This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

20610 

Vol. 77, No. 66 

Thursday, April 5, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Document No. AMS–ST–12–0007] 

Plant Variety Protection Board; Open 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice is intended to 

notify the public of their opportunity to 

attend an open meeting of the Plant 

Variety Protection Board. 

DATES: April 25 and 26, 2012, 8 a.m. to 

5 p.m., open to the public. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in 

the United States Department of 

Agriculture George Washington Carver 

Center, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Room 

4–2223, Beltsville, MD 20705. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Banks, Plant Variety Protection 

Office, Science and Technology 

Programs, Agricultural Marketing 

Service, United States Department of 

Agriculture, 10301 Baltimore Avenue, 

Beltsville, MD 20705. Telephone 

number (301) 504–5518, fax (301) 504– 

5291, or email: 

jennifer.banks@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the provisions of section 10(a) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

U.S.C., Appendix 2), this notice is given 

regarding an upcoming Plant Variety 

Protection (PVP) Board meeting. The 

Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) (7 

U.S.C. 2321 et seq.) provides legal 

protection in the form of intellectual 

property rights to developers of new 

varieties of plants, which are 

reproduced sexually by seed or are 

tuber-propagated. A Certificate of Plant 

Variety Protection is awarded to an 

owner of a crop variety after an 

examination shows that it is new, 

distinct from other varieties, genetically 

uniform and stable through successive 

generations. The term of protection is 20 

years for most crops and 25 years for 

trees, shrubs, and vines. The PVPA also 

provides for a statutory Board (7 U.S.C. 

2327). The duties of the Board are to: (1) 

Advise the Secretary concerning the 

adoption of rules and regulations to 

facilitate the proper administration of 

the Act; (2) provide advisory counsel to 

the Secretary on appeals concerning 

decisions on applications by the PVP 

Office and on requests for emergency 

public-interest compulsory licenses; and 

(3) advise the Secretary on any other 

matters under the Regulations and Rules 

of Practice and on all questions under 

Section 44 of the Act, ‘‘Public Interest 

in Wide Usage’’ (7 U.S.C. 2404). 

The proposed agenda for the PVP 

Board meeting will include a welcome 

by Department officials followed by a 

discussion focusing on program 

activities that encourage the 

development of new plant varieties. The 

agenda will also include presentations 

on the financial status of the PVP Office, 

changes to the office workflow as a 

result of the recently completed 

business process reengineering study, Ebusiness update, international outreach 

activities and other related topics. 

The meeting will be open to the 

public. Those wishing to attend the 

meeting are encouraged to pre-register 

by April 23, 2012 with the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Visitors entering the George 

Washington Carver Center should 

inform security personnel that they are 

attending the PVP Board meeting. 

Identification will be required to be 

admitted to the building. Security 

personnel will direct visitors to Room 

4–2223. If you require accommodations, 

such as sign language interpreter, please 

contact the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Minutes 

of the meeting will be available for 

public review 30 days following the 

meeting at the address listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The 

minutes will also be posted on the 

Internet web site http:// 

www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/pvpo. 

Dated: March 30, 2012. 

Ruihong Guo, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8126 Filed 4–4–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Document Number FV–09–0043] 

United States Standards for Grades of 

Cultivated Ginseng 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS), of the Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), is revising the 

voluntary United States Standards for 

Grades of Cultivated Ginseng. AMS 

received a request from the Ginseng 

Board of Wisconsin (GBW), to amend 

the standards to reflect current market 

values. To ensure the integrity of the 

standards, the revisions will be based on 

quality and percentage defects. The new 

grades will replace the current ones and 

promote the orderly and efficient 

marketing of ginseng in an evolving 

global economy. Other changes will 

include a revised General Section, new 

tolerances, reclassified sizes, removed 

table ‘‘values’’ and amended definitions. 

These revisions are needed to determine 

and complement the new grades. 

DATES: Effective Date: May 7, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Carl Newell, Standardization and 

Training Branch, Fresh Products 

Division, (540) 361–1120. The United 

States Standards for Grades of 

Cultivated Ginseng are available 

through the Fresh Products Division 

Web site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

freshinspection. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act 

of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621–1627), as 

amended, directs and authorizes the 

Secretary of Agriculture ‘‘to develop and 

improve standards of quality, condition, 

quantity, grade and packaging and 

recommend and demonstrate such 

standards in order to encourage 

uniformity and consistency in 

commercial practices.’’ AMS is 

committed to carrying out this authority 

in a manner that facilitates the 

marketing of agricultural commodities 

and makes copies of official standards 

available upon request. The United 

States Standards for Grades of Fruits 

and Vegetables not connected with 

Federal Marketing Orders or U.S. Import 

Requirements, no longer appear in the 


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