Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 169 / Thursday, August 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 52595 

Signed in Washington, DC, on August 24, 

2012. 

William J. Murphy, 

Manager, Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2012–21350 Filed 8–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 929 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–12–0002; FV12–929–1 

IR] 

Cranberries Grown in States of 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, 

Washington, and Long Island in the 

State of New York; Changing 

Reporting Requirements 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule revises the reporting 

requirements currently prescribed under 

the marketing order that regulates the 

handling of cranberries grown in the 

States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, 

Washington, and Long Island in the 

State of New York (order). The order is 

administered locally by the Cranberry 

Marketing Committee (Committee). This 

rule changes the dates covered by the 

third reporting period and the date by 

which the Handler Inventory Report 

(Form HIR) is due to the Committee. 

These changes will help ensure the 

Committee has current and complete 

information available for its discussions 

during its annual August meeting, while 

providing handlers sufficient time to 

submit their reports. 

DATES: Effective August 31, 2012; 

comments received by October 29, 2012 

will be considered prior to issuance of 

a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments must be 

sent to the Docket Clerk, Marketing 

Order and Agreement Division, Fruit 

and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: 

(202) 720–8938; or Internet: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. All comments 

should reference the document number 

and the date and page number of this 

issue of the Federal Register and will be 

made available for public inspection in 

the Office of the Docket Clerk during 

regular business hours, or can be viewed 

at: http://www.regulations.gov. All 

comments submitted in response to this 

rule 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 the 

comments will be made public on the 

Internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doris Jamieson, Marketing Specialist, or 

Christian D. Nissen, Regional Manager, 

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: 

Doris.Jamieson@ams.usda.gov or 

Christian.Nissen@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Laurel May, 

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: 

Laurel.May@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

and Order No. 929, both as amended (7 

CFR part 929), regulating the handling 

of cranberries produced in States of 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, 

Washington, and Long Island in the 

State of New York, 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. 

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 

section 608c(15)(A) of the Act, any 

handler subject to an order may file 

with 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. A 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 revises the reporting 

requirements currently prescribed under 

the order. This rule changes the dates 

covered by the third reporting period 

and the date by which the Handler 

Inventory Report (Form HIR) is due to 

the Committee. These changes will help 

ensure the Committee has current and 

complete information available for its 

discussions during its annual August 

meeting, while providing handlers 

sufficient time to submit their report. 

These changes were unanimously 

recommended by the Committee at a 

meeting on August 31, 2011. 

Section 929.62 of the cranberry 

marketing order provides, in part, that 

each handler engaged in the handling of 

cranberries or cranberry products shall, 

upon request of the Committee, report 

as to the quantity of cranberries 

acquired and handled during any 

designated period or periods. This 

section also provides that handlers 

report cranberries or cranberry products 

held in inventory on such date as the 

Committee may designate. 

Currently, § 929.105 provides that 

certified reports shall be filed with the 

Committee, on a form provided by the 

Committee, by each handler not later 

than January 20, May 20, and August 20 

of each fiscal period and by September 

20 of the succeeding fiscal period. This 

Handler Inventory Report (Form HIR) 

must show the total quantity of 

cranberries acquired and the total 

quantity of cranberries and Vaccinium 

oxycoccus cranberries handled from the 

beginning of the reporting period 

indicated through December 31, April 

30, July 31, and August 31, respectively. 

The report must also show the total 

quantity of cranberries and Vaccinium 

oxycoccus cranberries as well as 

cranberry products and Vaccinium 

oxycoccus cranberry products held by 

the handler on January 1, May 1, August 

1, and August 31 of each fiscal period. 

The information obtained from handlers 

is compiled into reports which are 

reviewed by the Committee and used to 

make informed decisions regarding the 

activities under the order. 

In 2010, the Committee recommended 

changing the dates when handler 

reports were due in order to provide 

handlers with additional time to submit 

their report (75 FR 5898). Under that 

action, the due dates were changed from 

January 5, May 5, and August 5 of each 

fiscal period and by September 5 of the 


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52596 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 169 / Thursday, August 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

succeeding fiscal period to January 20, 

May 20, and August 20 of each fiscal 

period and by September 20 of the 

succeeding fiscal period, respectively. 

This change was made to allow handlers 

more time to file their report. 

After changing the due dates of the 

report, the Committee realized that 

given the new due dates, the handler 

report due by August 20 may not be 

received prior to the Committee’s 

annual August meeting. In discussing 

this issue, the Committee recognized 

that having as current industry 

information as possible available for the 

August meeting is important for 

administering the order. Further, it is 

particularly significant as the 

Committee is required to make 

decisions regarding the need to establish 

a volume regulation using a handler 

withholding not later than August 31 

each year. 

