[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 53 (Monday, March 18, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 10903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6347]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 29

[Docket No. TB-95-18]


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 15-19, 1996, for producers of flue-
cured tobacco who sell their tobacco at auction in Sanford and 
Carthage-Aberdeen, North Carolina, to determine producer approval of 
the designation of the Sanford and Carthage-Aberdeen tobacco markets as 
one consolidated auction market.

DATES: The referendum will be held April 15-19, 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 Sanford and 
Carthage-Aberdeen, North Carolina. Sanford, North Carolina, was 
designated on June 26, 1942, and Carthage-Aberdeen, North Carolina, on 
August 30, 1988, (7 CFR 29.8001) as flue-cured tobacco auction markets 
under the Tobacco Inspection Act (7 U.S.C. 511 et seq.). Under this Act 
both have been receiving mandatory grading services from USDA.
    On September 12, 1995, an application was made to the Secretary of 
Agriculture to consolidate the designated markets of Sanford and 
Carthage-Aberdeen, North Carolina. The application, filed by Jeffrey S. 
Smith, a warehouse operator in Sanford, was made pursuant to the 
regulations promulgated under the Tobacco Inspection Act (7 CFR Part 
29.1-29.3). On November 7, 1995, a public hearing was held in Sanford, 
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 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 15-19, 1996. The purpose of the 
referendum is to determine whether farmers who sold their tobacco on 
the designated markets at Sanford and Carthage-Aberdeen 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 
Sanford-Carthage-Aberdeen.
    To be eligible to vote in the referendum a tobacco producer must 
have sold flue-cured tobacco on either the Sanford or Carthage-
Aberdeen, North Carolina, 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. 96-6347 Filed 3-15-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P