Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 11 / Thursday, January 18, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 2173 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA. 

* * * * * 

Dated: January 11, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–593 Filed 1–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 989 

[Docket No. AMS–FV–06–0183; FV06–989–

2 FIR] 

Raisins Produced From Grapes Grown 

in California; Final Free and Reserve 

Percentages for 2005–06 Crop Natural 

(Sun-Dried) Seedless Raisins 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

final rule that established final volume 

regulation percentages for 2005–06 crop 

Natural (sun-dried) Seedless (NS) 

raisins covered under the Federal 

marketing order for California raisins 

(order). The order regulates the handling 

of raisins produced from grapes grown 

in California and is locally administered 

by the Raisin Administrative Committee 

(Committee). The volume regulation 

percentages are 82.50 percent free and 

17.50 percent reserve. The percentages 

are intended to help stabilize raisin 

supplies and prices, and strengthen 

market conditions. 

DATES: Effective Date: February 20, 

2007. The volume regulation 

percentages apply to acquisitions of NS 

raisins from the 2005–06 crop until the 

reserve raisins from that crop are 

disposed of under the marketing order. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose 

M. Aguayo, Marketing Specialist, or 

Kurt Kimmel, Regional Manager, 

California Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487–

5901; Fax: (559) 487–5906; or E-mail: 

Rose.Aguayo@usda.gov or 

Kurt.Kimmel@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720–

2491; Fax: (202) 720–8938; or E-mail: 

Jay.Guerber@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

and Order No. 989 (7 CFR part 989), 

both as amended, regulating the 

handling of raisins produced from 

grapes grown in California, 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.’’

USDA is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. Under the order provisions now 

in effect, final free and reserve 

percentages may be established for 

raisins acquired by handlers during the 

crop year. This rule continues in effect 

the action that established final free and 

reserve percentages for NS raisins for 

the 2005–06 crop year, which began 

August 1, 2005, and ended July 31, 

2006. This rule will not preempt any 

State or local laws, regulations, or 

policies, unless they present an 

irreconcilable conflict with this rule. 

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 continues in effect the 

action that established final volume 

regulation percentages for 2005–06 crop 

NS raisins covered under the order. The 

volume regulation percentages are 82.50 

percent free and 17.50 percent reserve 

and were established through an interim 

final rule published on May 23, 2006 

(71 FR 29567). Free tonnage raisins may 

be sold by handlers to any market. 

Reserve raisins must be held in a pool 

for the account of the Committee and 

are disposed of through various 

programs authorized under the order. 

For example, reserve raisins may be sold 

by the Committee to handlers for free 

use or to replace part of the free tonnage 

raisins they exported; used in diversion 

programs; carried over as a hedge 

against a short crop; or disposed of in 

other outlets not competitive with those 

for free tonnage raisins, such as 

government purchase, distilleries, or 

animal feed. 

The volume regulation percentages 

are intended to help stabilize raisin 

supplies and prices, and strengthen 

market conditions. The Committee 

unanimously recommended final 

percentages on January 26, 2006, and 

further justified its recommendation on 

March 16, 2006. 

Computation of Trade Demand 

Section 989.54 of the order prescribes 

procedures and time frames to be 

followed in establishing volume 

regulation. This includes methodology 

used to calculate percentages. Pursuant 

to § 989.54(a) of the order, the 

Committee met on August 15, 2005, to 

review shipment and inventory data, 

and other matters relating to the 

supplies of raisins of all varietal types. 

The Committee computed a trade 

demand for each varietal type for which 

a free tonnage percentage might be 

recommended. Trade demand is 

computed using a formula specified in 

the order and, for each varietal type, is 

equal to 90 percent of the prior year’s 

shipments of free tonnage and reserve 

tonnage raisins sold for free use into all 

market outlets, adjusted by subtracting 

the carryin on August 1 of the current 

crop year, and adding the desirable 

carryout at the end of that crop year. As 

specified in § 989.154(a), the desirable 

carryout for NS raisins shall equal the 

total shipments of free tonnage during 

August and September for each of the 

past 5 crop years, converted to a natural 

condition basis, dropping the high and 

low figures, and dividing the remaining 

sum by three, or 60,000 natural 

condition tons, whichever is higher. For 

all other varietal types, the desirable 

carryout shall equal the total shipments 

of free tonnage during August, 

September and one-half of October for 

each of the past 5 crop years, converted 

to a natural condition basis, dropping 

the high and low figures, and dividing 

the remaining sum by three. In 

accordance with these provisions, the 

Committee computed and announced 

the 2005–06 trade demand for NS 

raisins at 232,985 tons as shown below. 


