Soybean Promotion, Research, and Information Program: Amend Procedures To Request a Referendum, 74078-74080 [E8-28674]
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dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with PROPOSALS
74078
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 235 / Friday, December 5, 2008 / Proposed Rules
to be established by this rule (73 percent
free and 27 percent restricted).
One alternative to this action would
be not to have volume regulation this
season. Board members stated that no
volume regulation would be detrimental
to the tart cherry industry due to the
size of the 2008–2009 crop. Returns to
growers would not cover their costs of
production for this season which might
cause some to go out of business.
As mentioned earlier, USDA’s
‘‘Guidelines for Fruit, Vegetable, and
Specialty Crop Marketing Orders’’
specify that 110 percent of recent years’
sales should be made available to
primary markets each season before
recommendations for volume regulation
are approved. The quantity available
under this rule is 110 percent of the
quantity shipped in the prior three
years.
The free and restricted percentages
established by this rule release the
optimum supply and apply uniformly to
all regulated handlers in the industry,
regardless of size. There are no known
additional costs incurred by small
handlers that are not incurred by large
handlers. The stabilizing effects of the
percentages impact all handlers
positively by helping them maintain
and expand markets, despite seasonal
supply fluctuations. Likewise, price
stability positively impacts all
producers by allowing them to better
anticipate the revenues their tart
cherries will generate.
While the benefits resulting from this
rulemaking are difficult to quantify, the
stabilizing effects of the volume
regulations impact both small and large
handlers positively by helping them
maintain markets even though tart
cherry supplies fluctuate widely from
season to season.
USDA has not identified any relevant
Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or
conflict with this regulation.
In addition, the Board’s meeting was
widely publicized throughout the tart
cherry industry and all interested
persons were invited to attend the
meeting and participate in Board
deliberations on all issues. Like all
Board meetings, the September 12,
2008, meeting was a public meeting and
all entities, both large and small, were
able to express views on this issue.
Finally interested persons are invited to
submit information on the regulatory
and informational impacts of this action
on small businesses.
In compliance with Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
regulations (5 CFR part 1320) which
implement the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13), the
information collection and
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14:59 Dec 04, 2008
Jkt 217001
recordkeeping requirements under the
tart cherry marketing order have been
previously approved by OMB and
assigned OMB Number 0581–0177.
Reporting and recordkeeping burdens
are necessary for compliance purposes
and for developing statistical data for
maintenance of the program. The forms
require information which is readily
available from handler records and
which can be provided without data
processing equipment or trained
statistical staff. As with other, similar
marketing order programs, reports and
forms are periodically studied to reduce
or eliminate duplicate information
collection burdens by industry and
public sector agencies. This rule does
not change those requirements.
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.
A small business guide on complying
with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop
marketing agreements and orders may
be viewed at: https://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.
A 30-day comment period is provided
to allow interested persons to respond
to this proposal. Thirty days is deemed
appropriate because this rule would
need to be in place as soon as possible
since handlers are already shipping tart
cherries from the 2008–2009 crop. All
written comments timely received will
be considered before a final
determination is made on this matter.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 930
Marketing agreements, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Tart
cherries.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, 7 CFR part 930 is proposed to
be amended as follows:
PART 930—TART CHERRIES GROWN
IN THE STATES OF MICHIGAN, NEW
YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, OREGON,
UTAH, WASHINGTON, AND
WISCONSIN
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR
part 930 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.
2. Section 930.256 is added to read as
follows:
Note: This section will not appear in the
annual Code of Federal Regulations.
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§ 930.256 Final free and restricted
percentages for the 2008–2009 crop year.
The final percentages for tart cherries
handled by handlers during the crop
year beginning on July 1, 2008, which
shall be free and restricted, respectively,
are designated as follows: Free
percentage, 73 percent and restricted
percentage, 27 percent.
Dated: November 26, 2008.
James E. Link,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing
Service.
