Department of Agriculture 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with livestock disease surveillance programs.

This rule suspends the minimum grade, size, quality, maturity, and inspection requirements prescribed under the Washington-Oregon fresh prune marketing order for the 2006 and future seasons. The marketing order regulates the handling of fresh prunes grown in designated Counties in Washington and in Umatilla County, Oregon, and is administered locally by the Washington-Oregon Prune Marketing Committee (Committee). During the suspension of the handling regulations, reports from handlers will be required to obtain information necessary to administer the marketing order. This rule also suspends fresh prune import inspection and minimum quality, grade, size, and maturity requirements. This rule is expected to reduce overall industry expenses and increase net returns to producers and handlers. This rulemaking action must be effective as soon as possible to ensure that the suspensions are in effect for the 2006 shipping season, expected to begin in early July.

The Siskiyou County Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Yreka, California, May 15, 2006. The meeting will include routine business, and discussion and recommendation of fifteen (15) previously submitted project proposals.

The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council will meet in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss emerging issues in urban and community forestry.

Proposed Land Management Plans for the Bitterroot, Flathead and Lolo National Forests are now available for public comment during a 90-day period that begins on the date of publication of this notice in the following newspapers of record: For the Bitterroot Forest, The Ravalli Republic; for the Flathead Forest, The Daily Interlake; and for the Lolo Forest, The Missoulian.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on a renewed information collection associated with the Ride-Along Program application, a program which allows any private citizen to apply to ride along with Forest Service law enforcement officers.

This notice announces the availability of the draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for selected 2005 Hurricane Assistance Programs of the Farm Service Agency (FSA). These programs include: (1) Hurricane Indemnity Program, (2) Feed Indemnity Program, (3) Livestock Indemnity Program, (4) Tree Indemnity Program, and (5) Aquaculture Grant Program. The draft PEA assesses the potential environmental impacts of alternatives to be considered in the administration of these hurricane programs. The draft PEA also provides a means for the public to voice any concerns they may have about the programs, and any ideas for improving them. This Notice of Availability informs the public of the availability of the applicable draft PEA and solicits public comment.

USDA Rural Development administers rural utilities service through the Rural Utilities Service. USDA Rural Development published a document in the Federal Register of March 16, 2006, concerning solicitation of applications for its Public Television Digital Transition Grant Program application window for fiscal year (FY) 2006. The document contained incorrect criteria scoring information.

The Agricultural Marketing Service published in the Federal Register on April 19, 2006, a document regarding Voluntary Shell Egg Grading regulations. The final rule provides that shell eggs must not have been previously shipped for retail sale in order to be officially identified with a USDA consumer grademark and changes the definition of the term eggs of current production from 30 days to 21 days, thereby making eggs that were laid more than 21 days before the date packing ineligible to be officially identified with a USDA-consumer grademark. In that document, a number appearing in one of the columns in Table 1 was typed incorrectly. This document corrects that error.

Due to technical errors, the following notice supersedes the original Request for Applications, published on April 18, 2006 for Commodity Partnerships for Risk Management Education Program at 71 FR 19851-19858. Overview: The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), operating through the Risk Management Agency (RMA), announces the availability of approximately $5.0 million for Commodity Partnerships for Risk Management Education (the Commodity Partnerships Program). The purpose of this cooperative partnership agreement program is to deliver training and information in the management of production, marketing, and financial risk to U.S. agricultural producers. The program gives priority to educating producers of crops currently not insured under Federal crop insurance, specialty crops, and underserved commodities, including livestock and forage. A maximum of 40 cooperative partnership agreements will be funded, with no more than four in each of the ten designated RMA Regions. The maximum award for any of the 40 cooperative partnership agreements will be $150,000. Recipients of awards must demonstrate non-financial benefits from a cooperative partnership agreement and must agree to the substantial involvement of RMA in the project.

