4808 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 19 / Monday, January 30, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

1–July 31), U.S. imports averaged about 

4 percent of U.S. production. 

Finally, in response to the comments 

regarding the marketing order benefiting 

handlers rather than producers, the goal 

of the program is to improve the 

marketing conditions for both producers 

and handlers. The marketing order is 

intended to allow the industry to solve 

marketing and other problems that 

producers and handlers could not 

handle individually. It helps the 

industry as a whole. The marketing 

order is not geared toward meeting the 

needs of individual producers and 

handlers. 

The Complexity of the Marketing Order 

The raisin marketing order is 

somewhat complex, reflecting the 

complexity of the industry itself. AMS 

has attempted to ensure that the 

regulations are no more complex than 

necessary to achieve desired objectives 

consistent with industry operations. 

Implementing rules and regulations 

under the order also reflect the 

marketing order provisions. The 

Committee and its various 

subcommittees review the regulations 

periodically and make 

recommendations for change. The 

recommendations reflect and address 

the concerns of the raisin industry and 

its complex nature. AMS has a 

continuing dialogue with the industry 

and reviews Committee 

recommendations taking into account 

marketing order complexity. Finally, 

Committee staff provides materials to 

handlers explaining the programs and 

regulations, and makes every effort to 

assist handlers when necessary. 

The Extent to Which the Marketing 

Order Overlaps, Duplicates, or 

Conflicts With Other Federal Rules, and 

to the Extent Feasible, With State and 

Local Regulations 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules, or State and local 

regulations that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this order’s requirements. 

There is a companion State program that 

regulates the raisin industry, but it does 

not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 

the Federal program. The State program, 

the California Raisin Marketing Board, 

engages in marketing and promotion 

activities not undertaken under the 

Federal order. Both programs work in 

concert to assist the California raisin 

industry. 

The Length of Time Since the 

Marketing Order Has Been Evaluated 

or the Degree to Which Technology, 

Economic Conditions, or Other Factors 

Have Changed in the Area Affected By 

the Marketing Order 

AMS and the California raisin 

industry monitor the production and 

marketing of raisins on a continuing 

basis. Changes in regulations are 

implemented to reflect industry 

operating practices, and to solve 

marketing problems. The goal of these 

evaluations is to ensure that the order 

and the regulations issued under it fit 

the needs of the industry, while 

remaining consistent with the Act and 

USDA policies. 

Since its inception in 1949, the order 

has gone through numerous changes. 

These changes were made, in part, 

because of changing economic 

conditions affecting the production and 

handling of raisins. As noted in the 

Committee’s comment, it meets often 

each year and discussions about the 

order and the various activities and 

regulations issued thereunder are 

frequent and sometimes extensive. The 

Committee or its subcommittees 

deliberate whether changes would 

improve the activities, order, and 

regulations to reflect current industry 

operating practices, and resolve current 

industry problems to the extent 

possible. In addition to reviewing its 

regulations, the Committee reviews and 

evaluates its programs on a continuing 

basis. 

The numerous formal order 

amendments, the many changes to the 

rules and regulations over the years, and 

the Committee’s and AMS’s continuing 

review and adjustments to its programs, 

show that the order is a dynamic, not 

static, program. 

AMS will continue to work with and 

maintain a dialogue with the California 

raisin industry in improving the 

program and in addressing the concerns 

expressed by the industry. 

Dated: January 23, 2006. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–821 Filed 1–27–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 77 

[Docket No. APHIS–2006–0004] 

Tuberculosis in Cattle and Bison; State 

and Zone Designations; Minnesota 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the bovine 

tuberculosis regulations regarding State 

and zone classifications by removing 

Minnesota from the list of accreditedfree States and adding it to the list of 

modified accredited advanced States. 

This action is necessary to help prevent 

the spread of tuberculosis because 

Minnesota no longer meets the 

requirements for accredited-free State 

status. 

