[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 16, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 18517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-9213]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2002 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 18517]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 920

[Docket No. FV02-920-2]


Kiwifruit Grown in California; Continuance 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 Californian kiwifruit to determine whether they 
favor continuance of the marketing order regulating the handling of 
kiwifruit grown in the production area.

DATES: The referendum will be conducted from June 3, through June 21, 
2002. To vote in this referendum, growers must have been producing 
California kiwifruit during the period August 1, 2000, through July 31, 
2001.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the marketing order may be obtained from the 
office of the referendum agent at 2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102 B, 
Fresno, California, 93721, or the Office of the Docket Clerk, Marketing 
Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural 
Marketing Service (AMS), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0237, Washington, DC, 20250-0237.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose M. Aguayo, California Marketing 
Field Office, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 
Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, at 2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102 B, 
Fresno, California, 93721; telephone (559) 487-5901; or Melissa 
Schmaedick, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit & Vegetable 
Programs, AMS, USDA, Stop 0237, 1400 Independence Ave SW, Washington, 
DC 20250-0237; telephone (202) 720-2491.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Marketing Order No. 920 (7 CFR 
Part 920), hereinafter referred to as the ``order'' 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 to ascertain whether 
continuance of the order is favored by growers. The referendum shall be 
conducted during the period June 3, through June 21, 2002, among 
California kiwifruit growers in the production area. Only growers that 
were engaged in the production of California kiwifruit during the 
period of August 1, 2000, through July 31, 2001, may participate in the 
continuance referendum.
    The USDA has determined that continuance referenda are an effective 
means for ascertaining whether growers favor continuation of marketing 
order programs. The USDA would consider termination of the order if 
less than two-thirds of the growers voting in the referendum and 
growers of less than two-thirds of the volume of Californian kiwifruit 
represented in the referendum favor continuance. In evaluating the 
merits of continuance versus termination, the USDA will consider the 
results of the referendum and other relevant information regarding 
operation of the order. The USDA will evaluate the order's relative 
benefits and disadvantages to growers, handlers, and consumers to 
determine whether continuing the order would tend to effectuate the 
declared policy of the Act.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the ballot materials 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. 0581-0189 for California 
kiwifruit. It has been estimated that it will take an average of 20 
minutes for each of the approximately 330 growers of California 
kiwifruit to cast a ballot. Participation is voluntary. Ballots 
postmarked after June 21, 2002, will not be included in the vote 
tabulation.
    Rose M. Aguayo and Kurt J. Kimmel of the California Marketing Field 
Office, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, are hereby designated 
as the referendum agents of the USDA 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.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 928

    Kiwifruit, Marketing agreements, Reporting and Recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.

    Dated: April 11, 2002.
A.J. Yates,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 02-9213 Filed 4-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P