Agricultural Marketing Service January 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule increases the assessment rate established for the Citrus Administrative Committee (Committee) for the 2013-14 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.008 to $0.009 per \4/5\ bushel carton of Florida citrus handled. The Committee locally administers the Federal marketing order, which regulates the handling of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos grown in Florida. Assessments upon Florida citrus handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period begins August 1 and ends July 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

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 approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the currently approved information collection for OMB 0581-0235, an extension and revision of forms ``TM- 29, FMPP Project Proposal Narrative Form'' and ``TM-30, FMPP Supplemental Budget Summary Form.'' An electronic version of these mandatory forms will be posted within the Grants.gov forms library for application submission.

The National Organic Program (NOP) is announcing the availability of a final guidance document intended for use by accredited certifying agents, certified operations and non-certified handlers of certified organic products. The guidance document is entitled: Certification Requirements for Handling Unpackaged Organic Products (NOP 5031). This guidance document is intended to inform the public of NOP's current thinking on this topic.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that changed handler reporting and grower diversion requirements prescribed under the marketing order for tart cherries grown in the States of Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin (order). The Cherry Industry Administrative Board (Board) locally administers the order. The interim rule changed the deadline for submitting the handler reserve plan from November 1 to October 1 and extended the deadline for redeeming or transferring grower diversion certificates from November 1 to June 30 of a given crop year. These changes provide the industry with a more complete and timely picture of the available supply of tart cherries earlier in the season and give handlers more time and flexibility in meeting their obligations under volume regulation.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) held meetings of the Universal Cotton Standards Advisory Committee in Raleigh, North Carolina on June 19, 20 and 21, 2013. This notice announces the Advisory Committee's recommendation to adopt USDA's HVI (High Volume Instrument) Cotton Trash Standards as Universal Standards and to change the frequency of Universal Cotton Standards Conferences from once every three years to once every four years. The meeting agenda, minutes, and recommendations from the Advisory Committee are posted at the following Web address: https://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ AdvisoryCommitteeonUniversalStandards.

Notice is hereby given that the comment period on the proposed rule establishing an industry-funded promotion, research and information program for hardwood lumber and hardwood plywood is reopened and extended. The comment period is also extended for the new hardwood lumber and hardwood plywood information collection requirements by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the operation of the proposed program. The proposed Hardwood Lumber and Hardwood Plywood Promotion, Research and Information Order, was submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by the Blue Ribbon Committee, a committee of 14 hardwood lumber and hardwood plywood industry leaders representing small and large manufacturers and geographically distributed throughout the United States.