[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23922]


[Federal Register: September 28, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Parts 922, 923, and 924

[Docket No. FV94-922-2IFR]


Expenses and Assessment Rates for the 1994-95 Fiscal Year for 
Specified Marketing Orders

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, the provisions of the interim final rule 
which authorized expenses and established assessment rates for the 
1994-95 fiscal year for Marketing Orders (M.O.) No.'s 922 and 923, 
covering apricots and sweet cherries grown in designated counties in 
Washington, and M.O. No. 924 covering fresh prunes grown in designated 
counties in Washington and in Umatilla County, Oregon. Authorization of 
these budgets enables the Washington Apricot Marketing Committee, the 
Washington Cherry Marketing Committee, and the Washington-Oregon Fresh 
Prune Marketing Committee (Committees) established under these 
marketing orders to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to 
administer the programs. Funds to administer the programs are derived 
from assessments on handlers.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 1994, through March 31, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Britthany E. Beadle, Marketing Order 
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. 
Box 96456, Room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 
720-5127; or Teresa Hutchinson, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit 
and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 1220 SW Third Avenue, Room 369, 
Portland, OR 97204; telephone: (503) 326-2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreements and Marketing Order No. 922 [7 CFR part 922] regulating the 
handling of apricots grown in designated counties in Washington; 
Marketing Order No. 923 [7 CFR part 923] regulating the handling of 
sweet cherries grown in designated counties in Washington; and 
Marketing Order No. 924 [7 CFR part 924] regulating the handling of 
fresh prunes grown in designated counties in Washington and in Umatilla 
County, Oregon. The marketing agreements and orders 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 final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, 
Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order provisions now in 
effect, apricots and sweet cherries grown in designated counties in 
Washington, and fresh prunes grown in designated counties in Washington 
and in Umatilla County, Oregon are subject to assessments. It is 
intended that the assessment rates specified herein will be applicable 
to all assessable apricots, sweet cherries, and fresh prunes handled 
during the 1994-95 fiscal year, which began April 1, 1994, through 
March 31, 1995. This 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) 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 requesting a modification of the order or to be exempted 
therefrom. A 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 date of the entry of the ruling.
    Pursuant to 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 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 about 55 handlers of Washington apricots, 55 handlers of 
Washington sweet cherries, and 30 handlers of Washington-Oregon fresh 
prunes subject to regulation under their respective marketing orders. 
In addition, there are about 190 Washington apricot producers, 1,100 
Washington sweet cherry producers, and 350 Washington-Oregon fresh 
prune producers in the respective production areas. 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 these handlers and 
producers may be classified as small entities.
    An annual budget of expenses is prepared by each marketing order 
committee and submitted to the Department for approval. The members of 
the Committees are handlers and producers of the regulated commodities. 
They are familiar with the Committees' needs and with the costs for 
goods, services, and personnel in their local areas and are thus in a 
position to formulate appropriate budgets. The budgets are formulated 
and discussed in public meetings. Thus, all directly affected persons 
have an opportunity to participate and provide input.
    The assessment rate recommended by each Committee is derived by 
dividing anticipated expenses by the tons of fresh fruit expected to be 
shipped under the order. Because the rates are applied to actual 
shipments, they must be established at rates which will produce 
sufficient income to pay the Committees' expected expenses. Recommended 
budgets and rates of assessment are usually acted upon by the 
Committees shortly before a season starts, and expenses are incurred on 
a continuous basis. Therefore, budget and assessment rate approvals 
must be expedited so that the Committees will have funds to pay their 
expenses.
    The Washington Apricot Marketing Committee met on May 16, 1994, and 
unanimously recommended 1994-95 expenses of $13,602, which is $1,216 
more in expenses than the $12,386 amount that was recommended for the 
1993-94 fiscal year.
    The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 
$0.00 per ton of fresh apricots, which is a decrease of $2.50 in the 
assessment rate. In comparison, the 1993-94 assessment rate was $2.50 
