United States Standards for Beans, 38809-38810 [2023-12708]
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38809
Notices
Federal Register
Vol. 88, No. 114
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or
proposed rules that are applicable to the
public. Notices of hearings and investigations,
committee meetings, agency decisions and
rulings, delegations of authority, filing of
petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are
examples of documents appearing in this
section.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Doc. No. AMS–AMS–22–0066]
United States Standards for Beans
Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice of final action.
AGENCY:
The United States Department
of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural
Marketing Service (AMS) is revising the
United States Standards for Beans under
the United States Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946, as amended,
(AMA). AMS is revising the gradedetermining factors for Moisture and
Contrasting Chickpeas in the class
Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans.
DATES: Applicable July 1, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Loren Almond, USDA AMS; Telephone:
(816) 702–3925; Email:
Loren.L.Almond@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
authority of the AMA (7 U.S.C. 1621–
1627), as amended, AMS establishes
and maintains a variety of voluntary
quality and grade standards for
agricultural commodities that serve as a
fundamental starting point to define
commodity quality and facilitate
marketing of U.S. commodities in the
domestic and global marketplace.
The USDA–AMS–Federal Grain
Inspection Service (FGIS) maintains and
implements the U.S. Standards for
Beans, last revised in 2017, which are
available on the AMS public website
(https://www.ams.usda.gov/gradesstandards). The U.S. Standards for
Beans define commonly used industry
terms; contain basic principles
governing the application of standards,
such as the type of sample used for a
particular quality analysis; outline the
basis of determination; and specify
grades and grade requirements. Official
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SUMMARY:
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19:24 Jun 13, 2023
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testing procedures for determining
grading factors are provided in the Bean
Inspection Handbook. Together, the
grading standards and testing
procedures allow buyers and sellers to
communicate quality requirements,
compare bean quality using equivalent
forms of measurement, and assist in
price discovery.
AMS published a notice and request
for comments in the Federal Register on
October 12, 2022 (87 FR 61559), inviting
interested parties to comment on
proposed revisions to the standards
pertaining to Moisture and Contrasting
Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans as gradedetermining factors in the class
Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans in the U.S.
Standards for Beans. AMS proposed the
revisions following discussions with
stakeholders in the bean processing/
handling industry.
Proposed Revision of Moisture
Determination in Chickpea/Garbanzo
Beans
Currently, the maximum tolerance for
moisture in U.S. No. 1, 2, and 3 grade
chickpeas is 18.0 percent. AMS–FGIS
met with representatives of bean
industry stakeholders, who stated that
18.0 percent moisture content is too
high for proper storage and maintenance
of Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans and that
the standard should be revised to a
lower moisture content. However, FGIS
is aware that moisture content is often
a contract specification and that there is
a need in the market for a grade that
recognizes a higher moisture content.
After various meetings and discussions,
bean stakeholders recommended
revising the moisture limit for U.S. No.
1, 2, and 3 grades of Chickpea/Garbanzo
Beans downward from 18.0 percent to
14.0 percent and revising the standard
for ‘‘High Moisture’’ beans from above
18.0 percent to above 14.0 percent
moisture. Accordingly, FGIS proposed
in the October 12, 2022, notice (87 FR
61559), that Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans
with more than 14.0 percent moisture
should be designated as Special Grade,
‘‘High Moisture.’’
Proposed Revision of Contrasting
Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans
Currently, the maximum tolerance for
contrasting chickpeas, that differ
substantially in shape or color, in U.S.
No. 3 grade is 5.0 percent. Chickpea
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Sfmt 4703
samples with greater than 5.0 percent
contrasting chickpeas are considered
‘‘U.S. Substandard’’ grade. However,
stakeholders told FGIS that contrasting
chickpeas of greater than 5.0 percent do
not affect actual bean quality, the entire
sample of beans is still considered
Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans, and that
such beans are marketable. For these
reasons stakeholders requested that
chickpeas with greater than 5.0 percent
contrast not be considered ‘‘U.S.
