Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection for the Export Inspection and Weighing Waiver for High Quality Specialty Grain Transported in Containers
Published Date: 1/29/2026
Notice
Summary
The USDA wants to keep collecting info for another 3 years about skipping inspections and weighing for special high-quality grain shipped in containers. This affects grain exporters who benefit from faster shipping without extra checks. They’re asking for feedback by March 30, 2026, to make sure the process stays useful and easy without costing extra time or money.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Waiver Lets Exporters Skip Inspections
If you export high quality specialty grain (HQSG) in containers, USDA regulations (7 CFR 800.18(b)(8)) allow a waiver of the mandatory inspection and weighing requirements so long as the waiver conditions are met; this waiver was established to facilitate marketing of HQSG exported in containers. The waiver remains in effect under the current information-collection approval that AMS/FGIS is seeking to extend.
Recordkeeping: 3-Year Retention Burden
Exporters of HQSG who use the waiver must keep records related to those container shipments and make them available to FGIS on request, and those records must be retained for a period of 3 years. FGIS estimates an average recordkeeping burden of 6 hours per exporter, with an estimated 40 exporters affected, for a total annual burden of 240 hours; comments on this estimate are requested by March 30, 2026.
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