Department of Agriculture September 4, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule relaxes the size requirements for potatoes handled under the marketing order for Idaho-Eastern Oregon potatoes and for long type potatoes imported into the United States. This rule revises the size requirements to allow: Creamer size (\3/4\ inch to 1\5/8\ inches diameter) for all varieties of potatoes to be handled if the potatoes otherwise meet U.S. No. 1 grade; and round type potatoes to be handled without regard to size so long as the size is specified on the container in connection with the grade. The changes are intended to improve the handling and marketing of Idaho-Eastern Oregon potatoes and increase returns to producers. The changes would also allow the importation of Creamer size long type potatoes under regulations as authorized by section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937.

This rule invites comments on changes to the handling regulations prescribed under Marketing Agreement and Order No. 983 (order), which regulates the handling of pistachios. The changes were recommended by the Administrative Committee for Pistachios (committee), which is responsible for local administration of the order. The changes would bring the current handling regulations into conformance with proposed amendments to the order by including certain regulatory language currently contained in the order's provisions in the order's administrative rules and regulations, lifting the suspension of certain language, removing obsolete language, and revising references to renumbered order provisions.

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is publishing as a final rule one set of administrative requirements that contain elements common to all of the competitive and noncompetitive non-formula Federal assistance programs the Agency administers. In a relatively short period of time, this allows CSREES to apply basic rules to Federal assistance programs that had been operating without them, including new non-formula Federal assistance programs created by the enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) and to efficiently implement changes to programs with existing regulations as required by FCEA. The provisions in subparts A through E serve as a single Agency resource codifying current practices simply and coherently for almost all CSREES competitive and noncompetitive non-formula Federal assistance programs except the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP). As specific rules are developed for each CSREES Federal assistance program, CSREES will propose adding a subpart for that Federal assistance program to this regulation. This final rule is published with a first set of program- specific Federal assistance regulations as subpart F for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, authorized under section 412 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, as added by section 7311 of FCEA.

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is publishing a set of specific administrative requirements for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) to supplement the Competitive and Noncompetitive Non-Formula Federal Assistance ProgramsGeneral Award Administrative Provisions for this program. The BFRDP is authorized undersection 7405 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, as amended by section 7410 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.