[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 134 (Thursday, July 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-17109]
Federal Register / Vol. 59, No. 134 / Thursday, July 14, 1994 /
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: July 14, 1994]
VOL. 59, NO. 134
Thursday, July 14, 1994
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 981
[Docket No. FV94-981-1IFR]
Almonds Grown in California; Expenses and Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenditures and
establishes an assessment rate under Marketing Order No. 981 for the
1994-95 crop year. Authorization of this budget enables the Almond
Board of California (Board) to incur expenses that are reasonable and
necessary to administer the program. Funds to administer this program
are derived from assessments on handlers.
DATES: Effective beginning July 1, 1994, through June 30, 1995.
Comments received by August 15, 1994, will be considered prior to
issuance of a final rule.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning this action. Comments must be sent in triplicate to the
Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456,
Room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, FAX 202-720-5698. Comments
should reference the docket number and the date and page number of this
issue of the Federal Register and will be available for public
inspection in the Office of the Docket Clerk during regular business
hours.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martha Sue Clark, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.
Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone 202-720-
9918; or Martin Engeler, California Marketing Field Office, Fruit and
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102B,
Fresno, California 93721, telephone 209-487-5901.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement and Order No. 981, both as amended [7 CFR part 981],
regulating the handling of almonds grown in California. The marketing
agreement and order are 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 of Agriculture (Department) is issuing this rule in
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
This interim final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order
12778, Civil Justice Reform. Under the provisions of the marketing
order now in effect, California almonds are subject to assessments. It
is intended that the assessment rate as issued herein will be
applicable to all assessable almonds handled during the 1994-95 crop
year, which begins July 1, 1994, and ends June 30, 1995. This interim
final 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), 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
requesting 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 in equity to review the Secretary's
ruling on the petition, provided a bill in equity is filed not later
than 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS) has considered the economic impact of this rule on small
entities.
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 7,000 producers of California almonds under
this marketing order, and approximately 115 handlers. 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
California almond producers and handlers may be classified as small
entities.
The budget of expenses for the 1994-95 crop year was prepared by
the Almond Board of California, the agency responsible for local
administration of the marketing order, and submitted to the Department
for approval. The members of the Board are producers and handlers of
California almonds. They are familiar with the Board's needs and with
the costs of goods and services in their local area and are thus in a
position to formulate an appropriate budget. The budget was formulated
and discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all directly affected persons
have had an opportunity to participate and provide input.
The assessment rate recommended by the Board was derived by
dividing anticipated expenses by expected receipts of California
almonds. Because that rate will be applied to handlers' actual
receipts, a rate must be established that will provide sufficient
income to pay the Board's budgeted expenses.
The Board met on May 16, 1994, and unanimously recommended a 1994-
95 budget of $9,435,262, $1,631,808 more than the previous year. Budget
items for 1994-95 which have increased compared to those budgeted for
1993-94 (in parentheses) are: Research conference, $25,000 ($12,000),
office rent, $90,000 ($73,672), Board's financial audit, $12,500
($9,900), data processing, $6,000 ($5,000), telephone, $31,000
($30,000), utilities, $13,500 ($10,000), postage and delivery, $32,000
($30,000), repairs and maintenance, $12,500 ($9,000) miscellaneous
expenses, $10,000 ($5,000), dues, subscriptions, and registration fees
$7,500 ($5,000), alliances with other organizations to provide
information on almonds to consumers, $20,000 ($5,000), production
research, $489,134 ($485,854), promotional activities, $6,575,000
($5,400,000), crop estimate, $85,600 ($75,000), office equipment,
$15,000 ($7,000), and the addition of $35,310 for an acreage survey,
$300,000 for reserve replenishment, $150,000 for program accountability
analyses to assess the effectiveness of the advertising and market
development programs, and $50,000 for new product and issues research,
for which no funding was recommended last year. Items which have
decreased compared to those budgeted for 1993-94 (in parentheses) are:
Salaries, $795,318 ($796,378), travel, $100,000 ($126,500), Board
travel, $22,500 ($25,000), meetings, $35,000 ($40,000), equipment rent,
$5,000 ($8,000), Board insurance, $40,000 ($45,000), security, $2,500
($3,000), office supplies, $15,000 ($20,000), printing, $12,000
($18,000), publications, $3,500 ($3,750), newsletter and releases,
$25,000 ($35,000), econometric model and statistical analysis, $40,000
($75,000), vehicles, $15,000 ($29,500), computers and software, $25,000
($40,000), and furniture and fixtures, $10,000 ($46,500).
