Agricultural Marketing Service September 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposal invites comments on changes to the membership of the Softwood Lumber Board (Board) established under the Softwood Lumber Research, Promotion, Consumer Education and Industry Information Order (Order). The Board administers the Order with oversight by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the Order, assessments are collected from U.S. manufacturers (domestic) and importers and used for projects to promote softwood lumber within the United States. This proposal would revise the Board's membership to reflect the diversity of the industry in terms of size of operation; allow companies that operate in multiple geographic regions to seek representation in any region in which they operate (U.S. or import); add flexibility for the Board to nominate eligible persons to fill vacancies that occur during a term; and re-designate the States of Virginia and West Virginia to the U.S. South Region. These changes would help facilitate program operations.

This proposed rule would increase the assessment rate established for the California Walnut Board (Board) for the 2013-14 and subsequent marketing years from $0.0175 to $0.0189 per kernelweight pound of merchantable walnuts. The Board locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of walnuts grown in California. Assessments upon walnut handlers are used by the Board to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The marketing year begins September 1 and ends August 31. The assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that changed the reporting and assessment requirements prescribed under the marketing order for Vidalia onions grown in Georgia (order). The interim rule changed the date by which handlers are required to submit monthly shipping reports and their corresponding assessments to the Vidalia Onion Committee (Committee) from the fifth day of the month to the tenth day of the month. In addition, the interim rule also changed the due date to the first business day after the tenth day of the month, should the tenth fall on a weekend or a holiday. These changes benefit handlers without negatively affecting program compliance.

This document proposes a Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Promotion, Research and Information Order (Order). The purpose of the program would be to maintain and expand markets for paper and paper- based packaging. The program would be financed by an assessment on paper and paper-based packaging manufacturers (domestic producers) and importers and would be administered by a board of industry members appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary). The assessment rate would initially be $0.35 per short ton. This document also announces that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is conducting a referendum among eligible manufacturers and importers to determine whether they favor implementation of the program. The program would be implemented if it is favored by a majority of current U.S. manufacturers and importers voting in the referendum who also represent a majority of the volume of paper and paper-based packaging represented in the referendum who, during a representative period determined by the Secretary, were engaged in the manufacturing or importation of paper and paper-based packaging into the United States. A separate final rule on referendum procedures is being published in this issue of the Federal Register.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposes regulatory amendments that would allow for the addition of an optional cotton futures classification procedureidentified and known as ``registration'' by the U.S. cotton industry and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). In response to requests from the U.S. cotton industry and ICE, AMS proposes to offer a futures classification option whereby cotton bales may be certificated for the purpose of an exchange's cotton futures contract using Smith-Doxey data to verify that submitted bales meet more restrictive quality requirements and age parameters established by that exchange. The implementation of ICE's Cotton Resolution No. 2 is scheduled to commence with the March 2014 contract month. It is anticipated that AMS would make the futures classification option available December 2013.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget for revision to and extension of the information collection titled USDA Food Connect Web site.