Commodity Credit Corporation October 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is issuing this notice which sets forth the establishment and adjustments to the sugar overall allotment quantity for the 2004 crop year (FY 2005) which runs from October 1, 2004, through September 30, 2005. Although CCC already announced all of the information in this notice, CCC is statutorily required to publish in the Federal Register determinations establishing or adjusting sugar marketing allotments. CCC set the 2004-crop overall allotment quantity (OAQ) of domestic sugar to 8.100 million short tons raw value (STRV) on July 16, 2004. On September 28, 2004, CCC allocated the allotments to cane-producing States and allocations to cane and beet sugar processors. On April 29, 2005, CCC revised State cane sugar allotments and cane sugar processor allocations to reflect updated FY 2005 raw cane production forecasts. On June 30, 2005, CCC further revised State cane sugar allotments and cane sugar processor allocations to reflect updated raw cane production forecasts. On August 19, August 30 and September 9, 2005, CCC increased the 2004-crop OAQ by 250,000, 225,000 and 105,000 STRV, respectively, to release blocked refined beet sugar stocks into the tight summer market. Because the cane sector was unable to fulfill its share of the allotment increases on each occasion, the cane shortfall was reassigned first to the CCC inventory and then to imports, as required by the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938.

This proposed rule would change the handling of claims for specified ``tropical'' regions for the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). The specified area includes Hawaii, Puerto Rico and specified additional areas. The proposed changes are intended to reduce the burden on program participants and ease program administration in the affected areas.