DATES: This interim rule was effective 

January 24, 2006. We will consider all 

comments that we receive on or before 

March 31, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and, in the 

‘‘Search for Open Regulations’’ box, 

select ‘‘Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service’’ from the agency 

drop-down menu, then click on 

‘‘Submit.’’ In the Docket ID column, 

select APHIS–2006–0004 to submit or 

view public comments and to view 

supporting and related materials 

available electronically. After the close 

of the comment period, the docket can 

be viewed using the ‘‘Advanced Search’’

function in Regulations.gov. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send four copies of your 

comment (an original and three copies) 

to Docket No. APHIS–2006–0004, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS–

2006–0004. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on this 

docket in our reading room. The reading 

room is located in room 1141 of the 

USDA South Building, 14th Street and 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC. Normal reading room 

hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 690–2817 before 

coming. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 19 / Monday, January 30, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 4809 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Michael Dutcher, Senior Staff 

Veterinarian, National Tuberculosis 

Eradication Program, Eradication and 

Surveillance Team, National Center for 

Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 

4700 River Road, Unit 43, Riverdale, 

MD 20737–1231; (301) 734–5467. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Bovine tuberculosis is a contagious 

and infectious granulomatous disease 

caused by Mycobacterium bovis. It 

affects cattle, bison, deer, elk, goats, and 

other warm-blooded species, including 

humans. Tuberculosis in infected 

animals and humans manifests itself in 

lesions of the lung, lymph nodes, bone, 

and other body parts, causes weight loss 

and general debilitation, and can be 

fatal. At the beginning of the past 

century, tuberculosis caused more 

losses of livestock than all other 

livestock diseases combined. This 

prompted the establishment of the 

National Cooperative State/Federal 

Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication 

Program for tuberculosis in livestock. 

Through this program, the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

works cooperatively with the national 

livestock industry and State animal 

health agencies to eradicate tuberculosis 

from domestic livestock in the United 

States and prevent its recurrence. 

Federal regulations implementing this 

program are contained in 9 CFR part 77, 

‘‘Tuberculosis’’ (referred to below as the 

regulations), and in the ‘‘Uniform 

Methods and Rules—Bovine 

Tuberculosis Eradication’’ (UMR), 

which is incorporated by reference into 

the regulations. The regulations restrict 

the interstate movement of cattle, bison, 

and captive cervids to prevent the 

spread of tuberculosis. Subpart B of the 

regulations contains requirements for 

the interstate movement of cattle and 

bison not known to be infected with or 

exposed to tuberculosis. The interstate 

movement requirements depend upon 

whether the animals are moved from an 

accredited-free State or zone, modified 

accredited advanced State or zone, 

modified accredited State or zone, 

accreditation preparatory State or zone, 

or nonaccredited State or zone. 

The status of a State or zone is based 

on its freedom from evidence of 

tuberculosis in cattle and bison, the 

effectiveness of the State’s tuberculosis 

eradication program, and the degree of 

the State’s compliance with the 

standards for cattle and bison contained 

in the UMR. Prior to this interim rule, 

Minnesota was designated accreditedfree. 

Recently, five tuberculosis-affected 

herds have been detected in Minnesota. 

Under the regulations in § 77.7(c), if two 

or more affected herds are detected in 

an accredited-free State or zone within 

a 48-month period, the State or zone 

will be removed from the list of 

accredited-free States or zones and will 

be reclassified as modified accredited 

advanced. Therefore, we are amending 

the regulations by removing Minnesota 

from the list of accredited-free States or 

zones and adding it to the list of 

modified accredited advanced States or 

zones. 

The five affected herds detected in the 

State have been quarantined, four of the 

herds have been depopulated, and a 

complete epidemiological investigation 

into the potential sources of the disease 

is being conducted. 

