Agricultural Marketing Service April 11, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is proposing to maintain user fees for cotton producers for 2012 crop cotton classification services under the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act at the same level as in 2011. These fees are also authorized under the Cotton Standards Act of 1923. The 2011 crop user fee was $2.20 per bale, and AMS proposes to continue the fee for the 2012 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 2012 crop, including costs for administration and supervision.

The Department of Agriculture is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that decreased the assessment rate established for the Processed Pear Committee (Committee) for the 2011- 2012 and subsequent fiscal periods from $8.41 to $7.73 per ton of summer/fall processed pears handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of processed pears grown in Oregon and Washington. The Committee recommended the assessment rate decrease because the summer/fall processed pear promotion budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal period was reduced.