[FR Doc. E8–28769 Filed 12–4–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–02–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 1220
[Docket No. AMS–LS–08–0074]
Soybean Promotion, Research, and
Information Program: Amend
Procedures To Request a Referendum
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY: This rule would amend the
regulations that provide for procedures
to request a referendum under the
Soybean Promotion, Research, and
Consumer Information Program,
commonly known as the soybean
checkoff program. The number of
soybean producers referred to the in the
regulations would change from 663,880
to 589,182, based on information
provided by the Department of
Agriculture (USDA), Farm Service
Agency (FSA). This change is necessary
to establish the number of soybean
producers who are eligible to participate
in the 2009 Request for Referendum.
Additionally, this rule would amend the
regulations pursuant to administrative
changes to Web site addresses and office
locations made for the USDA’s
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).
DATES: Comments must be received by
December 22, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be posted
online at https://www.regulations.gov, or
sent to Kenneth R. Payne, Chief,
Marketing Programs Branch, Livestock
and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, Room
2628–S, STOP 0251, 1400 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250–
0251; or via Fax to (202) 720–1125.
Comments will be made available for
public inspection at the above address
during regular business hours or via the
Internet at https://www.regulations.gov.
Comments received will be posed
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 235 / Friday, December 5, 2008 / Proposed Rules
without change, including any personal
information provided. All comments
should reference the docket number,
Docket No. AMS–LS–08–0074; the date
of submission; and the page number of
this issue of the Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kenneth R. Payne, Chief, Marketing
Programs Branch, Livestock and Seed
Program, AMS, USDA, Room 2628–S,
STOP 0251, 1400 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250–
0251; Telephone 202/720–1115; Fax
202/720–1125; or e-mail to
Kenneth.Payne@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) has waived the review process
required by Executive Order 12866 for
this action.
dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with PROPOSALS
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed
under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This proposal is not
intended to have a retroactive effect.
The proposed rule would not preempt
any other Federal or State laws,
regulations, or policies.
The Soybean Promotion, Research,
and Consumer Information Act (Act)
provides that administrative
proceedings must be exhausted before
parties may file suit in court. Under
section 1971 of the Act, a person subject
to the Soybean Promotion and Research
Order (Order) may file a petition with
USDA stating that the Order, any
provision of the Order, or any obligation
imposed in connection with the Order,
is not in accordance with the law and
requesting a modification of the Order
or an exemption from the Order. The
petitioner is afforded the opportunity
for a hearing on the petition. After a
hearing, USDA would rule on the
petition. The Act provides that district
courts of the United States in any
district in which such person is an
inhabitant, or has their principal place
of business, has jurisdiction to review
USDA’s ruling on the petition, if a
complaint for this purpose is filed
within 20 days after the date of the entry
of the ruling.
Further, section 1974 of the Act
provides, with certain exceptions, that
nothing in the Act may be construed to
preempt or supersede any other program
relating to soybean promotion, research,
consumer information, or industry
information organized under the laws of
the United States or any State. One
exception in the Act concerns
assessments collected by Qualified State
Soybean Boards (QSSBs). The exception
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Jkt 217001
provides that to ensure adequate
funding of the operations of QSSBs
under the Act, no State law or
regulation may limit or have the effect
of limiting the full amount of
assessments that a QSSB in that State
may collect, and which is authorized to
be credited under the Act. Another
exception concerns certain referenda
conducted during specified periods by a
State relating to the continuation of a
QSSB or State soybean assessment.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
In accordance with the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601–
612), USDA is required to examine the
impact of the proposed rule on small
entities. The purpose of the RFA is to
fit regulatory actions to the scale of
businesses subject to such actions so
that small businesses will not be
disproportionately burdened.
For the purpose of the Request for
Referendum, the Secretary would use
the most recent number of soybean
producers identified by USDA’s FSA.
