Potatoes (Irish) grown in Southeastern States,
[Federal Register: September 2, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 170)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 46635-46637]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02se98-4]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 953
[Docket No. FV98-953-1 FIR]
Irish Potatoes Grown in Southeastern States; Increased Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, the provisions of an interim final rule which increased the assessment rate established for the Southeastern Potato Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order No. 953 for the 1998-99 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0075 to $0.01 per hundredweight of potatoes handled. The Committee is responsible for local administration of the marketing order which regulates the handling of Irish potatoes grown in two southeastern States (Virginia and North Carolina). Authorization to assess potato handlers enables the Committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the program. The fiscal period begins June 1 and ends May 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 2, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Wendland, DC Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090- 6456; telephone: 202-720-2491, Fax: 202-205-6632; or George Kelhart, Technical Advisor, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: 202-720-2491, Fax: 202-205-6632. Small businesses may request information on compliance with this regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, also at the above address, telephone, and Fax.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing Agreement No. 104 and Order No. 953, both as amended (7 CFR part 953), regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in two southeastern States (Virginia and North Carolina), hereinafter referred to as the ``order.'' 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 Department is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive Order 12866.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order now in effect, Virginia-North Carolina potato handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to administer the order are derived from such assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable to all assessable potatoes beginning June 1, 1998, and continuing until amended, suspended, or terminated. This rule will not preempt any State or local laws, regulations, or policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this rule.
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 an order may file with the Secretary a petition stating that the order, any provision of the order, or any obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance with law and request a modification of the order or to be exempted therefrom. Such handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the petition. After the hearing the Secretary 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 the Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided an action is filednot later than 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
This rule continues to increase the assessment rate established for the Committee for the 1998-99 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0075 to $0.01 per hundredweight of potatoes handled.
The Southeastern Potato Marketing Order provides authority for the Committee, with the approval of the Department, to formulate an annual budget of expenses and collect assessments from handlers to administer the program. The members of the Committee are producers and handlers of Southeastern potatoes. They are familiar with the Committee's needs and with the costs for goods and services in their local area and are thus in a position to formulate an appropriate budget and assessment rate. The
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assessment rate is formulated and discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all directly affected persons have an opportunity to participate and provide input.
For the 1996-97 and subsequent fiscal periods the Committee recommended, and the Department approved, an assessment rate of $0.0075 per hundredweight of potatoes handled that would continue in effect from fiscal period to fiscal period unless modified, suspended, or terminated by the Secretary upon recommendation and information submitted by the Committee or other information available to the Secretary.
The Committee met on April 16, 1998, and unanimously recommended 1998-99 expenditures of $12,000, the same as last year. The major expenditures include $7,700 for the manager's and secretarial salaries and $1,000 for travel expenses. These and all other expense items are budgeted at last year's amounts.
Regarding the assessment rate, after considering several options, the Committee concluded that the former rate of $0.0075 per hundredweight would not be adequate for the 1998-99 fiscal period for the following reasons. The Committee's operating reserve was only $5,000 and was expected to be quickly exhausted. The reserve was the lowest ever for any of the Committee's fiscal periods except one. Also, wet fields caused delayed plantings and unfavorable growing conditions, resulting in potato plant stands estimated to be 20 percent below normal. As a result of this and other factors, the Committee projected that during the industry's brief, predominately June and July, shipping and assessing period, its total potato volume to be handled would be down at least 100,000 hundredweight. Therefore, the Committee unanimously recommended an assessment rate of $0.01 per hundredweight, $0.0025 higher than the rate formerly in effect.
The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was based on projected fresh market shipments of 1,200,000 hundredweight (cwt) of Southeastern potatoes, which should provide $12,000 in assessment income. However, recent information indicates that these shipments will only be approximately 900,000 cwt, providing about $9,000 in assessments. But this income, along with funds from the Committee's authorized operating reserve, will be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve at the beginning of the 1997-98fiscal period were estimated at only $5,000. Funds in the reserve are now expected to be about $2,000, well within the maximum permitted by the order of approximately one fiscal period's expenses (Sec. 953.35).
The assessment rate will continue in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated by the Secretary upon recommendation and information submitted by the Committee or other available information.
