Pecans Grown in the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas; Continuance Referendum; Reopening of Voting Period
| Published date | 06 July 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 35409 |
| Record Number | 2021-14280 |
| Section | Proposed rules |
| Court | Agricultural Marketing Service |
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains notices to the public of the proposed
issuance of rules and regulations. The
purpose of these notices is to give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the
rule making prior to the adoption of the final
rules.
Proposed Rules Federal Register
35409
Vol. 86, No. 126
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 986
[Doc. No. AMS–SC–20–0081; SC20–986–2
CR]
Pecans Grown in the States of
Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona,
California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas,
Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North
Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, and Texas;
Continuance Referendum; Reopening
of Voting Period
AGENCY
: Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.
ACTION
: Referendum order; amendment
to referendum order.
SUMMARY
: This document reopens the
voting period for the referendum being
conducted among eligible growers of
pecans grown in the states of Alabama,
Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida,
Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri,
Mississippi, North Carolina, New
Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and
Texas to determine whether they favor
continuance of the marketing order
regulating the handling of pecans
produced in the production area. The
voting period has been reopened for an
additional 25 days from June 29, 2021,
to July 23, 2021.
DATES
: The voting period for the
referendum will be reopened from June
29 through July 23, 2021. Only current
pecan growers within the production
area that produced a minimum average
of 50,000 pounds of inshell pecans over
the four years from October 1, 2016, to
September 30, 2020, or own a minimum
of 30 pecan acres are eligible to vote in
this referendum.
ADDRESSES
: Copies of the marketing
order may be obtained from the
Southeast Marketing Field Office,
Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Specialty Crops Program,
AMS, USDA, 1124 First Street South,
Winter Haven, FL 33880; Telephone:
(863) 324–3375; or from the 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 on the
internet: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/
text-idx?SID=cf046522bce89ba62d7
5961df4db8b6d&mc=true&node=pt7.8.
986&rgn=div5.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Abigail Campos, Marketing Specialist,
or Christian D. Nissen, Regional
Director, Southeast Marketing Field
Office, Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Specialty Crops Program,
AMS, USDA, 1124 First Street South,
Winter Haven, FL 33880; Telephone:
(863) 324–3375, Fax: (863) 291–8614, or
Email: Abigail.Campos@usda.gov or
Christian.Nissen@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
: Pursuant
to Marketing Agreement and Order No.
986, as amended (7 CFR part 986),
hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Order,’’
and the applicable provisions of the
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act
of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601–674),
hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Act,’’ it is
hereby directed that a referendum be
conducted to ascertain whether
continuance of the Order is favored by
growers.
A referendum order was published in
the Federal Register on April 13, 2021
(86 FR 19152). The referendum order
specified that the voting period would
be from June 7, 2021, through June 28,
2021. USDA has received requests from
industry members to extend the voting
period as not all eligible growers had
received ballots and needed additional
time to request one prior to the end of
the voting period. Therefore, to facilitate
full grower participation in the
referendum, USDA is reopening the
voting period from June 29 through July
23, 2021. During this time, USDA will
continue to mail ballots to eligible
voters who request a ballot. All ballots
received during the previous voting
period and the reopened voting period
will be accepted. Voters who have
already submitted a ballot need to take
no further action.
To be eligible to participate in the
continuance referendum, a grower must
have produced a minimum average of
50,000 pounds of inshell pecans during
the four-year period from October 1,
2016, to September 30, 2020 or must
own a minimum of 30 pecan acres.
USDA has determined continuance
referenda are an effective means for
determining whether growers favor the
continuation of marketing order
programs. The Order will continue in
effect if two-thirds of the growers that
cast votes, or growers representing two-
thirds of the volume of pecans voted in
the referendum, cast ballots in favor of
continuance. In evaluating the merits of
continuance versus termination, USDA
will determine whether continued
operation of the Order would tend to
effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the ballots used in the
referendum have been approved by the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) and have been assigned OMB
No. 0581–0291, Federal Marketing
Order for Pecans. It has been estimated
it will take an average of 20 minutes for
each of the approximately 4,270 growers
of pecans to cast a ballot. Participation
is voluntary. Ballots postmarked after
July 23, 2021, will not be included in
the vote tabulation.
Abigail Campos, Dolores Lowenstine,
and Christian D. Nissen of the Southeast
Marketing Field Office, Specialty Crops
Program, AMS, USDA, are hereby
designated as the referendum agents for
the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct
this referendum. The procedure
applicable to the referendum shall be
the ‘‘Procedure for the Conduct of
Referenda in Connection with
Marketing Orders for Fruits, Vegetables,
and Nuts Pursuant to the Agricultural
Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as
Amended’’ (7 CFR 900.400 et seq.).
Ballots may be obtained from the
referendum agents or their appointees at
the previously mentioned contact
information.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 986
Marketing agreements, Pecans,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.
Erin Morris,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural
Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–14280 Filed 7–2–21; 8:45 am]
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