[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 23, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16322-16323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6833]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 929

[Docket No. AMS-FV-11-0011; FV11-929-1]


Cranberries Grown in the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, 
Washington, and Long Island in the State of New York; Continuance 
Referendum

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Referendum order.

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SUMMARY: This document directs that a continuance referendum be 
conducted among eligible growers of cranberries in the States of 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Long Island in the State 
of New York to determine whether they favor continuance of the 
marketing order regulating the handling of cranberries grown in the 
production area.

DATES: The referendum will be conducted from May 16 through May 31, 
2011. To vote in this referendum, growers must have been engaged in 
producing cranberries within the production area during the period 
September 1, 2009, through August 31, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the marketing order may be obtained from USDA, 
Washington DC Marketing Field Office, 4700 River Road, Unit 155, 
Riverdale, Maryland 20737, or the Office of the Docket Clerk, Marketing 
Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural

[[Page 16323]]

Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Stop 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dawana J. Clark or Kenneth G. Johnson, 
Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 
AMS, USDA, Unit 155, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD 20737; telephone: 
(301) 734-5243, Fax: (301) 734-5275; or e-mail at: 
[email protected] or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Marketing Order No. 929 (7 CFR 
part 929), hereinafter referred to as the ``order,'' and the applicable 
provisions of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as 
amended (7 U.S.C. 601-674), hereinafter referred to as the ``Act,'' it 
is hereby directed that a referendum be conducted to ascertain whether 
continuance of the order is favored by growers. The referendum shall be 
conducted during the period May 16 through May 31, 2011, among eligible 
cranberry growers in the production area. Only growers that were 
engaged in the production of cranberries in the States of 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Long Island in the State 
of New York during the period of September 1, 2009, through August 31, 
2010, may participate in the continuance referendum. Ballots postmarked 
after May 31, 2011, will be marked invalid and not included in the vote 
tabulation.
    USDA has determined that continuance referenda are an effective 
means for determining whether growers favor continuation of marketing 
order programs. The USDA would consider termination of the order if 
less than 50 percent of the growers who vote in the referendum and 
growers of less than 50 percent of the volume of cranberries 
represented in the referendum favor continuance of their program.
    In evaluating the merits of continuance versus termination, the 
USDA will not merely consider the results of the continuance 
referendum. The USDA will also consider all other relevant information 
concerning the operation of the order and the relative benefits and 
disadvantages to growers, processors, and consumers in order to 
determine whether continued operation of the order would tend to 
effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
chapter 35), the ballot materials used in the referendum herein ordered 
have been previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under OMB No. 0581-0189, OMB Generic Fruit Crops. It has been 
estimated that it will take an average of 20 minutes for each of the 
approximately 1,200 producers of cranberries in the production area to 
cast a ballot. Participation is voluntary.
    Kenneth G. Johnson and Dawana Clark of the Washington, DC Marketing 
Field Office, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing 
Service, USDA, are hereby designated as the referendum agents of USDA 
to conduct such referendum. The procedure applicable to the referendum 
shall be the ``Procedure for the Conduct of Referenda in Connection 
With Marketing Orders for Fruits, Vegetables, and Nuts Pursuant to the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as Amended'' (7 CFR 
900.400 et seq.).
    Ballots will be mailed to all growers of record and may also be 
obtained from the referendum agents and from their appointees.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 929

    Cranberries, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.

    Dated: March 16, 2011.
David R. Shipman,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-6833 Filed 3-22-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P