Agricultural Marketing Service May 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given of a public hearing to receive evidence on proposed amendments to Marketing Agreement No. 143 and Order No. 959 (order), which regulate the handling of onions grown in South Texas. Four amendments are proposed by the South Texas Onion Committee (committee), which is responsible for local administration of the order. These proposed amendments would: Add authority to the order to establish supplemental assessment rates on specified containers; authorize interest and late payment charges on assessments not paid within a prescribed time period; add authority for the committee to engage in marketing promotion and paid advertising activities; and authorize container marking requirements on containers of onions prior to shipment. Three additional amendments are proposed by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). These amendments would: (1) Require that a continuance referendum be conducted every six years to determine grower support for the order; (2) limit the number of consecutive terms of office a member can serve on the committee; and (3) make such changes as may be necessary to the order to conform with any amendment thereto that may result from the hearing. The proposals are intended to provide the industry with additional tools to aid in the marketing of onions and to improve the operation and administration of the order.

This rule revises the quantity of Class 3 (Native) spearmint oil that handlers may purchase from, or handle for, producers during the 2006-2007 marketing year. This rule increases the Native spearmint oil salable quantity from 1,007,886 pounds to 1,161,260 pounds, and the allotment percentage from 46 percent to 53 percent. The marketing order regulates the handling of spearmint oil produced in the Far West and is administered locally by the Spearmint Oil Administrative Committee (Committee). The Committee recommended this rule for the purpose of avoiding extreme fluctuations in supplies and prices and to help maintain stability in the Far West spearmint oil market.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting comments on the proposed voluntary United States Standards for Grades of Tomatoes on the Vine. The proposed standards would provide industry with a common language and uniform basis for trading, thus promoting the orderly and efficient marketing of tomatoes on the vine (TOV).

This notice directs that a referendum be conducted among the eligible producers and importers of blueberries to determine whether they favor continuance of the Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order (Order).

This rule removes the minimum quantity exemption for yellow fleshed Finnish-type potatoes from the handling regulations issued under the Idaho-Eastern Oregon potato marketing order. The marketing order regulates the handling of Irish potatoes grown in certain designated counties in Idaho, and Malheur County, Oregon, and is administered locally by the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Potato Committee (Committee). A minimum quantity shipment exemption of up to 200 hundredweight per day is provided for yellow fleshed Finnish-type potatoes. Because yellow fleshed Finnish-type potatoes are no longer produced in the production area covered under the marketing order, the exemption from handling and assessment regulations is no longer necessary.

This document recommends changes to the fluid milk product definition for all Federal milk marketing orders and is based on the record of a hearing held June 20-23, 2005, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Specifically, this document recommends maintaining the current 6.5 percent nonfat milk solids criteria and incorporating an equivalent 2.25 percent true protein criteria in determining if a product meets the fluid milk product definition. This decision also proposes to clarify how milk and milk-derived ingredients should be priced under all orders. In addition, ``drinkable'' yogurt products containing at least 20 percent yogurt, keifir and products designed to be meal replacements, regardless of packaging, are proposed to be exempted from the fluid milk product definition.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is soliciting comments on a revised proposed voluntary standard for a grass (forage) fed marketing claim. This proposed standard incorporates revisions made as a result of comments received as a result of an earlier published proposed standard. A number of livestock producers make such claims in order to distinguish their products in the marketplace. Once a voluntary standard is established, livestock producers may request that a grass (forage) fed claim be verified by USDA. Verification of this claim will be accomplished through an audit of the production process by AMS.

This interim final rule adjusts the number of members on the Hass Avocado Board (Board) to reflect changes in the production of domestic Hass avocados in the United States and the volume of Hass avocados imported into the U.S. over the 2003, 2004, and 2005 calendar years, which are three years after assessments commenced. These adjustments are required by the Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Order (Order). The result of the adjustment is one additional importer member and alternate and one less domestic producer member and alternate of Hass avocados that are subject to assessments. As a result of these changes, the Board membership would be composed of seven domestic producer members and alternates and five importer members and alternates. Currently, the Board is composed of eight domestic producer members and alternates, and four importer members and alternates. These changes to the Board are effective for the Secretary of Agriculture's 2006 appointments.

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.

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.