The latest number of soybean producers
identified by FSA is 589,182 and was
obtained using information from 2006
and 2007 acreage reports. The data were
sorted in such a manner as to include
all producers that were engaged in the
production of soybeans in at least one
of the 2 years and exclude counting a
producer more than once if that
producer engaged in production during
both years. Therefore, the number of
soybean producers who would be
eligible to participate in the Request for
Referendum would be 589,182. The
majority of producers subject to the
Order are small businesses under the
criteria established by the Small
Business Administration (SBA) [13 CFR
121.201]. SBA defines small agricultural
producers as those having annual
receipts of less than $750,000.
Further, the information collection
requirements are minimal. Requesting
form LS–51–1 to participate in a
Request for Referendum may be done by
mail, in-person, by facsimile, or via the
Internet and would not impose a
significant economic burden on
participants. Finally, this action would
amend the regulations pursuant to
administrative changes to web site
addresses and office locations for the
AMS. Accordingly, the Administrator of
AMS has determined that this proposed
rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small business entities.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the reporting and
PO 00000
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Sfmt 4702
74079
recordkeeping requirements included in
7 CFR part 1220 were previously
approved by OMB and were assigned
control number 0581–0093.
Background
The Act (7 U.S.C. 6301–6311)
provides for the establishment of a
coordinated program of promotion and
research designed to strengthen the
soybean industry’s position in the
marketplace, and to maintain and
expand domestic and foreign markets
and uses for soybeans and soybean
products. The program is financed by an
assessment of 0.5 of 1 percent of the net
market price of soybeans sold by
producers. The final rule establishing a
Soybean Promotion, Research, and
Consumer Information program was
published in the July 9, 1991, issue of
the Federal Register (56 FR 31043) and
assessments began on September 1,
1991.
The Act required that an initial
referendum be conducted no earlier
than 18 months and not later than 36
months after the issuance of the Order
to determine whether the Order should
be continued. The initial referendum
was conducted on February 9, 1994. On
April 1, 1994, the Secretary announced
that of the 85,606 valid ballots cast,
46,060 (53.8 percent) were in favor of
continuing the Order and the remaining
39,546 votes (46.2 percent) were against
continuing the Order. The Act required
approval by a simple majority for the
Order to continue.
The Act also required that within 18
months after the Secretary announced
the results of the initial referendum, the
Secretary would conduct a poll among
producers to determine if producers
favored a referendum on the
continuance of the payment of refunds
under the Order.
A July 25, 1995, nationwide poll of
soybean producers did not generate
sufficient support for a refund
referendum to be held. A refund
referendum would have been held if at
least 20 percent (not in excess of onefifth of which may be producers in any
one State) of the 381,000 producers
(76,200) nationwide requested it. Only
48,782 soybean producers participated
in the poll. Consequently, refunds were
discontinued on October 1, 1995.
The Act also specifies that the
Secretary shall, 5 years after the conduct
of the initial referendum and every 5
years thereafter, provide soybean
producers an opportunity to request a
referendum on the Order. Additionally,
the Act specifies that these subsequent
polls require that at least 10 percent (not
in excess of one-fifth in any one State)
of all producers must request a
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dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with PROPOSALS
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 235 / Friday, December 5, 2008 / Proposed Rules
referendum in order to trigger the
conduct of a referendum. If a
referendum is requested, it will be held
within 1 year of that determination.
On October 1, 1999, through
November 16, 1999, a nationwide
Request for Referendum was conducted
to determine if there was sufficient
interest among soybean producers to
vote on whether to continue the soybean
checkoff program. Ten percent of the
600,813 soybean producers nationwide
(not in excess of one-fifth of which may
be producers in any one State) needed
to participate in the Request for
Referendum to trigger a referendum.
Only 17,970 eligible soybean producers
completed valid requests.
Five years later, another Request for
Referendum was conducted May 1,
2004, through May 28, 2004. As in the
prior Request for Referendum, the
purpose was to determine if there was
sufficient interest among soybean
producers to vote on whether to
continue the soybean checkoff Program.
