Data Collection, Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements Applicable to Cranberries Not Subject to the Cranberry Marketing Order; Suspension of Provisions Under 7 CFR Part 926, 16265-16267 [E7-6241]

Agencies

• Agricultural Marketing Service
• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 4, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16265-16267]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6241]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 926

[Docket No. AMS-FV-06-0173; FV06-926-1 FIR]


Data Collection, Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements 
Applicable to Cranberries Not Subject to the Cranberry Marketing Order; 
Suspension of Provisions Under 7 CFR Part 926

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 
final rule, without change, an interim final rule suspending Part 926 
in the Code of Federal Regulations, which requires persons engaged in 
the handling or importation of fresh cranberries or cranberry products, 
but not subject to the reporting requirements of the Federal cranberry 
marketing order (7 CFR part 929), to report sales, acquisition, and 
inventory information to the Cranberry Marketing Committee (Committee), 
and to maintain adequate records of such activities. The establishment 
of these requirements is authorized under section 8(d) of the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (Act). The Committee, 
which administers marketing order 929, regulating the handling of 
cranberries grown in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 
Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Long 
Island in the State of New York, has been delegated by USDA to collect 
such information authorized under Part 926. Based on information 
provided by the Committee, USDA has determined that the

[[Page 16266]]

collection of information under Part 926 is of marginal benefit to the 
industry and should continue to be suspended.

DATES: Effective Date: May 4, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia A. Petrella or Kenneth G. 
Johnson, DC Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order Administration 
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, Unit 155, 4700 River 
Road, Riverdale, Maryland 20737; Telephone: (301) 734-5243, Fax: (301) 
734-5275, or E-mail at Patricia.Petrella@usda.gov or 
Kenneth.Johnson@usda.gov.
    Small businesses may request information on complying with this 
regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, Marketing Order Administration 
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 
Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 
720-2491, Fax: (202) 720-8938, or E-mail: Jay.Guerber@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued pursuant to the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended [7 U.S.C. 601-
674], hereinafter referred to as the ``Act''.
    USDA is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive Order 
12866.
    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
This rule will not preempt any State or local laws, regulations, or 
policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this 
rule. There are no administrative procedures which must be exhausted 
prior to any judicial challenge to the provisions of this rule.
    This rule continues in effect the action that suspended 
indefinitely Part 926 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which 
contains the reporting and recordkeeping requirements for entities 
engaged in the handling or importation of fresh cranberries or 
cranberry products but not subject to the cranberry marketing order (7 
CFR part 929) (order). Under Part 926, such entities are required to 
provide to USDA or its delegate, certain information regarding the 
sales, acquisitions, and inventories of fresh cranberries or cranberry 
products. USDA delegated authority to the Committee to collect such 
information. The Committee, which is also responsible for administering 
the order, has used this information to analyze market conditions and 
make volume control recommendations to USDA. The Committee has 
determined that this data collection under Part 926 is not needed at 
this time, and advised USDA of its findings following its meeting on 
June 6, 2006.
    Section 608d(3) of the Act, as amended, authorizes the collection 
of cranberry and cranberry product inventory information from producer-
handlers, second handlers, processors, brokers, and importers that are 
not regulated by the order. Pursuant to this statutory authority, USDA 
issued reporting and recordkeeping requirements for these entities 
under Part 926 on January 12, 2005 (70 FR 1995). Sections 926.16, 
926.17, and 926.18 require these entities to file and maintain certain 
reports and other information that are also required of handlers 
regulated under the order.
    Part 926 was implemented to allow the Committee access to cranberry 
and cranberry product inventory information from throughout the 
industry, including segments outside the scope of the order, so that it 
could make more informed marketing decisions. For example, the 
Committee makes annual volume control recommendations to USDA that are 
based upon estimated cranberry production, acquisition, inventory, and 
sales for the total industry. Adding inventory data collected from 
entities outside the order to the data reported by handlers under the 
order was expected to provide a more accurate estimate of the total 
industry inventory, thus enabling the Committee to make more informed 
volume control recommendations.
    However, after more than a year's experience collecting the data 
pursuant to Part 926, the Committee has found that most inventories are 
maintained by handlers regulated under the order, and that the amount 
of cranberries and cranberry products held by entities outside the 
order is minimal and does not affect the Committee's marketing 
decisions. The Committee met on June 6, 2006, to evaluate the 
effectiveness of the data collection conducted under Part 926. Taking 
into account the marginal benefits of this data collection, the 
committee advised USDA that the reporting and recordkeeping provisions 
under Part 926 should be suspended.
    This action continues in effect, an interim final rule suspending 
the reporting and recordkeeping requirements of Part 926 indefinitely. 
Should changes occur in the cranberry industry that would warrant 
reimplementation of these requirements USDA may take appropriate action 
to reinstate these provisions under Part 926.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the 
economic impact of this action on small entities. Accordingly, AMS has 
prepared this final regulatory flexibility analysis.
    The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of 
business subject to such actions in order that small businesses will 
not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Small agricultural 
service firms are defined by the Small Business Administration (SBA) 
[13 CFR 121.201] as those having annual receipts less than $6,500,000. 
Small agricultural producers are defined as those with annual receipts 
of less than $750,000. The Committee estimates that there are 
approximately 56 handlers, producer-handlers, processors, brokers, and 
importers subject to the data collection requirements under Part 926. 
The Committee further estimates that most of the entities required to 
file reports under Part 926 would be considered small under the SBA 
criteria.
    This final rule continues to suspend indefinitely the provisions of 
7 CFR part 926, which require persons engaged in the handling of 
cranberries or cranberry products (including producer-handlers, second-
handlers, processors, brokers, and importers) but not subject to the 
order to maintain adequate records and report sales, acquisitions, and 
inventory information to the Committee. Part 926 was established 
because the Committee needed inventory information from non-regulated 
entities as well as those subject to the order to better formulate its 
marketing decisions and recommendations. It continues to be suspended 
because the Committee has determined that, considering the size of the 
inventories held outside the scope of the order, collecting that data 
from the non-regulated entities is of marginal benefit to the industry.
    This action continues to suspend the reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements for these cranberry handlers and importers. It also 
reduces the Committee's costs associated with the collection and 
maintenance of that information.
    Alternatives to this action included continuing to collect 
information as currently provided in Part 926, raising the inventory 
threshold that triggers the need for a non-regulated entity to report 
its inventory so that only those entities holding the largest 
inventories would be required to file reports, or requesting that non-
regulated entities provide inventory information voluntarily.

