This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

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new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

32067 

Vol. 78, No. 103 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 28 

[AMS–CN–12–0074] 

RIN 0581–AD30 

User Fees for 2013 Crop Cotton 

Classification Services to Growers 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) will maintain user fees 

for cotton producers for 2013 crop 

cotton classification services at $2.20 

per bale—the same level as in 2012. 

Revenues resulting from this cotton 

classing fee and existing reserves are 

sufficient to cover the costs of providing 

classification services for the 2013 crop, 

including costs for administration and 

supervision. 

DATES: Effective Date: July 1, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Darryl Earnest, Deputy Administrator, 

Cotton & Tobacco Programs, AMS, 

USDA, 3275 Appling Road, Room 11, 

Memphis, TN 38133. Telephone (901) 

384–3060, facsimile (901) 384–3021, or 

email darryl.earnest@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866; and, therefore 

has not been reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). 

Executive Order 12988 

This final rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. It is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. There are no 

administrative procedures that must be 

exhausted prior to any judicial 

challenge to the provisions of this rule. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act and 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

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 action on 

small entities and has determined that 

its implementation will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small businesses. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such actions so 

that small businesses will not be 

disproportionately burdened. There are 

an estimated 25,000 cotton growers in 

the U.S. who voluntarily use the AMS 

cotton classing services annually, and 

the majority of these cotton growers are 

small businesses under the criteria 

established by the Small Business 

Administration (13 CFR 121.201). 

Maintaining the user fee at the 2012 

crop level as stated will not significantly 

affect small businesses as defined in the 

RFA because: 

(1) The fee represents a very small 

portion of the cost per-unit currently 

borne by those entities utilizing the 

services. (According to USDA’s 

Economic Research Service, the U.S. 

average total cost of production in 2011 

was $755 per bale. The user fee for 

classification services of $2.20 per bale 

represents less the one third percent of 

this average U.S. per-bale cost of 

production.); 

(2) The fee for services will not affect 

competition in the marketplace; 

(3) The use of classification services is 

voluntary. For the 2012 crop, 16,800,600 

bales were produced; and, almost all of 

these bales were voluntarily submitted 

by growers for the classification service; 

and 

(4) Based on the average price paid to 

growers for cotton from the 2012 crop of 

0.7162 cents per pound, 500 pound 

bales of cotton are worth an average of 

$358.10 each. The user fee for 

classification services, $2.20 per bale, is 

less than one percent of the value of an 

average bale of cotton. 

In compliance with OMB regulations 

(5 CFR part 1320), which implement the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 

U.S.C. 3501), the information collection 

requirements contained in the 

provisions to be amended by this rule 

have been previously approved by OMB 

and were assigned OMB control number 

0581–0008, Cotton Classing, Testing, 

and Standards. 

Fees for Classification Under the Cotton 

Statistics and Estimates Act of 1927 

This final rule establishes a 2013 user 

fee of $2.20 per bale charged to 

producers for cotton classification—the 

same level as the 2012 user fee. The 

2013 user fee was set in accordance to 

section 14201 of the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

(Pub. L. 110–234) (2008 Farm Bill). 

Section 14201 of the 2008 Farm Bill 

provides that: (1) the Secretary shall 

make available cotton classification 

services to producers of cotton, and 

provide for the collection of 

classification fees from participating 

producers or agents that voluntarily 

agree to collect and remit the fees on 

behalf of the producers; (2) 

classification fees collected and the 

proceeds from the sales of samples 

submitted for classification shall, to the 

extent practicable, be used to pay the 

cost of the services provided, including 

administrative and supervisory costs; (3) 

the Secretary shall announce a uniform 

classification fee and any applicable 

surcharge for classification services not 

later than June 1 of the year in which 

the fee applies; and (4) in establishing 

the amount of fees under this section, 

the Secretary shall consult with 

representatives of the United States 

cotton industry. At pages 313–314, the 

Joint Explanatory Statement of the 

committee of conference for section 

14201 stated the expectation that the 

cotton classification fee would be 

established in the same manner as was 

applied during the 1992 through 2007 

fiscal years. Specifically, it states that 

the classification fee should continue to 

be a basic, uniform fee per bale fee as 

determined necessary to maintain costeffective cotton classification service. 

Further, in consulting with the cotton 

industry, the Secretary should 

demonstrate the level of fees necessary 

to maintain effective cotton 

classification services and provide the 

Department of Agriculture with an 

adequate operating reserve, while also 

working to limit adjustments in the 

year-to-year fee. 