To be eligible to participate in the
Request for Referendum, producers or
the producer entity that they are
authorized to represent had to certify
and provide supporting documentation
showing that they or the producer entity
they represent paid an assessment
sometime during the representative
period between January 1, 2002, and
December 31, 2003. Of the total 663,880
soybean producers eligible to
participate, 3,206 valid Requests for
Referendum were completed. This
number did not meet the requisite
number of 66,388; therefore, a
referendum was not conducted.
In accordance with the Act, another
Request for Referendum will be
conducted in 2009. In this proposed
rule, data provided by USDA’s FSA
would be used to amend the number of
soybean producers in preparation for
this upcoming Request for Referendum.
Presently, § 1220.616 of the Order states
that the number of soybean producers in
the United States is 663,880. The latest
number of soybean producers identified
by FSA is 589,182 soybean producers
for crop years 2006 and 2007, using
information based on acreage reports
compiled on a daily basis. The data
were sorted in such a manner as to
include all producers that were engaged
in the production of soybeans in at least
one of the 2 years and exclude counting
a producer more than once if that
producer engaged in production during
both years. Using the last two crop years
for which complete data is available
ensures that all eligible producers are
counted, as some producers use
soybeans in rotation with other crops
and do not plant soybeans every year or
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Jkt 217001
the market for some producers in a
particular crop year may not have been
conducive to growing soybeans. This
methodology is consistent with that
used during the last amendment to
§ 1220.616 in 2004.
In addition to the changes proposed
relating to the number of eligible
soybean producers, AMS also intends to
amend §§ 1220.622 and 1220.628 to
update Web site addresses and office
locations as a result of internal changes
within the agency.
A 15-day comment period is provided
for interested persons to comment on
the proposed changes to section
1220.616. This comment period is
deemed appropriate because the Act
provides that the Secretary, every 5
years after the initial continuation
referendum, will give soybean
producers the opportunity to request
additional referenda on the Order. A 15day comment period will allow
sufficient time to publish a final rule to
amend § 1220.616 before the upcoming
Request for Referendum. As such, the
number of soybean producers eligible to
participate in a Request for Referendum
will be established, and a Request for
Referendum can be conducted as early
in 2009 as practicable.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1220
Administrative practice and
procedure, Advertising, Agricultural
research, Marketing agreements,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Soybeans and soybean
products.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, it is proposed that 7 CFR part
1220 be amended as follows:
PART 1220—SOYBEAN PROMOTION,
RESEARCH, AND CONSUMER
INFORMATION
1. The authority citation for part 1220
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6301–6311 and 7
U.S.C. 7401.
Subpart F—Procedures To Request a
Referendum
2. In § 1220.616, paragraph (d) is
revised to read as follows:
§ 1220.616
General.
*
*
*
*
*
(d) For purposes of paragraphs (b) and
(c) of this section, the number of
soybean producers in the United States
is determined to be 589,182.
§ 1220.622
[Amended]
3. In § 1220.622, paragraph (b) the
Web site ‘‘www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/mpb/
rp-soy.htm’’ is removed and a new Web
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Sfmt 4702
site ‘‘www.ams.usda.gov/
lsmarketingprograms’’ is added in its
place.
4. In § 1220.628, paragraph (a) is
revised to read as follows:
§ 1220.628 Results of the request for
referendum.
(a) The Administrator, FSA, shall
submit to the Administrator, AMS, the
reports from all State FSA offices. The
Administrator, AMS shall tabulate the
results of the Request for Referendum.
USDA will issue an official press release
announcing the results of the Request
for Referendum and publish the same
results in the Federal Register. In
addition, USDA will post the official
results at the following Web site:
https://www.ams.usda.gov/
lsmarketingprograms. Subsequently,
State reports and related papers shall be
available for public inspection upon
request during normal business hours in
the Marketing Programs Branch office,
Livestock and Seed Program, AMS,
USDA, Room 2628–S, STOP 0251, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC.
