[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41255-41256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16448]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration


Proposed Posting, Posting, and Deposting of Stockyards

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration 
(GIPSA) is taking several actions to post and depost stockyards under 
the Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act). Specifically, we are 
proposing that eight stockyards now operating subject to the P&S Act be 
posted. We are also posting 10 stockyards that were identified 
previously as operating subject to the P&S Act and deposting one 
stockyard that no longer meets the definition of a stockyard. 
Additionally, we are notifying the public of six stockyards previously 
proposed to be posted will not be posted because they no longer meet 
the definition of a stockyard.

DATES: For the proposed posting of stockyards, we will consider 
comments that we receive by July 30, 2014.

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on this notice. You may 
submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Internet: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-
line instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: (202) 690-2173.
     Mail, hand delivery or courier: R. Dexter Thomas, GIPSA, 
USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 2530-S, Washington, DC 20250-
3604.
    Instructions: All comments should refer to the date and page number 
of this issue of the Federal Register. The comments and other documents 
relating to this action will be available for public inspection during 
regular business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine M. Grasso, Program Analyst, 
Policy and Litigation Division at (202) 720-7363 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards 
Administration (GIPSA) administers and enforces the P&S Act of 1921, (7 
U.S.C. 181 et seq.). The P&S Act prohibits unfair, deceptive, and 
fraudulent practices by livestock market agencies, dealers, stockyard 
owners, meat packers, swine contractors, and live poultry dealers in 
the livestock, poultry, and meatpacking industries.
    Section 302 of the P&S Act (7 U.S.C. 202) defines the term 
``stockyard'' as follows:

    ``. . . any place, establishment, or facility commonly known as 
stockyards, conducted, operated, or managed for profit or nonprofit 
as a public market for livestock producers, feeders, market 
agencies, and buyers, consisting of pens, or other enclosures, and 
their appurtenances, in which live cattle, sheep, swine, horses, 
mules, or goats are received, held, or kept for sale or shipment in 
commerce.''

    Section 302 (b) of the P&S Act requires the Secretary of 
Agriculture to determine which stockyards meet this definition, and to 
notify the owner of the stockyard and the public of that determination 
by posting a notice in each designated stockyard. Once the Secretary 
provides notice to the

[[Page 41256]]

stockyard owner and the public, the stockyard is subject to the 
provisions of Title III of the P&S Act (7 U.S.C. 201-203 and 205-217a) 
until the Secretary deposts the stockyard by public notice. To post a 
stockyard, we assign the stockyard a facility number, notify the 
stockyard owner, and send an official posting notice to the stockyard 
owner to display in a public area of the stockyard. This process is 
referred to as ``posting.'' The date of posting is the date that the 
posting notices are physically displayed at the stockyard. A facility 
that does not meet the definition of a stockyard is not subject to the 
P&S Act, and therefore cannot be posted. A posted stockyard can be 
deposted, which occurs when the facility is no longer used as a 
stockyard.
    We are hereby notifying stockyard owners and the public that the 
following eight stockyards meet the (P&S Act) definition of a 
stockyard, and that we propose to designate these stockyards as posted 
stockyards.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Proposed facility No.             Stockyard name and location
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AL-198....................................  Central Auction Barn,
                                             Electic, Alabama
AR-183....................................  Mollie Wright--Wright's
                                             Small Animal Auction,
                                             Benton, Arkansas
AZ-118....................................  Sonoran Livestock Marketing,
                                             LLC, Douglas, Arizona
KY-186....................................  Ricky M. Kepley, dba
                                             Franklin Livestock Market,
                                             Franklin, Kentucky
TN-208....................................  Treadway Livestock Exchange,
                                             Thorn Hill, Tennessee
TN-209....................................  Darrells Auction and
                                             Livestock, Powder Springs,
                                             Tennessee
TN-210....................................  Rising Star Ranch, LLC,
                                             Shelbyville, Tennessee
TN-211....................................  Circle R Auction, Ethridge,
                                             Tennessee
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We are also notifying the public that the stockyards listed in the 
following table meet the P&S Act's definition of a stockyard and that 
we have posted the stockyards. On January 15, 2013, we published a 
notice in the Federal Register (78 FR 2950-2952) of our proposal to 
post these 10 stockyards. Since we received no comments to our 
proposal, we assigned the stockyards a facility number and notified the 
owner of the stockyard facilities. Posting notices were sent to the 
owner of the stockyard to display in public areas of the stockyard. The 
table below reflects the date of posting for each stockyard.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Stockyard name and        Date of
          Facility No.                   location             posting
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GA-233.........................  Middle Georgia Goat &        04/29/2013
                                  Chicken Auction,
                                  Cochran, Georgia.
GA-235.........................  Dooly County Livestock,      05/30/2013
                                  LLC., Unadilla,
                                  Georgia.
MS-177.........................  Clark's Livestock,           04/29/2013
                                  Forest, Mississippi.
MT-124.........................  Headwaters Livestock         05/01/2013
                                  Auction, Three Forks,
                                  Montana.
NY-179.........................  HillTop Auction              04/30/2013
                                  Company, Penn Yan, New
                                  York.
OK-217.........................  Cross Livestock              05/30/2013
                                  Auction, LLC,
                                  Checotah, Oklahoma.
SC-164.........................  H & S Stockyards,            04/30/2013
                                  Ehrhardt, South
                                  Carolina.
TN-205.........................  Bill Roark dba Roan          05/02/2013
                                  Valley Auction Company
                                  and Livestock Market,
                                  Mountain City,
                                  Tennessee.
TN-207.........................  Southern Saddlebred          05/02/2013
                                  Sales, Inc.,
                                  Murfreesboro,
                                  Tennessee.
TX-357.........................  Lockhart Land Holdings,      05/30/2013
                                  d/b/a Hereford
                                  Livestock Auction,
                                  Hereford, Texas.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We are further notifying the public that the following facilities, 
which met the definition of a stockyard previously, were not posted. We 
published notices proposing to post these six stockyards in the Federal 
Register on January 15, 2013, (78 FR 2950-2952). The facilities were 
not posted because they no longer meet the definition of a stockyard.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Proposed facility No.             Facility name and location
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GA-234....................................  Bent Staples Auctions, LLC,
                                             Ocilla, Georgia
IN-170....................................  Tri-State Livestock Auction,
                                             LLC, Angola, Indiana
NY-178....................................  Don Yahn Market, Cherry
                                             Creek, New York
TN-204....................................  Heritage Horse Sales, LLC,
                                             Shelbyville, Tennessee
TN-206....................................  The Sale of Champions,
                                             Shelbyville, Tennessee
TX-355....................................  Sulphur Springs Horse Sales,
                                             Sulphur Springs, Texas
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, we are notifying the public that the following stockyard 
no longer meets the definition of a stockyard and it is being deposted. 
We depost stockyards when the facility can no longer be used as a 
stockyard. The reasons a facility can no longer be used as a stockyard 
may include the following: (1) The market agency has moved and the 
posted facility is abandoned; (2) the facility has been torn down or 
otherwise destroyed, such as by fire; (3) the facility is dilapidated 
beyond repair; or (4) the facility has been converted and its function 
has changed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Stockyard name and
          Facility No.                   location           Date posted
------------------------------------------------------------------------
KY-137.........................  Wayne County Livestock       12-10-1959
                                  Auction, Monticello,
                                  Kentucky.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 202.

Larry Mitchell,
Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-16448 Filed 7-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-KD-P