[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 20 (Monday, January 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-2099]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: January 31, 1994]


                                                    VOL. 59, NO. 20

                                           Monday, January 31, 1994
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA

7 CFR Part 28

[CN-94-003]
RIN 0581-AB06

 

Cotton Classification Services for Cotton Producers

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposes to amend 
regulations governing cotton classification services provided to cotton 
producers in order to provide more accurate fiber quality measurements. 
This proposal would modify the present classification system to add a 
new procedure, known as module averaging. Module averaging is a method, 
based on sound statistical procedures, by which the accuracy of fiber 
quality measurements can be improved. The module averaging procedure 
uses all the bales from a module or trailer as the testing unit rather 
than using a single bale as the test unit. The module averaging 
procedure has been offered to growers on a voluntary basis for the past 
three crop years.
    The Secretary's Advisory Committee on Cotton Marketing has 
recommended that, if no significant problems are encountered during the 
1993 classing season, the module averaging procedure be expanded to 
include all cotton classed in 1994 and subsequent crop years.

DATES: Comments must be received by March 2, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments and inquiries should be addressed to Craig 
Shackelford, Cotton Division, AMS, USDA, room 2641-S, P.O. Box 96456, 
Washington, DC 20090-6456. Comments will be available for public 
inspection during regular business hours at the above office in rm. 
2641-South Building, 14th & Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Shackelford, 202-720-2259.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is issuing this rule in 
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, 
Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
This rule would 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.
    Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), The Administrator of the 
Agricultural Marketing Service has considered the economic impact of 
this proposal on small entities.
    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 disproportionately burdened.
    The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines (13 CFR 121.601) 
small agricultural service firms as having annual receipts of less than 
$3,500,000. There are approximately 1,400 cotton gins which submit 
cotton samples to AMS for cotton classification. The majority of these 
gins would meet the SBA's definition for small agricultural firms. This 
proposal would require these gins to provide individual module or 
trailer identification numbers to AMS cotton classing offices. This 
information would be provided prior to classing of cotton samples 
through telecommunications, facsimile or other means. The expense for 
gins to provide this information to AMS has not been found to be 
burdensome during the past 3 years of a pilot project. The module 
averaging pilot project has shown to result in the dissemination of 
more accurate classification results. It is expected that more accurate 
cotton classification would lead to more efficient marketing of cotton. 
Marketing costs are expected to decrease as a result of less retesting. 
It is the view of the agency that the improved marketing efficiency as 
a result of module averaging would outweigh the cost of providing the 
additional information to AMS. Further, the economic impact of this 
action would not be adverse. For these reasons, the Administrator, AMS, 
has certified that this action will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities as defined in the RFA.
    In compliance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
regulations [5 CFR part 1320] which implement the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA) of 1980 [44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.] the information collection 
requirements contained in this proposed rule have been submitted to OMB 
for approval numbers under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    A random, informal telephone survey was conducted among gins that 
are voluntarily participating in the pilot project in order to estimate 
the time required by gin personnel to prepare and submit to classing 
facilities the module and trailer identification for each bale. The 
volume of cotton ginned at these businesses ranged from 8,000 to 40,000 
bales per year. When asked about the frequency of information 
transmitted, all gins responded that module and trailer bale 
identification information was submitted daily. These daily lists 
correspond to the daily number of bales produced at each gin. The 
majority of the surveyed gins utilized computer telecommunications to 
transmit the information to classing facilities. A few gins used 
computer diskettes or facsimile transmission. Gins using computerized 
recordkeeping systems responded that the time required to produce the 
daily list was insignificant because the information was already 
maintained. Gins using manual recordkeeping systems reported greater 
time required to prepare lists. In most cases the gins with manual 
systems photocopied existing records for facsimile transmission.
    Based on discussions with pilot project participants, it is 
estimated that it would require 15 minutes a day to assemble, prepare, 
and transmit the module or trailer identification. If gins operate for 
90 days per year the annual time required would be 22.5 hours per year. 
With 1,400 gins that would be required to submit the information, the 
total time required of all gins would be 31,500 hours.
    Module averaging does not require a new sampling procedure. It 
utilizes the current procedure of obtaining a sample from both sides of 
each bale. Under the traditional approach fiber quality measurements 
are made on each sample and the average of the two measurements becomes 
the fiber quality determination for that bale. Because of the natural 
variability of cotton fiber characteristics, a greater number of tests 
would need to be performed on each sample. In practice this would be 
too costly and time consuming on a bale-by-bale basis. Since fiber 
quality variability within a bale of cotton has been determined to be 
about the same as that within a module or trailer of cotton, the 
statistical confidence is high that a module or trailer of cotton can 
serve as the test unit just as reliably as a bale of cotton. A module 
will yield approximately 13 bales when ginned and a trailer will yield 
approximately eight bales. By using all of the bales of cotton from one 
module or trailer as the test unit, enough samples can be tested to 
obtain the true average of the unit.
    Under the proposed procedure the ginner would provide the classing 
office servicing the area with individual module and trailer 
identification for each bale of cotton in addition to the gin bale 
numbers prior to classification. The module or trailer identification 
numbers would be submitted through computer telecommunications, 
