Agricultural Marketing Service November 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this constitutes notice of the upcoming meeting of the Grain Inspection Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee). The Advisory Committee meets no less than once annually to advise the Secretary on the programs and services delivered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) under the U.S. Grain Standards Act. Recommendations by the Advisory Committee help AMS meet the needs of its customers, who operate in a dynamic and changing marketplace.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) intention to request approval, from the Office of Management and Budget, for an extension of and revision to the currently approved information collection for Country of Origin Labeling.

This proposed rule would implement a recommendation from the Texas Valley Citrus Committee to decrease the assessment rate established for the 2022-23 and subsequent fiscal periods. The proposed assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing designation awards of Amarillo Grain Exchange, Inc. (Amarillo); J.W. Barton Grain Inspection Service, Inc. (Barton); Cairo Grain Inspection Agency, Inc. (Cairo); Champaign-Danville Grain Inspection Departments, Inc. (Champaign); Detroit Grain Inspection Service, Inc. (Detroit); Eastern Iowa Grain Inspection and Weighing Service, Inc. (Eastern Iowa); Enid Grain Inspection Company, Inc. (Enid); Farwell Commodity and Grain Services, Inc. (Farwell Southwest); Fremont Grain Inspection Department, Inc. (Fremont); Keokuk Grain Inspection Service (Keokuk); Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (Louisiana); Michigan Grain Inspection Services, Inc. (Michigan); Omaha Grain Inspection Service, Inc. (Omaha); Maryland Department of Agriculture (Maryland); North Carolina Department of Agriculture (North Carolina); North Dakota Grain Inspection Services, Inc. (North Dakota); Northeast Indiana Grain Inspection, Inc. (Northeast Indiana); Northern Plains Grain Inspection Service, Inc. (Northern Plains); Plainview Grain Inspection and Weighing Service, Inc. (Plainview); D. R. Schaal Agency, Inc. (Schaal); Sioux City Inspection and Weighing Service Company (Sioux City); State Grain Inspection, Inc. (State Grain); and Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (Utah) to provide official services under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA), as amended. The West Lafayette, Indiana area previously serviced by Titus Grain Inspection, Inc. (Titus), will now be serviced by two current official agencies: Champaign and North Dakota, as detailed below. AMS also announces that the designations of Plainview and Sioux City are amended to include Class X and Class Y weighing services.

This proposal invites comments on updates to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers for paper and paper-based packaging products in the Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Promotion, Research, and Information Order (Order). In addition, this action proposes new language that allows assessment collection to continue even if HTS numbers change in the future. The Paper and Packaging Board (Board) administers the Order with oversight by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Pursuant to the Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1985 (Act) and the Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order (Order) thereunder, this rulemaking decreases the current rate of assessment of 0.40 percent of the market value of live porcine animals to 0.35 percent and decreases the amount of assessment per pound due on imported pork and pork products (one- to three-hundredths of a cent per pound). These reductions in assessment rates are made in response to the approximately 47 percent increase in 2021 in the average prices of live hogs above its 3-year average from 2018-2020 and reflect the National Pork Producers Delegate Body's (Delegate Body) desire to lessen the assessment burden on producers and make such funds available to pork producers and the industry. The adjustment in importer assessments also brings the equivalent market value of live animals from which imported pork and pork products are derived in line with the market value of domestic porcine animals. This action also updates the Harmonized Tariff Schedule number for prepared or preserved pork in the regulation.