Consequently, the Committee 

unanimously voted to change the due 

date for the third reporting period from 

August 20 to July 20. To accommodate 

the new due date, this rule also adjusts 

the timeframes covered under third 

period reporting by adjusting the end 

date from July 31 to June 30 for 

cranberries acquired and handled and 

for reporting inventory held changes 

August 1 to June 30. With these 

changes, handler information from the 

third reporting period will be received 

and compiled into reports prior to the 

Committee’s meeting in August. These 

changes will help ensure that the 

Committee has current and complete 

information available for its discussions, 

while providing handlers sufficient time 

to submit their reports. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) has 

considered the economic impact of this 

action on small entities. Accordingly, 

AMS has prepared this initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

business 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 approximately 55 handlers 

of cranberries who are subject to 

regulation under the marketing order 

and approximately 1,200 cranberry 

producers in the regulated area. Small 

agricultural service firms are defined by 

the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) as those having annual receipts of 

less than $7,000,000, and small 

agricultural producers are defined as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$750,000 (13 CFR 121.201). 

Based on Committee data and 

information from the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service, the 

average annual f.o.b. price of cranberries 

during the 2010 season was 

approximately $46.50 per barrel and 

total shipments were approximately 6.8 

million barrels. As a percentage, about 

18 percent of the handlers shipped 

approximately 6.5 million barrels of 

cranberries. Using the average f.o.b. 

price and shipment data, about 82 

percent of cranberry handlers could be 

considered small businesses under 

SBA’s definition. In addition, based on 

production and producer prices, and the 

total number of cranberry growers, the 

average grower revenue is less than 

$750,000. Therefore, the majority of 

growers and handlers of cranberries may 

be considered small entities. 

This rule revises the reporting 

requirements currently prescribed under 

the cranberry marketing order. This rule 

revises § 929.105 by changing the due 

date for the third reporting period from 

August 20 to July 20. To accommodate 

the new due date, this rule also adjusts 

the end date for the timeframe covered 

under the third period reporting from 

July 31 to June 30 for cranberries 

acquired and handled, and changes 

August 1 to June 30 for reporting 

inventory held. These changes will help 

ensure the Committee has current and 

complete information available for 

discussion during its annual August 

meeting, while providing handlers 

sufficient time to submit their Handler 

Inventory Report (Form HIR). The 

authority for these actions is provided 

in § 929.62. These changes were 

unanimously recommended by the 

Committee at a meeting on August 31, 

2011. 

It is not anticipated that this action 

will impose any additional costs on the 

industry nor will it change the reporting 

and recordkeeping burden on handlers. 

Having current and complete 

information available during the 

Committee’s August meeting will assist 

the Committee when making decisions 

regarding the administration of the 

order. The benefits of this rule are not 

expected to be disproportionately 

greater or less for small handlers or 

growers than for large entities. 

The Committee considered one 

alternative to these changes, making no 

changes to the reporting requirements. 

The Committee recognized making no 

changes to the reporting requirements 

could mean that current and complete 

information for the third reporting 

period may not be available for 

discussion during the August meeting. 

Therefore, this alternative was rejected. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35), the order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) and assigned OMB 

No. 0581–0189, Generic Fruit Crops. 

Because this revision changes neither 

the content of the Handler Inventory 

Report (Form HIR) nor its calculated 

burden, no changes in OMB 

requirements as a result of this action 

are necessary. Should any changes 

become necessary, they would be 

submitted to OMB for approval. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

cranberry 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. 

In addition, USDA has not identified 

any relevant Federal rules that 

duplicate, overlap or conflict with this 

rule. 

Further, the Committee’s meeting was 

widely publicized throughout the 

cranberry industry and all interested 

persons were invited to attend the 

meeting and participate in Committee 

deliberations. Like all Committee 

meetings, the August 31, 2011, meeting 

was a public meeting and all entities, 

both large and small, were able to 

express their views on this issue. 