facsimile or other means.
    Section 28.908 (g) sets forth the conditions that would constitute 
a request for cotton classification. Paragraph (g) would be revised to 
include a provision requiring the submission of module or trailer 
identification for each bale of cotton prior to classification.
    By adopting a procedure of module averaging, fiber quality in a 
module or trailer would be determined by calculating the average of all 
bale measurements within the module or trailer and assigning these 
averaged quality factors to each bale within that unit as the official 
quality measurement. For example, the individual strength readings from 
each bale in the module or trailer would be added together and divided 
by the number of bales in the module or trailer unit. The result would 
be the module average for strength and would be subsequently assigned 
as the strength reading to each bale in the module unit. This same 
process would be applied to all High Volume Instrument (HVI) quality 
factors: strength, length, length uniformity, micronaire, color +b, 
color Rd, and trash. Trash measurements would not be averaged for 
American Pima cotton since no HVI trash measurements are made for 
American Pima cotton. Color grade and leaf grade for American Upland 
and for the grade of American Pima would also not be averaged because 
the quality factors are determined by a cotton classer.
    A bale of cotton having significant fiber quality differences from 
the other bales in a module or trailer test unit would be excluded from 
the module averaging procedure. The official classification results for 
the excluded bale would be determined from its individual test results 
for each factor. The measurements for the remaining bales in the module 
or trailer would be averaged and the results assigned to each of the 
bales used to determine that value. A bale that is excluded from the 
module average is termed an ``outlier'' bale. A bale would be excluded 
from the module or trailer average because of a significant variance 
from the average on any of the HVI quality factors including: strength, 
length, length uniformity, micronaire, color +b, color Rd, and trash. 
Standard values have been established for each quality factor that 
identifies a significant variance from the average. When any single 
quality factor measurement is equal to or greater than the established 
value for that quality factor the bale is excluded from the module or 
trailer average. The following is a table that represents the values 
established for each factor:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Quality factor               Difference from module average   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike...............................  0.5 or more.                       
Strength...........................  4.0 or more.                       
Length.............................  0.07 or more.                      
Length Uniformity..................  4.0 or more.                       
Color Rd...........................  4.0 or more.                       
Color +b...........................  1.1 or more.                       
Trash (Upland only)................  0.6 or more.                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    An important aspect is that each bale of cotton would still be 
identified individually and receive the module averaged information as 
an individual bale class. Thus, cotton can continue to be marketed on 
an individual bale basis and does not have to be marketed as a module 
or trailer unit.
    Section 28.910 would be revised to reflect the inclusion of the 
module averaging procedure as part of the official quality 
determination for cotton samples. The table of values used to determine 
outliers would be incorporated into this section.
    Producers would, under this proposal, still have the opportunity to 
receive a review classification of the original classification results. 
The review may be requested for any single or any combination of the 
HVI quality factors of strength, length, length uniformity, micronaire, 
color +b, color Rd, and trash. A review may also be requested on the 
classer assigned quality factors of color grade and leaf grade for 
American Upland cotton and for the grade of American Pima cotton. In 
order to receive a review classification of one or more HVI quality 
factors on a module or trailer classed bale, all bales in the module or 
trailer test unit must be reviewed. Samples from each bale in the 
module or trailer test unit must be submitted with the request for 
review. Each sample would be retested and the average retest value 
assigned to each bale. Review classification of classer assigned color 
grade and leaf grade for American Upland cotton and for the grade of 
American Pima cotton would continue to be made on individual bales. 
Section 28.911 would be revised to include procedures for review 
classification of module averaged factors.
    The fee under Sec. 28.911 for review classification of module or 
trailer averaged bales would be $1.87 per bale based upon the current 
fee. However, the current fees are being reviewed and may be adjusted 
for the 1994 crop year.
    A pilot module averaging program was initiated in 1991. This pilot 
program which was limited to strength measurements only, involved 99 
gins and 1,260,000 bales from across the Cotton Belt. This program was 
so successful that it was expanded in 1992 to include fiber length, 
length uniformity and micronaire. There were 212 gins and 2,289,000 
bales involved in this expanded program.
    The Secretary of Agriculture's Advisory Committee on Cotton 
Marketing recommended that this pilot project be continued on a 
voluntary basis in 1993 and expanded to include all instrument measured 
quality factors including micronaire, length, length uniformity, 
strength, color Rd, color +b, and trash. The committee recommended that 
the results of the 1993 project be reported at the end of the season, 
and that if no problems developed in 1993, AMS' Cotton Division should 
implement module averaging for all HVI quality factors on all bales 
classed effective for the 1994 crop. For the 1993 expanded pilot 
project, there were 242 gins participating on a voluntary basis and the 
production from these gins totaled 3,053,716 bales. This represented 20 
percent of the 1993 cotton crop.
    Reproducibility results from the expanded 1993 project are shown 
below. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Micronaire           Uniformity                                          
                                                   Length               Strength    Trash   Color Rd    Color +b
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individual bale results..............         75        75         80          69       79         88         90
Module Average results...............         80        87         90          78       87         89         95
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    No problems of any significance are known to have developed during 
the 1993 project. In keeping with the advisory committee's 
recommendation, AMS is proposing that module averaging be applied to 
all bales classed effective with the 1994 cotton crop.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 28