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COMPUTED TRADE DEMAND

[Natural condition tons] 

NS 

raisins 

Prior year’s shipments .................... 319,752 

Multiplied by 90 percent ................. 0.90 

Equals adjusted base ..................... 287,777 

Minus carryin inventory .................. 114,792 

Plus desirable caryout .................... 60,000 

Equals computed NS trade Demand ........................................... 232,985 

Computation of Preliminary Volume 

Regulation Percentages 

Section 989.54(b) of the order requires 

that the Committee announce, on or 

before October 5, preliminary crop 

estimates and determine whether 

volume regulation is warranted for the 

varietal types for which it computed a 

trade demand. That section allows the 

Committee to extend the October 5 date 

up to 5 business days if warranted by a 

late crop. 

The Committee met on October 4, 

2005, and announced a preliminary 

crop estimate for NS raisins of 266,227 

tons, which is about 19 percent lower 

than the 10-year average of 328,088 

tons. NS raisins are the major varietal 

type of California raisin. Adding the 

carry in inventory of 114,792 tons, plus 

the 266,227-ton crop estimate resulted 

in a total available supply of 381,019 

tons, which was significantly higher 

(164 percent) than the 232,985-ton trade 

demand. Thus, the Committee 

determined that volume regulation for 

NS raisins was warranted. The 

Committee announced preliminary free 

and reserve percentages for NS raisins, 

which released 85 percent of the 

computed trade demand since a 

minimum field price (price paid by 

handlers to producers for their free 

tonnage raisins) had been established. 

The preliminary percentages were 74 

percent free and 26 percent reserve. 

In addition, preliminary percentages 

were announced for Dipped Seedless, 

Golden Seedless, Zante Currant, and 

Other Seedless raisins. It was ultimately 

determined that volume regulation was 

only warranted for NS raisins. As in 

past seasons, the Committee submitted 

its marketing policy to USDA for 

review. 

Computation of Final Volume 

Regulation Percentages 

Pursuant to § 989.54(c), at its January 

26, 2006, meeting, the Committee 

announced interim percentages for NS 

raisins to release slightly less than the 

full trade demand. Based on a revised 

NS crop estimate of 283,000 tons (up 

from the October estimate of 266,227 

tons), interim percentages for NS raisins 

were announced at 82.25 percent free 

and 17.75 percent reserve. 

Pursuant to § 989.54(d), the 

Committee also recommended final 

percentages at its January 26, 2006, 

meeting to release the full trade demand 

for NS raisins. Final percentages were 

recommended at 82.50 percent free and 

17.50 percent reserve. The Committee’s 

calculations and determinations to 

arrive at final percentages for NS raisins 

are shown in the table below: 

FINAL VOLUME REGULATION

PERCENTAGES

[Natural condition tons] 

NS 

raisins 

Trade demand ................................ 232,985 

Divided by crop estimate ................ 283,000 

Equals the free percentage ............ 82.30 

100 minus free percentage equals 

the reserve percentage ............... 17.70 

* * * The Committee recommended 

rounding the free percentage to 82.50 

percent and reducing the reserve 

percentage to 17.50 percent to 

compensate for the higher than normal 

processing shrinkage being experienced 

by handlers with the 2005 NS crop. 

By the week ending February 11, 

2006, data showed that deliveries of NS 

raisins exceeded the Committee’s crop 

estimate of 283,000 tons. By that date, 

deliveries of NS raisins totaled 285,052 

tons. Thus, at USDA’s request, the 

Committee met again on March 16, 

2006, and reviewed the current 

available data and the computations 

used in arriving at the recommended 

final percentages. 

