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

82426 

Vol. 85, No. 244 

Friday, December 18, 2020 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Doc. No. AMS–CN–20–0091] 

Cotton Research and Promotion 

Program: Determination of Whether To 

Conduct a Referendum Regarding 

1990 Amendments to the Cotton 

Research and Promotion Act 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

Department’s determination, based on a 

review by the Agricultural Marketing 

Service, that it is not necessary to 

conduct a referendum among producers 

and importers on continuation of the 

1990 amendments to the Cotton 

Research and Promotion Act. The 1990 

amendments require the Secretary of 

Agriculture to conduct a review to 

determine whether to hold a 

continuance referendum. Although 

USDA is of the view that a referendum 

is not needed, it will initiate a sign-up 

period, as required by the Act, to allow 

cotton producers and importers the 

opportunity to request a continuance 

referendum. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shethir M. Riva, Director, Research and 

Promotion Division, Cotton and 

Tobacco Program, AMS, USDA, 100 

Riverside Parkway, Suite 101, 

Fredericksburg, Virginia, 22406, 

telephone (540) 361–2726, or email at 

CottonRP@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In July 

1991, the Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) implemented the 1990 

amendments to the Cotton Research and 

Promotion Act (7 U.S.C. 2101–2118) 

(Act). These amendments provided for: 

(1) Importer representation on the 

Cotton Board by an appropriate number 

of persons—to be determined by the 

Secretary—who import cotton or cotton 

products into the United States (U.S.) 

and are selected by the Secretary from 

nominations submitted by importer 

organizations certified by the Secretary 

of Agriculture; (2) assessments levied on 

imported cotton and cotton products at 

a rate determined in the same manner 

as for U.S. cotton; (3) increasing the 

amount the Secretary can be reimbursed 

for conducting a referendum from 

$200,000 to $300,000; (4) reimbursing 

government agencies who assist in 

administering the collection of 

assessments on imported cotton and 

cotton products; and (5) terminating the 

right of producers to demand an 

assessment refund. 

Results of the initial July 1991 

referendum showed that of the 46,220 

valid ballots received, 27,879 or 60 

percent of the persons voted in favor of 

the amendments to the Cotton Research 

and Promotion Order (7 CFR part 1205) 

(Order) and 18,341 or 40 percent 

opposed the amendments. AMS 

developed implementing regulations for 

the import assessment effective July 31, 

1992 (57 FR 29181); the elimination of 

the producer refund effective July 31, 

1992 (57 FR 29181); and provided for 

importer representation on the Cotton 

Board effective December 21, 1991 (56 

FR 65979). 

USDA conducted previous reviews of 

the 1990 amendments, and for each 

review, the Department prepared reports 

that described the impact of the Cotton 

Research and Promotion Program on the 

cotton industry and the views of those 

receiving its benefits. Following each 

review, USDA announced its decision 

not to conduct a referendum regarding 

the amendments to the Order (61 FR 

52772, 67 FR 1714, 72 FR 9918, and 78 

FR 32228, respectively) and 

subsequently held sign-up periods, 

affording all eligible persons to request 

a continuance referendum on the 1990 

Act amendments. The results of each 

sign-up period did not meet the criteria 

as established by the Act for a 

continuance referendum and, therefore, 

referenda were not conducted. 

In 2017, USDA solicited comments 

from all interested parties, including 

persons who pay the assessments, as 

well as from organizations representing 

cotton producers and importers 

regarding whether they favor the 

continuation of the amendments to the 

Cotton Research and Promotion Order 

(82 FR 11892). Three comments, which 

included comments from two certified 

producer organizations that nominate 

producers to the Board, voiced strong 

support for the continuance of the 

program and noted that the programs 

and administration of the Cotton 

Research and Promotion Act have been 

beneficial, carries out the intent and 

purpose, and that there should be no 

referendum. 

USDA has reviewed the Cotton 

Research and Promotion Program major 

program activities and 

accomplishments, including evaluations 

of advertising and marketing activities 

and other functional areas; the results of 

producer and importer awareness and 

satisfaction surveys; and data from the 

Foreign Agricultural Service. USDA also 

reviewed the results of the Cotton 

Board’s 2016 independent program 

evaluation, which assessed the 

effectiveness of the Cotton Research and 

Promotion Program; the strength of 

cotton’s competitive position; the ability 

to maintain and expand domestic and 

foreign markets; increases in the number 

of uses for cotton; and estimates of a 

return on investment for stakeholders 

and qualitative benefits and returns 

associated with the Cotton Research and 

Promotion Program. 

In 2020, the Department prepared a 5- 

year report that described the impact of 

the Cotton Research and Promotion 

Program on the cotton industry. The 

review report is available upon written 

request to the Research and Promotion 

Staff at the address and email provided 

above. The review report concluded that 

the 1990 amendments to the Act were 

successfully implemented and are 

operating as intended. The report also 

noted that there is a general consensus 

within the cotton industry that the 

Cotton Research and Promotion Program 

and the 1990 amendments to the Act are 

operating as intended. Written 

comments, economic data, and results 

from independent evaluations support 

this conclusion. 

Although USDA found no compelling 

reason to conduct a referendum 

regarding the 1990 Act amendments to 

the Cotton Research and Promotion 

Order, some program participants 

support a referendum. Therefore, USDA 

will initiate a sign-up period in 

accordance with the Act. During this 

sign-up period, eligible producers and 

importers may sign-up to request such 

a referendum through USDA, or by 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 244 / Friday, December 18, 2020 / Notices 82427 

mailing such a request. The Secretary 

will conduct a referendum if requested 

by 10 percent or more of the number of 

cotton producers and importers voting 

in the most recent referendum (July 

1991), with not more than 20 percent of 

such request from producers in one state 

or importers of cotton. 