Under the regulations in § 77.10, 

cattle or bison that originate in a 

modified accredited advanced State or 

zone, and are not known to be infected 

with or exposed to tuberculosis, may be 

moved interstate only under one of the 

following conditions: 

• The cattle or bison are moved 

directly to slaughter at an approved 

slaughtering establishment (§ 77.10(a)); 

• The cattle or bison are sexually 

intact heifers moved to an approved 

feedlot, or are steers or spayed heifers; 

and are either officially identified or 

identified by premises of origin 

identification (§ 77.10(b)); 

• The cattle or bison are from an 

accredited herd and are accompanied by 

a certificate stating that the accredited 

herd completed the testing necessary for 

accredited status with negative results 

within 1 year prior to the date of 

movement (§ 77.10(c)); or 

• The cattle or bison are sexually 

intact animals, are not from an 

accredited herd, are officially identified, 

and are accompanied by a certificate 

stating that they were negative to an 

official tuberculin test conducted within 

60 days prior to the date of movement 

(§ 77.10(d)). 

Delay in Compliance With Certain 

Provisions 

In a document published in the 

Federal Register on March 22, 2004 (69 

FR 13218–13219, Docket No. 03–072–2), 

we delayed the date for compliance 

with certain identification requirements 

in § 77.10, ‘‘Interstate movement from 

modified accredited advanced States 

and zones,’’ until further notice. The 

specific provisions of § 77.10 that have 

a delayed compliance date are: 

• The identification of sexually intact 

heifers moving to approved feedlots and 

steers and spayed heifers moving to any 

destination (§ 77.10[b]); 

• The identification requirements for 

sexually intact heifers moving to 

feedlots that are not approved feedlots 

(§ 77.10[d]); and 

• Because identification is required 

for certification, the certification 

requirements for sexually intact heifers 

moving to unapproved feedlots 

(§ 77.10[d]). 

The March 2004 compliance date 

delay followed a series of shorter-term 

delays that we had issued when Texas, 

California, and New Mexico were 

classified as modified accredited 

advanced States in 2002 and 2003 (a 

complete time line of those events can 

be found in the March 2004 document 

cited above). 

Although the compliance date was 

delayed originally for Texas, we 

extended its applicability to California 

and New Mexico when those States 

were downgraded to modified 

accredited advanced to provide 

equitable treatment for producers in 

those two States, and have allowed 

producers in the modified accredited 

advanced zone in Michigan to operate 

under the delay as well. While the delay 

is no longer applicable to California and 

the majority of New Mexico because of 

the return of those areas to accreditedfree status, the delay in compliance 

remains in effect for Texas and the 

modified accredited advanced zones in 

New Mexico and Michigan. Therefore, 

in the interests of equitable treatment 

for producers in Minnesota, the delay in 

compliance with the specific provisions 

of § 77.10(b) and (d) cited above is 

hereby extended to Minnesota. 

Emergency Action 

This rulemaking is necessary on an 

emergency basis to prevent the spread of 

tuberculosis in the United States. Under 

these circumstances, the Administrator 

has determined that prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment are 

contrary to the public interest and that 

there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 

for making this rule effective less than 

30 days after publication in the Federal 

Register. 

We will consider comments we 

receive during the comment period for 

this interim rule (see DATES above). 

After the comment period closes, we 

will publish another document in the 

Federal Register. The document will 

include a discussion of any comments 

we receive and any amendments we are 

making to the rule. 


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4810 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 19 / Monday, January 30, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12866. For this action, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

has waived its review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

Prior to this rule, the State of 

Minnesota was classified as an 

accredited-free State for cattle and 

bison. However, five infected herds 

have been discovered within a 48- 

month period. Under the regulations, if 

two or more affected herds are detected 

in an accredited-free State or zone 

within a 48-month period, the State or 

zone must be reclassified as modified 

accredited advanced. In keeping with 

that requirement, this interim rule 

removes Minnesota from the list of 

accredited-free States and adds it to the 

list of modified accredited advanced 

States. 

As of January 2005, there were 

approximately 27,000 cattle and bison 

operations in Minnesota, totaling 2.4 

million head. According to the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service, the total 

cash value of cattle in Minnesota was 

over $2.3 billion as of that year. Over 99 

percent of Minnesota’s cattle operations 

yield less than $750,000 annually and 

are, therefore, considered small entities 

under criteria established by the Small 

Business Administration. 

