURRED. CAPITAL AND START-UP COSTS INCLUDE, AMONG OTHER ITEMS, PREPARATIONS FOR COLLECTING INFORMATION SUCH AS PURCHASING COMPUTERS AND SOFTWARE; MONITORING, SAMPLING, DRILLING AND TESTING EQUIPMENT; AND RECORD STORAGE FACILITIES.

- IF COST ESTIMATES ARE EXPECTED TO VARY WIDELY, AGENCIES SHOULD PRESENT RANGES OF COST BURDENS AND EXPLAIN THE REASONS FOR THE VARIANCE. THE COST OF PURCHASING OR CONTRACTING OUT INFORMATION COLLECTION SERVICES SHOULD BE A PART OF THIS COST BURDEN ESTIMATE. IN DEVELOPING COST BURDEN ESTIMATES, AGENCIES MAY CONSULT WITH A SAMPLE OF RESPONDENTS (FEWER THAN 10), UTILIZE THE 60-DAY PRE-OMB SUBMISSION PUBLIC COMMENT PROCESS AND USE EXISTING ECONOMIC OR REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS ASSOCIATED WITH THE RULEMAKING CONTAINING THE INFORMATION COLLECTION, AS APPROPRIATE.

- GENERALLY, ESTIMATES SHOULD NOT INCLUDE PURCHASES OF EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES, OR PORTIONS THEREOF, MADE: (1) PRIOR TO OCTOBER 1, 1995, (2) TO ACHIEVE REGULATORY COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE INFORMATION COLLECTION, (3) FOR REASONS OTHER THAN TO PROVIDE INFORMATION OR KEEPING RECORDS FOR THE GOVERNMENT, OR (4) AS PART OF CUSTOMARY AND USUAL BUSINESS OR PRIVATE PRACTICES.

There are no capital/start up or ongoing operation/maintenance costs associated with this information collection.

14. PROVIDE ESTIMATES OF ANNUALIZED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. ALSO, PROVIDE A DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD USED TO ESTIMATE COST, WHICH SHOULD INCLUDE QUANTIFICATION OF HOURS, OPERATION EXPENSES (SUCH AS EQUIPMENT, OVERHEAD, PRINTING, AND SUPPORT STAFF), AND ANY OTHER EXPENSE THAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INCURRED WITHOUT THIS COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. AGENCIES ALSO MAY AGGREGATE COST ESTIMATES FROM ITEMS 12, 13, AND 14 IN A SINGLE TABLE.

The projected cost estimate for the survey is $86,136, a $14,178 increase over the 2009 survey. Changes in the projected cost reflect an increase in higher hourly wage rates and the incorporation of e-Authorization logon identification and password.

Cooperative Research Agreement with Land Grant University and Personnel

III. Budget

Purpose	Cost Estimate
Develop format and program (code) CUT forms for markets and CSAs	$15,000
Develop functions, program code and test Internal Management Tool	$15,000
Incorporate E-Authorization	$5,000
Build special survey capacity – data-driven survey, databases	$ 7,000
Test security and function of code for upload to USDA servers	$5,000
Technical assistance	$5,000
Staff time for FMPP Audit	$8,000
Total	$60,000

Cost of Cooperative agreement: $60,000

Oversight of Cooperative agreement by MSD staff

(20 percent of the salary of GS 13 step 5 for nine months)

$100,904 x 0.75 x 0.20 = $15,136

Estimated cost of OCIO fees for provide e-authorization

clearance to respondents $11,000

$86,136

15. EXPLAIN THE REASON FOR ANY PROGRAM CHANGES OR

ADJUSTMENTS REPORTED IN ITEMS 13 OR 14 OF THE OMB

FORM 83-I.

