Department of Agriculture July 9, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to an oral rabies vaccination field trial in New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia. The environmental assessment analyzes the use of an experimental rabies vaccine in field safety and immunogenicity trials in portions of New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia. The proposed field trial is necessary to evaluate a wildlife rabies vaccine that will produce sufficient levels of population immunity in raccoons and striped skunks. We are making the environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.

This rule revises the primary inventory reserve capacity and the exemption provisions applicable to handler diversion activities prescribed under the marketing order for tart cherries (order). The order regulates the handling of tart cherries grown in the States of Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin, and is administered locally by the Cherry Industry Administrative Board (Board). This action increases the volume of tart cherries that can be placed in the primary inventory reserve from 50 million pounds to 100 million pounds and revises exemption provisions by limiting diversion credits for new market development and market expansion activities to one year. These changes are intended to facilitate sales and lessen the impact of market expansion activities on volume restriction calculations.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to request revision and extension of a currently approved information collection, the Mink Survey. Revision to burden hours will be needed due to changes in the size of the target population and/or questionnaire length. The target population will be pulled from positive historical data, trade magazines, or grower's association's lists. The questionnaire that NASS is planning to use is the same as what was used in previous years. Any changes to the questionnaire would result from requests by industry data users.

This rule makes a number of miscellaneous amendments to delegations of authority by adding new authorities, correcting references, and removing obsolete authorities.