This interim rule changes the status of 

Minnesota to modified accredited 

advanced, resulting in interstate 

movement restrictions where none 

existed previously. Specifically, as 

explained previously, § 77.10 requires 

that, for movement to certain 

destinations, animals must test negative 

to an official tuberculin test and/or be 

officially identified by premises of 

origin identification before interstate 

movement. 

This rule will prove beneficial by 

preventing the spread of tuberculosis to 

other areas of the United States. 

However, the stricter requirements for 

interstate movement will have an 

economic effect on those producers 

involved in the interstate movement of 

cattle and bison from Minnesota. As 

such, this analysis will focus on the 

expenses incurred by those producers 

engaged in interstate movement and in 

determining whether those negative 

impacts are significant. 

The cost of tuberculin testing and 

individual identification is between $10 

and $15 per head, which includes the 

labor costs of the veterinarian to test and 

apply official identification. On January 

1, 2005, the average value per animal in 

Minnesota was estimated to be $950. 

Thus, we believe that the added cost of 

the required tuberculin testing and 

identification is small relative to the 

average value of cattle and bison, 

representing between 1 and 1.6 percent 

of the average animal’s value. Further, 

since this rule provides for a delay in 

date of compliance with the 

identification requirements in § 77.10(b) 

and (d), some herd owners’

identification costs may be deferred. 

The expenses stemming from the 

testing and identification requirements 

are not expected to be substantial for 

cattle and bison owners in Minnesota. 

The more a particular herd owner 

engages in interstate movement, the 

greater the resulting expense. However, 

Minnesota is a net importing State in 

the interstate movement of live cattle, 

and the latest data on interstate cattle 

movement shows that in 2003, 

Minnesota imported 370,640 live cattle 

from other States, and exported 104,729 

live cattle to other States (ERS/USDA). 

Minnesota’s net interstate imports of 

live cattle were 265,911 head and that 

year was not an exception to this trend 

of a net inflow. 

Under these circumstances, the 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service has 

determined that this action will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Executive Order 12372 

This program/activity is listed in the 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

under No. 10.025 and is subject to 

Executive Order 12372, which requires 

intergovernmental consultation with 

State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part 

3015, subpart V.) 

Executive Order 12988 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State 

and local laws and regulations that are 

in conflict with this rule; (2) has no 

retroactive effect; and (3) does not 

require administrative proceedings 

before parties may file suit in court 

challenging this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule contains no new 

information collection or recordkeeping 

requirements under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.). 

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 77 

Animal diseases, Bison, Cattle, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation, 

Tuberculosis. 

■ Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR 

part 77 as follows: 

PART 77—TUBERCULOSIS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 77 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 8301–8317; 7 CFR 2.22, 

2.80, and 371.4. 

§ 77.7 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 77.7, paragraph (a) is amended 

by removing the word ‘‘Minnesota,’’. 

§ 77.9 [Amended] 

■ 3. In § 77.9, paragraph (a) is amended 

by adding the words ‘‘Minnesota and’’

immediately before the word ‘‘Texas’’. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 24th day of 

January 2006. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–839 Filed 1–27–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 94 

[Docket No. 04–083–3] 

Add Argentina to the List of Regions 

Considered Free of Exotic Newcastle 

Disease 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

regulations by adding Argentina to the 

list of regions considered free of exotic 

Newcastle disease. We have conducted 

a risk evaluation and have determined 

that Argentina has met our requirements 

for being recognized as free of this 

disease. This action eliminates certain 

restrictions on the importation into the 

United States of poultry and poultry 

products from Argentina. We are also 

adding Argentina to the list of regions 

that, although declared free of exotic 

Newcastle disease, must provide an 

additional certification to confirm that 

any poultry or poultry products offered 

for importation into the United States 

originate in a region free of exotic 

Newcastle disease and that, prior to 

importation into the United States, such 

poultry or poultry products were not 

commingled with poultry or poultry 

products from regions where exotic 

Newcastle disease exists. 

DATES: Effective Date: March 1, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

David Nixon, Senior Staff Veterinarian, 

Regionalization Evaluation Services, 


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