[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 1, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39461-39464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12813]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 1, 2020 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 39461]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1260

[Document No. AMS-LP-19-0012]


Beef Promotion and Research; Reapportionment

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule adjusts representation on the Cattlemen's Beef 
Promotion and Research Board (Board), established under the Beef 
Promotion and Research Act of 1985 (Act), to reflect changes in 
domestic cattle inventories as well as changes in levels of imported 
cattle, beef, and beef products that have occurred since the Board was 
last reapportioned in July 2017. These adjustments are required by the 
Beef Promotion and Research Order (Order) and will result in an 
increase in Board membership from 99 to 101, effective with the 
Secretary of Agriculture's (Secretary) appointments for terms beginning 
early in the year 2021.

DATE:  Effective July 31, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kahl Sesker, Agricultural Marketing 
Specialist; Research and Promotion Division; Livestock and Poultry 
Program, AMS, USDA; Room 2610-S, STOP 0251, 1400 Independence Avenue 
SW, Washington, DC 20250-0251; via telephone at (202) 253-8253; or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 13771

    Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess all 
costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if 
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize 
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public 
health, and safety effects; distributive impacts; and equity). 
Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both 
costs and benefits, reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and promoting 
flexibility. This rule does not meet the definition of a significant 
regulatory action contained in section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, 
and therefore, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has waived 
review of this action. Additionally, because this rule does not meet 
the definition of a significant regulatory action, it does not trigger 
the requirements contained in Executive Order 13771. See OMB's 
Memorandum titled ``Interim Guidance Implementing Section 2 of the 
Executive Order of January 30, 2017, titled `Reducing Regulation and 
Controlling Regulatory Costs' '' (February 2, 2017).

Executive Order 12988

    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive 
effect.
    Section 11 of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2910) provides that nothing in the 
Act may be construed to preempt or supersede any other program relating 
to beef promotion organized and operated under the laws of the U.S. or 
any State. There are no administrative proceedings that must be 
exhausted prior to any judicial challenge to the provisions of this 
rule.

Executive Order 13175

    This action has been reviewed in accordance with the requirements 
of Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian 
Tribal Governments. The review reveals that this regulation would not 
have substantial and direct efforts on Tribal governments or 
significant Tribal implications.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with OMB regulations (5 CFR 1320) that implement the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. part 35), the information 
collection and recordkeeping requirements contained in the Order and 
accompanying Rules and Regulations have previously been approved by OMB 
and were assigned OMB control number 0581-0093.

Background

    The Board was initially appointed on August 4, 1986, pursuant to 
the provisions of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2901-2911), and the Order issued 
thereunder. Domestic representation on the Board is based on cattle 
inventory numbers, while importer representation is based on the 
conversion of the volume of imported cattle, beef, and beef products 
into live animal equivalencies.

Reapportionment

    Section 1260.141(b) of the Order provides that the Board shall be 
composed of cattle producers and importers appointed by the Secretary 
from nominations submitted by certified producer and importer 
organizations. A producer may only be nominated to represent the State 
or unit in which that producer is a resident.
    Section 1260.141(c) of the Order provides that at least every 3 
years, but not more than every 2 years, the Board shall review the 
geographic distribution of cattle inventories throughout the United 
States and the volume of imported cattle, beef, and beef products and, 
if warranted, shall reapportion units and/or modify the number of Board 
members from units in order to reflect the geographic distribution of 
cattle production volume in the United States and the volume of cattle, 
beef, or beef products imported into the United States.
    Section 1260.141(d) of the Order authorizes the Board to recommend 
to the Secretary modifications to the number of cattle per unit 
necessary for representation on the Board.
    Section 1260.141(e)(1) provides that each geographic unit or State 
that includes a total cattle inventory equal to or greater than 500,000 
head of cattle shall be entitled to one representative on the Board. 
Section 1260.141(e)(2) provides that States that do not have total 
cattle inventories equal to or greater than 500,000 head shall be 
grouped, to the extent practicable, into geographically-contiguous 
units, each of which has a combined total inventory of not less than 
500,000 head. Such grouped units are entitled to at least one 
representative on the Board. Each unit is entitled to an additional 
Board member for each additional 1 million head of cattle within the 
unit, as provided in Sec.  1260.141(e)(4). Further, as provided in 
Sec.  1260.141(e)(3), importers