The Board also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 2.25
cents per kernel pound, the same as last year. The Board further
recommended that handlers should be eligible to participate in credit-
back for their own market promotion activities for up to 1.00 cent of
the 2.25 cents assessment rate, the same as last year. Revenues are
expected to be $7,396,250 from administrative assessments (591,700,000
pounds @ 1.25 cents per pound), $1,065,060 from the portion of
assessments eligible for credit but received by the Board from handlers
who do not obtain credit for their own activities, $40,000 from
interest, and $16,000 from the almond industry conference, for a total
of $8,517,310.
These projections would result in a $917,952 shortfall in revenue
based on current estimates of the 1994 crop yield. In light of this
projected revenue shortfall, the Board recommended that any shortfall
of up to $150,000 be applied against reserve replenishment and that the
amount of money for this item be reduced accordingly. The Board also
recommended that any additional shortfall be applied against its
consumer TV activities and that the amount of money spent for these
activities be reduced accordingly. However, the Board decided not to
reduce the total amount for these two items by the amount of the
expected shortfall because it expects additional revenue to accrue if
the crop is larger than estimated. In the event a larger crop results
in revenue in excess of the $9,435,261.77 budgeted, the Board
recommended that consumer public relations activities be increased up
to a total of $840,000, from $650,000.
Unexpended funds from 1994-95 may be carried over to cover expenses
during the first four months of the 1995-96 crop year.
This action will impose an obligation to pay assessments on
handlers. The assessments are uniform for all handlers and are the same
as those imposed last year. The assessment cost will be offset by the
benefits derived by the operation of the marketing order. Therefore,
the Administrator of the AMS has determined that this action will not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
After consideration of all relevant matter presented, including the
information and recommendations submitted by the Board 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.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also found and determined upon good
cause that it is impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public
interest to give preliminary notice prior to putting this rule into
effect and that good cause exists for not postponing the effective date
of this action until 30 days after publication in the Federal Register
because: (1) The Board needs to have sufficient funds to pay its
expenses which are incurred on a continuous basis; (2) the crop year
begins on July 1, 1994, and the marketing order requires that the rate
of assessment for the crop year apply to all assessable California
almonds handled during the crop year; (3) handlers are aware of this
action which was unanimously recommended by the Board at a public
meeting and is similar to other budget actions issued in past years;
and (4) this interim final rule provides a 30-day comment period, and
all comments timely received will be considered prior to finalization
of this action.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 981
Almonds, Marketing agreements, Nuts, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 981 is
amended as follows:
PART 981--ALMONDS GROWN IN CALIFORNIA
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 981 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. A new Sec. 981.341 is added to read as follows:
Note: This section will not appear in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
Sec. 981.341 Expenses and assessment rate.
Expenses of $9,435,262 by the Almond Board of California are
authorized for the crop year ending June 30, 1995. An assessment rate
for the crop year payable by each handler in accordance with
Sec. 981.81 is fixed at 2.25 cents per kernel pound of almonds. Of the
2.25 cents assessment rate, 1.00 cent per kernel pound of almonds is
available for handler credit-back pursuant to Sec. 981.441.
Dated: July 8, 1994.
Terry C. Long,
Acting Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-17109 Filed 7-13-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P5