At the March meeting, the Committee 

continued to support a crop estimate of 

283,000 tons, because of the higher than 

normal processing shrinkage being 

experienced with the 2005 NS raisin 

crop. With a lower crop estimate, more 

free tonnage raisins would be made 

available to handlers for free tonnage 

use, but due to the above normal 

processing shrinkage the Committee 

expected supplies to be in balance with 

market needs. 

By the end of the crop year, July 31, 

2006, final deliveries of NS raisins 

totaled 319,126 tons. Thus, the 

Committee’s recommendation provided 

handlers with an additional 30,294 tons 

over the computed trade demand, but 

the additional tonnage did not appear to 

impact marketing conditions. 

In addition, USDA’s ‘‘Guidelines for 

Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crop 

Marketing Orders’’ (Guidelines) specify 

that 110 percent of recent years’ sales 

should be made available to primary 

markets each season for marketing 

orders utilizing reserve pool authority. 

This goal was met for NS raisins by the 

establishment of final percentages, 

which released 100 percent of the trade 

demand and the offer of additional 

reserve raisins for sale to handlers under 

the ‘‘10 plus 10 offers.’’ As specified in 

§ 989.54(g), the 10 plus 10 offers are two 

offers of reserve pool raisins which are 

made available to handlers during each 

season. For each such offer, a quantity 

of reserve raisins equal to 10 percent of 

the prior year’s shipments is made 

available for free use. Handlers may sell 

their 10 plus 10 raisins to any market. 

For NS raisins, the first 10 plus 10 

offer was made in February 2006, and 

the second offer was made in July 2006. 

A total of 63,950 tons was made 

available to raisin handlers through 

these offers, and 31,975 tons were 

purchased by and released to handlers 

during the 2005–06 crop year. Adding 

the 31,975 tons of 10 plus 10 raisins to 

the 232,985 ton trade demand, plus the 

30,294 tons of additional raisins 

released to handlers through use of the 

283,000 ton crop estimate to compute 

final percentages, plus 114,792 tons of 

carry-in inventory equates to 410,046 

tons of natural condition raisins, or 

385,275 tons of packed raisins, that 

were available to handlers for shipment 

to free or primary markets. This is about 

128 percent of the quantity of NS raisins 

shipped during the 2004–05 crop year 

(319,752 natural condition tons or 

300,435 packed tons). 

In addition to the 10 plus 10 offers, 

§ 989.67(j) of the order provides 

authority for sales of reserve raisins to 

handlers under certain conditions such 

as a national emergency, crop failure, 

change in economic or marketing 

conditions, or if free tonnage shipments 

in the current crop year exceed 

shipments of a comparable period of the 

prior crop year. Such reserve raisins 

may be sold by handlers to any market. 

When implemented, the additional 

offers of reserve raisins make even more 

raisins available to primary markets, 

which is consistent with USDA’s 

Guidelines. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 

has considered the economic impact of 

this action on small entities. 

Accordingly, AMS has prepared this 

final 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 


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or disproportionately burdened. 

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the 

Act, and rules issued thereunder, are 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. Thus, both statutes have small 

entity orientation and compatibility. 

There are approximately 20 handlers 

of California raisins who are subject to 

regulation under the order and 

approximately 4,500 raisin producers in 

the regulated area. Small agricultural 

firms are defined by the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) (13 CFR 121.201) 

as those having annual receipts of less 

that $6,500,000, and small agricultural 

producers are defined as those having 

annual receipts of less than $750,000. 

Eleven of the 20 handlers subject to 

regulation have annual sales estimated 

to be at least $6,500,000, and the 

remaining 9 handlers have sales less 

than $6,500,000. No more than 9 

handlers and a majority of producers of 

California raisins may be classified as 

small entities. 

Since 1949, the California raisin 

industry has operated under a Federal 

marketing order. The order contains 

authority to, among other things, limit 

the portion of a given year’s crop that 

can be marketed freely in any outlet by 

raisin handlers. This volume control 

mechanism is used to stabilize supplies 

and prices and strengthen market 

conditions. If the primary market (the 

normal domestic market) is oversupplied with raisins, grower prices 

decline substantially. 