Current procedures for the conduct of 

a sign-up period appear at 7 CFR 

1205.10–1205.30. These procedures will 

be updated as appropriate prior to the 

beginning of the sign-up period. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2101–2118. 

Bruce Summers, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27877 Filed 12–17–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Doc No. AMS–FGIS–20–0061] 

Mycotoxin Test Kit Design 

Specifications and Performance 

Criteria 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The United States Department 

of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) evaluates the 

conformance of mycotoxin test kits to 

AMS-established design specifications 

and performance criteria. Only test kits 

that conform to all of the AMS 

requirements are approved for the 

official testing of grains and related 

commodities. AMS proposes to make 

several changes to the existing test kit 

criteria to improve testing services and 

better facilitate domestic and 

international trade. AMS is seeking 

public comment on the proposed 

changes to the criteria. 

DATES: Comments are due by January 

19, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The current criteria 

documents subject to the changes in this 

notice are available for review at https:// 

www.ams.usda.gov/services/fgis/ 

standardization/tke. Additional 

technical information regarding the 

proposed changes can be found at 

https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/ 

files/media/technical-doc-frn-ams-fgis20-0061.pdf. 

To submit Comments: 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 and the 

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 the 

individuals or entities submitting 

comments will be made public on the 

internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas A. Weber, Analytical Chemistry 

Branch Chief, Technology and Science 

Division, Federal Grain Inspection 

Service, AMS, USDA, 816–891–0449, 

Thomas.A.Weber@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Mycotoxins are toxic chemicals 

produced by certain fungal species 

under favorable environmental 

conditions. Regulators have set 

maximum allowable concentration 

levels for specific mycotoxins in food 

and feed to ensure the safety of 

consumers. Mycotoxin levels are a 

critical factor in the trade of grain and 

quantitative mycotoxin testing is an 

integral part of buyer-seller contract 

specifications. 

Under the authority of the United 

States Grains Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 

71–87k), as amended, and the 

Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 

U.S.C. 1621–1627), as amended, AMS 

provides official mycotoxin testing 

services throughout the United States 

for domestic and export grains, oilseeds, 

and processed-grain commodities. 

Official testing services are provided for 

aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, 

ochratoxin A, and zearalenone. Testing 

at field locations requires rapid, 

inexpensive, and accurate methods to 

effectively assess US grain quality. An 

essential part of ensuring the quality of 

official mycotoxin testing is the AMS 

test kit evaluation program, through 

which test kits are evaluated and 

certified for conformance to specific 

criteria. Only test kits having AMS 

certification are approved for official 

mycotoxin testing. 

AMS establishes the test kit 

performance criteria and periodically 

updates them to improve testing 

accuracy and to meet the official 

mycotoxin testing program’s operational 

needs. AMS last updated the criteria in 

2016. AMS proposes to update the test 

kit performance criteria with the 

following changes in 2021. AMS is 

seeking comments on the impact of 

making these changes. 

Minimum Ranges of Conformance 

For each mycotoxin, AMS has 

established a minimum range of 

concentrations that must be covered in 

the test kit’s scope. The test kit must 

conform to the AMS accuracy 

requirements throughout this range. 

AMS proposes to expand the minimum 

ranges of conformance for fumonisins, 

ochratoxin A, and zearalenone test kits 

to meet the current and anticipated 

testing needs of the grain industry. 

The US Food and Drug 

Administration has set the highest 

industry guidance level for fumonisins 

in corn at 100 parts-per-million (ppm). 

As a result, AMS proposes to expand 

the current minimum range of 

conformance from 0.50–30 ppm to 0.50– 

100 ppm so that it includes this highest 

guidance level. 

Since the measurement of mycotoxin 

concentrations is not exact, multiple 

measurements will have results that 

vary by some amount. To ensure a 

mycotoxin concentration is below the 

maximum level allowed, there is a need 

to measure sufficiently below that level, 

considering the expected variation in 

results. For this reason, AMS proposes 

to expand the minimum ranges of 

conformance for ochratoxin A and 

zearalenone test kits to lower 

concentrations than currently required. 

Codex Alimentarius, an 

internationally recognized food safety 

standard setting body, recommends a 

maximum of 5 parts-per-billion (ppb) 

ochratoxin A in wheat, barley, and rye. 

Therefore, AMS proposes to expand the 

minimum range of conformance for 

ochratoxin A from 5.0–100 ppb to 1.0– 

100 ppb. AMS is interested in 

comments on whether the maximum 

conformance limit should also be 

changed from 100 ppb to 20 ppb, 

resulting in a narrower minimum range 

of conformance (i.e., 1.0–20 ppb). 

International regulators, including the 

European Union (EU) have established 

maximum levels for zearalenone at 100 

ppb in cereals and other grains. To test 

sufficiently below this regulatory limit, 

AMS proposes to expand the minimum 

range of conformance from 100–1000 

ppb to 20–1000 ppb. 

Evaluation of Mycotoxin Test Kit 

Accuracy 

To evaluate test kit accuracy, AMS 

requires analyses of reference materials 

to be performed at different 

concentrations across the range of 

conformance. At least 95% of these 

individual results must be within the 

acceptable range for each of the tested 

concentrations to meet AMS accuracy 

requirements. AMS proposes to change 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES