Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Suspension of Reporting and Assessment Requirements
| Published date | 24 February 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 11091 |
| Record Number | 2021-03528 |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
| Court | Agricultural Marketing Service |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 35 (Wednesday, February 24, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 24, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11091-11094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03528]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 946
[Doc. No. AMS-SC-20-0062; SC20-946-1 FR]
Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Suspension of Reporting and
Assessment Requirements
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule suspends the reporting and assessment
requirements prescribed under the marketing order regulating Irish
potatoes grown in Washington. In a separate action, the State of
Washington Potato Committee recommended termination of the marketing
order. This final rule indefinitely suspends the reporting and
assessment requirements of the marketing order during the period that
USDA is processing the termination request.
DATES: Effective March 26, 2021 Sec. Sec. 946.143 and 946.248 are
stayed indefinitely.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory A. Breasher, Marketing
[[Page 11092]]
Specialist, or Gary Olson, Regional Director, Northwest Marketing Field
Office, Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Specialty Crops
Program, AMS, USDA; Telephone: (503) 326-2724 or Email:
[email protected] or [email protected].
Small businesses may request information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Richard Lower, Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW, STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 720-2491, or
Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553,
amends regulations issued to carry out a marketing order as defined in
7 CFR 900.2(j). This final rule is issued under Marketing Order No.
946, as amended (7 CFR part 946), regulating the handling of Irish
potatoes grown in Washington. Part 946 (referred to as the ``Order'')
is effective under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as
amended (7 U.S.C. 601-674), hereinafter referred to as the ``Act.''
The State of Washington Potato Committee (hereinafter referred to
as the ``Committee'') locally administers the Order and is comprised of
producers and handlers of Irish potatoes operating within the
production area.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing this final rule in
conformance with Executive Orders 13563 and 13175. This action falls
within a category of regulatory actions that the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) exempted from Executive Order 12866 review.
This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. This final rule is not intended to have
retroactive effect.
The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted
before parties may file suit in court. Under section 608c(15)(A) of the
Act, any handler subject to a marketing order may file with USDA a
petition stating that the marketing order, any provision of the
marketing order, or any obligation imposed in connection with the
marketing order is not in accordance with law and request a
modification of the marketing order or to be exempted therefrom. A
handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the petition.
After the hearing, USDA would rule on the petition. The Act provides
that the district court of the United States in any district in which
the handler is an inhabitant, or has his or her principal place of
business, has jurisdiction to review USDA's ruling on the petition,
provided an action is filed not later than 20 days after the date of
the entry of the ruling.
The Committee meets regularly to consider recommendations for
modification, suspension, or termination of the Order's regulatory
requirements. Committee meetings are open to the public and interested
persons may express their views at these meetings. USDA reviews
Committee recommendations, including information provided by the
Committee and from other available sources, and determines whether
modification, suspension, or termination of the regulatory requirements
will tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
On June 11, 2020, the Committee met and, after much deliberation,
unanimously recommended that USDA terminate the Order. Additionally,
the Committee recommended that the Order's reporting and assessment
requirements--the only regulatory activities of the Order in effect at
the time--be suspended while the recommendation for termination is
being processed by USDA. The termination is a separate regulatory
action from the suspension of administrative requirements.
Section 946.41 of the Order provides authority for the Committee to
assess handlers for their pro rata share of the Committee expenses
authorized each fiscal period. Section 946.70 of the Order authorizes
the Committee to collect reports and other information necessary for
the Committee to perform its duties under the Order. This rule
suspends--or ``stays''--Sec. 946.248, which establishes a continuing
assessment rate of $0.0025 per hundredweight, effective for the 2013-
2014 and subsequent fiscal periods, and Sec. 946.143, which requires
monthly reporting of fresh potato shipments from the production area.
The Order has been in effect since 1949, providing the Washington
potato industry authority for grade, size, quality, maturity, pack, and
container requirements, as well as authority for inspection
requirements. Based on the Committee's recommendation in 2010, USDA
suspended the Order's handling requirements for Russet potatoes. The
Committee believed that the costs of inspection outweighed the benefits
provided from having the Order's regulatory requirements in effect for
that type potato.
In 2013, also upon the recommendation of the Committee, USDA
suspended handling requirements temporarily, through June 30, 2014, for
all yellow flesh and white type potatoes. The Committee believed that
the costs of inspection outweighed the benefits provided from
regulation for these type potatoes as well.
In 2014, the handling requirements for red type potatoes were
indefinitely suspended. Also in 2014, the temporary suspension of
handling requirements for yellow flesh and white types was extended
indefinitely. The sum of the previous actions effectively suspended the
handling requirements for all types of Washington potatoes after the
2013-2014 marketing year. The Committee believed operating without
handling regulation offered Washington potato handlers a cost savings
through the elimination of mandatory inspection fees. Also, the
Committee had determined that the potential negative market impact of
operating without mandatory quality and inspection requirements was
minimal.
Following the suspension of the handling requirements in 2014, the
Committee continued to levy assessments and to maintain its
administrative function. The Committee believed that it should continue
to fund its full operational capability, collect industry statistics on
an ongoing basis, and maintain the program if regulating quality was
again deemed necessary.
