[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 205 (Tuesday, October 23, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53365-53366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23090]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 205 / Tuesday, October 23, 2018 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 53365]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1220

[Doc. No. AMS-LPS-18-0015]


Soybean Promotion and Research: Amend the Order To Adjust 
Representation on the United Soybean Board

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: This final rule will adjust the number of members on the 
United Soybean Board (Board) to reflect changes in production levels 
that have occurred since the Board was last reapportioned in 2015. As 
required by the Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information 
Act (Act), membership on the Board is reviewed every 3 years and 
adjustments are made accordingly. This change will result in an 
increase in Board membership for five States, increasing the total 
number of Board members from 73 to 78. These changes will be reflected 
in the Soybean Promotion and Research Order (Order) and would be 
effective for the 2019 appointment process.

DATES: This rule is effective as of November 23, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Dinkel, (202) 720-0633, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has waived the review 
process required by Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 for this action.

Executive Order 12988

    This final rule was reviewed under E.O. 12988, Civil Justice 
Reform. It is not intended to have a retroactive effect. This action 
would not preempt any State or local laws, regulations, or policies 
unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this rule.
    The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted 
before parties may file suit in court. Under section 1971 of the Act (7 
U.S.C. 6306), a person subject to the Soybean Promotion and Research 
Order (7 CFR part 1220, subpart A (hereinafter referred to as the 
Order)) may file a petition with USDA stating that the Order, any 
provision of the Order, or any obligation imposed in connection with 
the Order is not in accordance with the law and request a modification 
of the Order or an exemption from the Order. The petitioner is afforded 
the opportunity for a hearing on the petition. After a hearing, USDA 
would rule on the petition. The Act provides that district courts of 
the United States in any district in which such person is an 
inhabitant, or has his or her principal place of business, have 
jurisdiction to review USDA's ruling on the petition if a complaint for 
this purpose is filed within 20 days after the date of the entry of the 
ruling.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612 et seq.), AMS has considered 
the economic effect of this final rule on small entities and has 
determined that this action does not have a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small businesses entities because it only 
adjusts representation on the Board to reflect changes in production 
levels that have occurred since the Board was last reapportioned in 
2015. The purposed of RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of 
businesses subject to such actions in order that small business will 
not be unduly burdened.
    There are an estimated 515,008 soybean producers and an estimated 
10,000 first purchasers who collect the assessment, most of whom would 
be considered small businesses under the criteria established by the 
Small Business Administration (SBA) [13 CFR 121.201]. SBA defines small 
agricultural producers as those having annual receipts of less than 
$750,000.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the reporting and recordkeeping requirements included in 7 
CFR part 1220 were previously approved by OMB and were assigned control 
number 0581-0093.

Background and Proposed Changes

    The Act (7 U.S.C. 6301-6311) provides for the establishment of a 
coordinated program of promotion and research designed to strengthen 
the soybean industry's position in the marketplace, and to maintain and 
expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for soybeans and soybean 
products. The program is financed by an assessment of 0.5 percent of 
the net market price of soybeans sold by producers. Pursuant to the 
Act, the Order, which established an initial Board with 60 members, 
became effective July 9, 1991. For purposes of establishing the Board, 
the United States was divided into 31 States and geographical units. 
Representation on the Board from each unit was determined by the level 
of production in each unit. The initial Board was appointed on July 11, 
1991. The Board is comprised of soybean producers. Section 1220.201(c) 
of the Order provides that at the end of each 3-year period, the Board 
shall review soybean production levels in the geographic units 
throughout the United States. The Board may recommend to the Secretary 
of Agriculture modifications in the levels of production necessary to 
determine Board membership for each unit.
    Section 1220.201(d) of the Order provides that at the end of each 
3-year period, the Secretary must review the volume of production of 
each unit and adjust the boundaries of any unit and the number of Board 
members from each such unit as necessary to conform with the criteria 
set forth in Sec.  1220.201(e): (1) To the extent practicable, States 
with annual average soybean production of less than 3 million bushels 
shall be grouped into geographically contiguous units, each of which 
has a combined production level equal to or greater than 3 million 
bushels, and each such group shall be entitled to at least one member 
on the Board; (2) units with at least 3 million bushels, but fewer than 
15 million bushels shall be entitled to one board member; (3) units 
with 15 million bushels or more but fewer than 70 million bushels shall 
be entitled to two Board members; (4) units with 70

[[Page 53366]]

million bushels or more but fewer than 200 million bushels shall be 
entitled to three Board members; and (5) units with 200 million bushels 
or more shall be entitled to four Board members.
    The Board was last reapportioned in 2015. The total Board 
membership increased from 70 to 73 members, with Missouri, New Jersey, 
and Wisconsin each gaining one additional member. The final rule was 
published in the Federal Register (80 FR 63909) on October 22, 2015. 
This change was effective with the 2016 appointments.
    This final rule will increase total membership on the Board from 73 
to 78, based on production data for years 2013-2017 (excluding the 
crops in years in which production was the highest and in which 
production was the lowest) as reported by USDA's National Agricultural 
Statistics Service. This change will not affect the number of 
geographical units.
    This final rule will adjust representation on the Board as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Current          Proposed
                                    State                                      representation    representation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.....................................................................                 1                 2
Kentucky....................................................................                 2                 3
North Dakota................................................................                 3                 4
South Dakota................................................................                 3                 4
Tennessee...................................................................                 2                 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Board adjustments will become effective with the 2019 appointment 
process.

Comments

    A proposed rule was published in the Federal Register (83 FR 31477) 
on July 6, 2018, with a 60-day comment period. USDA received no 
comments.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1220

    Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Agricultural 
research, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Soybeans.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 1220 is 
amended as follows:

PART 1220--SOYBEAN PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND CONSUMER INFORMATION

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1220 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6301-6311 and 7 U.S.C. 7401.


0
2. In Sec.  1220.201, the table in paragraph (a) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  1220.201  Membership of board.

    (a) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Number of
                             Unit                               members
------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Dakota.................................................          4
Ohio.........................................................          4
North Dakota.................................................          4
Nebraska.....................................................          4
Missouri.....................................................          4
Minnesota....................................................          4
Iowa.........................................................          4
Indiana......................................................          4
Illinois.....................................................          4
Wisconsin....................................................          3
Tennessee....................................................          3
Mississippi..................................................          3
Michigan.....................................................          3
Kentucky.....................................................          3
Kansas.......................................................          3
Arkansas.....................................................          3
Virginia.....................................................          2
Pennsylvania.................................................          2
North Carolina...............................................          2
Maryland.....................................................          2
Louisiana....................................................          2
Alabama......................................................          2
Texas........................................................          1
South Carolina...............................................          1
Oklahoma.....................................................          1
New York.....................................................          1
New Jersey...................................................          1
Georgia......................................................          1
Delaware.....................................................          1
Eastern Region (Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts,            1
 New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia,
 District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico)......................
Western Region (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,                 1
 Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,
 Washington, and Wyoming.....................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

    Dated: October 17, 2018.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-23090 Filed 10-22-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-02-P