*
*
*
*
*
Dated: November 26, 2008.
James E. Link,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E8–28674 Filed 12–4–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–02–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA–2008–1275; Directorate
Identifier 2007–NM–167–AD]
RIN 2120–AA64
Airworthiness Directives; Boeing
Model 737–100, –200, –200C, –300,
–400, and –500 Series Airplanes
AGENCY: Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM).
SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a
new airworthiness directive (AD) for
certain Boeing Model 737–100, –200,
–200C, –300, –400, and –500 series
airplanes. This proposed AD would
require repetitive detailed and high
frequency eddy current inspections to
detect cracks of the backup intercostals
and the upper sill of the forward airstair
doorway, and applicable corrective
actions. This proposed AD would also
provide for an optional terminating
E:\FR\FM\05DEP1.SGM
05DEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 235 (Friday, December 5, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 74078-74080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28674]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 1220
[Docket No. AMS-LS-08-0074]
Soybean Promotion, Research, and Information Program: Amend
Procedures To Request a Referendum
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This rule would amend the regulations that provide for
procedures to request a referendum under the Soybean Promotion,
Research, and Consumer Information Program, commonly known as the
soybean checkoff program. The number of soybean producers referred to
the in the regulations would change from 663,880 to 589,182, based on
information provided by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm
Service Agency (FSA). This change is necessary to establish the number
of soybean producers who are eligible to participate in the 2009
Request for Referendum. Additionally, this rule would amend the
regulations pursuant to administrative changes to Web site addresses
and office locations made for the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS).
DATES: Comments must be received by December 22, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be posted online at https://www.regulations.gov,
or sent to Kenneth R. Payne, Chief, Marketing Programs Branch,
Livestock and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, Room 2628-S, STOP 0251, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0251; or via Fax to
(202) 720-1125. Comments will be made available for public inspection
at the above address during regular business hours or via the Internet
at https://www.regulations.gov. Comments received will be posed
[[Page 74079]]
without change, including any personal information provided. All
comments should reference the docket number, Docket No. AMS-LS-08-0074;
the date of submission; and the page number of this issue of the
Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Payne, Chief, Marketing
Programs Branch, Livestock and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, Room 2628-S,
STOP 0251, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0251;
Telephone 202/720-1115; Fax 202/720-1125; or e-mail to
Kenneth.Payne@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has waived the review
process required by Executive Order 12866 for this action.
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. This proposal is not intended to have a
retroactive effect. The proposed rule would not preempt any other
Federal or State laws, regulations, or policies.
The Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act (Act)
provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted before
parties may file suit in court. Under section 1971 of the Act, a person
subject to the Soybean Promotion and Research Order (Order) may file a
petition with USDA stating that the Order, any provision of the Order,
or any obligation imposed in connection with the Order, is not in
accordance with the law and requesting a modification of the Order or
an exemption from the Order. The petitioner is afforded the opportunity
for a hearing on the petition. After a hearing, USDA would rule on the
petition. The Act provides that district courts of the United States in
any district in which such person is an inhabitant, or has their
principal place of business, has jurisdiction to review USDA's ruling
on the petition, if a complaint for this purpose is filed within 20
days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
Further, section 1974 of the Act provides, with certain exceptions,
that nothing in the Act may be construed to preempt or supersede any
other program relating to soybean promotion, research, consumer
information, or industry information organized under the laws of the
United States or any State. One exception in the Act concerns
assessments collected by Qualified State Soybean Boards (QSSBs). The
exception provides that to ensure adequate funding of the operations of
QSSBs under the Act, no State law or regulation may limit or have the
effect of limiting the full amount of assessments that a QSSB in that
State may collect, and which is authorized to be credited under the
Act. Another exception concerns certain referenda conducted during
specified periods by a State relating to the continuation of a QSSB or
State soybean assessment.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C.
