FY2013 FOIA Log (Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service)

Good Afternoon,
Please see attached letter.
Thank you.

Jason Smathers

MuckRock News

This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated October 21, 2013, for the FY 2013 FOIA log for the Agricultural Research Service. Your request was received in this office on October 21 and assigned FOIA No. 2014-REE-00137-F.

Attached is the FY 2013 FOIA log for the Research, Education, and Economic (REE) agencies. REE includes the following agencies:

Agricultural Research Service

Economic Research Service

National Agricultural Statistics Service

National Institutes of Food and Agriculture

Personal information has been redacted from the log and is exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6), which protects information about individuals in personnel and medical files and similar files when the disclosure of such information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. You have a right to appeal our determination by writing to the Administrator, ARS, USDA, Room 302-A, Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building, 14th & Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250. The appeal must be received by that office within 45 days of the date of this letter. The phrase “FOIA Appeal” should be placed in capital letters on the front of the envelope containing the appeal.

The following provides information about each of the REE agencies:

· ARS is the largest intramural research agency of USDA. ARS has a workforce of around 8,000 employees, including 2,500 life and physical scientists who represent a wide range of disciplines and who work at more than 100 locations across the country and at five overseas laboratories. The ARS research agenda is broad, with about 1,200 research projects organized under 4 major program areas: Nutrition, Food Safety and Food Quality; Animal Production and Protection; Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems; and Crop Production and Protection.

· ERS is USDA’s primary source of economic information and economic and social science research. ERS’ mission is to anticipate economic and policy issues related to food, agriculture, the environment, and rural development, and conduct research that informs public program and policy decisions.

· NASS is committed to providing timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. Its reports cover virtually every aspect of U.S. agriculture, including production and supplies of food and fiber, prices paid and received by farmers, farm labor and wages, farm finances, chemical use, and changes in the demographics of U.S. producers.

· NIFA is USDA’s primary extramural research funding agency. Its mission is to advance knowledge for agriculture, the environment, and human health and wellbeing by funding targeted research, education, and extension projects and programs, some of which are specific to the Land-Grant University System, others open to participation by other partner organizations.

Please note that Valerie Herberger is no longer with this office. Future requests should be addressed to Stasia Hutchison and submitted to reefoia@ars.usda.gov<mailto:reefoia@ars.usda.gov>.

If you have any questions concerning your request, please contact this office at 301-504-1655 or via email at stasia.hutchison@ars.usda.gov<mailto:stasia.hutchison@ars.usda.gov>.

Sincerely,

Stasia Hutchison

Stasia Hutchison
FOIA/PA Office, REE, USDA
5601 Sunnyside Avenue
GWCC, Room 1-2248, Mail Stop 5128
Beltsville, MD 20705-5128
stasia.hutchison@ars.usda.gov<mailto:stasia.hutchison@ars.usda.gov>
301-504-1655 Telephone; 301-504-1647 Fax
www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=1398<http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=1398@@
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Get more information: www.ars.usda.gov@@http://www.ars.usda.gov/@@
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None

Mr. Smathers:  USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration's response to your FOIA request is attached.
Joanne C. Peterson
GIPSA FOIA Officer
202-720-8087

Dear Mr. Smathers:

I’m writing regarding your FOIA appeal #2014-OCIO-00103-A, which you submitted on April 14, 2014. To refresh your memory, you are challenging the USDA’s withholding of portions of records that were provided to you in response to your FOIA request #2014-OCIO-01689-F seeking emails that contained your name (Smathers).

This appeal was recently assigned to me, and I will do my best to get a response to you as soon as possible. The USDA’s response is obviously much overdue, and I apologize for this. However, before I dig into the file I wanted to check and confirm that you are still interested in receiving a response. Please reply to this email to let me know whether you would still like the USDA to respond to your FOIA appeal.

If I do not hear back from you, I will follow up by sending a letter to the address we have on file for you: PO Box 781, Topock, Arizona. Please let me know if this address is no longer current, and feel free to call me at the number listed below if you would prefer to discuss this matter on the phone.

Thank you,

[cid:image001.png@01D5F3AB.0A9B6150]
Harald Fuller-Bennett
Government Information Specialist
Departmental FOIA Office
Office of the General Counsel
US Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Room 2023A
Washington, DC 20250
☎ 202-239-4522 (Desk)
📱 202-809-7889 (Mobile)
📠 844-288-3373 (Fax)
✉ Harald.FullerBennett@usda.gov<mailto:Harald.FullerBennett@usda.gov>

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

Dear Mr. Smathers:

Please see the attached letter, and let me know at your earliest convenience if you are still interested in receiving a response to your FOIA appeal.

Sincerely,

[cid:image003.png@01D2D531.9DDFCF50]
Harald Fuller-Bennett
Government Information Specialist
Departmental FOIA Office
Office of the General Counsel
US Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Room 2023A
Washington, DC 20250
☎ 202-239-4522 (Desk)
📱 202-809-7889 (Mobile)
📠 844-288-3373 (Fax)
✉ Harald.FullerBennett@usda.gov<mailto:Harald.FullerBennett@usda.gov>

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.