[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 3, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52334-52337]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22417]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1150

[Docket No. DA-03-06]


National Dairy Promotion and Research Program; Amendment to the 
Order

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the Dairy Promotion and Research Order 
(Order). The amendment modifies the composition of the National Dairy 
Promotion and Research Board (Dairy Board) by changing the number of

[[Page 52335]]

members in four of the thirteen geographic regions. The Dairy Board, 
which administers the Order, requested the amendment in order to better 
reflect the geographic distribution of milk production in the 
contiguous 48 States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 4, 2003.

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: Prior documents in this proceeding:
    Proposed Rule and Invitation for Comments on Proposed Amendment to 
the Order: Issued June 27, 2003; published July 3, 2003 (68 FR 39861).
    This final rule is issued pursuant to the Dairy Production 
Stabilization Act of 1983 (Act) (7 U.S.C. 4501, et seq.), Public Law 
98-108, enacted November 29, 1983.
    The Office of Management and Budget has waived the review process 
required by Executive Order 12866 for this action.
    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have a retroactive 
effect. This rule does not preempt any State or local laws, 
regulations, or policies unless they present an irreconcilable conflict 
with this rule.
    The Act 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 final 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. This final rule amends the Dairy Promotion and Research 
Order by modifying the number of members on the National Dairy 
Promotion and Research Board in four of the 13 geographic regions. The 
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 the 36-member 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 best reflect the geographic distribution of milk production 
volume in the United States.
    Based on a review of the 2002 geographic distribution of milk 
production, it has been determined that the number of Dairy Board 
members for four of the 13 geographical regions should be changed.
    Since the changes only redistribute the representation on the Dairy 
Board to better reflect geographic milk production in the contiguous 48 
States, this amendment will not have a significant economic impact on 
persons subject to the Order.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This amendment to the Order will not add any burden to persons 
subject to the Order because it relates to provisions concerning 
membership of the Dairy Board. The adopted changes do not impose 
additional reporting or collecting requirements. No relevant Federal 
rules have been identified that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 
this final rule. 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).

Statement of Consideration

    This final rule amends the Dairy Promotion and Research Order by 
modifying the number of members on the National Dairy Promotion and 
Research Board in four of the 13 geographic regions. The amendment 
modifies the composition of the Board to better reflect current milk 
production within each of the 13 geographic regions of the contiguous 
48 States.
    The Order is administered by the 36-member 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 members 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-
the total number of Dairy Board members--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 members per region, and the adopted 
number of Dairy Board members for each region.

[[Page 52336]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                           Percentage     Current      Adopted
                                                                 Milk       of total     number of    number of
               Region                        States           production      milk         board        board
                                                              (mil lbs)*   production     members      members
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..................................  Oregon, Washington....        7,713           4.5            1            2
2..................................  California............       34,884          20.6            6            7
3..................................  Arizona, Colorado,           16,291           9.6            3            3
                                      Idaho, Montana,
                                      Nevada, Utah, Wyoming.
4..................................  Arkansas, Kansas, New        15,313           9.0            3            3
                                      Mexico, Oklahoma,
                                      Texas.
5..................................  Minnesota, North             10,447           6.2            3            2
                                      Dakota, South Dakota.
6..................................  Wisconsin.............       22,074          13.0            5            5
7..................................  Illinois, Iowa,               8,971           5.3            2            2
                                      Missouri, Nebraska.
8..................................  Alabama, Kentucky,            4,265           2.5            1            1
                                      Louisiana,
                                      Mississippi,
                                      Tennessee.
9..................................  Indiana, Michigan,           13,264           7.8            3            3
                                      Ohio, West Virginia.
10.................................  Florida, Georgia,             7,194           4.2            2            1
                                      North Carolina, South
                                      Carolina, Virginia.
11.................................  Delaware, Maryland,          12,492           7.4            3            3
                                      New Jersey,
                                      Pennsylvania.
12.................................  New York..............       12,217           7.2            3            3
13.................................  Connecticut, Maine,           4,518           2.7            1            1
                                      Massachusetts, New
                                      Hampshire, Rhode
                                      Island, Vermont.
                                                            --------------
    Total..........................  48 Contiguous States..      169,643         100             36          36
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\*\Based upon preliminary 2002 data that was released in Milk Production, Distribution & 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 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 represented 4,346 milk pounds of milk.
    Based on the 2002 milk production data, the Dairy Board proposed 
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 1997 data. 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.
    Interested parties were provided an opportunity to file comments on 
the proposed rule. One comment from a producer recommended that, due to 
Region 5's large geographical area, the number of representatives for 
Region 5 remain at the current level of three Dairy Board members. As 
discussed above, the proposed number of representatives for Region 5 
(i.e., two regional representatives) is reflective of the volume of 
milk produced in the region.
    This final rule adopts the Dairy Board's proposal 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. The amendment is necessary to ensure that regional 
representation on the Dairy Board reflects geographic milk production 
in the contiguous 48 States.
    The proposed amendment to the Order is made final in this action. 
The final rule will be effective one day after publication in the 
Federal Register to allow for the timely appointment of Dairy Board 
members based on current distribution of milk production in the 
contiguous 48 States.
    Thus, good cause exists for making this rule effective less than 30 
days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1150

    Dairy Products, Milk, Promotion, Research.

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 1150 is amended 
as follows:

PART 1150--DAIRY PROMOTION PROGRAM

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1150 continues to read as 
follows:

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


0
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.
* * * * *


[[Page 52337]]


    Dated: August 28, 2003.
A.J. Yates,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 03-22417 Filed 9-2-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P