[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 80 (Thursday, April 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17374-17375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08350]
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Notices
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
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Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 80 / Thursday, April 25, 2019 /
Notices
[[Page 17374]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Document No. AMS-FTPP-19-0037]
Feasibility Study on Livestock Dealer Statutory Trust
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of
Agriculture (USDA), is soliciting comments on the feasibility of
establishing a livestock dealer statutory trust.
DATES: Comments must be received by June 24, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
via the internet at http://www.regulations.gov or to S. Brett Offutt,
Chief Legal Officer/Policy Advisor, Packers and Stockyards Division,
Fair Trade Practices Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 2507, STOP
3601, Washington, DC 20250. Comments should make reference to the date
and page number of this issue of the Federal Register and will be made
available for public inspection at the above office during regular
business hours.
Please be advised that all comments submitted in response to this
notice will be included in the record and will be made available to the
public on the internet via http://www.regulations.gov. Also, the
identity of the individuals or entities submitting the comments will be
made public.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: S. Brett Offutt, Chief Legal Officer/
Policy Advisor, Packers and Stockyards Division, Fair Trade Practices
Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, telephone (202) 690-4355, email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 12103 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub. L.
115-334), the 2018 Farm Bill, charged the Secretary with conducting a
study to determine the feasibility of establishing a livestock dealer
statutory trust. Section 12103 requires that the study: (1) Analyze how
the establishment of a livestock dealer statutory trust would affect
buyer and seller behavior in markets for livestock (as defined in
section 2(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182));
(2) Examine how the establishment of a livestock dealer statutory trust
would affect seller recovery in the event of a livestock dealer payment
default; (3) Consider what potential effects a livestock dealer
statutory trust would have on credit availability, including impacts on
lenders and lending behavior and other industry participants; (4)
Examine unique circumstances common to livestock dealers and how those
circumstances could impact the functionality of a livestock dealer
statutory trust; (5) Study the feasibility of the industry-wide
adoption of electronic funds transfer or another expeditious method of
payment to provide sellers of livestock protection from nonsufficient
funds payments; (6) Assess the effectiveness of statutory trusts in
other segments of agriculture, whether similar effects could be
experienced under a livestock dealer statutory trust, and whether
authorizing the Secretary to appoint an independent trustee under the
livestock dealer statutory trust would improve seller recovery; (7)
Consider the effects of exempting dealers with average annual purchases
under a de minimis threshold from being subject to the livestock dealer
statutory trust; and (8) Analyze how the establishment of a livestock
dealer statutory trust would affect the treatment of sellers of
livestock as it relates to preferential transfer in bankruptcy.
The study will be conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). AMS has regulatory authority over
two statutes that contain statutory trusts: The Packers and Stockyards
(P&S) Act and the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). The
statutory PACA trust (7 U.S.C. 449e(c)) requires commission merchants,
dealers, and brokers to hold perishable agricultural commodity
inventory, products, receivables, and proceeds in trust for the benefit
of unpaid produce sellers. The P&S Act currently includes two trusts:
The packer trust (7 U.S.C. 196), which requires packers to hold
livestock, inventory, receivables and proceeds in trust for unpaid cash
sellers of livestock; and the poultry trust (7 U.S.C. 197), which
requires live poultry dealers to hold poultry, inventories,
receivables, and proceeds in trust for unpaid cash sellers or poultry
growers.
The P&S Act also regulates the business practices of livestock
dealers, but livestock dealers are not currently subject to a statutory
trust provision. Section 301(d) of the P&S Act (7 U.S.C. 201), defines
a ``dealer'' as ``any person, not a market agency, engaged in the
business of buying or selling in commerce livestock, either on his own
account or as the employee or agent of the vendor or purchaser.''
AMS is seeking comments to assist it in determining the feasibility
of establishing a livestock dealer statutory trust. Commenters may
address any or all of the eight (8) key components of the study by
responding to the following questions:
(1) How would the establishment of a livestock dealer statutory
trust affect buyer and seller behavior in markets for livestock?
(2) How would the establishment of a livestock dealer statutory
trust affect seller recovery in the event of a livestock dealer payment
default?
(3) What potential effects would a livestock dealer statutory trust
have on credit availability, including impacts on lenders and lending
behavior and other industry participants?
(4) How would the unique circumstances common to livestock dealers
impact the functionality of a livestock dealer statutory trust?
(5) Is industry-wide adoption of electronic funds transfer or
another expeditious method of payment feasible, and would such adoption
provide sellers of livestock with protection from nonsufficient funds
payments?
(6) How effective are statutory trusts in other segments of
agriculture? Could similar effects be experienced under a
[[Page 17375]]
livestock dealer statutory trust? Would seller recovery improve if the
Secretary was authorized to appoint an independent trustee under the
livestock dealer statutory trust?
(7) Should dealers with average annual purchases under a de minimis
threshold be exempt from being subject to the livestock dealer
statutory trust? What purchase level should be considered for
exemption? What effect would such an exemption have on the
effectiveness of a livestock dealer statutory trust?
(8) How would the establishment of a livestock dealer statutory
trust affect the treatment of sellers of livestock as related to
preferential transfers in bankruptcy?
This notice provides for a 60-day period for interested parties to
comment on the components of the study.
Authority: Sec. 12103, Pub. L. 115-334, 132 Stat. 4490.
Dated: April 22, 2019.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-08350 Filed 4-24-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P