    Administrative practice and procedures, Cotton, Cotton linters, 
Cotton samples, Grades, Market news, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Standards, Staples, Testing, Warehouses.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 28 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 28--[Amended]

    1. The authority citation for subpart D of part 28 would continue 
to read as follows:

    Authority: Sec. 3a, 50 Stat. 62, as amended (7 U.S.C. 473a); 
Sec. 3c, 50 Stat. 62 (7 U.S.C. 473c).

    2. Section 28.908 paragraph (g) would be revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 28.908  Samples.

* * * * *
    (g) Request for Classification. A request for classification 
service from a producer shall be considered to have been made when all 
of the following conditions have been met.
    (1) Cotton samples drawn at a licensed gin or warehouse must have 
been received at the appropriate cotton classing office serving the 
territory in which the cotton was ginned.
    (2) The samples are identified with the tag required in 
Sec. 28.908(f).
    (3) For each sample submitted, the ginner of the cotton shall 
designate whether the cotton was ginned from a module or trailer. The 
ginner shall also provide module or trailer identification numbers and 
designate by gin bale numbers the bales ginned from each module or 
trailer.
* * * * *
    3. Section 28.910 would be amended by revising the section heading, 
redesignating paragraph (a) as paragraph (d), redesignating paragraphs 
(b) and (c) as paragraphs (e) and (f), and adding new paragraphs (a), 
(b), and (c) to read as follows:


Sec. 28.910  Classification of samples and issuance of classification 
results.

    (a) The samples submitted as provided in this subpart shall be 
classified by employees of the Division. The classer determined quality 
factors of color grade and leaf grade for American Upland cotton and 
grade for American Pima cotton shall be assigned to each sample in 
accordance with the official cotton standards of the United States. For 
each of the High Volume Instrument (HVI) measured quality factors 
including micronaire, length, length uniformity, strength, color Rd and 
color +b, and trash the official classification shall be the average of 
the test results of samples tested from individual bales within the 
module or trailer test unit, except that trash shall not be averaged 
for American Pima cotton.
    (b) Samples with quality factor measurements that vary 
significantly from their module or trailer average shall be excluded 
from the module or trailer average. The official classification of 
these excluded bales shall be the individual test results for each 
factor. The remaining samples in the module or trailer test unit will 
be averaged and the averaged values shall be assigned to all remaining 
samples in the module or trailer test unit as the official 
classification results.
    (c) The following table indicates degree of variation from the 
module or trailer average necessary for a sample to be excluded from 
the module or trailer averaged classification results.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Quality factor               Difference from module average   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Micronaire.........................  0.5 or more.                       
Strength...........................  4.0 or more.                       
Length.............................  0.07 or more.                      
Length Uniformity..................  4.0 or more.                       
Color Rd...........................  4.0 or more.                       
Color +b...........................  1.1 or more.                       
Trash (Upland Only)................  0.6 or more.                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    4. Section 28.911 would be amended by revising paragraph (a), 
redesignating paragraph (b) as paragraph (d) and adding new paragraphs 
(b) and (c) to read as follows:


Sec. 28.911  Review classification.

    (a) A producer may request a review classification of module or 
trailer averaged quality factors including micronaire, length, length 
uniformity, strength, color Rd, color +b and trash, provided that a 
sample from each bale in the module or trailer test unit is submitted 
for review. The review classification shall be performed in the same 
manner as the original classification described in Sec. 28.910. Only 
one review classification of these quality factors may be requested for 
each module or trailer test unit.
    (b) Class determined quality factors including leaf grade and color 
grade for American Upland cotton and grade for American Pima cotton 
shall be reviewed on a single bale basis. Only one review 
classification of these class determined quality factors may be 
requested for each bale.
    (c) The fee for review classification of module averaged bales and 
outlier bales is $1.87 per bale.
* * * * *
    Dated: January 25, 1994.
Lon Hatamiya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-2099 Filed 1-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P