601-612), USDA is required to examine the impact of the proposed rule
on small entities. The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions
to the scale of businesses subject to such actions so that small
businesses will not be disproportionately burdened.
For the purpose of the Request for Referendum, the Secretary would
use the most recent number of soybean producers identified by USDA's
FSA. The latest number of soybean producers identified by FSA is
589,182 and was obtained using information from 2006 and 2007 acreage
reports. The data were sorted in such a manner as to include all
producers that were engaged in the production of soybeans in at least
one of the 2 years and exclude counting a producer more than once if
that producer engaged in production during both years. Therefore, the
number of soybean producers who would be eligible to participate in the
Request for Referendum would be 589,182. The majority of producers
subject to the Order are small businesses under the criteria
established by the Small Business Administration (SBA) [13 CFR
121.201]. SBA defines small agricultural producers as those having
annual receipts of less than $750,000.
Further, the information collection requirements are minimal.
Requesting form LS-51-1 to participate in a Request for Referendum may
be done by mail, in-person, by facsimile, or via the Internet and would
not impose a significant economic burden on participants. Finally, this
action would amend the regulations pursuant to administrative changes
to web site addresses and office locations for the AMS. Accordingly,
the Administrator of AMS has determined that this proposed rule will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
business entities.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the reporting and recordkeeping requirements included in 7
CFR part 1220 were previously approved by OMB and were assigned control
number 0581-0093.
Background
The Act (7 U.S.C. 6301-6311) provides for the establishment of a
coordinated program of promotion and research designed to strengthen
the soybean industry's position in the marketplace, and to maintain and
expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for soybeans and soybean
products. The program is financed by an assessment of 0.5 of 1 percent
of the net market price of soybeans sold by producers. The final rule
establishing a Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information
program was published in the July 9, 1991, issue of the Federal
Register (56 FR 31043) and assessments began on September 1, 1991.
The Act required that an initial referendum be conducted no earlier
than 18 months and not later than 36 months after the issuance of the
Order to determine whether the Order should be continued. The initial
referendum was conducted on February 9, 1994. On April 1, 1994, the
Secretary announced that of the 85,606 valid ballots cast, 46,060 (53.8
percent) were in favor of continuing the Order and the remaining 39,546
votes (46.2 percent) were against continuing the Order. The Act
required approval by a simple majority for the Order to continue.
The Act also required that within 18 months after the Secretary
announced the results of the initial referendum, the Secretary would
conduct a poll among producers to determine if producers favored a
referendum on the continuance of the payment of refunds under the
Order.
A July 25, 1995, nationwide poll of soybean producers did not
generate sufficient support for a refund referendum to be held. A
refund referendum would have been held if at least 20 percent (not in
excess of one-fifth of which may be producers in any one State) of the
381,000 producers (76,200) nationwide requested it. Only 48,782 soybean
producers participated in the poll. Consequently, refunds were
discontinued on October 1, 1995.
The Act also specifies that the Secretary shall, 5 years after the
conduct of the initial referendum and every 5 years thereafter, provide
soybean producers an opportunity to request a referendum on the Order.
Additionally, the Act specifies that these subsequent polls require
that at least 10 percent (not in excess of one-fifth in any one State)
of all producers must request a
[[Page 74080]]
referendum in order to trigger the conduct of a referendum. If a
referendum is requested, it will be held within 1 year of that
determination.
On October 1, 1999, through November 16, 1999, a nationwide Request
for Referendum was conducted to determine if there was sufficient
interest among soybean producers to vote on whether to continue the
soybean checkoff program. Ten percent of the 600,813 soybean producers
nationwide (not in excess of one-fifth of which may be producers in any
one State) needed to participate in the Request for Referendum to
trigger a referendum. Only 17,970 eligible soybean producers completed
valid requests.