Finally, interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on this interim rule, 

including the regulatory and 

informational impacts of this action on 

small businesses. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: www.ams.usda.gov/ 

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Laurel May at 

the previously mentioned address in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

This rule invites comments on 

changes to the reporting requirements 

currently prescribed under the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 169 / Thursday, August 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 52597 

cranberry marketing order. Any 

comments received will be considered 

prior to finalization of this rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is found that this 

interim rule, as hereinafter set forth, 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect and that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) The handler reporting cycle 

for the current fiscal period has already 

begun; (2) the Committee would like 

this action in place prior to the start of 

the third reporting period which begins 

May 1; (3) the Committee unanimously 

recommended these changes at a public 

meeting and interested parties had an 

opportunity to provide input; and (4) 

this rule provides a 60-day comment 

period and any comments received will 

be considered prior to finalization of 

this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 929 

Cranberries, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 929 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 929—CRANBERRIES GROWN IN 

THE STATES OF MASSACHUSETTS, 

RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW 

JERSEY, WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN, 

MINNESOTA, OREGON, 

WASHINGTON, AND LONG ISLAND IN 

THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 929 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Amend § 929.105 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 929.105 Reporting. 

* * * * * 

(b) Certified reports shall be filed with 

the committee, on a form provided by 

the committee, by each handler not later 

than January 20, May 20, and July 20 of 

each fiscal period and by September 20 

of the succeeding fiscal period showing: 

(1) The total quantity of cranberries 

the handler acquired and the total 

quantity of cranberries and Vaccinium 

oxycoccus cranberries the handler 

handled from the beginning of the 

reporting period indicated through 

December 31, April 30, June 30, and 

August 31, respectively, and 

(2) The respective quantities of 

cranberries and Vaccinium oxycoccus 

cranberries and cranberry products and 

Vaccinium oxycoccus cranberry 

products held by the handler on January 

1, May 1, June 30, and August 31 of 

each fiscal period. 

Dated: August 22, 2012. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–21372 Filed 8–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1260 

[Doc. No. AMS–LS–11–0086] 

Beef Promotion and Research; 

Amendment to the Order 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule expands the 

contracting authority of the Beef 

Promotion and Research Order (Order). 

The Beef Research and Information Act 

(Act) requires that the Beef Promotion 

Operating Committee (BPOC) enter into 

contracts with established national nonprofit industry-governed organizations 

including the Federation of State Beef 

Councils to implement programs of 

promotion, research, consumer 

information, and industry information. 

The Act does not define ‘‘national nonprofit industry governed organization,’’ 

however, the Order states that these 

organizations must be governed by a 

board of directors representing the cattle 

or beef industry on a national basis and 

that they were active and ongoing prior 

to enactment of the Act. This final rule 

changes the date requirement in the 

Order so that organizations otherwise 

qualified could be eligible to contract 

with the BPOC for the implementation 

and conduct of Beef Checkoff programs 

if they have been active and ongoing for 

at least two years. 

DATES: Effective August 31, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Craig Shackelford, Agricultural 

Marketing Specialist, Marketing 

Programs Division, on 202/720–1115, 

fax 202/720–1125, or by email at 

craig.shackelford@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has waived the review process required 

by Executive Order 12866 for this 

action. 

Executive Order 12988 

This final rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. It is not intended to 

have a retroactive effect. 

Section 11 of the Act provides that 

nothing in the Act may be construed to 

preempt or supersede any other program 

relating to beef promotion organized 

and operated under the laws of the 

United States or any State. There are no 

administrative proceedings that must be 

exhausted prior to any judicial 

challenge to the provisions of this rule. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act and 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Pursuant to the requirements set forth 

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

(5 U.S.C. 601–612), the Administrator of 

the Agricultural Marketing Service 

(AMS) has considered the economic 

effect of this action on small entities and 

has determined that this final rule will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. The purpose of RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such actions in 

order that small businesses will not be 

unduly burdened. 

In the February 2011 publication of 

‘‘Farms, Land in Farms, and Livestock 

Operations,’’ the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture’s (USDA) National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 

estimates that in 2010 the number of 

operations in the United States with 

cattle totaled approximately 935,000. 

The majority of these operations that are 

subject to the Order may be classified as 

small entities. 

The final rule imposes no new burden 

on the industry. It merely expands the 

contracting authority as established 

under section 1260.168(b) within the 

Order to permit a greater number of 

organizations to perform work on behalf 

of the BPOC. 

Background and Final Action 

The Order is authorized by the Act of 

1985 [7 U.S.C. 2901–2918]. The Act was 

passed as part of the 1985 Farm Bill 

[Pub. L. 99–198]. The program became 

effective on July 18, 1986, when the 

Order was issued [51 FR 26132]. 

Assessments began on October 1, 1986. 

Section 5(6) of the Act provides that 

the BPOC, to insure coordination and 

efficient use of funds, shall enter into 

contracts or agreements for 

implementing any activities, which it 


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