[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 180 (Friday, September 17, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 56911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23190]


 ========================================================================
 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.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 180 / Friday, September 17, 2010 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 56911]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration

7 CFR Part 810

[Docket  GIPSA-2010-FGIS-0004]
RIN 0580-AB16


Request for Public Comment on the United States Standards for 
Corn

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection, 
Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is reviewing the United 
States Standards and grading procedures for corn under the United 
States Grain Standards Act (USGSA). Since the standards were last 
revised, the use of corn for ethanol and the number of different 
varieties of corn has increased tremendously. To ensure that standards 
and official grading practices remain relevant, GIPSA invites 
interested parties to comment on whether the current corn standards and 
grading procedures need to be changed.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 16, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your written or electronic comments on this 
notice to:
     Mail: Tess Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Room 1643-S, Washington, DC 20250-3604.
     E-Mail comments to [email protected].
     Fax: (202) 690-2173.
     Internet: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the 
on-line instruction for submitting comments.
All comments will become a matter of public record and should be 
identified as ``United States Standards for Corn Notice Comments,'' 
making reference to the date and page number of this issue of the 
Federal Register. Comments will be available for public inspection at 
http://www.regulations.gov and in the above office during regular 
business hours (7 CFR 1.27(b)). Please call the GIPSA Management 
Support Staff at (202) 720-7486 to make an appointment to read comments 
received.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Heiman at GIPSA, USDA, Beacon 
Facility, Stop 1404, P.O. Box 419205, Kansas City, MO 64131-6205; 
Telephone (816) 823-2580; Fax Number (816) 823-4644; e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

    This rule has been determined to be exempt for the purposes of 
Executive Order 12866, and therefore has not been reviewed by the 
Office of Management and Budget.
    Under the authority of the USGSA (7 U.S.C. 76), GIPSA establishes 
standards for corn and other grains regarding kind, class, quality and 
condition. The corn standards were established by USDA effective 
December 1, 1916. Standards specific to corn appear in the USGSA 
regulations at 7 CFR 810.401-810.405 and were last revised in 1996 (60 
FR 61194). The 1996 revisions changed the reporting requirements for 
test weight to the nearest tenth of a pound, eliminated the count limit 
on stones for U.S. Sample Grade, and reduced the U.S. Sample Grade 
Aggregate Weight Tolerance for Stones from more than 0.2 percent by 
weight to more than 0.1 percent by weight. Stress crack analysis was 
also offered as official criteria.
    The standards facilitate corn marketing and define U.S. corn 
quality in the domestic and global marketplace. They define commonly 
used industry terms; contain basic principles governing the application 
of standards such as the type of sample used for a particular quality 
analysis; specify grades and grade requirements; and specify special 
grades and special grade requirements, such as flint corn and waxy 
corn. Official procedures for determining grading factors are provided 
in GIPSA's Grain Inspection Handbook, Book II, Chapter 4, ``Corn,'' 
which also includes standardized procedures for additional quality 
attributes not used to determine grade, such as stress crack analysis. 
Together, the grading standards and procedures allow buyers and sellers 
to communicate quality requirements, compare corn quality using 
equivalent forms of measurement, and assist in price discovery. To 
learn more about corn standardization and quality, visit the GIPSA Web 
site at http://www.gipsa.usda.gov.
    GIPSA's grading and inspection services are provided through a 
network of federal, state, and private laboratories that conduct tests 
to determine the quality and condition of corn and other commodities. 
The tests used to measure grain quality are conducted in accordance 
with applicable standards using approved methodologies and can be 
applied at any point in the marketing chain. These tests yield rapid, 
reliable, and consistent results. In addition, GIPSA-issued 
certificates describing the quality and condition of graded corn are 
accepted as prima facie evidence in all Federal courts (7 U.S.C. 
79(d)). U.S. corn standards and the affiliated grading and testing 
services offered by GIPSA verify that a seller's corn meets specified 
requirements, and ensure that customers received the quality of corn 
they purchased.
    In order for U.S. standards and grading procedures for corn to 
remain relevant, GIPSA is issuing this advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking to invite interested parties to submit comments, ideas, and 
suggestions on all aspects of the U.S. corn standards and grading 
procedures.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 71-87k.

J. Dudley Butler,
Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-23190 Filed 9-16-10; 8:45 am]
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