Although this assessment rate is effective for an indefinite period, the Committee will continue to meet prior to or during each fiscal period to recommend a budget of expenses and consider recommendations for modification of the assessment rate. The dates and times of Committee meetings are available from the Committee or the Department. Committee meetings are open to the public and interested persons may express their views at these meetings. The Department will evaluate Committee recommendations and other available information to determine whether modification of the assessment rate is needed. Further rulemaking will be undertaken as necessary. The Committee's 1998-99 budget and those for subsequent fiscal periods will be reviewed and, as appropriate, approved by the Department.
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the economic impact of this 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 business 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. Thus, both statutes have small entity orientation and compatibility.
There are approximately 85 producers of Southeastern potatoes in the production area and approximately 40 handlers subject to regulation under the marketing order. Small agricultural producers have been defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those having annual receipts of less than $500,000, and small agricultural service firms are defined as those whose annual receipts are less than $5,000,000. The majority of Southeastern potato producers and handlers may be classified as small entities.
This rule continues to increase the assessment rate established for the Southeastern Potato Committee and collected from handlers for the 1998-99 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0075 per hundredweight to $0.01 per hundredweight of potatoes handled. Both the $0.01 assessment rate and the 1998-89 budget of $12,000 were unanimously recommended by the Committee at its April 16, 1998, meeting. The assessment rate continued in effect by this action is $0.0025 higher than the 1997-98 rate. The Committee recommended an increased assessment rate to help offset the smaller projected crop of assessable Southeastern potatoes in 1998. Recent information indicates these shipments will only be approximately 900,000 hundredweight (cwt), about 400,000 cwt less than the 1997 crop, to provide about $9,000 in assessments. But this income, along with funds from the Committee's authorized operating reserve, will be adequate to meet the 1998-99 fiscal period's budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve at the beginning of the 1997-98fiscal period were approximately $5,000. Funds in the reserve are now expected to be only about $2,000, well within the maximum permitted by the order of approximately one fiscal period's expenses (Sec. 953.35). The Committee discussed leaving the assessment at the previous $0.0075 rate but determined that the significantly smaller crop would not generate enough income to meet budgeted expenses without exhausting the $5,000 operating reserve, and this was not acceptable.
The major expenditures recommended by the Committee for the 1998-99 fiscal period include $7,700 for the manager's and secretarial salaries and $1,000 for travel expenses. These and all other expense items are budgeted at last year's amounts.
A review of historical information and recent preliminary information indicate that the grower price for the 1998-99 Southeastern potato crop could average approximately $7.00 to $8.00 per hundredweight. With fresh market shipments in 1998 of approximately 900,000 hundredweight, the estimated assessment revenue for the 1998-99 fiscal period ($9,000) as a percentage of the projected fresh market crop value ($7,200,000) could be 0.005 percent.
While assessments impose some additional costs on handlers, the costs are minimal and uniform on all handlers. Some of the additional costs may be passed on to producers. However, these costs will be offset by the benefits derived by the operation of the order. In addition, the Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout the Southeastern potato industry and all interested persons were invited to attend the meeting and
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participate in Committee deliberations on all issues. Like all Committee meetings, the April 16, 1998, meeting was a public meeting and all entities, both large and small, were able to express views on this issue.
This action imposes no additional reporting or recordkeeping requirements on either small or large Southeastern potato handlers. 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.
The Department has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this rule.
An interim final rule concerning this action was published in the Federal Register on June 17, 1998, (63 FR 32966). Copies of that rule were also mailed or sent via facsimile to all Southeastern potato handlers. Finally, the interim final rule was made available through the Internet by the Office of the Federal Register. A 30-day comment period was provided for interested persons to respond to the interim final rule. The comment period ended on July 17, 1998, and no comments were received.
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, as hereinafter set forth, will tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 953
Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 953 is amended as follows:
PART 953--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN SOUTHEASTERN STATES
Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 953 which was published at 63 FR 32966 on June 17, 1998, is adopted as a final rule without change.
Dated: August 26, 1998. Robert C. Keeney, Deputy Administrator, Fruit & Vegetable Programs.
[FR Doc. 98-23516Filed9-1-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
