Agricultural Marketing Service September 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim rule implementing a recommendation from the Texas Valley Citrus Committee (Committee) that relaxed the container and pack requirements prescribed under the marketing order for oranges and grapefruit grown in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas (order). The Committee locally administers the order and is comprised of producers and handlers of Texas citrus operating within the area of production. The interim rule added the word ``approximate'' to the size specifications of three regulated containers to make the language consistent with other containers specified under the order. This change provides uniformity in the descriptions of containers and helps prevent potential compliance violations stemming from slight variations in container dimensions.

This rule implements a recommendation from the California Date Administrative Committee (committee) for a decrease in the assessment rate established for the 2016-17 and subsequent crop years from $0.10 to $0.05 per hundredweight of dates handled. The committee locally administers the marketing order, which regulates the handling of dates produced or packed in Riverside County, California. Assessments upon date handlers are used by the committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The crop year begins October 1 and ends September 30. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This proposed rule invites comments on a recommendation by the Raisin Administrative Committee (Committee) to the remove the term ``midget'' from the minimum grade standards of the California raisin marketing order (order). The marketing order regulates the handling of raisins produced from grapes grown in California, and is administered locally by the Committee. Recently, the U.S. Standards for Grades of Processed Raisins (standards) were amended to remove the word ``midget.'' The proposed change would make the marketing order consistent with the amended standards. Furthermore, this rule would make a corresponding change to the raisin import regulation as required by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended, when changes are made to the size, grade, maturity, or quality requirements of the order.

This proposed rule would implement a recommendation from the California Walnut Board (Board) to increase the assessment rate established for the 2016-17 and subsequent marketing years from $0.0379 to $0.0465 per kernelweight pound of assessable walnuts. The Board locally administers the marketing order and is comprised of growers and handlers of walnuts operating within the area of production. 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.

This proposed rule invites public comments on a proposed amendment to Marketing Order No. 984, which regulates the handling of walnuts grown in California. The California Walnut Board (Board), which is responsible for the local administration of the order and is comprised of walnut producers and handlers operating within the production area, recommended an amendment that would authorize the Board to borrow from a commercial lending institution to fund operations and marketing/research expenses. Allowing the Committee to utilize this customary business practice would provide flexibility for the Board while increasing its effectiveness.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) hereby gives notice that no changes will be made to the current distribution of domestic National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (Dairy Board) members in 12 regions as outlined in Section 1150.131(b) of the Dairy Research and Promotion Order (Dairy Order). The Dairy Order provides that the Dairy Board shall review the geographic distribution of milk production throughout the United States (U.S.) and, if warranted, shall recommend to the Secretary a reapportionment of the regions and/or modification of the number of domestic members from the regions in order to better reflect the geographic distribution of milk production volumes in the U.S. The number of domestic Dairy Board members was last modified in 2011 based on 2010 U.S. milk production.