Pursuant to § 989.54(d) of the order, 

this rule continues in effect the action 

that established final volume regulation 

percentages for 2005–06 crop NS 

raisins. The volume regulation 

percentages are 82.50 percent free and 

17.50 percent reserve. Free tonnage 

raisins may be sold by handlers to any 

market. Reserve raisins must be held in 

a pool for the account of the Committee 

and are disposed of through certain 

programs authorized under the order. 

Volume regulation was warranted for 

the 2005–06 season because acquisitions 

of 319,126 tons through July 31, 2006, 

combined with the carryin inventory of 

114,792 tons resulted in a total available 

supply of 433,918 tons, which was 

about 86 percent higher than the 

232,985 ton trade demand. 

The current volume regulation 

procedures have helped the industry 

address its marketing problems by 

keeping supplies in balance with 

domestic and export market needs, and 

strengthening market conditions. The 

current volume regulation procedures 

fully supply the domestic and export 

markets, provide for market expansion, 

and help reduce the burden of 

oversupplies in the domestic market. 

Raisin grapes are a perennial crop, so 

production in any year is dependent 

upon plantings made in earlier years. 

The sun-drying method of producing 

raisins involves considerable risk 

because of variable weather patterns. 

Even though the product and the 

industry are viewed as mature, the 

industry has experienced considerable 

change over the last several decades. 

Before the 1975–76 crop year, more than 

50 percent of the raisins were packed 

and sold directly to consumers. Now, 

about 65 percent of raisins are sold in 

bulk. This means that raisins are now 

sold to consumers mostly as an 

ingredient in another product such as 

cereal and baked goods. In addition, for 

a few years in the early 1970’s, over 50 

percent of the raisin grapes were sold to 

the wine market for crushing. Since 

then, the percent of raisin-variety grapes 

sold to the wine industry has decreased. 

California’s grapes are classified into 

three groups—table grapes, wine grapes, 

and raisin-variety grapes. Raisin-variety 

grapes are the most versatile of the three 

types. They can be marketed as fresh 

grapes, crushed for juice in the 

production of wine or juice concentrate, 

or dried into raisins. Annual 

fluctuations in the fresh grape, wine, 

and concentrate markets, as well as 

weather-related factors, cause 

fluctuations in raisin supply. This type 

of situation introduces a certain amount 

of variability into the raisin market. 

Although the size of the crop for raisinvariety grapes may be known, the 

amount dried for raisins depends on the 

demand for crushing. This makes the 

marketing of raisins a more difficult 

task. These supply fluctuations can 

result in producer price instability and 

disorderly market conditions. 

Volume regulation is helpful to the 

raisin industry because it lessens the 

impact of such fluctuations and 

contributes to orderly marketing. For 

example, producer prices for NS raisins 

remained fairly steady between the 

1993–94 through the 1997–98 seasons, 

although production varied. As shown 

in the table below, during those years, 

production varied from a low of 272,063 

tons in 1996–97 to a high of 387,007 

tons in 1993–94. 

According to Committee data, the 

total producer return per ton during 

those years, which includes proceeds 

from both free tonnage plus reserve pool 

raisins, varied from a low of $904.60 in 

1993–94 to a high of $1,049 in 1996–97. 

Total producer prices for the 1998–99 

and 1999–2000 seasons increased 

significantly due to back-to-back short 

crops during those years. Producer 

prices dropped dramatically for the 

2000–01, 2001–02, and 2002–03 crop 

years due to record-size production, 

large carry-in inventories, and stagnant 

demand. However, producer prices 

increased slightly with a shorter crop in 

2003–04 and rebounded to pre-1998–99 

prices during the 2004–05 and 2005–06 

crop years as noted below: 

NATURAL SEEDLESS PRODUCER

PRICES

Crop year 

Deliveries 

(natural 

condition 

tons) 

Producer 

Prices 

(per ton) 

