Agricultural Marketing Service April 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is withdrawing a notice soliciting comments on its proposed revision to the United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Blueberries. After considering the comments received regarding the proposed revision and the withdrawal of the petition requesting revisions, the agency has decided not to proceed with this action.

This document announces that the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) plans to review 7 CFR part 996, Minimum Quality and Handling Standards for Domestic and Imported Peanuts Marketed in the United States, under the criteria contained in section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA).

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is proposing to maintain user fees for cotton producers for 2010 crop cotton classification services under the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act at the same level as in 2009. These fees are also authorized under the Cotton Standards Act of 1923. The 2009 crop user fee was $2.20 per bale, and AMS proposes to continue the fee for the 2010 cotton crop at that same level. This proposed fee and the existing reserve are sufficient to cover the costs of providing classification services for the 2010 crop, including costs for administration and supervision.

This rule establishes final volume regulation percentages for 2009-10 crop Natural (sun-dried) Seedless (NS) raisins covered under the Federal marketing order for California raisins (order). The order regulates the handling of raisins produced from grapes grown in California and is locally administered by the Raisin Administrative Committee (committee). The volume regulation percentages are 85 percent free and 15 percent reserve. The percentages are intended to help stabilize raisin supplies and prices, and strengthen market conditions.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) intention to request for renewal a recordkeeping burden for the information collection for the Export Fruit Acts covering exports of apples and grapes.

This rule revises the nomination and balloting procedures for independent growers on the Cranberry Marketing Committee (Committee). The order regulates the handling of cranberries produced in the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Long Island in the State of New York, and is administered locally by the Committee. This rule revises the nomination and balloting procedures for independent growers to allow them to participate in the election process for either a member or alternate member on the Committee. The current procedures do not provide for an election process for each position separately.

This proposed rule would establish a new U.S. honey producer funded research and promotion program under the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 (1996 Act). The proposed U.S. Honey Producer Research, Promotion and Consumer Information Order (Proposed U.S. Producer Order) was submitted to the Department of Agriculture (Department) by the American Honey Producers Association (AHPA). The Department is conducting an initial referendum to ascertain whether the persons to be covered by and assessed under the Proposed U.S. Producer Order favor the Order prior to it going into effect. The Proposed U.S. Producer Order would provide that producers pay an assessment to the U.S. Honey Producer Board (Proposed Board) at the rate of $0.02 cents per pound of U.S. honey produced and shall only be imposed on U.S. producers. A producer who produces less than 100,000 pounds of U.S. honey per year would be eligible for a certificate of exemption. The Proposed U.S. Producer Order would be implemented if it is approved by a majority of the producers voting in the referendum, which also represent a majority of the volume of U.S. honey produced during the representative period by those voting in the referendum. A separate final rule on referendum procedures is being published in this issue of the Federal Register.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the intention of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to request an extension from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), for a currently approved information collection in support of customer-focused improvement initiatives for USDA-procured poultry, livestock, fruit, and vegetable products.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is changing the annual standard, appeal, overtime, and holiday hourly fee rates for fiscal years 2010-2012 for Science and Technology (S&T) Laboratory Services in order to recover anticipated laboratory program costs. The Agency is raising these rates to reflect, among other factors, national and locality pay increases for Federal employees and inflation, operating costs, instrumentation and training, equipment maintenance costs, and program and agency administrative overhead costs. The

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-20), this notice announces the intention of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to request an extension for and revision to a currently approved information collection in support of the Regulations for Voluntary Grading of Poultry Products and Rabbit Products.

This rule would increase the assessment rates established for the Nectarine Administrative Committee and the Peach Commodity Committee (Committees) for the 2009-10 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0175 to $0.0280 per 25-pound container or container equivalent of nectarines handled, and from $0.0025 to $0.026 per 25-pound container or container equivalent of peaches handled. The Committees locally administer the marketing orders which regulate the handling of nectarines and peaches grown in California. Assessments upon nectarine and peach handlers are used by the Committees to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the programs. The fiscal periods run from March 1 through the last day of February. The assessment rates would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This rule relaxes the handling requirements prescribed under the California table grape marketing order (order) and the table grape import regulation. The order regulates the handling of table grapes grown in a designated area of southeastern California and is administered locally by the California Desert Grape Administrative Committee (committee). The import regulation is authorized under section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 and regulates the importation of table grapes into the United States. This rule relaxes the one-quarter pound minimum bunch size requirement for the 2010 and subsequent seasons for grapes packed in consumer packages holding 2 pounds net weight or less. Under the relaxation, up to 20 percent of the weight of such containers may consist of single clusters of at least five berries each. This action continues the relaxation that was prescribed on a one-year test basis in 2009 and provides California desert grape handlers and importers the flexibility to respond to an ongoing marketing opportunity to meet consumer needs.