Substandard.’’ Stakeholders
recommended revising the standard by
changing the grade criteria for
Contrasting Chickpeas in Chickpea/
Garbanzo Beans. Under the
recommended revision, Chickpea/
Garbanzo Beans with greater than 2.0
percent contrasting chickpeas could be
considered U.S. No. 3 grade.
Accordingly, FGIS proposed in the
October 12, 2022, notice (87 FR 61559),
that Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans found to
contain more than 2.0 percent
Contrasting Chickpeas could be
designated as U.S. No. 3 but would
grade no higher than U.S. No. 3.
Contrasting Chickpea grading criteria for
U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 would remain
unchanged.
Comment Review
The publication of the notice and
request for comment initiated a 60-day
comment period, which ended
December 12, 2022. AMS received no
comments on the proposed revisions.
Final Action
For the foregoing reasons, AMS–FGIS
is revising the U.S. Standards for Beans
in the class Chickpea/Garbanzo Bean by
amending the criteria for Special Grade
‘‘High Moisture’’ and the grade
determining factor ‘‘Contrasting
Chickpeas’’. Accordingly, Chickpeas/
Garbanzo Beans with more than 14.0
percent moisture will be considered
Special Grade, ‘‘High Moisture,’’ and
samples with Contrasting Chickpeas
over 2.0 percent will grade no higher
than U.S. No. 3 Chickpea/Garbanzo
Beans.
These revisions to the Chickpea/
Garbanzo Bean standard are effective
July 1, 2023. Table 3.10 of the Bean
Inspection Handbook will be updated to
reflect the revised bean standard, as
shown below.
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38810
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 114 / Wednesday, June 14, 2023 / Notices
TABLE 3.10—CHICKPEAS (GARBANZO BEANS)
Maximum limits of—
Grade
Moisture 1
(percent)
U.S. No. 1 ....................
U.S. No. 2 ....................
U.S. No. 3 ....................
1 Beans
2 Beans
3 Beans
Total defects
(DB, FM,
CCL, & SPL)
(percent)
14.0
14.0
14.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
Total
(percent)
2.0
4.0
6.0
Stones
(percent)
0.5
1.0
1.5
Contrasting
Classes 2
(percent)
0.2
0.4
0.6
Contrasting
Chickpeas 3
(percent)
0.5
1.0
2.0
1.0
2.0
>2.0
with more than 14.0 percent moisture are graded High Moisture.
with more than 2.0 percent contrasting classes are graded Mixed Beans.
with more than 2.0 percent contrasting chickpeas must grade no higher than a U.S. No. 3.
U.S. Substandard: U.S. Substandard
shall be beans which do not meet the
requirements for the grades U.S. No. 1
through U.S. No. 3 or U.S. Sample
Grade. Beans which are not well
screened shall also be U.S. Substandard,
except for beans which meet the
requirements for U.S. Sample Grade.
U.S. Sample Grade: U.S. Sample
Grade shall be beans which are musty,
sour, heating, materially weathered, or
weevily; which have any commercially
objectionable odor; which contain insect
webbing or filth, animal filth, any
unknown foreign substance, broken
glass, or metal fragments; or which are
otherwise of distinctly low quality.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627.
Melissa Bailey,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural
Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–12708 Filed 6–13–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Submission for OMB Review;
Reinstatement Comment Request
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Foreign material
Total
damaged
(percent)
National Agricultural Statistics Service
The Department of Agriculture will
submit the following information
collection requirement(s) to OMB for
review and reinstatement under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13 on or after the date
of publication of this notice. Comments
are requested regarding: (1) whether the
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of burden including
the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
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technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Comments regarding these
information collections are best assured
of having their full effect if received by
July 14, 2023. Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor a collection of information
unless the collection of information
displays a currently valid OMB control
number and the agency informs
potential persons who are to respond to
the collection of information that such
persons are not required to respond to
the collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
Title: Irrigation and Water
Management Survey (IWMS).
OMB Control Number: 0535–0234.
