Updates to the Popcorn Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order, 24353-24355 [2025-10469]

Agencies

• Agricultural Marketing Service
• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 110 (Tuesday, June 10, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24353-24355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10469]


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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 110 / Tuesday, June 10, 2025 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 24353]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1215

[Doc. No. AMS-SC-24-0038]


Updates to the Popcorn Promotion, Research, and Consumer 
Information Order

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposal invites comments on updates to the Popcorn 
Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order (Order). This 
proposal would increase the mandatory assessment rate from 5 cents per 
hundredweight of popcorn to 6 cents to reflect the present rate which 
was administratively increased in 2001 and has been charged of 
processors since. Additionally, subpart C would be added to the Order 
prescribing late payment and interest charges on past due assessments.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 10, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this proposed rule. Comments may be mailed to the Docket 
Clerk, Market Development Division, Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 
1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Fax: 
(202) 720-8938; or submitted electronically by Email: 
[email protected]; or via the internet at https://www.regulations.gov. Comments should reference the document number and 
the date and page number of this issue of the Federal Register. All 
comments will be made available for public inspection in the Office of 
the Docket Clerk during regular business hours or can be viewed at 
https://www.regulations.gov. Comments submitted in response to this 
proposed rule will be included in the rulemaking record and will be 
made available to the public. Please be advised that the identity of 
the individuals or entities submitting the comments will be made 
public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Webster, Marketing Specialist, 
Market Development Division, Specialty Crops Program, Agricultural 
Marketing Service (AMS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Room 1406-S, Stop 0244, Washington, DC 20250-
0244; Telephone: (202) 720-8085; or Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule affecting the Order (7 
CFR part 1215) is authorized by the Popcorn Promotion, Research, and 
Consumer Information Act (Act) (7 U.S.C. 7481-7491).

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

    USDA is issuing this proposed rule in conformance with Executive 
Orders 12866 and 13563. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct 
agencies to assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory 
alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory 
approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, 
environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, 
and equity). Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of 
quantifying both costs and benefits, reducing costs, harmonizing rules, 
and promoting flexibility. This proposed action falls within a category 
of regulatory actions that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
exempted from Executive Order 12866, and therefore, has not been 
reviewed.

Executive Order 13175

    This action has been reviewed in accordance with the requirements 
of Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian 
Tribal Governments. AMS has assessed the impact of this proposed rule 
on Indian Tribes and determined that this rule would not have Tribal 
implications that require consultation under Executive Order 13175. AMS 
hosts a quarterly teleconference with Tribal leaders where matters of 
mutual interest regarding the marketing of agricultural products are 
discussed. Information about the proposed changes to the regulations 
will be shared during an upcoming quarterly call, and Tribal leaders 
will be informed about the proposed revisions to the regulation and the 
opportunity to submit comments. AMS will work with the USDA Office of 
Tribal Relations to ensure meaningful consultation is provided as 
needed with regard to these proposed changes to the Order.

Executive Order 12988

    This proposal has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988--Civil 
Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect. Section 
524 of the Act (7 U.S.C. 7423) provides that it shall not affect or 
preempt any other Federal or State law authorizing promotion or 
research relating to an agricultural commodity.
    Under section 519 of the Act (7 U.S.C. 7418), a person subject to 
an order may file a written petition with USDA stating that an order, 
any provision of an order, or any obligation imposed in connection with 
an order, is not established in accordance with the law, and request a 
modification of an order or an exemption from an order. Any petition 
filed challenging an order, any provision of an order, or any 
obligation imposed in connection with an order, shall be filed within 
two years after the effective date of an order, provision, or 
obligation subject to challenge in the petition. The petitioner will 
have the opportunity for a hearing on the petition. Thereafter, USDA 
will issue a ruling on the petition. The Act provides that the district 
court of the United States for any district in which the petitioner 
resides or conducts business shall have the jurisdiction to review a 
final ruling on the petition if the petitioner files a complaint for 
that purpose not later than 20 days after the date of the entry of 
USDA's final ruling.

Background

    Under the Order, the Popcorn Board (Board), with USDA oversight, 
administers a nationally coordinated program of research, promotion, 
and consumer information designed to maintain and expand markets for 
U.S. popcorn. The program is financed by assessments on processors of 
more than four million pounds of popcorn annually. The Board, which is 
composed of five popcorn processors, unanimously recommended these 
proposed changes during a meeting on August 28, 2024.

[[Page 24354]]

Assessment Rate Increase

    Currently section 1215.51(c) of the Order states that the rate of 
assessment shall be 5 cents per hundredweight of popcorn. This rate was 
administratively increased by the Board in 2001 to 6 cents per 
hundredweight of popcorn and has been charged of processors since. This 
proposal would update the assessment rate stated in the Order to 
accurately reflect the change that took place in 2001. This update 
would help eliminate any confusion amongst the industry on what the 
current mandatory assessment rate is.