Due to technical errors, the following notice supersedes the original Request for Applications, published on April 18, 2006 for Crop Insurance Education in Targeted States Program at 71 FR 19864- 19871. Overview: The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), operating through the Risk Management Agency (RMA), announces the availability of approximately $4.5 million to fund cooperative agreements under the Crop Insurance Education in Targeted States program (the Targeted States Program). The purpose of this cooperative agreement program is to deliver crop insurance education and information to U.S. agricultural producers in certain States that have been designated as historically underserved with respect to crop insurance. The states, collectively referred to as Targeted States, are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. A maximum of 15 cooperative agreements will be funded, one in each of the 15 Targeted States. Recipients of awards must agree to the substantial involvement of RMA in the project. Funding availability for this program may be announced at approximately the same time as funding availability for similar but separate programsCFDA No. 10.455 (Community Outreach and Assistance Partnerships), CFDA No. 10.456 (Risk Management Research Partnerships), CFDA No. 10.457 (Commodity Partnerships for Risk Management Education), and CFDA No. 10.459 (Commodity Partnerships for Small Agricultural Risk Management Education Sessions). Prospective applicants should carefully examine and compare the notices for each program.

The Mendocino County Resource Advisory Committee will meet May 19, 2006 (RAC) in Willits, California. Agenda items to be covered include: (1) Approval of minute, (2) Handout discussion (3) Public Comment, (4) Financial Report (5) Subcommittees (6) Matters before the group/discussionitems of interest (7) Discussion/approval of projects (8) Next agenda and meeting date.

The Rural Housing Service is amending its regulations to change the threshold for surety requirements guaranteeing payment and performance from a $100,000 contract amount to the maximum Rural Development Single Family Housing area lending limit. This limit will vary by locality. This will liberalize the requirement for surety and take into account the increased construction cost of single family homes in Rural Development's Single Family Housing Program. This will ease the burden on small contractors for whom obtaining surety is difficult and expensive, thereby reducing costs to our single family housing borrowers. On August 26, 2005 (70 FR 50222), the Rural Housing Service proposed to change the surety requirements for Single Family Housing loans under Section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472). The rule, open for comment for a period of 60 days, received two comments regarding its implementation in Rural Housing procedure. The first comment is in favor of this final rule, thus reinforcing the idea that reducing costs for the contractor by raising the threshold at which surety is required, ultimately benefits the borrower through greater cost savings. The second comment does not favor the proposed rule. The essence of this argument is based upon protecting federal funds, by providing surety (performance and payment bonds). The cost of surety places a greater financial burden on the borrower, as well as making it more difficult for small contractors in rural areas to service RHS borrowers. RHS oversees the construction process until the project is complete, insuring that Federal funds are properly disbursed for the adequate amount of completed construction demonstrated by the contractor. In addition, surety requirements are not entirely eliminated in Single Family Housing. If the borrower requests surety or the loan official feels that additional security is needed for a specific project, then surety will be provided.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service an agency delivering the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Programs, invites comments on this information collection for which approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this constitutes notice of the upcoming meeting of the Grain Inspection Advisory Committee (``the Committee'').

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation, under certain conditions, of fresh commercial citrus fruit (grapefruit, limes, mandarin oranges or tangerines, sweet oranges, and tangelos) from approved areas of Peru into the United States. Based on the evidence in a recent pest risk analysis, we believe these articles can be safely imported from Peru, provided certain conditions are met. This action will provide for the importation of citrus from Peru into the United States while continuing to protect the United States against the introduction of plant pests.

This final rule amends the current ten Federal milk marketing orders issued under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (AMAA) to reflect recent amendments to the AMAA. The Milk Regulatory Equity Act of 2005, which was signed into law on April 11, 2006, amended the AMAA to ensure regulatory equity between and among dairy farmers and handlers for sales of packaged fluid milk in Federal milk marketing order areas and into certain non-Federally regulated milk marketing areas from Federal milk marketing areas.

We are proposing to amend the Animal Welfare Act regulations concerning the handling of animals to require that shift cages be used for handling certain species. One of the largest risk factors for animal escape and employee and animal injury occurs when it is necessary to move, or shift, certain animals between enclosures. Requiring shift cages for certain species would mitigate the risk of injuries to people and animals as well as ensure safe transport of animals between enclosures and exhibits.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has changed the method used to calculate the interest to be awarded in reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). Additional Information: Contact Dexter Thomas, Senior Marketing Specialist, PACA Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 2095South Building , Mail Stop 0242, Washington, DC 20250-0242. E-maildexter.thomas@usda.gov. This notice will also be posted on the Internet at https://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/ paca.htm.