2005–06 ............ 319,126 1$1210.00 

2004–05 ............ 265,262 21210.00 

2003–04 ............ 296,864 1567.00 

2002–03 ............ 388,010 1491.20 

2001–02 ............ 377,328 650.94 

2000–01 ............ 432,616 603.36 

1999–2000 ........ 299,910 1,211.25 

1998–99 ............ 240,469 21,290.00 

1997–98 ............ 382,448 946.52 

1996–97 ............ 272,063 1,049.20 

1995–96 ............ 325,911 1,007.19 

1994–95 ............ 378,427 928.27 

1993–94 ............ 387,007 904.60 

1 Return-to-date, reserve pool still open. 

2 No volume regulation. 

There are essentially two broad 

markets for raisins—domestic and 

export. Excluding the 2005–06 crop 

year, both domestic and export 

shipments have been increasing in 

recent years. Domestic shipments 

decreased from a high of 204,805 

packed tons during the 1990–91 crop 

year to a low of 156,325 packed tons in 

1999–2000. Since that time domestic 

shipments steadily increased from 

174,117 packed tons during the 2000–01 

crop year to 193,680 packed tons during 

the 2004–05 crop year, but fell to 

186,358 packed tons in 2005–06. In 

addition, exports decreased from 

114,576 packed tons in 1991–92 to a 

low of 91,600 packed tons in the 1999–

2000 crop year. Export shipments 

increased from 101,537 tons during the 

2002–03 crop year to 106,755 tons of 

raisins during the 2004–05 crop year, 

but fell to 97,672 packed tons in 2005–

06. 

Moreover, the U.S. per capita 

consumption of raisins has declined 

from 2.09 pounds in 1988 to 1.46 

pounds in 2004. This decrease is 

consistent with the decrease in the per 

capita consumption of dried fruits in 

general, which is due to the increasing 

availability of most types of fresh fruit 

throughout the year. 

While the overall demand for raisins 

has increased in two out of the last three 

years (as reflected in increased 

commercial shipments), production has 


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been decreasing. Deliveries of NS dried 

raisins from producers to handlers 

reached an all-time high of 432,616 tons 

in the 2000–01 crop year. This large 

crop was preceded by two short crop 

years; deliveries were 240,469 tons in 

1998–99 and 299,910 tons in 1999–

2000. Deliveries for the 2000–01 crop 

year soared to a record level because of 

increased bearing acreage and yields. 

Deliveries for the 2001–02 crop year 

were at 377,328 tons, 388,010 tons for 

the 2002–03 crop year, 296,864 for the 

2003–04 crop year and 265,262 tons for 

the 2004–05 crop year. After three crop 

years of high production and a large 

2001–02 carryin inventory, the industry 

diverted raisins or removed 41,000 acres 

in 2001; 27,000 acres in 2002; and 

15,000 acres of vines in 2003 to reduce 

the industry’s burdensome supply of 

raisins. These actions resulted in 

declining deliveries of 296,865 tons for 

the 2003–04 crop year and 265,262 tons 

for the 2004–05 crop year. Deliveries 

increased in 2005–06 to 319,126 tons. 

The order permits the industry to 

exercise supply control provisions, 

which allow for the establishment of 

free and reserve percentages, and 

establishment of a reserve pool. One of 

the primary purposes of establishing 

free and reserve percentages is to 

equilibrate supply and demand. If raisin 

markets are over-supplied with product, 

producer prices will decline. 

Raisins are generally marketed at 

relatively lower price levels in the more 

elastic export market than in the more 

inelastic domestic market. This results 

in a larger volume of raisins being 

marketed and enhances producer 

returns. In addition, this system allows 

the U.S. raisin industry to be more 

competitive in export markets. 

The reserve percentage limits what 

handlers can market as free tonnage. 

Data available as of July 31, 2006, 

showed that deliveries of NS raisins 

were at 319,126 tons. The 17.50 percent 

reserve limited the total free tonnage to 

263,279 natural condition tons (.8250 x 

the 319,126 ton crop). Adding 263,279 

ton figure with the carryin of 114,792 

tons, plus the 31,975 tons of reserve 

raisins that were purchased by and 

released to handlers during the 2005–06 

crop year under the 10 plus 10 offers, 

made the total free supply equal to 

410,046 natural condition tons. 