Summary of Collection: The 2023
Irrigation and Water Management
Survey will mark 44 years of irrigation
data collected on water management
practices and water uses in American
agriculture. Irrigation surveys have been
conducted since 1974 as supplements to
the quinquennial Censuses of
Agriculture. This survey, supplementing
basic irrigation data collected in the
census, is conducted on a sample basis;
the survey can provide comprehensive
analyses of irrigation, production, and
operator information with less
respondent burden and cost than if this
information were gathered as part of a
census collection. The 2023 Irrigation
and Water Management Survey will
obtain data describing the irrigation
activities of U.S. farm operations. Some
of these activities are of current National
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interest, such as the chemigation,
fertigation, and water-conserving uses
and practices of irrigators. The 2023
Irrigation and Water Management
Survey will play an important part in
providing critically needed data to
address these types of issues. The
Irrigation Survey is an integral part of
the 2022 Census of Agriculture and is
conducted every five years under the
authority of the Census of Agriculture
Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105–113) where
participation is mandatory. This law
requires the Secretary of Agriculture to
conduct a census of agriculture in 2002
and every fifth year thereafter (prior to
1997 the census was conducted by the
Department of Commerce).
Need and Use of the Information: The
primary purpose of this survey is to
provide detail data relating to on-farm
irrigation activities for use in preparing
a wide variety of water-related local
programs, economic models, legislative
initiatives, market analyses, and
feasibility studies. The Irrigation and
Water Management Survey data are the
only data that are complete, consistent,
and accurate enough to be used for
bench-marking on-farm irrigation
measures over time. The absence of the
Irrigation and Water Management
Survey data would certainly affect
irrigation policy decisions. Federal
programs, legislation, and impact
studies would instead be subject to
greater uncertainty and error.
Description of Respondents: Farms;
business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents: 35,100.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting:
once.
Total Burden Hours: 26,974.
Levi S. Harrell,
Departmental Information Collection
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023–12667 Filed 6–13–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–20–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38809-38810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12708]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 114 / Wednesday, June 14, 2023 /
Notices
[[Page 38809]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Doc. No. AMS-AMS-22-0066]
United States Standards for Beans
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of final action.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is revising the United States
Standards for Beans under the United States Agricultural Marketing Act
of 1946, as amended, (AMA). AMS is revising the grade-determining
factors for Moisture and Contrasting Chickpeas in the class Chickpea/
Garbanzo Beans.
DATES: Applicable July 1, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loren Almond, USDA AMS; Telephone:
(816) 702-3925; Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of the AMA (7 U.S.C.
1621-1627), as amended, AMS establishes and maintains a variety of
voluntary quality and grade standards for agricultural commodities that
serve as a fundamental starting point to define commodity quality and
facilitate marketing of U.S. commodities in the domestic and global
marketplace.
The USDA-AMS-Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) maintains and
implements the U.S. Standards for Beans, last revised in 2017, which
are available on the AMS public website (https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards). The U.S. Standards for Beans define commonly used
industry terms; contain basic principles governing the application of
standards, such as the type of sample used for a particular quality
analysis; outline the basis of determination; and specify grades and
grade requirements. Official testing procedures for determining grading
factors are provided in the Bean Inspection Handbook. Together, the
grading standards and testing procedures allow buyers and sellers to
communicate quality requirements, compare bean quality using equivalent
forms of measurement, and assist in price discovery.
AMS published a notice and request for comments in the Federal
Register on October 12, 2022 (87 FR 61559), inviting interested parties
to comment on proposed revisions to the standards pertaining to
Moisture and Contrasting Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans as grade-determining
factors in the class Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans in the U.S. Standards for
Beans. AMS proposed the revisions following discussions with
stakeholders in the bean processing/handling industry.
Proposed Revision of Moisture Determination in Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans
Currently, the maximum tolerance for moisture in U.S. No. 1, 2, and
3 grade chickpeas is 18.0 percent. AMS-FGIS met with representatives of
bean industry stakeholders, who stated that 18.0 percent moisture
content is too high for proper storage and maintenance of Chickpea/
Garbanzo Beans and that the standard should be revised to a lower
moisture content. However, FGIS is aware that moisture content is often
a contract specification and that there is a need in the market for a
grade that recognizes a higher moisture content. After various meetings
and discussions, bean stakeholders recommended revising the moisture
limit for U.S. No. 1, 2, and 3 grades of Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans
downward from 18.0 percent to 14.0 percent and revising the standard
for ``High Moisture'' beans from above 18.0 percent to above 14.0
percent moisture. Accordingly, FGIS proposed in the October 12, 2022,
notice (87 FR 61559), that Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans with more than 14.0
percent moisture should be designated as Special Grade, ``High
Moisture.''
