[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 128 (Thursday, July 3, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39861-39863]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16827]


 ========================================================================
 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. 68, No. 128 / Thursday, July 3, 2003 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 39861]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1150

[Docket No. DA-03-06]


National Dairy Promotion and Research Program; Invitation To 
Submit Comments on Proposed Amendments to the Order

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document invites comments on a proposed amendment to the 
Dairy Promotion and Research Order (Order). The proposal would modify 
the composition of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board 
(Dairy Board) by changing the number of member seats in four geographic 
regions. The proposed amendment was requested by the Dairy Board, which 
administers the Order, to better reflect the geographic distribution of 
milk production in the contiguous 48 States.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 17, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be filed with USDA/AMS/Dairy Programs, 
Promotion and Research Branch, Stop 0233--Room 2958-S, 1400 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0233. Comments may be 
faxed to (202) 720-0285 or e-mailed to [email protected]. 
Comments, which should reference the title of the action and the docket 
number, will be made available for public inspection at the above 
address during regular business hours. Comments also will be posted at: 
http://www.ams.usda.gov/dairy/index.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David R. Jamison, USDA, AMS, Dairy 
Programs, Promotion and Research Branch, Stop 0233--Room 2958-S, 1400 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0233, (202) 720-6961, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule is issued pursuant to the 
Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 4501, et seq.), 
Public Law 98-108, enacted November 29, 1983.
    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. This proposed rule is not intended to have a 
retroactive effect. If adopted, this proposed rule would not preempt 
any State or local laws, regulations, or policies unless they present 
an irreconcilable conflict with this rule.
    This proposed rule has been determined not significant for purposes 
of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the 
Office of Management and Budget.
    The Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 (Act) (7 U.S.C. 
4501, et seq.) authorizes the National Dairy Promotion and Research 
Program. The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be 
exhausted before parties may file suit in court. Under section 4509 of 
the Act, any person subject to the Dairy Promotion and Research 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 the law and requesting a 
modification of the Order or to be exempted from the Order. A person 
subject to an Order is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the 
petition. After a 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 person is an inhabitant, or has his principal 
place of business, has jurisdiction to review the Secretary's ruling on 
the petition, provided a complaint is filed not later than 20 days 
after the date of the entry of the ruling.

Small Business Consideration

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is required to examine 
the impact of this proposed rule on small entities. The purpose of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of 
businesses subject to such actions so that small businesses will not be 
disproportionately burdened. For the purpose of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, small businesses in the dairy industry have been 
defined as those employing less than 500 employees. For the purpose of 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act, a dairy farm is considered a ``small 
business'' if it has an annual gross revenue of less than $750,000. 
There are approximately 70,000 dairy farms subject to the provisions of 
this Order. Most of the parties subject to the Order are considered 
small entities.
    The proposed rule would amend the Dairy Promotion and Research 
Order by modifying the number of member seats on the National Dairy 
Promotion and Research Board in four of the 13 geographic regions. The 
proposed amendment is being made to better reflect the geographic 
distribution of milk produced within each of the 13 regions of the 
contiguous 48 States.
    The Order currently is administered by a 36-member Dairy Board 
representing 13 geographic regions within the contiguous 48 States. The 
Order provides that the Dairy Board shall review the geographic 
distribution of milk production throughout the United States and, if 
warranted, shall recommend to the Secretary a reapportionment of the 
regions and/or modification of the number of members from regions in 
order to better reflect the geographic distribution of milk production 
volume in the United States.
    Based on a review of the 2002 geographic distribution of milk 
production, the Dairy Board has concluded that the number of Dairy 
Board members for four of the 13 geographical regions should be 
changed. The Dairy Board was last modified in 1998 based on 1997 milk 
production.
    Accordingly, the proposed amendment should not have a significant 
economic impact on persons subject to the Order. The proposed changes 
merely would allow representation on the Dairy Board to better reflect 
geographic milk production in the contiguous 48 States.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 
35), the forms and reporting and recordkeeping requirements that are 
included in the Order have been approved previously by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB).
    This proposed amendment to the Order will not add any burden to 
persons subject to the Order because they relate to provisions 
concerning membership of the Dairy Board. The proposed change would not 
impose

[[Page 39862]]

additional reporting or collecting requirements. No relevant Federal 
rules have been identified that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 
the proposed rule.