To assess the impact that volume 

control has on the prices growers 

receive for their product, a price 

dependent econometric model was 

estimated. This model is used to 

estimate grower prices both with and 

without the use of volume control. The 

volume control used by the raisin 

industry will result in decreased 

shipments to primary markets. Without 

volume control the primary market 

(domestic) could be over-supplied 

resulting in lower grower prices and the 

build-up of unwanted inventories. 

The econometric model is used to 

estimate the difference between grower 

prices with and without restrictions. 

With volume controls, grower prices are 

estimated to be approximately $40 per 

ton higher than without volume 

controls. This price increase is 

beneficial to all producers regardless of 

size and enhances producers’ total 

revenues in comparison to no volume 

control. Establishing a reserve allows 

the industry to help stabilize supplies in 

both domestic and export markets, 

while improving returns to producers. 

Free and reserve percentages are 

established by varietal type, and usually 

in years when the supply exceeds the 

trade demand by a large enough margin 

that the Committee believes volume 

regulation is necessary to maintain 

market stability. Accordingly, in 

assessing whether to apply volume 

regulation or, as an alternative, not to 

apply such regulation, it was 

determined that volume regulation was 

warranted for the 2005–06 season for 

only one of the nine raisin varietal types 

defined under the order. 

The free and reserve percentages 

continued in effect the release of the full 

trade demand and apply uniformly to 

all handlers in the industry, regardless 

of size. For NS raisins, with the 

exception of the 1998–99 and 2004–05 

crop years, small and large raisin 

producers and handlers have been 

operating under volume regulation 

percentages every year since 1983–84. 

There are no known additional costs 

incurred by small handlers that are not 

incurred by large handlers. While the 

level of benefits of this rulemaking are 

difficult to quantify, the stabilizing 

effects of the volume regulations impact 

small and large handlers positively by 

helping them maintain and expand 

markets even though raisin supplies 

fluctuate widely from season to season. 

Likewise, price stability positively 

impacts small and large producers by 

allowing them to better anticipate the 

revenues their raisins will generate. 

The 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. 

There are some reporting, 

recordkeeping and other compliance 

requirements under the order. The 

reporting and recordkeeping burdens 

are necessary for compliance purposes 

and for developing statistical data for 

maintenance of the program. The 

requirements are the same as those 

applied in past seasons. Thus, this 

action imposes no additional reporting 

or recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large raisin handlers. The forms 

require information which is readily 

available from handler records and 

which can be provided without data 

processing equipment or trained 

statistical staff. The information 

collection and recordkeeping 

requirements have been previously 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control 

No. 0581–0178. 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. In addition, as noted in 

the initial regulatory flexibility analysis, 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap or 

conflict with this rule. 

Further, the Committee’s meetings 

were widely publicized throughout the 

raisin industry and all interested 

persons were invited to attend the 

meetings and participate in the 

Committee’s deliberations. Like all 

Committee meetings, the August 15, 

2005, October 4, 2005, January 26, 2006, 

and March 16, 2006, meetings were 

public meetings and all entities, both 

large and small, were able to express 

their views on this issue. 

Also, the Committee has a number of 

appointed subcommittees to review 

certain issues and make 

recommendations to the Committee. 

The Committee’s Reserve Sales and 

Marketing Subcommittee met on August 

15, 2005, October 4, 2005, January 26, 

2006, and March 16, 2006, and 

discussed these issues in detail. Those 

meetings were also public meetings and 

both large and small entities were able 

to participate and express their views. 

An interim final rule concerning this 

action was published in the Federal 

Register on May 23, 2006 (71 FR 29567). 