Interest Charges on Past Due Assessments

    Section 575(j) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 7484(j)) states that ``The 
order shall contain such other terms and conditions, consistent with 
this subtitle, as are necessary to effectuate this subtitle, including 
regulations relating to the assessment of late payment charges.''
    Section 1215.51(e) of the Order states that ``Each person 
responsible for remitting assessments under paragraphs (a) and (b) of 
this section shall remit the amounts due from assessments to the Board 
on a quarterly basis no later than the last day of the month following 
the last month in the previous quarter in which the popcorn was 
marketed, in such manner as prescribed by the Board.''
    Section 1215.51(f) states that ``The Board shall impose a late 
payment charge on any person who fails to remit to the Board the total 
amount for which the person is liable on or before the payment due date 
established under this section. The amount of the late payment charge 
shall be prescribed in rules and regulations as approved by the 
Secretary.''
    Section 1215.51(g) states that ``The Board shall impose an 
additional charge on any person subject to a late payment charge, in 
the form of interest on the outstanding portion of any amount for which 
the person is liable. The rate of interest shall be prescribed in rules 
and regulations as approved by the Secretary.''
    Currently, the Board outlines the late payment and interest fees 
charged on past due assessments from processors of popcorn in their 
Operational Policies and Procedures document; however, these fees are 
not detailed in the Order. This proposal would codify the Board's 
ability to collect late payment and interest charges on past due 
assessments by creating a new section in the Order outlining these 
fees.
    Under this proposal, a one-time late payment charge of $250 would 
be imposed on any processor who fails to pay any assessments owed 
within 30 calendar days of the date they are due. This one-time late 
payment charge would increase to $500 after 90 days of delinquency. 
These late payment charge amounts were chosen by the Board after 
reviewing Order language of other research and promotion programs of 
similar size and annual assessment collections.
    Additionally, 1.25 percent per month interest on any outstanding 
balance, including any late payment and accrued interest would be added 
to any accounts for which payment has not been received within 30 
calendar days of when the assessments are due. This monthly interest 
charge was chosen by the Board to match the current language in their 
Operational Policies and Procedures document.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), AMS has considered the economic 
impact of this proposed action on small entities that would be affected 
by this rule, if finalized. Accordingly, AMS has prepared this initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis.
    The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory action to scale on 
businesses subject to such action so that small businesses will not be 
disproportionately burdened.
    The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines, in 13 CFR part 
121, small agricultural producers of popcorn as those having annual 
receipts equal to or less than $2.5 million (NAICS code: 111150--Corn 
Farming) and small agricultural service firms (processors and 
importers) as those having annual receipts equal to or less than $34 
million (NAICS code: 115114--Postharvest Crop Activities).
    For the purpose of fitting regulatory actions to the scale of 
businesses for this RFA data used is from the National Agricultural 
Statistics Service (NASS) \1\ and Popcorn Board (Board). The 2022 top 
five popcorn producing states according to the 2022 Census of 
Agriculture are Indiana, Nebraska, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri. In 
2022, Nebraska, Ohio, and Missouri had decreases in harvested acres 
while Indiana and Illinois saw increases compared to the 2017 Census of 
Agriculture. Overall, the 2022 United States total harvested acreage 
decreased by roughly 7.6 percent compared to 2017.
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    \1\ The only NASS data available for this proposed rule is the 
Agricultural Survey data on parity pricing (prices farmers receive) 
reported annual in January and the 2022 Agricultural Census.
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    According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture published by NASS, 
there are roughly 860 total farms that produced a total of 10,141,686 
hundredweight (a little over 1 billion pounds) of popcorn in 2022. NASS 
has reported on average the 2022 parity price received for popcorn was 
roughly $60.80 per hundredweight ($0.61 per pound) of popcorn.
    Taking the total hundredweight of popcorn produced in 2022, which 
was 10,141,686, multiplied by the parity price of $60.80 per 
hundredweight, gives a total parity price revenue of roughly 
$616,614,509 for the industry in 2022. Using the total parity price 
revenue the industry received in 2022 of roughly $616.6 million dollars 
divided by the total 860 popcorn farms in 2022, assuming normal 
distribution, gives an average of roughly $716,994 in revenue per farm 
from parity prices. Even with the potential of additional pricing being 
added into the parity price of popcorn per hundredweight from each 
producer, the average price per producer (inclusive of parity pricing) 
would not exceed the established revenue thresholds set by the SBA. 
Thus, most producers and processors of popcorn would be considered 
small entities and would not be disproportionately burdened.
    Under the Order, the Board administers a nationally coordinated 
program of promotion, research, consumer information and industry 
information designed to strengthen the position of popcorn in the 
marketplace, and to maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets 
and uses for popcorn. The program is financed by assessments on 
domestic processors only who process and distribute 4 million pounds or 
more of popcorn annually. The current rate of assessment, established 
in 2001, is 6 cents per hundredweight of popcorn. The Order specifies 
that processors are responsible for submitting the assessment to the 
Board in a timely manner and maintaining records necessary to verify 
their reporting(s). Based on information from the Board, there are 
currently a total 18 processors who pay mandatory assessments into the 
program and 15 exempt processors (under the 4-million-pound threshold) 
for a total of 33.
    Processors who process and distribute less than 4 million pounds of 
popcorn annually are exempt from this assessment. Processors that 
operate under an approved National Organic Program (NOP) (7 CFR part 
206) system plan, process only products that are