Five years later, another Request for Referendum was conducted May
1, 2004, through May 28, 2004. As in the prior Request for Referendum,
the purpose was to determine if there was sufficient interest among
soybean producers to vote on whether to continue the soybean checkoff
Program. To be eligible to participate in the Request for Referendum,
producers or the producer entity that they are authorized to represent
had to certify and provide supporting documentation showing that they
or the producer entity they represent paid an assessment sometime
during the representative period between January 1, 2002, and December
31, 2003. Of the total 663,880 soybean producers eligible to
participate, 3,206 valid Requests for Referendum were completed. This
number did not meet the requisite number of 66,388; therefore, a
referendum was not conducted.
In accordance with the Act, another Request for Referendum will be
conducted in 2009. In this proposed rule, data provided by USDA's FSA
would be used to amend the number of soybean producers in preparation
for this upcoming Request for Referendum. Presently, Sec. 1220.616 of
the Order states that the number of soybean producers in the United
States is 663,880. The latest number of soybean producers identified by
FSA is 589,182 soybean producers for crop years 2006 and 2007, using
information based on acreage reports compiled on a daily basis. The
data were sorted in such a manner as to include all producers that were
engaged in the production of soybeans in at least one of the 2 years
and exclude counting a producer more than once if that producer engaged
in production during both years. Using the last two crop years for
which complete data is available ensures that all eligible producers
are counted, as some producers use soybeans in rotation with other
crops and do not plant soybeans every year or the market for some
producers in a particular crop year may not have been conducive to
growing soybeans. This methodology is consistent with that used during
the last amendment to Sec. 1220.616 in 2004.
In addition to the changes proposed relating to the number of
eligible soybean producers, AMS also intends to amend Sec. Sec.
1220.622 and 1220.628 to update Web site addresses and office locations
as a result of internal changes within the agency.
A 15-day comment period is provided for interested persons to
comment on the proposed changes to section 1220.616. This comment
period is deemed appropriate because the Act provides that the
Secretary, every 5 years after the initial continuation referendum,
will give soybean producers the opportunity to request additional
referenda on the Order. A 15-day comment period will allow sufficient
time to publish a final rule to amend Sec. 1220.616 before the
upcoming Request for Referendum. As such, the number of soybean
producers eligible to participate in a Request for Referendum will be
established, and a Request for Referendum can be conducted as early in
2009 as practicable.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1220
Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Agricultural
research, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Soybeans and soybean products.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, it is proposed that 7
CFR part 1220 be amended as follows:
PART 1220--SOYBEAN PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND CONSUMER INFORMATION
1. The authority citation for part 1220 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6301-6311 and 7 U.S.C. 7401.
Subpart F--Procedures To Request a Referendum
2. In Sec. 1220.616, paragraph (d) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 1220.616 General.
* * * * *
(d) For purposes of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the
number of soybean producers in the United States is determined to be
589,182.
Sec. 1220.622 [Amended]
3. In Sec. 1220.622, paragraph (b) the Web site
``www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/mpb/rp-soy.htm'' is removed and a new Web site
``www.ams.usda.gov/lsmarketingprograms'' is added in its place.
4. In Sec. 1220.628, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 1220.628 Results of the request for referendum.
(a) The Administrator, FSA, shall submit to the Administrator, AMS,
the reports from all State FSA offices. The Administrator, AMS shall
tabulate the results of the Request for Referendum. USDA will issue an
official press release announcing the results of the Request for
Referendum and publish the same results in the Federal Register. In
addition, USDA will post the official results at the following Web
site: https://www.ams.usda.gov/lsmarketingprograms. Subsequently, State
reports and related papers shall be available for public inspection
upon request during normal business hours in the Marketing Programs
Branch office, Livestock and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, Room 2628-S, STOP
0251, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC.
* * * * *
Dated: November 26, 2008.
James E. Link,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E8-28674 Filed 12-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