[[Page 39462]]

are represented by a single unit, with the number of Board members 
based on a conversion of the total volume of imported cattle, beef, or 
beef products into live animal equivalencies.
    The producer representation is based on an average of the inventory 
of cattle in the various States on January 1 in 2017, 2018, and 2019 as 
reported by U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National 
Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The importer representation is 
based on a combined total average of the 2016, 2017, and 2018 live 
cattle imports as published by USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) 
and the average of the 2016, 2017, and 2018 live animal equivalents for 
imported beef and beef products.
    In considering reapportionment, the Board reviewed cattle 
inventories as of January 1 in 2017, 2018, and 2019, as well as cattle, 
beef, and beef product import data for the period of January 1, 2016, 
to December 31, 2018. The Board determined that an average of the 
inventory of cattle on January 1 in 2017, 2018, and 2019 best reflect 
the number of cattle in each State or unit since publication of the 
last reapportionment rule in 2017 (82 FR 27611). The Board reviewed 
data published by ERS to determine proper importer representation. The 
Board recommended the use of the average of a combined total of the 
2016, 2017, and 2018 cattle import data and the average of the 2016, 
2017, and 2018 live animal equivalents for imported beef products. The 
method used to calculate the total number of live animal equivalents 
was the same as that used in the previous reapportionment of the Board. 
The live animal equivalent weight was changed in 2006 from 509 pounds 
to 592 pounds (71 FR 47074).
    The Board's reapportionment plan increases the number of 
representatives on the Board from 99 to 101. From the Board's analysis 
of USDA cattle inventories and import equivalencies, Nebraska gains one 
Board seat, Texas gains one Board seat, and Wisconsin gains one Board 
seat. Geographic changes shall include dissolving the Southeast Unit so 
that Alabama and Georgia shall be stand-alone States that have enough 
inventory to each qualify for a position on the Board. South Carolina 
will be added to the Mid-Atlantic Unit. Maryland will move from the 
Mid-Atlantic Unit to the Northeast Unit, leaving South Carolina and 
West Virginia to make up the new Mid-Atlantic Unit, which will qualify 
for one member. The new Northeast Unit will qualify for one member and 
be composed of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Importer 
representation will remain at seven.
    Representation of States and units affected by this final rule is 
as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Current           Revised
                State/unit                         Increase/decrease           representation    representation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..................................  +1 (moved from Southeast Unit)...                 0                 1
Georgia..................................  +1 (moved from Southeast Unit)...                 0                 1
Nebraska.................................  +1...............................                 6                 7
Texas....................................  +1...............................                12                13
Wisconsin................................  +1...............................                 3                 4
Mid-Atlantic Unit........................  No change........................                 1                 1
Northeast Unit...........................  No change........................                 1                 1
Southeast Unit...........................  -3...............................                 3                 0
Net Change...............................  +2...............................  ................  ................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: The Southeast Unit shall dissolve. Alabama and Georgia, formerly of SE Unit will each have one member on
  the Board. South Carolina, formerly of SE Unit, moves to Mid-Atlantic Unit. Maryland moves from the Mid-
  Atlantic Unit and to the Northeast Unit leaving South Carolina and West Virginia to make up the new Mid-
  Atlantic Unit and qualify for one member. The new Northeast Unit continues to qualify for one member. In
  summary, the Board will be composed of 101 members (99-3 + 5 = 101).

    The Board reapportionment by this rulemaking will take effect with 
the Secretary's appointments to fill positions early in the year 2021.

Summary of Comments

    AMS published the notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal 
Register on December 30, 2019 (84 FR 71829). The comment period closed 
on February 28, 2020. AMS received three timely comments. Two of the 
three comments were outside the scope of the rule. One commenter 
supported the 12 to 13 representative increase in Texas.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), AMS considered the 
economic effect of this action on small entities and determined that 
this final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The purpose of RFA is to fit 
regulatory actions to the scale of businesses subject to such actions 
in order that small businesses will not be unduly burdened.
    Effective August 19, 2019, the Small Business Administration (SBA) 
published an interim final rule (84 FR 64013) that adjusts the 
monetary-based size standards for inflation. As a result of this rule, 
the size classification for small beef, veal, and cattle importing 
firms changed from sales of $750,000 or less to sales of $1,000,000 or 
less.
    According to the NASS 2017 Census of Agriculture, the number of 
operations in the United States with cattle totaled 882,692.\1\ The 
most recent (2017) Census of Agriculture data show that roughly 4 
percent of producers with cattle, or 31,601 operations, have annual 
receipts of $1,000,000 or more.\2\ Therefore, the vast majority of 
cattle producers, 96 percent, would be considered small businesses with 
the new SBA guidance. It should be noted that producers are only 
indirectly impacted by the final rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/index.php.
    \2\ https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/results/EC7DF8E2-6791-347F-BC4F-3F81988D7DDB.
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    Cattle, beef, and veal importers are directly impacted by the final 
rule. The original number of importing firms was determined in 
consultation with the Meat Import Council of America. AMS estimates 
that approximately 270 firms import beef or beef products, and veal and 
veal products into the United States, and about 198 firms import live 
cattle into the United States. The 2012 Economic Census, produced by 
the U.S. Commerce Department, and accessible through the American Fact 
Finder website, provides the most recent data on firm size by sales 
revenue.\3\ However, data on the firm size of beef, veal, and cattle 
importers are not available in this or other economic databases, as 
there is no NAICS code specific enough for this industry segment.
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    \3\ https://factfinder.census.gov.

