[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 14 (Thursday, January 22, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3254-3255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1432]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Parts 997 and 998
[Docket No. FV97-998-3 FIR]
Domestically Produced Peanuts Handled by Persons Not Subject to
Peanut Marketing Agreement No. 146; Marketing Agreement No. 146
Regulating the Quality of Domestically Produced Peanuts
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting as a
final rule, without change, an interim final rule which decreased the
assessment rate for the Peanut Administrative Committee (Committee)
under Marketing Agreement No. 146 (agreement) for the 1997-98 and
subsequent crop years. Authorization to assess peanut handlers who have
signed the agreement enables the Committee to incur expenses that are
reasonable and necessary to administer the program. The Department is
also required to impose an administrative assessment on farmers' stock
peanuts received or acquired by handlers who are not signatory (non-
signatory handlers) to the agreement. Therefore, the assessment rate
established under the agreement also must be applied to all non-
signatory handlers. The 1997-98 crop year began July 1 and ends June
30. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless
modified, suspended, or terminated.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 23, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tammie Bryant or Jim Wendland,
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. Small businesses may
request information on compliance with this regulation by contacting:
Jay Guerber, 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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued pursuant to the
requirements of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as
amended (7 U.S.C. 601-674), hereafter referred to as the ``Act''; and
under Marketing Agreement No. 146 (7 CFR part 998) regulating the
quality of domestically produced peanuts.
The Department is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive
Order 12866.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. Farmers' stock peanuts received or acquired by non-
signatory handlers and farmers' stock peanuts received or acquired by
handlers signatory to the agreement, other than from those described in
Secs. 998.31(c) and (d), are subject to assessments. It is intended
that the assessment rates issued herein will be applicable to all
assessable peanuts beginning July 1, 1997, 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. There are no administrative
procedures which must be exhausted prior to any judicial challenge to
the provisions of this rule.
This rule adopts as a final rule, without change, the provisions of
an interim final rule, which decreased the assessment rate established
for the Committee for the 1997-98 and subsequent fiscal years from
$0.70 to $0.35 per ton.
The agreement 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. Funds
to administer the agreement program are derived from signatory handler
assessments. The members of the Committee are handlers and producers of
peanuts. They are familiar with the Committee's needs and with the
costs of goods and services in their local areas and, thus, are in a
position to formulate an appropriate budget and assessment rate. The
assessment rate is formulated and discussed in public meetings. Thus,
all directly affected persons have an opportunity to participate and
provide input. The handlers of peanuts who are directly affected have
signed the marketing agreement authorizing the expenses that may be
incurred and the imposition of assessments.
For the 1997-98 and subsequent crop years, the Committee
recommended and the Department approved, an assessment rate that would
continue in effect from crop year to crop year indefinitely 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 30, 1997, and unanimously recommended
1997-98 administrative expenditures of $525,000 and an administrative
assessment rate of $0.35 per net ton of assessable farmers' stock
peanuts received or acquired by handlers. The Committee also voted not
to recommend an assessment rate for indemnification for handler losses
due to aflatoxin contamination. Adequate funds are included in the
Committee's indemnification reserve for such expenses during the 1997-
98 crop year. In comparison, last year's budgeted administrative
expenditures were $1,025,500. Major expenditures recommended by the
Committee for the 1997-98 crop year compared with those budgeted for
1996-97 (in parentheses) include: $55,000 for executive salaries
($112,450), $50,000 for clerical salaries ($131,500), $125,000 for
field representatives (3 compliance officers rather than 7 fieldmen)
salaries ($296,700), $18,000 for payroll taxes ($42,000), $65,000 for
employee benefits ($148,000), $40,000 for Committee members travel
($40,000), $5,000 for staff travel ($5,000), $60,000 for field
representatives travel ($110,000), $9,800 for insurance and bonds
($9,800), $19,000 for office rent and parking ($46,200), $10,000 for
office supplies and stationery ($14,000), $10,400 for postage and
mailing ($13,200), $11,000 for telephone and telegraph ($15,000),
$6,000 for repairs and maintenance agreements ($6,000), $10,400 for the
audit fee ($10,400), and $15,800 for the contingency reserve ($10,250).
