[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41909-41911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18637]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration


Proposed Posting, Posting, and Deposting of Stockyards

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration 
(GIPSA), USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: GIPSA is taking several actions to post and depost stockyards 
under the Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act). Specifically, we are 
proposing that 11 stockyards now operating subject to the P&S Act be 
posted. We are also posting seven stockyards that were identified 
previously as operating subject to the P&S Act and deposting two 
stockyards that no longer meet the definition of a stockyard.

DATES: GIPSA will consider comments received by October 5, 2017.

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on this notice. You may 
submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Mail, Courier or Hand Delivery: Irene Omade, GIPSA, USDA, 
1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 2530-S, Washington, DC 20250-3604.
     Submit Comments using the Internet: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting 
comments.
    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

[[Page 41910]]

inspection during regular business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Ash, Program Analyst, Litigation 
and Economic Analysis Division at (202) 720-0222 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 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 11 stockyards meet the definition of a stockyard, and that we 
propose to designate these stockyards as posted stockyards.

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     Proposed facility number            Stockyard name and location
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FL-141............................  Gulf Coast Livestock, Madison,
                                     Florida.
KY-190............................  Franklin Livestock Market, Inc.,
                                     Franklin, Kentucky.
LA-148............................  Southwest Horse Sale, LLC, Bush,
                                     Louisiana.
MS-182............................  Trade Day Auction, LLC,
                                     Philadelphia, Mississippi.
OK-219............................  Watson's Auction Service, Maud,
                                     Oklahoma.
OK-220............................  Daniel's Hog and Goat Sale, Howe,
                                     Oklahoma.
OK-221............................  Glover Auction & Livestock, LLC,
                                     Lawton, Oklahoma.
SC-165............................  Willie Hester, d/b/a Willietakeit
                                     Auctions, Pelzer, South Carolina.
TN-216............................  Ricky Kepley, d/b/a Cumberland City
                                     Stockyards, Cumberland City,
                                     Tennessee.
TN-217............................  Dickson Horse Sale, Dickson,
                                     Tennessee.
WV-119............................  Parkersburg Livestock Market,
                                     Mineral Wells, West Virginia.
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    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 October 17, 2016, we published a 
notice in the Federal Register (81 FR, 71477-71479) of our proposal to 
post these seven 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.

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                                                                                                      Date of
                Facility number                            Stockyard name and location                posting
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KY-189........................................  Blue Grass Stockyards of Albany, LLC, Albany,         11/07/2016
                                                 Kentucky.
MS-181........................................  Cattlemens Stockyard, LLC, West Point,                11/07/2016
                                                 Mississippi.
NC-182........................................  Walton L. Standridge d/b/a Standridge Auction,        11/07/2016
                                                 Hamlet, North Carolina.
NC-183........................................  Vale Enterprises, LLC d/b/a Cleveland County          11/07/2016
                                                 Agriculture & Livestock Exchange, Shelby, North
                                                 Carolina.
PA-164........................................  Nicholson Livestock Market, Factoryville,             11/08/2016
                                                 Pennsylvania.
SD-173........................................  Kramer's Auction, LLC, Colman, South Dakota.....      11/14/2016
TN-215........................................  Alexandria Stockyard, Inc., Alexandria, Tennesse      11/08/2016
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    Finally, we are notifying the public that the following stockyards 
no longer meet the definition of a stockyard and are 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.

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                Facility number                            Stockyard name and location              Date posted
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MA-104........................................  Crowley's Commission Sales, Inc., Agawam,             03/14/1972
                                                 Massachusetts.
NB-146........................................  Kearney Livestock Market, Inc., Kearney,              02/22/1938
                                                 Nebraska.
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[[Page 41911]]

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 202.

Randall D. Jones,
Acting Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-18637 Filed 9-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-KD-P