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.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

15055 

Vol. 72, No. 61 

Friday, March 30, 2007 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 51 

[Docket # AMS–FV–2007–0010; FV–06–302] 

United States Standards for Grades of 

Sweet Cherries 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS), has reviewed the Fresh 

Fruit and Vegetable grade standards for 

usefulness in serving the industry. As a 

result, AMS is proposing to revise the 

sweet cherry standard to include 

standardized row sizes into the 

standard. These standardized row sizes 

would establish a uniform basis for 

defining size in the industry. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

May 29, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov or to the 

Standardization Section, Fresh Products 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Room 1661 

South Building, Stop 0240, Washington, 

DC 20250–0240. Fax (202) 720–8871. 

Comments should make reference to the 

dates and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register and will be made 

available for public inspection in the 

above office during regular business 

hours. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Vincent J. Fusaro, Standardization 

Section, Fresh Products Branch, (202) 

720–2185. The United States Standards 

for Grades of Sweet Cherries are 

available either through the address 

cited above or by accessing the Fresh 

Products Branch Web site at: http:// 

www.ams.usda.gov/standards/ 

stanfrfv.htm. 

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. 

AMS 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 

Code of Federal Regulations, but are 

maintained by USDA, AMS, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act and 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

AMS reviewed the Fresh Fruit and 

Vegetable grade standards for usefulness 

in serving the industry. AMS identified 

the United States Standards for Grades 

of Sweet Cherries for possible revision. 

The United States Standards for Grades 

of Sweet Cherries was last revised in 

1971. The standard row sizes being 

proposed will make the standards 

current with today’s marketing trends 

and practices. 

Executive Order 12866 and 12988 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has waived the review process required 

by Executive Order 12866 for this 

action. This rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. This action is not 

intended to have retroactive effect. This 

rule will not preempt any state or local 

laws, regulations, or policies, unless 

they present an irreconcilable conflict 

with this rule. There are no 

administrative procedures which must 

be exhausted prior to any judicial 

challenge to the provisions of the rule. 

Pursuant to the requirements set forth 

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 

AMS has considered the economic 

impact of this action on small entities. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such actions in 

order that small businesses will not be 

unduly or disproportionately burdened. 

Accordingly, AMS has prepared this 

initial regulatory flexibility analysis. 

Interested parties are invited to submit 

information on the regulatory and 

informational impacts of this action on 

small businesses. 

This rule will revise the U.S. 

Standards for Grades of Sweet Cherries 

that were issued under the Agricultural 

Marketing Act of 1946. Standards issued 

under the 1946 Act are voluntary. 

Small agricultural service firms, 

which include handlers, have been 

defined by the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) (13 CFR 121.201) 

as those having annual receipts of less 

than $6,500,000, and small agricultural 

producers are defined as those having 

annual receipts of less than $750,000. 

The number of sweet cherry handlers in 

the United States is not known. 

However, we estimate that the majority 

of such handlers may be classified as 

small entities, reflecting the size of a 

majority of handlers regulated under the 

marketing order 7 CFR part 925. 

According to the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 

report of the 2002 Census of 

Agriculture, these are 8,043 sweet 

cherry farms in the United States. Using 

additional data from the Noncitrus 

Fruits and Nuts Summary for 2005, total 

fresh utilization of sweet cherries was 

167,190 tons. Furthermore, the price per 

ton for sweet cherries in 2005 was 

$2,610 and the value of sweet cherries 

utilized as fresh was $436,992,000. 

Based on the number of farms (8,043) 

the average producer revenue from the 

sale of fresh sweet cherries is estimated 

at approximately $54,332 per year. 

Thus, the majority of fresh sweet cherry 

producers may be classified as small 

entities. 

This proposed rule would incorporate 

standard row sizes into the standard. 

The effects of this rule are not expected 

to be disproportionately greater or 

smaller for small handlers or producers 

than for larger entities. 

This proposed action would establish 

standard row sizes and make the 

standard more consistent and uniform 

with marketing trends and practices. 

The size of sweet cherries are described 

in ‘‘rows’’ and this practice dates back 

to when the industry place-packed the 

top layer in the box. For example; a tight 

fit of ten cherries across the narrow face 

of the lug became known as size ‘‘10 

row’’ cherries. 

This proposed action will not impose 

any additional reporting or 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
15056 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 61 / Friday, March 30, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large sweet cherry producers, 

handlers, or importers. USDA has not 

identified any Federal rules that 

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this 

rule. However, there is a marketing 

order program (7 CFR part 923) which 

regulates the handling of sweet cherries. 

