[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52099-52100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20481]


 ========================================================================
 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. 78, No. 163 / Thursday, August 22, 2013 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 52099]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 51

[Doc. Number AMS-FV-12-0013]


Onions Other Than Bermuda-Granex-Grano/Creole; Bermuda-Granex-
Grano

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would revise the United States Standards 
for Grades of Onions (Other Than Bermuda-Granex-Grano and Creole Type) 
and the United States Standards for Grades of Bermuda-Granex-Grano Type 
Onions which were issued under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. 
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is proposing to amend the 
``similar varietal characteristic'' and ``one type'' requirements to 
allow mixed colors of onions when designated as a mixed or specialty 
pack. The purpose of this revision is to update and revise the 
standards to more accurately represent today's marketing practices and 
to provide the industry with greater flexibility.

DATES: Comments must be received by October 21, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
the Standardization Branch, Specialty Crops Inspection Division, Fruit 
and Vegetable Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department 
of Agriculture, National Training and Development Center, Riverside 
Business Park, 100 Riverside Parkway, Suite 101, Fredericksburg, VA 
22406; Fax: (540) 361-1199, or on the web at: www.regulations.gov. 
Comments should make reference to the dates and page number of this 
issue of the Federal Register and will be made available for public 
inspection in the above office during regular business hours. Comments 
can also be viewed as submitted, including any personal information you 
provide, on the www.regulations.gov website.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Horner, Specialty Crops 
Inspection Division, (540) 361-1128 or 1150. The current United States 
Standards for Grades of Onions (Other Than Bermuda-Granex-Grano and 
Creole Type) and the United States Standards for Grades of Bermuda-
Granex-Grano Type Onions are available through the Specialty Crops 
Inspection Division website at www.ams.usda.gov/scihome.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed 
by the Office of Management and Budget.
    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), AMS has considered the economic impact of 
this rule on small entities. Accordingly, AMS has prepared this 
regulatory flexibility analysis. The purpose of the RFA is to fit 
regulatory actions to the scale of business subject to such actions in 
order that small businesses will not be unduly or disproportionately 
burdened.
    Proposed changes in two sets of standards would permit specified 
packs of mixed colors of onions to be certified to a U.S. grade. The 
proposed revisions apply to the United States standards for grades for 
two categories of onions: (1) Other Than Bermuda-Granex-Grano (BGG) and 
Creole Type and (2) BGG Type.
    In each of the standards, except the section in the Other Than BGG 
and Creole Type standards which affects the U.S. No. 2 grade, it 
currently states that one of the requirements to be certified in a 
grade is that the onion pack contains ``similar varietal 
characteristics.'' The wording would be changed to: ``Similar varietal 
characteristics, except color when designated as a specialty or mixed 
pack.'' In the U.S. No. 2 grade for the Other Than BGG and Creole Type 
standards, the wording would be changed to ``One type, except when 
designated as a specialty or mixed pack.'' The additional wording would 
permit onions of different colors in the same pack as long as the pack 
is appropriately designated as a ``specialty or mixed pack.'' Allowing 
the commingling of mixed colors in an onion pack, when designated, will 
facilitate the marketing of onions by providing the industry with more 
flexibility that reflects current industry practices, thereby 
encouraging additional commerce.
    A farm-level estimate of the size of the U.S. onion industry can be 
obtained from National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) data. 
Averaging NASS onion production for the most recent 3 years (2009-2011) 
yields a U.S. production estimate of 74.4 million hundredweight (cwt), 
of which about 10 million cwt (13 percent) are onions for processing. 
Subtracting 10 million for processing from the total 74.4 million cwt 
yields an estimate of 64.4 million cwt sold for the fresh market. The 
total 3-year average onion crop value is $955.4 million and the value 
of onions for processing is $86.5 million. The difference is a computed 
estimate of $868.9 million for the crop value sold into the fresh 
market. Average onion acreage for the period 2009-2011 is 149,320. 
Dividing total crop value by acreage yields a 3-year average grower 
revenue per acre estimate of about $6,400.
    An estimate of the total number of onion farms from the 2007 
Agricultural Census (the most recent data available on farm numbers) is 
4,074. An onion farm is defined by the Census as a farm from which 50 
percent or more of the value of agricultural sales are from onions. The 
Small Business Administration (SBA) threshold for a large business in 
farming is $750,000 in annual sales. With average revenue per acre of 
$6,400, 117 acres of onions would generate approximately $750,000 in 
crop value. Census data shows that 3,679 out of a total of 4,074 farms 
(91 percent) are less than 100 acres. Most onion farms would therefore 
be considered small businesses under the SBA definition, in terms of 
onion sales only (not including sales of other crops). There is no 
published data with which to make comparable estimates of the number of 
packers or shippers of onions.
    Three fourths of the value of production for U.S. onions comes from 
six states. In declining order of magnitude, with market shares ranging 
from 18 to 8 percent, those states are: California, Washington, Oregon,

