[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 237 (Monday, December 12, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-30421]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 12, 1994]


                                                   VOL. 59, NO. 237

                                          Monday, December 12, 1994

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 916 and 917

[Docket No. FV-94-916-4]

 

Nectarines, Pears, and Peaches Grown in California; Order 
Directing That a Referendum be Conducted; Determination of 
Representative Period for Voter Eligibility; and Designation of 
Referendum Agents to Conduct the Referendum

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Referendum order.

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SUMMARY: This document directs that a referendum be conducted among 
eligible growers of nectarines and peaches to determine whether they 
favor continuance of the marketing orders regulating the handling of 
those commodities grown in the production area.

DATES: The representative production period is from April 1, 1994, 
through November 23, 1994. The referendum will be conducted from 
January 6, 1995, through February 3, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the text of the aforesaid marketing orders may be 
obtained from the office of the referendum agents at 2202 Monterey 
Street, Suite 102B, Fresno, California, 93721, or the Office of the 
Docket Clerk, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, Room 2525-S, Washington, 
D.C., 20090-6456.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Johnson, Marketing Order 
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, Agricultural 
Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 2522-S, P.O. 
Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-2861; Kurt 
J. Kimmel or Terry Vawter, California Marketing Field Office, Marketing 
Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, Agricultural 
Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2202 Monterey 
Street, Suite 102B, Fresno, California, 93721; telephone: (209) 487-
5901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Marketing Order No. 916 (7 CFR 
Part 916) and Marketing Order No. 917 (7 CFR Part 917), hereinafter 
referred to as the ``orders,'' and the applicable provisions of the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-
674) hereinafter referred to as the ``Act,'' it is hereby directed that 
a referendum be conducted within the period January 6, 1995, through 
February 3, 1995, among growers in the production area who, during the 
period April 1, 1994, through November 23, 1994, (which period is 
hereby determined to be a representative period for purposes of such 
referendum), were engaged in the production of nectarines and peaches 
covered by the said marketing orders to ascertain whether continuance 
of the orders is favored by the growers.
    The Secretary of Agriculture has determined that continuance 
referenda are an effective means for ascertaining whether growers favor 
continuation of marketing order programs. The Secretary would consider 
termination of the orders if less than two-thirds of the growers voting 
in the referendum and growers of less than two-thirds of the volume of 
nectarines or peaches represented in the referendum favor continuance. 
However, in evaluating the merits of continuance versus termination, 
the Secretary will not only consider the results of the continuance 
referendum, but also all other relevant information concerning the 
operation of the orders and the relative benefits and disadvantages to 
growers, handlers, and consumers in order to determine whether 
continued operation of the orders would tend to effectuate the declared 
policy of the Act.
    In any event, section 8c(16)(B) of the Act requires the Secretary 
to terminate an order whenever the Secretary finds that a majority of 
all growers favor termination, and such majority produced for market 
more than 50 percent of the commodity covered under such order.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 
chapter 35), the ballot materials that will be used in the referendum 
herein ordered have been submitted to and approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) and have been assigned OMB No. 0581-0072 
for nectarines and OMB No. 0581-0080 for peaches. It has been estimated 
that it will take an average of 20 minutes for each of the 
approximately 3,500 growers of nectarines and peaches to participate in 
the voluntary referendum balloting.
    It should be noted that pears grown in California were also covered 
under M.O. 917. The Pear Commodity Committee unanimously recommended 
suspension of the pear provisions under the order, because such 
provisions are no longer needed. The California Bartlett pear industry 
is now functioning under a California Pear Marketing Program (State 
pear program), and is no longer using the pear order provisions. The 
State pear program, developed by the California Bartlett pear industry 
and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is similar to 
the Federal pear program.
    An order directing that a referendum be conducted to determine 
whether pear growers favor continuance of the Federal pear program was 
published in the Federal Register on March 3, 1994 (59 FR 10053). The 
representative period for the conduct of such referendum is June 1, 
1994, through November 30, 1994. The pear referendum will be conducted 
within the period beginning December 1, 1994, and ending February 15, 
1995.
    Kurt J. Kimmel and Terry Vawter of the California Marketing Field 
Office, Fruit and Vegetable Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, 
USDA, are hereby designated as the referendum agents of the Secretary 
of Agriculture to conduct such referendum. The procedure applicable to 
the referendum shall be the ``Procedure for the Conduct of Referenda in 
Connection With Marketing Orders for Fruits, Vegetables, and Nuts 
Pursuant to the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as 
Amended'' (7 CFR Part 900.400 et seq.).
    Ballots will be mailed to all growers of record and may also be 
obtained from the referendum agents and from their appointees at the 
above address.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 916

    Marketing agreements, Nectarines, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

7 CFR Part 917

    Marketing agreements, Peaches, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Authority: Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as 
amended, Secs. 1-19, 48 Stat. 31, as amended; 7 U.S.C. 601-674.

    Dated: December 6, 1994.
Patricia Jensen,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Marketing and Regulatory Programs
[FR Doc. 94-30421 Filed 12-9-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P