AMS will invite all the market managers that complete a market listing in USDA’s 2013 National Farmers Market Directory to participate in the 2013 National Farmers Market Managers Survey. We estimate that 3,500 market managers will list or update their listing in the Directory, and project that 2,000 of these market managers will opt to complete the National Farmers Market Managers Survey instrument in 2013, (a 57 percent response rate). We believe that by consolidating both the Directory input form and the Survey instrument into one information collection, the response rate of the National Farmers Market Manager Survey will improve due in part to the higher percentage of farmers market managers that participate in the annual Directory update. Furthermore, combining the Directory with the National Farmers Market Managers Survey will reduce the time that most market managers need to complete the survey because the input form of the Directory will be prepopulated with information from the previous year’s Directory listing (should it exist.) As a result, market managers whose markets are already listed Directory will only have to make relevant changes to the input form, which should minimize the overall time needed to complete both the Directory and Survey instruments. In addition combining the two activities means that market managers would be contacted less, (e.g., one set of invitation e-mails and e-mail reminders instead of two separate sets of invitation e-mails and reminders).

The allotted “per response time” to complete the survey increased from 21 minutes in 2009 to 22 minutes for this submission. The one minute increase in the time required to complete the survey, combined with the substantial increase in the number of targeted respondents (reflecting the growth in market managers between 2009 and the present), anticipated improvements in the response rate and the increased frequency of the administration of the survey, resulting in total burden hours of 832.5 hours, representing an overall increase of (+) 559.5 burden hours.

Comparison of the 2009 versus the 2013 burden hours calculation
	No. of Respondents	No. of responses per respondent	Total annual responses	Per response time	Total hours
Farmers Market Questionnaire (2009)	5,200
Respondents (long form)	1,820	0.33	607	0.350	212
Non- respondents (long form)	3,380	0.33	1,127	0.033	38
Response bias survey (short form)	1,000
Respondents	240	0.33	120	0.083	10
Non- respondents to response bias survey	760	0.33	380	0.033	13
Total hours 2009 survey					273
	No. of Respondents	No. of responses per respondent	Total annual responses	Per response time	Total hours
FM Directory Survey with Modules & FM Questionnaire 2013	7,865
Respondents we anticipate that we will be able to make contact with (Directory update form)	3,500
Respondents (Directory update form) Non-response survey	1,500	1.0	1,500	0.067	100.5
Respondents (Directory update form) Respondents that choose to complete National Farmers Market Survey	2,000	1.0	2,000	0.133	266
Respondents (National Farmers Market Survey)	2,000	1.0	2,000	0.233	466.0
Total hours 2013 survey					832.5

16. FOR COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION WHOSE RESULTS WILL BE PUBLISHED, OUTLINE PLANS FOR TABULATION, AND PUBLICATION. ADDRESS ANY COMPLEX ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES THAT WILL BE USED. PROVIDE THE TIME SCHEDULE FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT, INCLUDING BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES OF THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION, COMPLETION OF REPORT, PUBLICATION DATES, AND OTHER ACTIONS.

Data will be exported into SPSS and summarized. Summarized data will be published in USDA research reports and shorter technical articles. Information will be distributed externally. Summary statistical reports and cross tabulation reports will be prepared to examine the differences in data responses across regions, size, years of operation and comparisons will be made to identical data collected in previous years. The projected timeline for this project is as follows.

Dissemination of survey questionnaire March 2013

Completion of data collection June 2013

Data analysis complete September 2013

Draft report completed May 2014

Report released September 2014

Data reported will preserve the confidentiality of respondents. The report will be distributed as a published report and published on the MSD website.

17. IF SEEKING APPROVAL TO NOT DISPLAY THE EXPIRATION DATE FOR OMB APPROVAL OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION, EXPLAIN THE REASONS THAT DISPLAY WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE.

The agency plans to print the expiration date of OMB approval of the information collection on all instruments.

18. EXPLAIN EACH EXCEPTION TO THE CERTIFICATION STATEMENT IDENTIFIED IN ITEM 19, "CERTIFICATION FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSIONS," OF OMB FORM 83-I.

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

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