Copies of the rule were mailed to all 

Committee members and alternates, the 

Raisin Bargaining Association, handlers, 

and dehydrators. In addition, the rule 

was made available through the Internet 

by the Office of the Federal Register and 

USDA. That rule provided for a 60-day 

comment period that ended on July 24, 

2006. No comments were received. 

However, the interim final rule 

identified the effective date as August 1, 

2005, through July 3, 2006. This final 

rule clarifies that the effective date of 

the volume percentages for the 2005–06 

NS raisins is simply August 1, 2005, and 

the percentages apply to all raisins 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 11 / Thursday, January 18, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 2177 

acquired during the 2005–06 crop year 

and continue in effect until all 2005–06 

reserve raisins are disposed of under the 

order. Accordingly, § 989.258 will 

appear in the Code of Federal 

Regulations. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

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

fv/moab.html. Any questions about the 

compliance guide should be sent to Jay 

Guerber at the previously mentioned 

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is found that 

finalizing the interim final rule, without 

change, as published in the Federal 

Register (71 FR 29567, May 23, 2006) 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 989 

Grapes, Marketing agreements, 

Raisins, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

PART 989—RAISINS PRODUCED 

FROM GRAPES GROWN IN 

CALIFORNIA 

■ Accordingly, the interim final rule 

amending 7 CFR part 989 which was 

published at 71 FR 29567 on May 23, 

2006, is adopted as a final rule without 

change. 

Dated: January 12, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–623 Filed 1–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2006–25584; Directorate 

Identifier 2000–NE–62–AD; Amendment 39–

14733; AD 2006–17–12] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Rolls-Royce 

plc RB211 Series Turbofan Engines; 

Correction. 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: This document makes 

corrections to Airworthiness Directive 

(AD) 2006–17–12. That AD applies to 

Rolls-Royce plc RB211 series turbofan 

engines. We published AD 2006–17–12 

in the Federal Register on August 23, 

2006 (71 FR 49339). An incorrect engine 

model number exists in the applicability 

paragraph and in the title of Table 5. 

Also, an incorrect serial number appears 

in Table 1. This document corrects these 

numbers. In all other respects, the 

original document remains the same. 

DATES: Effective Date: Effective January 

18, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian 

Dargin, Aerospace Engineer, Engine 

Certification Office, FAA, Engine and 

Propeller Directorate, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, MA, 01803; 

telephone (781) 238–7178; fax (781) 

238–7199. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A final 

rule AD, FR Doc. E6–13910, that applies 

to Rolls-Royce plc RB211 series turbofan 

engines was published in the Federal 

Register on August 23, 2006 (71 FR 

49339). The following corrections are 

needed: 

§ 39.13 [Corrected] 

■ On page 49340, in the third column, 

in applicability paragraph (c), in the 

fourth line, ‘‘RB211–535E4–C’’ is 

corrected to read ‘‘RB211–535E4–C–37’’. 

Also, on page 49341, in Table 1, in the 

fourth column, in the last line, 

‘‘WGQDY90005’’ is corrected to read 

‘‘WGQDY0005’’. Also, on page 49342, in 

the first column, in the Table 5 title, 

‘‘RB211–02’’ is corrected to read 

‘‘RB211–22B–02’’. 

Issued in Burlington, MA, on January 10, 

2007. 

Francis A. Favara, 

Manager, Engine and Propeller Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–497 Filed 1–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2007–26855; Directorate 

Identifier 2006–NM–264–AD; Amendment 

39–14888; AD 2007–02–01] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Dassault 

Model F2000EX Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for the 

products listed above. This AD results 

from mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) 

issued by an aviation authority of 

another country to identify and correct 

an unsafe condition on an aviation 

product. The MCAI describes the unsafe 

condition as incorrect monitoring of the 

fire detection system; therefore, its 

integrity is not guaranteed at all times. 

This AD requires actions that are 

intended to address the unsafe 

condition described in the MCAI. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective 

February 2, 2007. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain document listed in this AD 

as of February 2, 2007. 

We must receive comments on this 

AD by March 19, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• DOT Docket Web Site: Go to 

http://dms.dot.gov and follow the 

instructions for sending your comments 

electronically. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 

Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590–

0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Room PL–401 on 

the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 

400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov; or in 

person at the Docket Management 

Facility between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. The AD docket contains this 

AD, the regulatory evaluation, any 

comments received, and other 

information. The street address for the 

Docket Office (telephone (800) 647–

5227) is in the ADDRESSES section. 

Comments will be available in the AD 

docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom 

Rodriguez, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, FAA, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 

Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 

98057–3356; telephone (425) 227–1137; 

fax (425) 227–1149. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with RULES