The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was derived by
dividing anticipated expenses by expected receipts and acquisitions of
farmers' stock peanuts. Farmers' stock peanuts received or acquired by
handlers signatory to the agreement, other than from those described in
Sec. 998.31(c) and
[[Page 3255]]
(d), are subject to the assessments. Farmers stock peanuts received or
acquired by non-signatory handlers by law are subject to the same
assessment rate. Assessments are due on the 15th of the month following
the month in which the farmers' stock peanuts are received or acquired.
Receipts for the year under the agreement are estimated at 1,500,000
tons, which should provide $525,000 in assessment income. Approximately
95 percent of the domestically produced peanut crop is marketed by
handlers who are signatory to the agreement. The remaining 5 percent of
the U.S. peanut crop is marketed by non-signer handlers.
The Act provides for mandatory assessment of farmers' stock peanuts
acquired by non-signatory peanut handlers. Section 608b of the Act
specifies that: (1) Any assessment (except indemnification assessments)
imposed under the agreement on signatory handlers shall also apply to
non-signatory handlers, and (2) such assessment shall be paid to the
Secretary.
The assessment rates established in this rule 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 these assessment rates are effective for an indefinite
period, the Committee will continue to meet prior to or during each
crop year 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
1997-98 budget was reviewed and approved by the Department on September
17, 1997, and those for subsequent crop years 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. There are approximately
80 peanut handlers who are subject to regulation under the agreement or
the non-signer program and approximately 25,000 peanut producers in the
16-State production area. Small agricultural service firms, which
include handlers, have been defined by the Small Business
Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those having annual receipts of less
than $5,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined as those
whose annual receipts are less than $500,000. Approximately 25 percent
of the signatory handlers, virtually all of the non-signer handlers,
and most of the producers may be classified as small entities.
This rule continues in effect the assessment rate established for
the Committee and collected from handlers for the 1997-98 and
subsequent crop years of $0.35 per net ton. The assessment rate is
$0.35 less than the rate previously in effect.
The Committee discussed alternatives to this rule, including
alternative expenditure levels. The Committee also discussed the
alternative of not decreasing the assessment rate. However, it decided
against this course of action. The peanut industry has been in a state
of economic decline since 1991, with the Committee attempting to cut
costs wherever possible. The Committee's budget for 1997-98 is
$525,000; this is $500,500 less than the amount budgeted for 1996-97.
Based on an estimated 1,500,000 net tons of assessable peanuts, income
derived from handler assessments during 1997-98 will be adequate to
cover budgeted expenses.
This rule continues in effect the assessment obligation imposed on
handlers. While this action will impose some costs on handlers, the
costs are minimal and in the form of uniform assessments on all
handlers. Some of the costs may be passed on to producers. However,
these costs will be offset by the benefits derived from the operation
of the agreement. This administrative assessment is required to also be
applied uniformly to all non-signatory handlers and should be of
benefit to all. In addition, the Committee's meeting was widely
publicized throughout the peanut industry and all interested persons
were invited to attend the meeting and participate in Committee
deliberations on all issues. Like all Committee meetings, the April 30,
1997, meeting was a public meeting and all entities, both large and
small, were able to express views on this issue.
This action will not impose any additional reporting or
recordkeeping requirements on either small or large peanut handlers. As
with all Federal marketing agreement and 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 September 17, 1997 (62 FR 48749). A copy of the
interim final rule was also made available on the Internet by the
Office of the Federal Register. The comment period ended October 17,
1997, and no comments were received.
After consideration of all relevant matter 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
7 CFR Part 997
Food grades and standards, Peanuts, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
7 CFR Part 998
Marketing agreements, Peanuts, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
PART 997--PROVISIONS REGULATING THE QUALITY OF DOMESTICALLY
PRODUCED PEANUTS HANDLED BY PERSONS NOT SUBJECT TO THE PEANUT
MARKETING AGREEMENT
PART 998--MARKETING AGREEMENT REGULATING THE QUALITY OF
DOMESTICALLY PRODUCED PEANUTS
Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR parts 997 and
998 which was published at 62 FR 48749 on September 17, 1997, is
adopted as a final rule without change.
Dated: January 15, 1998.
Robert C. Keeney,
Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable Programs.
[FR Doc. 98-1432 Filed 1-21-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