[[Page 16267]]

However, the Committee advised USDA that most cranberries and cranberry 
products are currently held in the inventories of the regulated 
handlers until needed by processors, which greatly reduces the 
likelihood that large unreported inventories exist. Therefore, the 
collection of inventory information from entities under Part 926 no 
longer benefits the industry.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the information collection requirements related to this 
rule were previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) and assigned OMB No. 0581-0222, Data Collection Requirements 
Applicable to Cranberries Not Subject to the Cranberry Marketing Order 
(7 CFR part 926). This information collection package expires August 
31, 2007. We have submitted this information collection package 
(currently under OMB review) for renewal and requested OMB approval for 
a 1-hour burden placeholder for future reimplementation should changes 
occur in the cranberry industry that require reinstatement of these 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements under Part 926.
    The AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to 
promote the use of the Internet and other information technologies to 
provide increased opportunities for citizen access to Government 
information and services, and for other purposes.
    In addition, USDA has not identified any relevant Federal rules 
that duplicate, overlap or conflict with this rule.
    An interim final rule concerning this action was published in the 
Federal Register on December 28, 2006 (7 FR 78044). Copies of the rule 
were made available through the Internet by the Office of the Federal 
Register and USDA. A 30-day comment period ending February 26, 2007, 
was provided to allow interested persons to respond to the interim 
final rule. No comments were received.
    A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and 
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: http//
www.ams.usda.gov/fv/moab/html. Any questions about the compliance guide 
should be sent to Jay Guerber at the previously mentioned address in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    After consideration of all relevant material presented, it is found 
that Part 926, as suspended in this action, as hereinafter set forth, 
does not tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act and that the 
interim final rule, as published in the Federal Register (71 FR 78044, 
December 28, 2006), is adopted, without change, in this final rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 926

    Cranberries and cranberry products, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

PART 926--DATA COLLECTION, REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS 
APPLICABLE TO CRANBERRIES NOT SUBJECT TO THE CRANBERRY MARKETING 
ORDER

0
Accordingly, the interim final rule suspending 7 CFR part 926 which was 
published at 71 FR 78044 on December 28, 2006, is adopted as a final 
rule without change.

    Dated: March 29, 2007.
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. E7-6241 Filed 4-3-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P