Under the provisions of section 

14201, a user fee (dollar amount per 

bale classed) is established for the 2013 

cotton crop that, when combined with 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
32068 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 103 / Wednesday, May 29, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

other sources of revenue, will result in 

projected revenues sufficient to 

reasonably cover budgeted costs— 

adjusted for inflation—and allow for 

adequate operating reserves to be 

maintained. Costs considered in this 

method include salaries, costs of 

equipment and supplies, and other 

overhead costs, such as facility costs 

and costs for administration and 

supervision. In addition to covering 

expected costs, the user fee is set such 

that projected revenues will generate an 

operating reserve adequate to effectively 

manage uncertainties related to crop 

size and cash-flow timing. Furthermore, 

the operating reserve is expected to 

meet minimum reserve requirements set 

by the Agricultural Marketing Service, 

which require maintenance of a reserve 

fund amount equal to at least four 

months of projected operating costs. 

The user fee charged cotton producers 

for cotton classification in 2013 is $2.20 

per bale, which is the same fee charged 

for the 2012 crop. This fee is based on 

the preseason projection that 13,250,000 

bales will be classed by the United 

States Department of Agriculture during 

the 2013 crop year. 

Accordingly, § 28.909, paragraph (b) 

reflects the continuation of the cotton 

classification fee at $2.20 per bale. 

As provided for in the 1987 Act, a 5 

cent per bale discount continues to be 

applied to voluntary centralized billing 

and collecting agents as specified in 

§ 28.909(c). 

Growers or their designated agents 

receiving classification data continue to 

incur no additional fees if classification 

data is requested only once. The fee for 

each additional retrieval of 

classification data in § 28.910 remains at 

5 cents per bale. The fee in § 28.910 (b) 

for an owner receiving classification 

data from the National Database remains 

at 5 cents per bale, and the minimum 

charge of $5.00 for services provided per 

monthly billing period remains the 

same. The provisions of § 28.910 (c) 

concerning the fee for new classification 

memoranda issued from the National 

Database for the business convenience 

of an owner without reclassification of 

the cotton remains the same at 15 cents 

per bale or a minimum of $5.00 per 

sheet. 

The fee for review classification in 

§ 28.911 is maintained at $2.20 per bale. 

The fee for returning samples after 

classification in § 28.911 remains at 50 

cents per sample. 

Summary of Comments 

A proposed rule was published in the 

Federal Register on March 28, 2013, 

with a comment period of March 28, 

2013 through April 12, 2013 (78 FR 

18898). AMS received two comments: 

one from a national trade organization 

that represents approximately 80 

percent of the US cotton industry, 

including cotton producers, ginners, 

warehousemen, merchants, 

cooperatives, cottonseed processors, and 

textile manufacturers from Virginia to 

California; and one from a national trade 

organization comprised of eight state 

and regional membership organizations 

that represent approximately 680 

individual cotton ginning operations in 

17 cotton-producing states. Comments 

from these national trade organizations 

expressed support for the decision to 

maintain the fee at the level established 

for the 2012 crop. Comments may be 

viewed at www.regulations.gov. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 28 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Cotton, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, 

Warehouses. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 28 is amended to 

read as follows: 

PART 28—[Amended] 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 28, Subpart D, continues to read as 

follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 51–65; 471–476. 

■ 2. In § 28.909, paragraph (b) is revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 28.909 Costs. 

* * * * * 

(b) The cost of High Volume 

Instrument (HVI) cotton classification 

service to producers is $2.20 per bale. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 28.911, the last sentence of 

paragraph (a) is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 28.911 Review classification. 

(a) * * * The fee for review 

classification is $2.20 per bale. 

* * * * * 

Dated: May 21, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–12651 Filed 5–28–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 905 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–12–0052; FV12–905–2 

FR] 

Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and 

Tangelos Grown in Florida; Revising 

Reporting Requirements and New 

Information Collection 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule revises the reporting 

requirements prescribed under the 

Federal marketing order for oranges, 

grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos 

grown in Florida (order). The Citrus 

Administrative Committee (Committee) 

is responsible for local administration of 

the order. This rule requires all fresh 

citrus handlers to provide the 

Committee with a list of all growers 

whose fruit they handled each season. 

This information will enable the 

Committee to more efficiently 

administer the order and better 

communicate fresh market issues to 

fresh market citrus growers. 

DATES: Effective Date: May 30, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennie M. Varela, Marketing Specialist, 

or Christian D. Nissen, Regional 

Director, Southeast Marketing Field 

Office, Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (863) 324– 

3375, Fax: (863) 325–8793, or Email: 

Jennie.Varela@ams.usda.gov or 

Christian.Nissen@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jeffrey Smutny, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email: 

Jeffrey.Smutny@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Order No. 

905, as amended (7 CFR part 905), 

regulating the handling of oranges, 

grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos 

grown in Florida, hereinafter referred to 

as the ‘‘order.’’ 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 Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 


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