[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 213 (Monday, November 8, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61668-61670]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24302]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1220

[Document No. AMS-LP-20-0085]


Soybean Promotion and Research: Adjusting Representation on the 
United Soybean Board

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule adjusts 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 2018. 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 results in a decrease in Board membership 
for one State (Alabama), decreasing the total number of Board members 
from 78 to 77. These changes are reflected in the Soybean Promotion and 
Research Order (Order) and will be effective with the Secretary of 
Agriculture's (Secretary) appointments for terms in the year 2022. This 
final rule also corrects the number of States and units to the Order. 
Technical corrections to the regulations adjust the number of States 
and units from 30 to 31.

DATES: This rule is effective as of December 8, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Aswegan, (515) 201-5190; 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

    Executive Orders (E.O.) 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). E.O. 
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 E.O. 12866 and therefore, the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) has waived review of this action.

Executive Order 12988

    This final rule has been reviewed under E.O. 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 soybean 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 proposed rule has been reviewed under E.O. 13175--Consultation 
and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments. E.O. 13175 requires 
Federal agencies to consult and coordinate with tribes on a government-
to-government basis on: (1) Policies that have tribal implication, 
including regulation, legislative comments, or proposed legislation; 
and (2) other policy statements or actions that have substantial direct 
effects on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the 
Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.
    AMS has assessed the impact of this proposed rule on Indian tribes 
and determined that this rule would not have tribal implications that 
require consultation under E.O. 13175. AMS hosts a quarterly 
teleconference with tribal leaders where matters of mutual interest 
regarding the marketing of agricultural products are discussed. 
Information about the proposed regulation has been shared during a 
quarterly call, and tribal leaders were informed about the proposed 
regulation and the opportunity to submit comments. AMS will work with 
the USDA Office of Tribal Relations to ensure meaningful consultation 
is provided as needed with regards to the regulations.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with OMB regulations (5 CFR part 1320) that implement 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the 
information collection and recordkeeping

[[Page 61669]]

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 July 11, 1991, pursuant to the 
provisions of the Act (7 U.S.C. 6301-6311), and the Order (7 CFR part 
1220) issued thereunder. The Order established an initial Board with 60 
members, composed of soybean producers. 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.

Reapportionment

    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. Section 1220.130 of the 
Order defines a unit as each State, or group of States, which is 
represented on the Board. The Board may recommend to the Secretary 
modification in the levels of production necessary for 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 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 2018. The total Board 
membership increased from 73 to 78 members, with Alabama, Kentucky, 
North Dakota, South Dakota, and Tennessee each gaining one additional 
member. The final rule was published in the Federal Register (83 FR 
53365) on October 23, 2018. This change was effective with the 2019 
appointments.
    This final rule decreases total membership on the Board from 78 to 
77, without affecting the overall number of states and regions. Thus, 
this change will not affect the number of geographical units.
    This final rule adjusts representation on the Board as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Current           Final
                 State                   representation   representation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...............................               2                1
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Board adjustments by this rulemaking will take effect with the 
Secretary's 2022 appointment process.
    This final rule also corrects the number of States and units to the 
Order. During a previous reapportionment, the final rule did not 
account for the change in the number of States and units, as New Jersey 
production levels met the threshold to separate from the Eastern 
Region. Due to that oversight, AMS is making the correction. Technical 
corrections to the regulations adjust the number of States and units 
from 30 to 31.

Summary of Comments

    A proposed rule was published in the Federal Register (86 FR 19788) 
on April 15, 2021, with a 60-day comment period. USDA received 10 
comments. The comments communicated displeasure for Alabama's decreased 
number from two seats to one seat. The commenters contend that due to 
Alabama's lower production levels, compared to the Midwest, the 
producers do not have as much of a voice for their state and region. 
Given the Southeast's different climate, soil, and production factors, 
the commenters feel a second seat would give them stronger 
representation to help with issues that are specific to Alabama and the 
Southeast. Leaving the Alabama seat at two would not be consistent with 
the Act and Order, which requires that at the end of each 3-year 
period, the Secretary 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 formula to determine 
the number of directors for each unit set forth in Sec.  1220.201(e). 
This was done by calculating production data for years 2015-2019 
(excluding the crops in years in which production was the highest and 
in which production was the lowest in each State) as reported by the 
USDA NASS, resulting in a 3-year average for Alabama that fell below 
the required amount of bushels to retain two seats under the Order 
(Sec.  1220.201(e)(2)). Accordingly, no change is made as a result of 
these comments.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), AMS considered the economic 
effect of this action on small entities and determined that this final 
rule would 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 November 20, 2019, the Small Business Administration 
(SBA) [13 CFR 121.201] 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 soybean producers 
changed from sales of $750,000 or less to sales of $1,000,000 or less. 
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 SBA.
    According to USDA's NASS 2017 Census of Agriculture, the number of 
operations in the United States with soybean production totaled 
303,191.\1\ The most recent (2017) Census of Agriculture data show that 
roughly 2 percent of producers with soybean production, or 35,852 
operations, have annual receipts of $1,000,000 or more.\2\
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    \1\ https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/index.php.
    \2\ https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/results/A2ADD567-7CE0-3063-9BAD-CB6C0D073DDA.
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    The final rule imposes no new burden on the industry, as it only 
adjusts representation on the Board to reflect changes in soybean 
production. This adjustment is required by the Order and results in a 
decrease in Board membership from 78 to 77. AMS is committed to 
complying with 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 1220

    Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Agricultural

[[Page 61670]]

research, Marketing agreements, Soybeans and soybean products, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    For 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 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, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  1220.201   Membership of board.

    (a) For the purpose of nominating and appointing producers to the 
Board, the United States shall be divided into 31 geographic units and 
the number of Board members from each unit, subject to paragraphs (d) 
and (e) of this section shall be as follows:

                        Table 1 to Paragraph (a)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Number of
                       State/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.................................................               1
Texas...................................................               1
South Carolina..........................................               1
Oklahoma................................................               1
New York................................................               1
New Jersey..............................................               1
Georgia.................................................               1
Delaware................................................               1
Unit:
  Eastern Region (Connecticut, Florida, Maine,                         1
   Massachusetts, 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).......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

Erin Morris,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-24302 Filed 11-5-21; 8:45 am]
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