[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 201 (Thursday, October 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58247-58249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22995]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[Doc. No AMS-FGIS-21-0053]


United States Grain Standards Act Designation Opportunities and 
Request for Comments on Official Agencies Providing Services

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA) designations of 
official agencies listed in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below will end on 
prescribed dates. We are seeking persons or governmental agencies 
interested in providing official services in areas presently served by 
these

[[Page 58248]]

agencies to submit an application for designation. In addition, we 
request comments on the quality of services provided by the following 
designated agencies: Northeast Indiana Grain Inspection, Inc. 
(Northeast Indiana); State Grain Inspection, Inc. (State Grain); J.W. 
Barton Grain Inspection Service, Inc. (Barton); Farwell Commodity and 
Grain Services, Inc. (Farwell Southwest); Northern Plains Grain 
Inspection Service, Inc. (Northern Plains); Plainview Grain Inspection 
and Weighing Service, Inc. (Plainview); Sioux City Inspection and 
Weighing Service Company (Sioux City); and the Montana Department of 
Agriculture (Montana). The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 
encourages submissions from traditionally underrepresented individuals, 
organizations, and businesses to reflect the diversity of this 
industry. AMS encourages submissions from qualified applicants, 
regardless of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender 
identity, national origin, religion, disability status, protected 
veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

DATES: Applications and comments for areas of designation terminating 
on 12/31/2021 currently operated by Northeast Indiana and State Grain 
must be received by November 22, 2021.
    Applications and comments for areas of designation terminating on 
3/31/2022 currently operated by Barton, Farwell South, Northern Plains, 
Plainview, and Sioux City must be received between 11/1/2021 and 11/30/
2021.
    Applications and comments for areas of designation terminating on 
6/30/2022 currently operated by Montana must be received between 1/3/
2022 and 2/1/2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit applications and comments concerning this Notice 
using any of the following methods:
     To apply for USGSA Designation: Go to FGISonline and then 
click on the Delegations/Designations and Export Registrations (DDR) 
link. You will need to obtain an FGISonline customer number (CIM) and 
create a USDA eAuthentication account prior to applying.
     To submit Comments Regarding Current Designated Official 
Agencies: Go to Regulations.gov (http://www.regulations.gov). 
Instructions for submitting and reading comments are detailed on the 
site. 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 
reference the document number, date, and page number of this issue of 
the Federal Register. 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 individuals or entities 
submitting comments will be made public on the internet at the address 
provided above.
    Read Applications and Comments: If you would like to view 
applications, please contact us at [email protected]. All comments will 
be available for public inspection online at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Austyn Hughes at [email protected] or 
816-266-5066.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Designations of official agencies listed 
below will end on the prescribed dates:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Headquarters location     Designation
        Official agency               and telephone             end
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast Indiana Grain          Decatur, IN, 260-341-        12/31/2021
 Inspection, Inc.                 7497.
State Grain Inspection, Inc....  Savage, MN, 952-808-         12/31/2021
                                  8566.
J.W. Barton Grain Inspection     Owensboro, KY, 270-683-       3/31/2022
 Service, Inc.                    0616.
Farwell Commodity and Grain      Casa Grande, AZ, 520-         3/31/2022
 Services, Inc.                   560-1674.
Northern Plains Grain            Grand Forks, ND, 701-         3/31/2022
 Inspection Service, Inc.         772-2414.
Plainview Grain Inspection and   Plainview, TX, 806-293-       3/31/2022
 Weighing Service, Inc.           1364.
Sioux City Inspection and        Sioux City, IA, 712-255-      3/31/2022
 Weighing Service Company.        0959.
Montana Department of            Great Falls, MT, 406-         6/30/2022
 Agriculture.                     452-9561.
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    Section 7(f) of the USGSA authorizes the Secretary to designate a 
qualified applicant to provide official services in a specified area 
after determining that the applicant is better able than any other 
applicant to provide such official services (7 U.S.C. 79(f)). A 
designated agency may provide official inspection services and/or Class 
X or Class Y weighing services at locations other than port locations. 
Under section 7(g) of the USGSA, designations of official agencies are 
effective for no longer than five years, unless terminated by the 
Secretary, and may be renewed according to the criteria and procedures 
prescribed in section 7(f) of the USGSA. See also, 7 CFR 800.196 for 
further information and guidance. Please note that sampling, weighing, 
and inspections conducted under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 
are conducted through cooperative agreements with AMS under the 
auspices of current official agency designation. See 7 U.S.C. 1621 et 
seq., as amended for further information.

Designation Application Locations

    The following list identifies designated official agencies 
currently operating and specific areas of operation that are open for 
designation applications. Please review the additional information 
provided via separate Federal Register notice for complete 
understanding of locations needing service designation. These are 
listed in order of anticipated designation termination date.
    Northeast Indiana: Areas of designation include parts of Indiana. 
Please see the December 12, 2016, issue of the Federal Register (81 FR 
89428) for descriptions of areas open for designation.
    State Grain: Areas of designation include parts of Minnesota. 
Please see the July 3, 2017, issue of the Federal Register (82 FR 
30818-30819) for descriptions of areas open for designation.
    Barton: Areas of designation include parts of Indiana, Kentucky, 
and Tennessee. Please see the March 22, 2017, issue of the Federal 
Register (82 FR 14676-14677) for descriptions of areas open for 
designation.
    Farwell Southwest: Areas of designation include parts of Arizona 
and California. Please see the January 10, 2017, issue of the Federal 
Register (82 FR 2939) for descriptions of areas open for designation.
    Northern Plains: Areas of designation include parts of Minnesota 
and North Dakota. Please see the March 22, 2017, issue of the Federal 
Register (82 FR 14676) for descriptions of areas open for designation.
    Plainview: Areas of designation include parts of Texas. Please see 
the March 22, 2017, issue of the Federal Register (82 FR 14679) for 
descriptions of areas open for designation.

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    Sioux City: Areas of designation include parts of Iowa, Minnesota, 
Nebraska, and South Dakota. Please see the March 22, 2017, issue of the 
Federal Register (82 FR 14677) for descriptions of areas open for 
designation.
    Montana: Area of designation includes April 17, 2017, issue of 
Montana. Please see the April 17, 2017, issue of the Federal Register 
(82 FR 18100) for descriptions of areas open for designation.

Opportunity for Designation

    Interested persons or governmental agencies may apply for 
designation to provide official services in geographic areas of 
official agencies specified above under provisions of section 7(f) of 
the USGSA and 7 CFR 800.196. Designation in specified geographic areas 
for Northeast Indiana and State Grain begins January 1, 2022. 
Designation in specified geographic areas for Barton, Farwell 
Southwest, Northern Plains, Plainview, and Sioux City begins April 1, 
2022. Designation in specified geographic areas for Montana begins July 
1, 2022. To apply for designation or to request more information on 
geographic areas serviced by these official agencies, contact 
[email protected].

Request for Comments

    We are publishing this Notice to provide interested persons the 
opportunity to comment on the quality of services provided by the 
Northeast Indiana, State Grain, Barton, Farwell Southwest, Northern 
Plains, Plainview, Sioux City, and Montana official agencies. In the 
designation process, we are particularly interested in receiving 
comments citing reasons and pertinent data supporting or objecting to 
the designation of the applicant(s). Such comments should be submitted 
through the Federal e-rulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
    We consider applications, comments, and other available information 
when determining which applicants will be designated.
    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71-87k.

Erin Morris,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-22995 Filed 10-20-21; 8:45 am]
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