[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 61 (Monday, March 31, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15387-15388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-7635]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 927

[Docket No. FV03-927-1]


Winter Pears Grown in Oregon and Washington; Continuance 
Referendum

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Referendum order.

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SUMMARY: This document directs that a continuance referendum be 
conducted among eligible growers of winter pears in Oregon and 
Washington to determine whether they favor continuance of the marketing 
order regulating the handling of winter pears grown in the production 
area.

DATES: The referendum will be conducted from April 16 through April 30, 
2003. To vote in this referendum, growers must have been engaged in 
producing winter pears within the production area during the period 
July 1, 2001, through June 30, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the marketing order may be obtained from USDA, 
Northwest Marketing Field Office, 1220 SW Third Avenue, Room 369, 
Portland, Oregon, 97204, or the Office of the Docket Clerk, Marketing 
Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural 
Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW, Stop 0237, Washington, DC, 20250-0237.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary D. Olson, Regional Manager, 
Northwest Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order Administration 
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service, 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1220 SW Third Avenue, Room 369, 
Portland, OR 97204; telephone (503) 326-2724; fax (503) 326-7440; or 
Melissa Schmaedick, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 
Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, PO Box 1035, Moab, UT 84532; telephone (435) 259-7988; fax 
(435) 259-4945.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Marketing Order No. 927 (7 CFR 
part 927), 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 April 16 through April 30, 2003, among 
eligible winter pear growers in the production area. Only growers that 
were engaged in the production of winter pears in the States of Oregon 
and Washington during the period of July 1, 2001, through June 30, 
2002, may participate in the continuance referendum.
    USDA has determined that continuance referenda are an effective 
means for determining whether growers favor continuation of marketing 
order programs. The USDA would consider termination of the order if 
continuance is favored by less than two-thirds of the growers voting in 
the referendum and by growers of less than two-thirds of the volume of 
winter pears represented in the referendum.
    In evaluating the merits of continuance versus termination, the 
USDA will not only consider the results of the continuance referendum. 
The USDA will also consider all other relevant information concerning 
the operation of the order and the relative benefits and disadvantages 
to growers, processors, and consumers in order to determine whether 
continued operation of 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. 0581-0177. It has been 
estimated that it will take an average of 30 minutes for each of the 
approximately 1,528 producers of winter pears in the production area to 
cast a ballot. Participation is voluntary. Ballots postmarked after 
April 30, 2003, will be marked invalid and not included in the vote 
tabulation.
    Gary D. Olson and Susan M. Hiller of the Northwest Marketing Field 
Office, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service, 
USDA, are hereby designated as the referendum agents of 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 
900.400 et seq.).
    Ballots will be mailed to all growers of record and may also be 
obtained from the referendum agents and their appointees.

[[Page 15388]]

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 927

    Marketing agreements, Pears, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

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

    Dated: March 24, 2003.
A.J. Yates,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 03-7635 Filed 3-28-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P