The Committee met on June 11, 2020, to discuss the status of the
Washington potato industry and the relevance of the Order. The
Committee determined that the suspension of the Order's handling
requirements has not negatively impacted the industry and that there is
no longer a need for the Order. Also, the Committee concluded that the
collection of information under the Order's authority is redundant, as
the Washington Potato Commission has similar handler reporting
requirements as the Order, and that the statistical information
collected by the Commission is provided to the industry. Thus, the
Committee unanimously recommended terminating the Order.
In addition, the Committee determined that there is no need to
continue collecting assessments and requiring reports while USDA
considers its termination recommendation. Therefore, the Committee also
unanimously recommended that the assessment and reporting requirements
of the Order be immediately suspended. This action relieves handlers of
the assessment and reporting burden during the pendency of the
termination process.
At the June meeting, the Committee recommended a budget of $41,150
for the indefinite period leading up to the termination of the Order.
The budgeted amount was established based on the funds remaining in the
Committee's
[[Page 11093]]
monetary reserve and expected future expenses. The budget, in its
entirety, will provide for such operating expenses as are necessary
during the termination process, including a final financial review and
management compensation.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
has considered the economic impact of this final rule on small
entities. Accordingly, AMS has prepared this final regulatory
flexibility analysis.
The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of
businesses subject to such actions in order that small businesses will
not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued
pursuant to the Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are unique in
that they are brought about through group action of essentially small
entities acting on their own behalf.
There are approximately 250 producers of Washington potatoes and
approximately 26 fresh potato handlers in the production area subject
to regulation by the Order.
Small agricultural service firms are defined by the Small Business
Administration (13 CFR 121.201) as those having annual receipts of less
than $30,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined as those
having annual receipts of less than $1,000,000.
According to USDA Market News, the average shipping point price for
fresh Washington potatoes during the 2019 shipping season was
approximately $15.79 per hundredweight. The Committee reported 2019-
2020 marketing year fresh potato shipments were 9,687,170
hundredweight. Using the average price and shipment information along
with the number of handlers, average annual receipts for a handler were
significantly less than $30,000,000 ($15.79 times 9,687,170
hundredweight equals $152,960,414, divided by 26 handlers equals
$5,883,093 per handler).
In addition, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reported
an average producer price of $8.20 per hundredweight for the 2019 crop.
Given the number of Washington potato producers, the average annual
producer revenue is well below $1,000,000 ($8.20 times 9,687,170
hundredweight equals $79,434,794, divided by 250 producers equals
$317,739 per producer). Therefore, most handlers and producers of fresh
Washington potatoes may be classified as small agricultural businesses.
This final rule suspends the reporting and assessment requirements
of the Order. The handler reporting requirement that is suspended is
the monthly collection of Washington fresh potato shipment information.
The assessment rate that is suspended is the $0.0025 per hundredweight
rate that was established beginning July 1, 2013. The Committee also
recommended a budget of expenditures of $41,150 for the period
beginning July 1, 2020 and ending with termination of the Order. The
budget was based on the Committee's estimated financial resources on
June 30, 2020. Budgeted expenditures include administrative expenses
and a final financial review.
The Committee made the recommendation to suspend the reporting and
assessment requirements as an adjunct to the recommendation to
terminate the Order. As such, the only other alternative discussed by
the Committee was to maintain the status quo, continue to assess
handlers, and to require monthly handling reports. After consideration,
the Committee determined that the Order is no longer beneficial to the
industry and that the best recourse was to cease operations and
terminate the Order.
This action suspends the Order's reporting and assessment
obligations imposed on handlers. When in effect, assessments are
applied uniformly on all handlers, and some of those costs may be
passed on to producers. Suspension of the reporting and assessment
requirements reduces the regulatory burden on handlers and is also
expected to reduce the burden on producers.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the Order's information collection requirements have been
previously approved by OMB and assigned OMB No. 0581-0178 Vegetable and
Specialty Crops. This final rule suspends those information collection
requirements, and any reporting and recordkeeping requirements under
the Order.
As with all Federal marketing order programs, reports and forms are
periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and
duplication by industry and public sector agencies. In addition, USDA
has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap
or conflict with this final rule.
AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to promote
the use of the internet and other information technologies to provide
increased opportunities for citizen access to Government information
and services, and for other purposes.
The Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout the
Washington potato industry, and all interested persons were invited to
attend the meeting and participate in Committee deliberations on all
issues. Like all Committee meetings, the June 11, 2020, meeting was a
public meeting, and all entities, both large and small, were able to
express their views on these issues.
A proposed rule concerning this action was published in the Federal
Register on October 13, 2020 (85 FR 64415). Copies of the proposal were
provided by the Committee to members and handlers. Finally, the
proposed rule was made available through the internet by USDA and the
Office of the Federal Register. A 60-day comment period ending December
14, 2020, was provided to allow interested persons to respond to the
proposal. No comments were submitted. Accordingly, no changes have been
made to the rule as proposed.
A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/moa/small-businesses. Any questions
about the compliance guide should be sent to Richard Lower at the
previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section.
After consideration of all relevant material presented, including
the information and recommendation submitted by the Committee and other
available information, it is hereby found that this rule will tend to
effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 946
Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Agriculture
Marketing Service amends 7 CFR part 946 as follows:
PART 946--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN WASHINGTON
0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 946 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
[[Page 11094]]
Sec. Sec. 946.143 and 946.248 [Stayed]
0
2. Stay Sec. Sec. 946.143 and 946.248 indefinitely.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-03528 Filed 2-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
