[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20480-20481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08062]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[AMS-FGIS-21-0017]
United States Standards for Wheat
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; request for information.
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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking comments from the
public regarding the United States Standards for Wheat under the United
States Grain Standards Act (USGSA). To ensure that standards and
official grading practices remain relevant, AMS invites interested
parties to comment on whether the current wheat standards and grading
practices need to be changed.
DATES: We will consider comments we receive by July 19, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning this notice. All comments must be submitted through the
Federal e-rulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov and should
[[Page 20481]]
reference the document number and the date and page number of this
issue of the Federal Register. Instructions for submitting and reading
comments are detailed on the site. All comments submitted in response
to this notice will be included in the record and will be made
available to the public. Please be advised that the identity of the
individuals or entities submitting comments will be made public on the
internet at the address provided above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Gomoll, USDA, AMS; Telephone:
(202) 720-8286; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 4 of the USGSA (7 U.S.C. 76(a))
grants the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to establish
standards for wheat and other grains regarding kind, class, quality,
and condition. The wheat standards, established by USDA on August 1,
1917, were last revised in 2013 (78 FR 27857) and appear in USGSA
regulations at 7 CFR 810.2201-2205. The standards facilitate wheat
marketing and define U.S. wheat quality in the domestic and global
marketplace. The standards define commonly used industry terms; contain
basic principles governing the application of standards, such as the
type of sample used for a particular quality analysis; define the basis
of determination for grading factors; and specify grades and grade
requirements. Official procedures for determining grading factors are
provided in the Grain Inspection Handbook, Book II, Chapter 13,
``Wheat.'' Together, the grading standards and official procedures
allow buyers and sellers to communicate quality requirements, compare
wheat quality using equivalent forms of measurement, and assist in
price discovery.
FGIS grading and inspection services are provided through a network
of Federal, State, and private laboratories that conduct tests to
determine the quality and condition of wheat. These tests are conducted
in accordance with applicable standards using approved methodologies
and can be applied at any point in the marketing chain. Furthermore,
the tests yield rapid, reliable, and consistent results. In addition,
FGIS-issued certificates describing the quality and condition of graded
wheat are accepted as prima facie evidence in all Federal courts. U.S.
Standards for Wheat and the affiliated grading and testing services
offered by FGIS verify that a seller's wheat meet specified
requirements and ensure that customers receive the quality of wheat
they purchased.
In order for U.S. standards and grading procedures for wheat to
remain relevant, AMS is issuing this request for information to invite
interested parties to submit comments, ideas, and suggestions on all
aspects of the U.S. Standards for Wheat and official procedures.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71-87k.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-08062 Filed 4-19-21; 8:45 am]
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