Sweet cherries under a marketing order 

have to meet certain requirements set 

forth in the U.S. grade standards. 

Alternatives were considered for this 

action. One alternative would be to not 

issue a proposed rule. However, the 

need for this revision has increased as 

a result of changing market 

characteristics. Since the purpose of 

these standards is to facilitate the 

marketing of agricultural commodities, 

not revising the sweet cherries standard 

could result in confusion in terms of 

industry marketing and the use of the 

U.S. standards. AMS is seeking 

comments regarding how, if at all, 

marketing would be improved by 

incorporating standard row sizes into 

the standard. Further, comments 

outlining any additional costs or 

benefits would be helpful in 

determining a final decision after the 

comments are received and reviewed. 

AMS will also review any other 

suggested revisions and would be 

interested in how they would improve 

the marketing of sweet cherries and any 

associated costs and/or benefits to the 

industry. 

Background 

Prior to undertaking detailed work to 

develop a proposed revision to the 

standard, AMS published a notice on 

January 25, 2006, in the Federal 

Register (71 FR 4100) soliciting 

comments on a proposal to incorporate 

row sizes into the standards. 

In response to our request for 

comments, AMS received two 

comments from the industry. These 

comments are available by accessing the 

AMS, Fresh Products Branch Web site 

at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/ 

fpbdocketlist.htm. 

The first comment was from a grower/ 

shipper which supported incorporating 

a standard row size into the Standards 

for Grades of Sweet Cherries. The 

second comment was from a trade 

association representing wholesale 

receivers. The comment only stated that 

the association saw no reason to 

incorporate the standard row size into 

the U.S. Grade Standards at this time. 

However, AMS believes incorporating 

the size will be beneficial and reflect 

current marketing practices. 

Accordingly, AMS is proposing to 

incorporate standard row sizes into the 

U.S. standards. The row size 

corresponds with current row sizes 

being used in the industry. The section 

51.2660 Metric Conversion Table would 

be designated as section 51.2660 

Standard Row Sizes to show the 

following definition for row size with 

corresponding sizes in inches: 

Row sizes ........................................................................................... 9 91⁄2 10 101⁄2 11 111⁄2 12 121⁄2 13 

Size in inches ..................................................................................... 75/64 71/64 67/64 64/64 61/64 57/64 54/64 51/64 48/64 

Section 51.2661 would be the 

standard and the current § 51.2660 

Metric Conversion Table will be redesignated as § 51.2661. 

The official grade of a lot of sweet 

cherries covered by these standards is 

determined by the procedures set forth 

in the Regulations Governing 

Inspection, Certification, and Standards 

of Fresh Fruits, Vegetables and Other 

Products (§ 51.1 to 51.61). 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 51 

Agricultural commodities, Food 

grades and standards, Fruits, Nuts, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Trees, Vegetables. 

PART 51—[AMENDED] 

For reasons set forth in the preamble, 

7 CFR part 51 is proposed to be 

amended as follows: 

1. The authority citation for part 51 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627. 

2. Section 51.2660 is revised and 

§ 51.2661 is added to read as follows: 

Subpart—United States Standards for 

Grades of Sweet Cherries 

§ 51.2660 Standard Row Sizes. 

Row sizes ........................................................................................... 9 91⁄2 10 101⁄2 11 111⁄2 12 121⁄2 13 

Size in inches ..................................................................................... 75/64 71/64 67/64 64/64 61/64 57/64 54/64 51/64 48/64 

§ 51.2661 Metric Conversion Table. 

Inches Millimeters 

(mm) 

8⁄64 equals ................................. 3.2 16⁄64 equals ............................... 6.4 24⁄64 equals ............................... 9.5 32⁄64 equals ............................... 12.7 40⁄64 equals ............................... 15.9 48⁄64 equals ............................... 19.1 51⁄64 equals ............................... 20.2 52⁄64 equals ............................... 20.6 54⁄64 equals ............................... 21.4 56⁄64 equals ............................... 22.2 

1 equals .................................... 25.4 

18⁄64 equals ............................... 28.6 

116⁄64 equals ............................. 31.8 

1‘24⁄64 equals ............................ 34.9 

Dated: March 23, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–1537 Filed 3–29–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 915 

[Docket No. AO–254–A10; AMS–FV–06–

0220; FV06–915–2] 

Avocados Grown in South Florida; 

Recommended Decision on Proposed 

Amendments of Marketing Order No. 

915 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service 

(AMS), USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule and opportunity 

to file exceptions. 

SUMMARY: This is a recommended 

decision regarding proposed 


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