Statement of Consideration

    The proposed rule, if adopted, would amend the Dairy Promotion and 
Research Order by modifying the number of member seats on the National 
Dairy Promotion and Research Board in four of the 13 geographic 
regions. The proposed amendment reflects milk produced within each of 
the 13 geographic regions of the contiguous 48 States.
    The Order currently is administered by a 36-member Dairy Board 
representing 13 geographic regions within the contiguous 48 States. The 
Order provides in Sec.  1150.131 that the Dairy Board shall review the 
geographic distribution of milk production volume throughout the United 
States and, if warranted, shall recommend to the Secretary a 
reapportionment of the regions and/or modification of the number of 
members from regions in order to best reflect the geographic 
distribution of milk production in the United States. The Dairy Board 
is required to conduct the review at least every five years and not 
more than every three years.
    The Order specifies the formula to be used to determine the number 
of Dairy Board seats in each of the 13 geographic regions designated in 
the Order. Under the formula, total milk production for the contiguous 
48 States for the previous calender year is divided by 36 to determine 
a factor of pounds of milk represented by each Dairy Board member. The 
resulting factor is then divided into the pounds of milk produced in 
each region to determine the number of Board members for each region. 
Accordingly, the following table summarizes by region the volume of 
milk production distribution for 2002, the percentage of total milk 
production, the current number of Dairy Board seats per region, and the 
proposed number of Dairy Board seats for each region.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Percentage
                                                                  Milk       of total     Current      Proposed
                      Region and States                        production      milk      number of    number of
                                                               (mil lbs)*   production  board seats  board seats
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1: Oregon, Washington.......................................        7,713          4.5            1            2
2: California...............................................       34,884         20.6            6            7
3: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming.       16,291          9.6            3            3
4: Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas............       15,313          9.0            3            3
5: Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota....................       10,447          6.2            3            2
6: Wisconsin................................................       22,074         13.0            5            5
7: Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska.......................        8,971          5.3            2            2
8: Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee.....        4,265          2.5            1            1
9: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia...................       13,264          7.8            3            3
10: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina,               7,194          4.2            2            1
 Virginia...................................................
11: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania............       12,492          7.4            3            3
12: New York................................................       12,217          7.2            3            3
13: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode         4,518          2.7            1            1
 Island, Vermont............................................
                                                             --------------
      Total: 48 Contiguous States...........................      169,643          100           36          36
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Based upon preliminary 2002 data that was released in Milk Production, Distrbution & Income, NASS,USDA, April
  2003. This data will later be updated, revised, and finalized.

    Upon the basis of its review of geographic milk production volume, 
the Dairy Board has proposed that the number of members in four of the 
13 geographic regions be changed. The Dairy Board was last modified in 
1998 based on 1997 milk production data. The current review conducted 
by the Dairy Board is based on 2002 data. In 2002, total milk 
production was 169,643 million pounds which indicates that each of the 
Dairy Board members would represent 4,712 million pounds of milk. For 
1997, total milk production was 156,464 which indicated that each of 
the Board members would represent 4,346 milk pounds of milk.
    Based on the 2002 milk production data, the Dairy Board proposes 
that member representation in Region 1 (Oregon and Washington) and 
Region 2 (California) each be increased by one member, and member 
representation in Region 5 (Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota) 
and Region 10 (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and 
Virginia) each be decreased by one member. Milk production in Region 1 
increased to 7,713 million pounds in 2002 up from 6,915 million pounds 
in 1997, indicating two Dairy Board members (7,713 divided by 4,712 = 
2) compared to one Dairy Board member based on 1997 milk production 
data. Milk production in Region 2 increased in 2002 to 34,884 million 
pounds up from 27,628 million pounds in 1997, indicating seven Dairy 
Board members for the region (34,884 divided by 4,712 = 7) compared to 
6 Dairy Board members based on the 1997. Also, in Region 5, milk 
production decreased to 10,447 million pounds in 2002 down from 11,307 
million pounds in 1997, indicating two Dairy Board members (10,447 
divided by 4,712 = 2) compared to three Board members based on 1997 
milk production data. Additionally, milk production in Region 10 
decreased to 7,194 million pounds in 2002 down from 7,523 million 
pounds in 1997, indicating one Dairy Board member for the region (7,194 
divided by 4,712 = 1) compared to two members based on 1997 data.
    Accordingly, it is proposed that member representation in Region 1 
be increased from one member to two members, Region 2 representation be 
increased from six members to seven members, Region 5 representation be 
decreased from three members to two members, and Region 10 
representation be decreased from two members to one member to reflect 
the geographic distribution of milk production within the contiguous 48 
States.
    A 14-day comment period is provided for interested persons to 
comment on this proposed rule. Twelve terms of existing Dairy Board 
members will expire on October 31, 2003. Thus, a 14-day comment period 
is provided to allow for a timely appointment of new Dairy Board 
members based on the current geographic distribution of milk production 
in the contiguous 48 States.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1150

    Dairy Products, Milk, Promotion, Research.


[[Page 39863]]


    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, it is proposed that 7 
CFR part 1150 be amended as follows:

PART 1150--DAIRY PROMOTION PROGRAM

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1150 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 4501-4513.

    2. In Sec.  1150.131, paragraphs (a)(1), (a) (2), (a)(5), and 
(a)(10 ) are revised to read as follows:


Sec.  1150.131  Establishment and membership.

    (a) * * *
    (1) Two members from region number one comprised of the following 
States: Washington and Oregon.
    (2) Seven members from region number two comprised of the following 
State: California.
* * * * *
    (5) Two members from region number five comprised of the following 
States: Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
* * * * *
    (10) One member from region number ten comprised of the following 
States: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
* * * * *

    Dated: June 27, 2003.
A.J. Yates,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 03-16827 Filed 7-2-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P