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[[Page 39463]]

    The 2012 Economic Census does have information on the broader 
marketing chain, specifically the size distribution of meat and meat 
product wholesalers (NAICS 42447).\4\ These data show that 18 percent 
of firms in the industry classification of meat and meat product 
wholesalers are considered small businesses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census, Search 
code EC1242SSSZ1_with_ann.
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    Recent import trade data was also considered for understanding the 
overall dynamics of this industry segment. USDA's Foreign Agricultural 
Service reports monthly trade data for traded agricultural products by 
product type. An analysis of these data over a 5-year period show only 
minor changes in the annual import values for both beef and veal 
importers and cattle importers, suggesting little change in the sector 
overall.
    The final rule imposes no new burden on the industry, as it only 
adjusts representation on the Board to reflect changes in domestic 
cattle inventory, as well as in cattle and beef imports. The 
adjustments are required by the Order and will result in an increase in 
Board membership from 99 to 101.
    AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act of 2002 to 
promote the use of the internet and other information technologies to 
provide increased opportunities for citizen access to government 
information and services, and for other purposes.
    USDA has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, 
overlap, or conflict with this rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1260

    Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Agricultural 
research, Imports, Meat and meat products, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 1260 is 
amended as follows:

PART 1260--BEEF PROMOTION AND RESEARCH

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1260 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 2901-2911 and 7 U.S.C. 7401.


0
2. Amend Sec.  1260.141 by revising paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  1260.141  Membership of Board.

    (a) Beginning with the 2020 Board nominations and the associated 
appointments effective early in the year 2021, the United States shall 
be divided into 38 geographical units and 1 unit representing 
importers, for a total of 39 units. The number of Board members from 
each unit shall be as follows:

             Table 1 to Paragraph (a)--Cattle and Calves \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               State/unit                  (1,000 Head)      Directors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Alabama..............................           1,313               1
2. Arizona..............................           1,003               1
3. Arkansas.............................           1,763               2
4. Colorado.............................           2,850               3
5. Florida..............................           1,670               2
6. Georgia..............................           1,080               1
7. Idaho................................           2,430               2
8. Illinois.............................           1,190               1
9. Indiana..............................             877               1
10. Iowa................................           3,950               4
11. Kansas..............................           6,350               6
12. Kentucky............................           2,153               2
13. Louisiana...........................             800               1
14. Michigan............................           1,163               1
15. Minnesota...........................           2,360               2
16. Mississippi.........................             907               1
17. Missouri............................           4,317               4
18. Montana.............................           2,567               3
19. Nebraska............................           6,683               7
20. New Mexico..........................           1,473               1
21. New York............................           1,477               1
22. North Carolina......................             810               1
23. North Dakota........................           1,837               2
24. Ohio................................           1,303               1
25. Oklahoma............................           5,133               5
26. Oregon..............................           1,303               1
27. Pennsylvania........................           1,613               2
28. South Dakota........................           3,967               4
29. Tennessee...........................           1,820               2
30. Texas...............................          12,600              13
31. Utah................................             807               1
32. Virginia............................           1,480               1
33. Wisconsin...........................           3,500               4
34. Wyoming.............................           1,317               1
35. Northwest Unit:
     Alaska.....................              15  ..............
     Hawaii.....................             143  ..............
     Washington.................           1,163  ..............
                                         -------------------------------
        Total...........................           1,321               1
36. Northeast Unit:
     Connecticut................              48  ..............

[[Page 39464]]

 
     Delaware...................              16  ..............
     Maine......................              81  ..............
     Maryland...................             192  ..............
     Massachusetts..............              38  ..............
     New Hampshire..............              35  ..............
     New Jersey.................              29  ..............
     Rhode Island...............               5  ..............
     Vermont....................             260  ..............
                                         -------------------------------
        Total...........................             702               1
37. Mid-Atlantic Unit:
     South Carolina.............             342  ..............
     West Virginia..............             397  ..............
                                         -------------------------------
        Total...........................             738               1
38. Southwest Unit:
     California.................           5,167  ..............
     Nevada.....................             460  ..............
                                         -------------------------------
        Total...........................           5,627               6
39. Importers Unit \2\..................           6,874               7
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 2017, 2018, and 2019 average of January 1 cattle inventory data.
\2\ 2016, 2017, and 2018 average of annual import data.

* * * * *

Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-12813 Filed 6-30-20; 8:45 am]
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