per ton. The Committee unanimously recommended bringing forward its 
reserve fund of $22,170 to pay budgeted expenses for the 1994-95 fiscal 
year as an alternative to charging handlers an assessment rate. 
Shipments of fresh apricots are estimated at 5,200 tons.
    Funds in the reserve at the end of the 1994-95 fiscal year, 
estimated at $8,568, will be within the maximum permitted by the order 
of one fiscal year's expenses.
    The Washington Cherry Marketing Committee met on May 17, 1994, and 
unanimously recommended 1994-95 expenses of $100,213 and an assessment 
rate of $1.00 per ton of sweet cherries. In comparison, 1993-94 
budgeted expenses were $139,313, with an approved assessment rate of 
$3.00 per ton. This represents a $39,100 decrease in expenses and a 
$2.00 decrease in the assessment rate from the amounts recommended for 
the current fiscal year.
    The assessment rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of 
40,000 tons of cherries, would yield $40,000 in assessment income. 
Adequate funds exists in the Committee's reserve to cover additional 
expenses.
    Funds in the reserve at the end of the 1994-95 fiscal year, 
estimated at $74,695, will be within the maximum permitted by the order 
of one fiscal year's expenses.
    The Washington-Oregon Fresh Prune Marketing Committee met on June 
1, 1994, and recommended 1994-95 expenses of $18,760, which represents 
a $8,042 decrease in expenses from the $26,802 that was recommended for 
1993-94 fiscal year.
    The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 
$1.00 per ton of fresh prunes. In comparison, this is $2.00 less than 
the $3.00 per ton assessment rate that was approved for the previous 
fiscal year. Shipments of fresh prunes for 1994 are estimated at 6,500 
tons, which would yield $6,500 in assessment income. Adequate funds 
exists in the Committee's reserve to cover additional expenses.
    Funds in the reserve at the end of the 1994-95 fiscal year, 
estimated at $22,800, will be within the maximum permitted by the order 
of one fiscal year's expenses.
    Major expense categories for the Committees are for the 
administration of these marketing orders and for fresh prune research 
and sweet cherry market development activities. Administrative expenses 
include those for salaries, travel, and office operations. The stone 
fruit marketing Committees share office expenses, based on an agreement 
among the Committees.
    An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register [59 FR 
39415, August 3, 1994] and provided a 30-day comment period for 
interested persons. No comments were received.
    While this action will impose some additional costs on handlers, 
the costs are in the form of uniform assessments on all handlers. Some 
of the additional costs may be passed on to producers. However, these 
costs will be offset by the benefits derived from the operation of the 
marketing orders. 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.
    It is found that the specified expenses for the marketing order 
covered in this rule are reasonable and likely to be incurred and that 
such expenses and the specified assessment rates to cover such expenses 
will tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
    It is further found that good cause exists for not postponing the 
effective date of this action until 30 days after publication in the 
Federal Register [5 U.S.C. 553] because the Committees need to have 
sufficient funds to pay its expenses which are incurred on a continuous 
basis. The 1994-95 fiscal year for the program began April 1, 1994. The 
marketing orders require that the rates of assessment apply to all 
assessable apricots, sweet cherries, and prunes handled during the 
fiscal year. In addition, handlers are aware of this action which was 
recommended by the Committees at a public meeting and published in the 
Federal Register as an interim final rule. No comments were received 
concerning the interim final rule that is adopted in this action as a 
final rule without change.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 922

    Apricots, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

7 CFR Part 923

    Cherries, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

7 CFR Part 924

    Marketing agreements, Plums, Prunes, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Parts 922, 923, 
and 924 are amended as follows:

PART 922--APRICOTS GROWN IN DESIGNATED COUNTIES IN WASHINGTON

    The interim final rule amending 7 CFR Part 922 which was published 
at 59 FR 39415 on August 3, 1994, is adopted as a final rule without 
change.

PART 923--SWEET CHERRIES GROWN IN DESIGNATED COUNTIES IN WASHINGTON

    The interim final rule amending 7 CFR Part 923 which was published 
at 59 FR 39415 on August 3, 1994, is adopted as a final rule without 
change.

PART 924--FRESH PRUNES GROWN IN DESIGNATED COUNTIES IN WASHINGTON 
AND IN UMATILLA COUNTY, OREGON

    The interim final rule amending 7 CFR Part 924 which was published 
at 59 FR 39415 on August 3, 1994, is adopted as a final rule without 
change.

    Dated: September 22, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-23922 Filed 9-27-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P