Department of Agriculture May 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App 2, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces a meeting of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board.

We are advising the public of our decision to authorize the importation into the United States of fresh dates of the cultivar Barhi from Israel. Based on the findings of a pest risk analysis, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice, we believe that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the importation of fresh dates of the cultivar Barhi from Israel. In addition, based on the findings of a treatment evaluation document, we are advising the public of our decision to add a treatment schedule for Ceratitis capitata in Barhi dates to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Treatment Manual.

We are proposing to amend the regulations governing the importation of fruits and vegetables to allow the importation of female squash flowers from Israel into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, female squash flowers from Israel would be subject to a systems approach that would include requirements for pest exclusion at the production site and fruit fly trapping and monitoring. The female squash flowers would also be required to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of Israel with an additional declaration that the female squash flowers had been inspected and found free of quarantine pests. This action would allow for the importation of female squash flowers from Israel into the continental United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), proposes to revise the voluntary United States Standards for Grades of Okra by removing the ``Unclassified'' section from the standards.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) are seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on an extension, with a revision, of a currently approved information collection request. This information collection is necessary to support the procurement of agricultural commodities for domestic and export food donation programs. FSA and CCC issue invitations to purchase or sell commodities for food donation programs on monthly, multiple monthly, quarterly, and yearly bases. Special invitations, however, are issued throughout the month. Web-Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) allows respondents to submit information electronically.