RPP FSA Solution for Solicitation for Funding Opportunity Announcements

OMB Control Number: 0503-0028

Exp. Date: November 2025

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Solution for Funding Opportunity Announcement”

TITLE: Rice Production (RPP) Program.

USDA Agency: Farm Service Agency

Alignment with Information Collection Package: (Check one)

[ ] One-Time Pilot Program.

[ X ] One-Time Funding Announcement of New Program.

Purpose: (Briefly describe the program. Explain the information to be collected to clearly describe to OMB the requirements and burden on the respondents. For example, if the table below shows 150 burden hours for project summary, provide additional detail elaborating on what the respondents are required to provide to meet that requirement.)

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is implementing the Rice Production Program (RPP) to assist rice producers with increased marketing costs as a result of the ongoing effects of the pandemic. RPP will use funds authorized under the Consolidation Appropriations Act, 2023, enacted December 29, 2022. FSA is providing financial assistance to rice producers who had a share in the 2022 rice crop reported by the acreage reporting deadline as being planted or prevented from being planted for the 2022 crop year. The cost-share assistance is a one-time payment to eligible rice producers. Up to 11,000 applicants with an ownership share in rice acres reported to FSA or Federal Crop Insurance for the 2022 crop year are expected to apply for payments under RPP. Funds for RPP are limited to $250 million.

The funding will be provided under the authority in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.

Applicants for RPP will submit the FSA-174 Rice Production Program (RPP) Application form in person at a local FSA Service Center, by mail, fax, or as an e-mail attachment. This form identifies the applicant, provides the number of 2022 rice crop acres in Part B Item 8 of form FSA-174, and the producer’s claimed share of interest in Part C item 12 of form FSA-174 RPP Application. The information collected will be pulled from the producer’s timely filed FSA-578 Crop Acreage Report, and pre-populated on the FSA-174. The information collected will include rice acres planted, including prevented planted acres, for crop year 2022, the physical location by state and county where the rice was produced, the type of rice, intended use, crop status, the applicant’s share of the rice acres for consideration of an RPP payment, and the producer’s actual production history (if the crop was covered under a Federal Crop Insurance policy) or an assigned established yield if the crop was not insured. The information collected is used by FSA to calculate the estimated RPP payment amount based on the certified rice acres, and to determine if the number of certified acres and share of the crop are the same as reported on the FSA-578 Crop Acreage Report, or Federal Crop Insurance crop acreage report, for the 2022 rice crop year.

Announcement Dates: April 2023 through the NOFA publication.

Type of Collection: (Check one)

[ ] Grant.

[ ] Cooperative agreement.

[ X ] Other: New federal financial assistance program for rice producers. ___________________

How will information collected be submitted to the agency?

[ ] Grants.gov

[ X ] Other: The application form will be available electronically through a public website and in local FSA Service Centers. Rice producers will provide their information to FSA. ________________

Does the agency need to collect information, such as progress reports, beyond the expiration of this generic ICR (November 2025)? If so, will the agency be submitting a regular ICR package?

[ ] Yes. [X ] No.

Announcement:

[ ] Notice of Funding of Opportunity (NOFO)

[ ] Grants.gov Announcement

[ ] Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

[ ] Request for Application (RFA)

[X ] Notice of Funding of Availability (NOFA) (Announced in the Federal Register)

[ ] Notice of Solicitation of Application (NOSA)

[ ] Notice of Awards

[ ] Other Funding Announcement Types: __________________________________

Is the agency asking any questions of a sensitive nature? If yes, 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. Include the reasons justifying 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.

[ ] Yes. [ X ] No.

If yes, additional info:

Certification:

I certify this grant, cooperative agreement, or other federal financial assistance to be true:

[ X] Yes. [ ] No.

Burden Hours, Formats, and Reporting

Brief description of information being collected (project summary, NOA, etc.)	Forms number	Number of Respondents	Number of Responses per respondent	Total Annual Responses	Hours per response	Total Annual Burden hours
Rice Production (RPP) Application	FSA-174	11,000	1	11,000	0.08	880
Farm Operating Plan for an Individual (Parts A & B)	CCC-902I	550	1	550	0.16	88
Farm Operating Plan for an Entity (Parts A & B)	CCC-902E	275	1	275	0.16	44
Request for An Exception to the $125,000 Payment Limitation for Certain Programs	CCC-510	330	1	275	0.08	26
Member Information for Legal Entities, if applicable	CCC-901	550	1	550	0.16	44
Customer Data Worksheet	AD-2047	550	1	550	0.08	44
Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation Certification (exempt from PRA 16 U.S.C. 3846)	AD-1026	110	1	110	0.08	9
ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment - Direct Deposit Form	SF-3881	100	1	100	0.16	16
TOTAL						1,180

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