Proposed Revision of Contrasting Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans
Currently, the maximum tolerance for contrasting chickpeas, that
differ substantially in shape or color, in U.S. No. 3 grade is 5.0
percent. Chickpea samples with greater than 5.0 percent contrasting
chickpeas are considered ``U.S. Substandard'' grade. However,
stakeholders told FGIS that contrasting chickpeas of greater than 5.0
percent do not affect actual bean quality, the entire sample of beans
is still considered Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans, and that such beans are
marketable. For these reasons stakeholders requested that chickpeas
with greater than 5.0 percent contrast not be considered ``U.S.
Substandard.'' Stakeholders recommended revising the standard by
changing the grade criteria for Contrasting Chickpeas in Chickpea/
Garbanzo Beans. Under the recommended revision, Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans
with greater than 2.0 percent contrasting chickpeas could be considered
U.S. No. 3 grade. Accordingly, FGIS proposed in the October 12, 2022,
notice (87 FR 61559), that Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans found to contain
more than 2.0 percent Contrasting Chickpeas could be designated as U.S.
No. 3 but would grade no higher than U.S. No. 3. Contrasting Chickpea
grading criteria for U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 would remain unchanged.
Comment Review
The publication of the notice and request for comment initiated a
60-day comment period, which ended December 12, 2022. AMS received no
comments on the proposed revisions.
Final Action
For the foregoing reasons, AMS-FGIS is revising the U.S. Standards
for Beans in the class Chickpea/Garbanzo Bean by amending the criteria
for Special Grade ``High Moisture'' and the grade determining factor
``Contrasting Chickpeas''. Accordingly, Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans with
more than 14.0 percent moisture will be considered Special Grade,
``High Moisture,'' and samples with Contrasting Chickpeas over 2.0
percent will grade no higher than U.S. No. 3 Chickpea/Garbanzo Beans.
These revisions to the Chickpea/Garbanzo Bean standard are
effective July 1, 2023. Table 3.10 of the Bean Inspection Handbook will
be updated to reflect the revised bean standard, as shown below.
[[Page 38810]]
Table 3.10--Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum limits of--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total defects Foreign material
Grade Moisture \1\ (DB, FM, CCL, Total damaged -------------------------------- Contrasting Contrasting
(percent) & SPL) (percent) Total Stones Classes \2\ Chickpeas \3\
(percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. No. 1.............................. 14.0 2.0 2.0 0.5 0.2 0.5 1.0
U.S. No. 2.............................. 14.0 4.0 4.0 1.0 0.4 1.0 2.0
U.S. No. 3.............................. 14.0 6.0 6.0 1.5 0.6 2.0 >2.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Beans with more than 14.0 percent moisture are graded High Moisture.
\2\ Beans with more than 2.0 percent contrasting classes are graded Mixed Beans.
\3\ Beans with more than 2.0 percent contrasting chickpeas must grade no higher than a U.S. No. 3.
U.S. Substandard: U.S. Substandard shall be beans which do not meet
the requirements for the grades U.S. No. 1 through U.S. No. 3 or U.S.
Sample Grade. Beans which are not well screened shall also be U.S.
Substandard, except for beans which meet the requirements for U.S.
Sample Grade.
U.S. Sample Grade: U.S. Sample Grade shall be beans which are
musty, sour, heating, materially weathered, or weevily; which have any
commercially objectionable odor; which contain insect webbing or filth,
animal filth, any unknown foreign substance, broken glass, or metal
fragments; or which are otherwise of distinctly low quality.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621-1627.
Melissa Bailey,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-12708 Filed 6-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
