[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 53 (Monday, March 18, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10902-10903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6345]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 29
[Docket No. TB-95-15]
Tobacco Inspection--Growers Referendum
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of referendum.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces that a referendum will be conducted by
mail during the period of April 15-26, 1996, for producers of burley
tobacco who sell their tobacco at auction in Boone and West Jefferson,
North Carolina, and Mountain City, Tennessee, to determine producer
approval of the designation of the Boone, West Jefferson, and Mountain
City tobacco markets as one consolidated auction market.
DATES: The referendum will be held April 15-26, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Fial, Assistant to the
Director, Tobacco Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, United
States Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-
6456; telephone number (202) 260-0151.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given of a mail referendum
on the designation of a consolidated auction market at Boone and West
Jefferson, North Carolina, and Mountain City, Tennessee. Boone, West
Jefferson, and Mountain City were designated on October 25, 1941,
October 25, 1948, and November 1, 1951, respectively, (7 CFR 29.8001)
as burley tobacco auction markets under the Tobacco Inspection Act (7
U.S.C. 511 et seq.). Under this Act those markets have been receiving
mandatory grading services from USDA.
On July 10, 1995, an application was made to the Secretary of
Agriculture to consolidate the designated markets of Boone and West
Jefferson, North Carolina, and Mountain City, Tennessee. The
application, filed by warehouse operators in those markets, was made
pursuant to the regulations promulgated under the Tobacco Inspection
Act (7 CFR Part 29.1-29.3). On September 15, 1995, a public hearing was
held in Boone, North Carolina, pursuant to the regulations. A Review
Committee, established pursuant to Sec. 29.3(h) of the regulations (7
CFR 29.3(h)), has reviewed and considered the application, the
testimony presented at the hearing, the
[[Page 10903]]
exhibits received in evidence, and other available information. The
Committee recommended to the Secretary that the application be granted
and the Secretary approved the application on February 26, 1996.
Before a new market can be officially designated, a referendum must
be held to determine that a two-thirds majority of producers favor the
designation. It is hereby determined that the referendum will be held
by mail during the period of April 15-26, 1996. The purpose of the
referendum is to determine whether farmers who sold their tobacco on
the designated markets at Boone, West Jefferson, and Mountain City are
in favor of, or opposed to, the designation of the consolidated market
for the 1996 and succeeding crop years. Accordingly, if a two-thirds
majority of those tobacco producers voting in the referendum favor this
consolidation, a new market will be designated as and will be called
Boone-West Jefferson-Mountain City.
To be eligible to vote in the referendum a tobacco producer must
have sold burley tobacco on either the Boone or West Jefferson, North
Carolina, or Mountain City, Tennessee, auction markets during the 1995
marketing season. Any farmer who believes he or she is eligible to vote
in the referendum but has not received a mail ballot by April 15, 1996,
should immediately contact Rebecca Fial at (202) 260-0151.
The referendum will be held in accordance with the provisions for
referenda of the Tobacco Inspection Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 511d) and
the regulations for such referendum set forth in 7 CFR 29.74.
Dated: March 11, 1996.
Lon Hatamiya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 96-6345 Filed 3-15-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
