```

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 68 (Wednesday, April 9, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 19501]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07980]

========================================================================
Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

========================================================================


Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 2014 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 19501]]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 920

[Doc. No. AMS-FV-14-0020; FV14-920-1 CR]

Kiwifruit Grown in California; Continuance Referendum

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Referendum order.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document directs that a referendum be conducted among 
eligible California kiwifruit growers to determine whether they favor 
continuance of the marketing order regulating the handling of kiwifruit 
grown in California.

DATES: The referendum will be conducted from May 15 through May 30, 
2014. To vote in this referendum, growers must have produced kiwifruit 
in California during the period August 1, 2012, through July 31, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the marketing order may be obtained from the 
California Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order and Agreement 
Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, 2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102B, Fresno, California 
93721-3129, or the Office of the Docket Clerk, Marketing Order and 
Agreement Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237, or 
Internet: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathie Notoro, Marketing Specialist, 
or Martin Engeler, Regional Director, California Marketing Field 
Office, Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Fruit and Vegetable 
Program, AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487-5901, Fax: (559) 487-5906, or 
Email: Kathie.Notoro@ams.usda.gov or Martin.Engeler@ams.usda.gov, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Marketing Order No. 920, as 
amended (7 CFR part 920), hereinafter referred to as the ``order,'' and 
the applicable provisions of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 
of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-674), hereinafter referred to as the 
``Act,'' it is hereby directed that a referendum be conducted to 
ascertain whether continuance of the order is favored by growers. The 
referendum shall be conducted from May 15 through May 30, 2014, among 
eligible California kiwifruit growers. Only current growers that were 
also engaged in the production of kiwifruit in California during the 
period of August 1, 2012, through July 31, 2013, may participate in the 
continuance referendum.
    USDA has determined that continuance referenda are an effective 
means for determining whether growers favor the continuation of 
marketing order programs. USDA would consider termination of the order 
if more than fifty percent of the growers voting in the referendum and 
growers of more than fifty percent of the volume of California 
kiwifruit represented in the referendum favor termination of their 
program. In evaluating the merits of continuance versus termination, 
USDA will consider the results of the continuance referendum and other 
relevant information regarding operation of the order. USDA will also 
consider the order's relative benefits and disadvantages to growers, 
handlers, and consumers to determine whether continuing the order would 
tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the ballot materials used in the referendum herein ordered 
have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), under 
OMB No. 0581-0189, Generic Fruit Crops. It has been estimated that it 
will take an average of 20 minutes for each of the approximately 173 
growers of California kiwifruit to cast a ballot. Participation is 
voluntary. Ballots postmarked after May 30, 2014, will not be included 
in the vote tabulation.
    Kathie Notoro and Rose Aguayo of the California Marketing Field 
Office, Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, are hereby designated 
as the referendum agents of the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct 
this referendum. The procedure applicable to the referendum shall be 
the ``Procedure for the Conduct of Referenda in Connection With 
Marketing Orders for Fruits, Vegetables, and Nuts Pursuant to the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as Amended'' (7 CFR 
900.400-900.407).
    Ballots will be mailed to all growers of record and may also be 
obtained from the referendum agents or from their appointees.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 920

    Marketing agreements, Nuts, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Kiwifruit.

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

    Dated: April 4, 2014.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-07980 Filed 4-8-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
```