[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 149 (Friday, August 2, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63079-63082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16960]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 959

[Doc. No. AMS-SC-23-0040]


Onions Grown in South Texas; Redistricting and Reapportionment of 
Committee Membership

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture 
(USDA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule implements a recommendation from the South 
Texas Onion Committee (Committee) to reestablish the districts in the 
production area and reapportion representation on the Committee. This 
action reduces the number of districts from two to one and reapportions 
membership to reflect changes in the industry, provide equitable 
representation on the Committee, and create the opportunity for more 
producers and handlers to serve on the Committee.

DATES: Effective September 3, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Delaney Fuhrmeister, Marketing 
Specialist, or Christian D. Nissen, Chief, Southeast Region Branch, 
Market Development Division, Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA; 
Telephone: (863) 324-3375, Fax: (863) 291-8614, or Email: 
[email protected] or [email protected].
    Small businesses may request information on complying with this 
regulation by contacting Richard Lower, Market Development Division, 
Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP 
0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 720-8085, Fax: (202) 
720-8938, or Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, 
amends regulations issued to carry out a marketing order as defined in 
7 CFR 900.2(j). This rule is issued under Marketing Order No. 959, as 
amended (7 CFR part 959), regulating the handling of onions in South 
Texas. Part 959 (referred to as the ``Order'') is effective under the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-
674), hereinafter referred to as the ``Act.'' The Committee locally 
administers the Order and is comprised of producers and handlers of 
onions operating within the production area.
    The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is issuing this rule in 
conformance with Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094. Executive 
Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094 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. Executive 
Order 14094 reaffirms, supplements, and updates Executive Order 12866 
and further directs agencies to solicit and consider input from a wide 
range of affected and interested parties through a variety of means. 
This action falls within a category of regulatory actions that the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) exempted from Executive Order 
12866 review.
    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 13175--
Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, which 
requires agencies to consider whether their rulemaking actions would 
have Tribal implications. AMS has determined that this rule is unlikely 
to 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.
    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988--Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.
    The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted 
before parties may file suit in court. Under sec. 608c(15)(A) of the 
Act, any handler subject to an order may file with the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture (USDA) a petition stating that the order, any provision 
of the order, or any obligation imposed in connection with the order is 
not in accordance with law and request a modification of the order or 
to be exempted therefrom. Such handler is afforded the opportunity for 
a hearing on the petition. After the hearing, USDA would rule on the 
petition. The Act provides that the district court of the United States 
in any district in which the handler is an inhabitant, or has his or 
her principal place of business, has jurisdiction to review USDA's 
ruling on the petition, provided an action is filed not later than 20 
days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
    This rule redistricts and reapportions the membership of the 
Committee as prescribed under the Order. This rule consolidates the 
current two districts into a single district and reapportions all 
Committee membership to the single district. These actions reflect 
changes in the industry, will help provide equitable representation on 
the Committee and create opportunity for more producers and handlers to 
serve on the Committee. Further, these changes will better enable 
Committee staff to conduct nominations and ensure the appointment of a 
full Committee, allowing for an easier achievement of quorum at 
assembled meetings. The Committee unanimously recommended these changes 
when meeting on June 8, 2023.
    Section 959.22 of the Order provides for the establishment of 
membership on the Committee and states that the Committee shall consist 
of thirteen members, eight of whom shall be producers and five of whom 
shall be handlers. Each member shall have an alternate.
    Section 959.24 currently defines the counties in Texas that make up 
District No. 1 and District No. 2 for the purpose of selecting 
Committee members. Section 959.26 specifies that District No. 1 is 
represented by five producer members and alternates and three handler 
members and alternates, and District No. 2 is represented by three 
producer members and alternates and two handler members and alternates.
    Section 959.25 authorizes the Committee to recommend, with the 
approval of the Secretary, reapportionment of members among districts, 
and the reestablishment of districts within the production area. This 
section also provides that, in making such recommendations, the 
Committee shall consider shifts in onion acreage or production within 
the districts, the importance of new

[[Page 63080]]

production in relation to existing districts, the equitable 
relationship of Committee membership in districts, economies to result 
for producers in promoting efficient administration due to 
redistricting or reapportionment, and other relevant factors.
    This rule adds two new sections to the rules and regulations under 
the Order using the authority in Sec.  959.25. Section 959.110 
reestablishes the districts currently identified in the Order from two 
districts to one single district, and Sec.  959.111 reapportions the 
eight producer seats and five handler seats and their alternates to the 
new single district.
    In 2017, the Committee recommended reducing the Committee size from 
34 members to 26 members by removing one producer and one handler from 
each district. The Committee recommended this change due to the 
decrease in the number of onion handlers and producers, and believed 
having a smaller Committee would help fulfill membership and quorum 
requirements. The final rule reducing the Committee size was published 
in the Federal Register on March 22, 2019 (84 FR 10665).
    Despite reducing the Committee size in 2019, the Committee 
continued to face difficulty filling member and alternate seats and 
meeting quorum. Consequently, at its meeting on June 8, 2023, the 
Committee reviewed the need to reapportion the membership and/or 
redistrict the production area. In its discussion, the Committee 
considered the distribution of production between the two districts and 
the ongoing difficulty with finding candidates to fill membership 
positions, with Committee staff reporting that this was a particularly 
difficult task in District 2. Given the current state of the industry, 
discussion focused on combining the current two districts into a single 
district representing the entire production area.
    The 2022-2023 fiscal period saw a 39-percent increase in acreage 
planted from the previous year. However, from 2018-2019 to 2022-2023, 
industry production decreased by 28 percent. During this time, the 
percentage of industry acreage has remained stable between the two 
districts, with District 1 accounting for around 85 percent of industry 
acreage and District 2 accounting for around 15 percent. Production 
totals between the two districts also reflect a similar distribution as 
the percentages for acreage.
    Since the reduction in Committee size in 2019, the industry has 
also experienced some additional consolidation, with the number of 
producers and handlers continuing to decline. As with acreage and 
production, there is also a disparity in the number of producers and 
handlers between the districts, with District 1 having considerably 
more producers and handlers (71) than District 2 (9). Consequently, 
District 2 has more representation on the Committee than is supported 
by either the volume of production or by the numbers of producers and 
handlers represented.
    In addition, because of the limited number of producers and 
handlers in District 2, it has been difficult to find qualified 
nominees to fill the available member and alternate seats on the 
Committee. In its discussion, the Committee recognized this would 
continue to be a problem, and one that could become more difficult 
should there be any further consolidation in District 2. The Committee 
found that this, when combined with the disparity in volume and 
industry numbers, supports the need to adjust the current membership 
structure to make the Committee more reflective of the industry.
    At the June meeting, there was little interest expressed in 
considering another reduction in the size of the Committee, or for 
further reapportioning the membership between the two districts to 
increase the number of seats available in District 1. Neither of these 
options received a motion. Committee members discussed that, 
historically, onion production in South Texas was separated by two 
distinct seasons with District 1 operating from May to July and 
District 2 from March to May; however, the Committee recognized the 
industry has been experiencing a shift, with District 1 and District 2 
now aligning as a consolidated industry operationally with a single 
season from March to July.
    Considering this shift in the industry, the distribution of 
production, and current Committee representation, the Committee 
recommended combining current Districts 1 and 2 into a new single 
district representing the entire production area. The Committee also 
recommended that all member and alternate seats be reapportioned to the 
reestablished district. By combining both District 1 and District 2 
into a single district, the Committee believes it should enable the 
Committee to fulfill membership and quorum requirements and make the 
Committee more reflective of the industry.
    These changes also make the representation on the Committee more 
equitable and create the opportunity for more industry members to 
serve. Currently, producers and handlers in District 1 that may be 
interested in serving are not eligible to serve in the seats available 
in District 2. By combining the two districts, the Committee is 
addressing the issue of the limited number of producers and handlers in 
District 2, opening the available seats to all producers and handlers 
within the production area. In considering these changes, Committee 
members agreed that producers and handlers in District 2 will still 
have an opportunity to be nominated and elected to serve.
    Accordingly, at the June 8, 2023, meeting, the Committee voted 
unanimously to reduce the number of districts from two to one, and to 
reapportion the producer and handler membership to the single district. 
The Committee believes these changes will make the representation on 
the Committee more reflective of the South Texas onion industry and 
create opportunities for other producers and handlers to serve on the 
Committee.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), AMS has considered the economic impact of 
this rule on small entities. Accordingly, AMS has prepared this final 
regulatory flexibility analysis.
    The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of 
businesses subject to such actions in order that small businesses will 
not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued 
pursuant to the Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are unique in 
that they are brought about through group action of essentially small 
entities acting on their own behalf.
    There are 23 handlers of South Texas onions subject to regulation 
under the marketing order and approximately 55 producers of South Texas 
onions in the production area. At the time this analysis was prepared, 
the Small Business Administration (SBA) defined small agricultural 
service firms as those having annual receipts of less than $34,000,000 
(North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 115114, 
Postharvest Crop Activities), and small agricultural producers are 
defined as those having annual receipts of less than $3,750,000 (NAICS 
code 111219, Other Vegetable and Melon Farming) (13 CFR 121.201).
    Based on data from Market News and production records from the 
Committee, the average price for South Texas onions during the 2023 
season was approximately $23.25 per 50-pound equivalent with total 
shipments of

[[Page 63081]]

