[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 25, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 61655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28233]


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 Notices
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 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 25, 2009 / 
Notices  

[[Page 61655]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[Doc. No. AMS-LS-09-0054]


Results of Soybean Request for Referendum

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The results of the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) 
Request for Referendum indicate that too few soybean producers wanted a 
referendum on the Soybean Promotion and Research Order (Order) for one 
to be conducted. The Request for Referendum was conducted from May 4, 
2009, through May 29, 2009, at the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) 
Farm Service Agency county offices. To trigger a referendum, 58,918 
soybean producers needed to complete a Request for Referendum. The 
number of soybean producers requesting a referendum was 759.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Payne, Chief, Marketing 
Programs Branch, Livestock and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, Room 2628-S, 
STOP 0251, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0251; 
Telephone 202/720-1115; Fax 202/720-1125; or e-mail to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Soybean Promotion, Research, 
and Consumer Information Act (Act) (7 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), every 5 
years the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) gives soybean producers 
the opportunity to request a referendum on the Order. If the Secretary 
determines that at least 10 percent of U.S. producers engaged in 
growing soybeans (not in excess of one-fifth of which may be producers 
in any one State) support the conduct of a referendum, the Secretary 
must conduct a referendum within 1 year of that determination. If these 
requirements are not met, a referendum is not conducted.
    A notice of opportunity to Request a Soybean Referendum was 
published in the Federal Register (74 FR 9382) on March 4, 2009. To be 
eligible to participate in the Request for Referendum, producers or the 
producer entity that they are authorized to represent must provide 
supporting documentation showing that they or the producer entity they 
represent paid an assessment sometime during the representative period 
between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2008. Based on USDA data, 
there are 589,182 soybean producers in the United States. This 
information was published in the Federal Register (74 FR 9047) on March 
2, 2009, to establish the number of producers eligible to request a 
referendum.
    A total of 759 valid Requests for Referendum were completed by 
eligible soybean producers. This number does not meet the requisite 
number of 58,918. Therefore, based on the Request for Referendum 
results, a referendum will not be conducted. In accordance with the 
provisions of the Act, soybean producers will be provided another 
opportunity to request a referendum in 5 years.
    The following is the State-by-State results of the Request for 
Referendum:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          State                           Valid  ballots
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.................................................               2
Alaska..................................................               0
Arizona.................................................               0
Arkansas................................................               1
California..............................................               0
Colorado................................................               0
Connecticut.............................................               0
Delaware................................................               2
Florida.................................................               1
Georgia.................................................               1
Hawaii..................................................               0
Idaho...................................................               0
Illinois................................................             112
Indiana.................................................             112
Iowa....................................................             102
Kansas..................................................              15
Kentucky................................................               5
Louisiana...............................................               0
Maine...................................................               0
Maryland................................................              11
Massachusetts...........................................               0
Michigan................................................              31
Minnesota...............................................              71
Mississippi.............................................               0
Missouri................................................              62
Montana.................................................               0
Nebraska................................................              27
Nevada..................................................               0
New Hampshire...........................................               0
New Jersey..............................................               0
New Mexico..............................................               0
New York................................................              10
North Carolina..........................................              13
North Dakota............................................               3
Ohio....................................................              87
Oklahoma................................................               3
Oregon..................................................               0
Pennsylvania............................................               3
Rhode Island............................................               0
South Carolina..........................................               3
South Dakota............................................              38
Tennessee...............................................               7
Texas...................................................               4
Utah....................................................               0
Vermont.................................................               0
Virginia................................................               6
Washington..............................................               0
West Virginia...........................................               2
Wisconsin...............................................              25
Wyoming.................................................               0
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6301-6311.

    Dated: November 19, 2009.
Rayne Pegg,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. E9-28233 Filed 11-24-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P