[[Page 24355]]

eligible to be labeled as 100 percent organic under the NOP and are not 
split operations shall also be exempt from the payment of assessments.
    After auditing the 2022 total mandatory assessments collected as 
reported by the 2018 to 2022 Evaluation of the Popcorn Board report 
(page 5) located on the Board's website, the total assessments 
collected was $686,339. Using the total 2022 mandatory assessment 
collected of $686,339 divided by the Board's 6 cents per hundredweight 
mandatory assessment gives roughly the total popcorn hundredweight of 
11,438,983 (roughly 1.14 billion pounds) assessed from domestic 
processors who processed and distributed over 4 million of popcorn 
annually. Some NASS data is not published to protect small producers 
and processors of the small domestic popcorn industry. This can account 
for the variance in why the total estimated 2022 hundredweight as 
reported by the 2018 to 2022 Evaluation of the Popcorn Board is larger 
than as reported by the NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.
    This larger 2022 popcorn hundredweight as reported by the 2018 to 
2022 Evaluation of the Popcorn Board report (page 5) can be used to 
determine if small businesses are adversely affected by this rule. 
Taking this estimated total 11,438,983 hundredweight of popcorn 
produced in 2022 multiplied by the parity price of $60.80 per 
hundredweight gives a total parity price revenue of roughly 
$695,490,187 for the industry. Using the estimated total parity price 
revenue the industry received in 2022 of roughly $695.5 million dollars 
divided by the total 860 popcorn farms in 2022 (assuming normal 
distribution), gives roughly an average of $808,710 in revenue per farm 
from parity prices. Thus, even with this higher estimate most producers 
and processors of popcorn would be considered small entities and would 
not be disproportionately burdened by this rule. Most of the processors 
are classified as small businesses under the criteria established by 
the Small Business Administration.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
regulation (5 CFR part 1320) which implements the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the information collection and 
recordkeeping requirements that are imposed by the Order have been 
approved previously under OMB control number 0581-0093. This rule does 
not result in a change to the information collection and recordkeeping 
requirements previously approved.
    As with all Federal research and promotion programs, reports and 
forms are periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and 
duplication by industry and public sector agencies. USDA has not 
identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 
conflict with this proposed rule.
    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.
    Regarding alternatives, the Board considered not making the 
proposed changes to the Order and leaving it as-is. If the Order was 
left unchanged, the stated assessment rate would remain incorrect and 
would continue to cause confusion amongst the industry. By leaving the 
Order unchanged and not adding in language prescribing late fees and 
interest charges on unpaid assessments, the Board would also have 
trouble collecting assessments on a timely basis. After considering 
these potential issues, the Board decided against leaving the Order 
unchanged.
    The Board discussed this proposal throughout 2023 and 2024, and 
unanimously recommended the proposed changes during their in-person 
meeting on August 28, 2024. The Board is made up of five processors of 
over four million pounds of popcorn annually.
    AMS has determined that this proposed rule, if finalized, is 
consistent with, and would effectuate the purposes of the Act. A 30-day 
comment period is provided to allow interested persons to respond to 
this proposal. All written comments received in response to this 
proposed rule by the date specified will be considered prior to 
finalizing this action.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1215

    Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Agricultural 
research, Popcorn, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Agricultural 
Marketing Service proposes to amend 7 CFR part 1215 as follows:

PART 1215--POPCORN PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND CONSUMER INFORMATION

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1215 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7481-7491; 7 U.S.C. 7401.


Sec.  1215.51  [Amended]

0
2. Amend Sec.  1215.51 in paragraph (c) by removing the number ``5'' 
and adding in its place the number ``6''.
0
3. Add subpart C--Past Due Assessments to read as follows:

Subpart C--Past Due Assessments

Sec.
Sec.  1215.520 Late payment and interest charges for past due 
assessments.

Subpart C--Past Due Assessments


Sec.  1215.520  Late payment and interest charges for past due 
assessments.

    (a) A late payment charge shall be imposed on any processor who 
fails to make timely remittance to the Board of the total assessments 
for which such processor is liable. The late payment charge will be 
imposed on any assessments not received within 30 calendar days of the 
date they are due. This one-time late payment charge shall be $250 and 
will be increased to $500 after 90 days of delinquency.
    (b) In addition to the late payment charge, 1.25 percent per month 
interest on the outstanding balance, including any late payment and 
accrued interest, will be added to any accounts for which payment has 
not been received within 30 calendar days of the date when assessments 
are due. Interest will continue to accrue monthly until the outstanding 
balance is paid to the Board.

Erin Morris,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-10469 Filed 6-9-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P