[[Page 52100]]

Georgia, Texas, and Nevada. The remaining states for which NASS reports 
onion production are New Mexico, Idaho, New York, Colorado, Michigan, 
Wisconsin, and Arizona.
    Benefits of the proposed changes substantially outweigh the costs. 
The only additional cost borne by packers/shippers, which is expected 
to be minimal, is when ``specialty or mixed packs'' are designated by 
means of labeling. There are no other additional costs to packers/
shippers or growers from this change, and smaller entities would not 
bear a disproportionate cost. The proposed change in the standards 
reflects a shift in onion packing/shipping practices that is already 
underway. The additional flexibility in the revised standards will 
facilitate additional onion sales, to the benefit of growers, packers, 
and consumers.

Executive Order 12988

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. This action is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
There are no administrative procedures which must be exhausted prior to 
any judicial challenge to the provisions of the rule.

Background and Proposed Rule

    AMS has observed that the industry is packing mixed colors of 
onions, primarily in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Texas. In addition, 
Marketing Order 958 for Idaho and Oregon Onions, administrated by the 
Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee, was amended November, 2011, to 
allow pearl onion packs and experimental shipments of mixed colors. 
Furthermore, in a May 2012 meeting with the Marketing Order 
Administration Division, AMS was informed that Washington State, which 
is outside of marketing order 958, has packed mixed colors of larger 
Walla Walla type onions for Canada. Currently, the U.S. onion standards 
do not permit mixing colors in the same pack. The proposed revision 
will provide the flexibility for shippers and packers to do so. AMS 
believes that permitting mixed colors when designated as a specialty or 
mixed pack will facilitate the marketing of onions by aligning the 
standards with current marketing practices. Therefore, AMS proposes to 
amend the similar varietal characteristic requirement for:
    Onions Other Than BGG and Creole Type in Sections 51.2830, 51.2831, 
and 51.2832, which affects the U.S. No. 1, U.S. Export No. 1, and U.S 
Commercial grades, by adding ``except color when designated as a 
specialty or mixed pack.'' Likewise, AMS proposes to amend the one type 
requirement in Section 51.2835, which affects the U.S. No. 2 grade, by 
adding ``except when designated as a specialty or mixed pack.''
    Bermuda-Granex-Grano (BGG) Type Onions in Sections 51.3195 and 
51.3197, which affects the U.S. No. 1, U.S. Combination, and U.S. No. 2 
grades, by adding ``except color when designated as a specialty or 
mixed pack.''

Comments Invited

    AMS proposes to amend the United States Standards for Grades of 
Onions (Other Than Bermuda-Granex-Grano and Creole Type) and the United 
States Standards for Grades of Bermuda-Granex-Grano Type Onions. This 
rule provides for a 60-day comment period for interested parties to 
comment on the proposed revisions in the standards.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 51

    Agricultural commodities, Food grades and standards, Fruits, Nuts, 
Reporting and record keeping requirements, Trees, Vegetables.

    For reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 51 is proposed to 
be amended as follows:

PART 51--FRESH FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND OTHER PRODUCTS (INSPECTION, 
CERTIFICATION, AND STANDARDS)

0
1. The authority citation for part 51 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 1621-1627.

0
2. In Sec.  51.2830, paragraph (a) (1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  51.2830  U.S. No. 1.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (1) Similar varietal characteristics, except color when designated 
as a specialty or mixed pack;
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec.  51.2831, paragraph (a) (1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  51.2831  U.S. Export No. 1

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (1) Similar varietal characteristics, except color when designated 
as a specialty of mixed pack;
* * * * *
0
4. In Sec.  51.2832, paragraph (a) (1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  51.2832  U.S. Commercial

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (1) Similar varietal characteristics, except color when designated 
as a specialty or mixed pack;
* * * * *
0
5. In Sec.  51.2835, paragraph (a) (1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  51.2835  U.S. No. 1 Boilers

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (1) One type, except when designated as a specialty or mixed pack;
* * * * *
0
6. In Sec.  51.3195, paragraph (a) (1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  51.3195  U.S. No. 1

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (1) Similar varietal characteristics, except color when designated 
as a specialty or mixed pack;
* * * * *
0
7. In Sec.  51.3197, paragraph (a) (1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  51.3197  U.S. No. 2

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (1) Similar varietal characteristics, except color when designated 
as a specialty or mixed pack;
* * * * *

    Dated: August 16, 2013.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-20481 Filed 8-21-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P