[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 76 (Thursday, April 21, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 20724]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8030]


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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. 70, No. 76 / Thursday, April 21, 2005 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 20724]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[Docket No. TB-05-03]

7 CFR Part 29


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 May 9-13, 2005, for producers of all kinds of 
tobacco who sold their tobacco at auction on designated markets in 
2004/05. The referendum is being conducted to determine if the 
designation of all existing tobacco auction markets should be 
terminated, thus eliminating the requirement for mandatory, federal 
inspection and grading for the 2005 and succeeding crop years.

DATES: The referendum will be held May 9-13, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William O. Coats, Acting Deputy 
Administrator, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Tobacco Programs, Room 502 Cotton 
Annex Building, Stop 0280, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC 20250-0280, (202) 205-0567.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 
2004 eliminated the price support and quota system for U.S. produced 
tobacco. Although mandatory grading is eliminated on types of tobacco 
eligible for price support, mandatory federal grading of any tobacco 
sold at auction on a designated market continues under the Tobacco 
Inspection Act. Currently, there are 70 designated auction markets that 
sell flue-cured, burley, dark fire-cured, and dark air-cured types of 
tobacco. The user fee for the inspection of tobacco at auction markets 
is $.90 per hundred pounds.
    At a February 1, 2005, meeting of the National Advisory Committee 
for Tobacco Inspection Services, a request was made to the USDA to 
conduct a referendum to determine if tobacco producers favored the 
termination of the designation of all current auction markets, thereby 
eliminating the requirement for mandatory, federal inspection and 
grading if they sell their crop at auction. The Committee, which is 
comprised of members from Farm Bureaus and Granges representing all 
tobacco producing states, strongly advised that mandatory federal 
grading, without the benefit of price support, would reduce the 
monetary returns to producers and create a competitive disadvantage for 
operators of auction warehouses.
    Because the recently enacted legislation eliminates all mandatory 
inspection except for tobacco sold at auction on designated markets, 
the USDA determined that a referendum would be an appropriate means of 
deciding whether to discontinue mandatory grading on all designated 
auction markets. It is hereby determined that the referendum will be 
held by mail during the period May 9-13, 2005. Only producers who sold 
tobacco at auction on a designated market in 2004 are eligible to vote. 
The purpose of the referendum is to determine whether producers of 
Flue-Cured tobacco, Types 11-14, Burley tobacco, Type 31, Virginia 
Fire-Cured tobacco, Type 21, Kentucky and Tennessee Fire-Cured tobacco, 
Types 22-23, and Dark Air-Cured tobacco, Types 35-37, are in favor of 
or opposed to terminating the designation of all tobacco auction 
markets and thereby eliminating mandatory, federal grading of their 
crop for the 2005 and succeeding crop years. Accordingly, if a majority 
of the tobacco producers who vote in the referendum favor termination 
of auction market designations, the designation of all 70 auction 
markets will be terminated.
    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.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 511 et seq.

    Dated: April 15, 2005.
Kenneth C. Clayton,
Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 05-8030 Filed 4-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P