around 3.02 million 50-pound equivalents shipped. Using the average 
price and shipment data, handlers have average annual receipts below 
$34 million and could be considered small businesses under SBA's 
definition ($23.25 multiplied by 3.02 million 50-pound equivalents 
equals $70,215,000, divided by 23 equals $3.05 million).
    In addition, based on data from the National Agricultural 
Statistics Service and the Committee, the average price producers 
received for South Texas onions during the 2022-2023 season was 
approximately $17 per 50-pound equivalent, with total shipments of 
around 3.02 million 50-pound equivalents. Using the average price 
producers received and shipment information, the number of producers, 
and assuming a normal distribution, the majority of producers have 
estimated average annual receipts significantly less than $3.75 million 
($17 multiplied by 3.02 million 50-pound equivalents equals 
$51,340,000, divided by 55 producers equals $933,455 per producer). 
Therefore, the majority of handlers and producers of South Texas onions 
may be classified as small entities.
    This rule reduces the number of districts under the Order from two 
districts to one and reapportions the producer and handler member and 
alternate seats to the single district. The Committee believes that 
these changes will realign the Committee to reflect the composition of 
the industry, provide for equitable representation, and create the 
opportunity for more producers and handlers to serve on the Committee. 
This rulemaking establishes Sec. Sec.  959.110 and 959.111 in the rules 
and regulations under the Order to establish the single district and to 
allot the members and alternates to the single district. The authority 
for this action is provided in Sec.  959.25. These changes were 
unanimously recommended by the Committee at a meeting on June 8, 2023.
    It is not anticipated that this action will impose any additional 
costs on the industry. Given the division of production, the 
distribution of producers and handlers across the industry, and the 
difficulty in filling member and alternate seats on the Committee, this 
action will have a beneficial impact that aligns the Committee 
membership to reflect the industry. Redistricting and reapportionment 
of the membership also makes it easier for Committee staff to conduct 
nominations, provide nominees for all seats, and readily achieve a 
quorum when meetings are assembled. These changes save time and 
operating resources by making it easier to find candidates to serve on 
the Committee, improving the efficiency of operations. This also helps 
avoid the cost associated with travel and assembly of a meeting where a 
quorum is not achieved.
    These changes also provide for more equitable representation on the 
Committee and increase diversity by allowing more producers and 
handlers the opportunity to serve. These changes are intended to make 
the Committee more representative of the current industry. The effects 
of this rulemaking will not be disproportionately greater or less for 
small entities than for larger entities. The Committee discussed 
alternatives to these changes, including making no changes, 
reapportioning the Committee membership, and further reducing the size 
of the Committee. The Committee recognized there is a disparity in the 
volume of onions produced and the number of producers and handlers 
between the districts. The Committee determined changes were needed to 
make the districts and the apportionment of members more reflective of 
the current industry. Members agreed that further reducing the 
Committee size could negatively affect industry participation, and that 
combining the districts rather than reducing the number of seats allows 
for a wider participation from candidates who want to serve on the 
Committee. Therefore, for the reasons above, these alternatives were 
rejected.
    The Committee's meetings are widely publicized throughout the South 
Texas onion industry and all interested persons are invited to attend 
the meetings and participate in Committee deliberations on all issues. 
Like all Committee meetings, the June meeting was a public meeting and 
all entities, both large and small, were able to express views on this 
issue. Finally, interested persons were invited to submit comments on 
this rule, including the regulatory impacts of this action on small 
businesses.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
chapter 35), the Order's information collection requirements have been 
previously approved by OMB and assigned OMB No. 0581-0178, Vegetable 
and Specialty Crops. No changes in those requirements will be necessary 
as a result of this rule. Should any changes become necessary, they 
will be submitted to OMB for approval.
    This final rule will not impose any additional reporting or 
recordkeeping requirements on either small or large South Texas onion 
handlers. As with all Federal marketing order programs, reports and 
forms are periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and 
duplication by industry and public sector agencies.
    AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, 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.
    AMS has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, 
overlap, or conflict with this rule.
    A proposed rule concerning this action was published in the Federal 
Register on April 8, 2024 (89 FR 24393). Copies of the proposed rule 
were provided to all South Florida onion handlers. The proposal was 
also made available through the internet by USDA and the Office of the 
Federal Register. A 30-day comment period ending May 8, 2024, was 
provided for interested persons to respond to the proposal. AMS 
received one comment from an industry member located in District 1 who 
expressed opposition to the proposal but provided no substantive data 
or justification. After reviewing the comment, AMS made no changes to 
the rule as proposed.
    A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and 
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: 
https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/moa/small-businesses. Any 
questions about the compliance guide should be sent to Richard Lower at 
the previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section.
    After consideration of all relevant material presented, including 
the information and recommendations submitted by the Committee and 
other available information, AMS has determined that this final rule is 
consistent with and will effectuate the purposes of the Act.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 959

    Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Agriculture 
Marketing Service amends 7 CFR part 959 as follows:

PART 959--ONIONS GROWN IN SOUTH TEXAS

0
1. The authority citation for part 959 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.


0
2. Add Sec.  959.110 to read as follows:

[[Page 63082]]

Sec.  959.110  Reestablishment of districts.

    Pursuant to Sec.  959.25, a single district is reestablished to 
include all counties in the production area as follows: the counties of 
Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, DeWitt, Dimmit, 
Duval, Frio, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Val Verde, 
Kenedy, Kinney, Kleberg, La Salle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, 
Medina, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde, Victoria, Webb, 
Willacy, Wilson, Zavala and Zapata in the State of Texas.

0
3. Add Sec.  959.111 to read as follows:


Sec.  959.111  Reapportionment of Committee membership.

    Pursuant to Sec.  959.25, the Committee membership of eight 
producer members and five handler members and the respective alternates 
is reapportioned to a single district made up of all counties in the 
production area.

Melissa R. Bailey,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-16960 Filed 8-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P