77368 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

the Conduct of Referenda in Connection 

With Marketing Orders for Fruits, 

Vegetables, and Nuts Pursuant to the 

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 

of 1937, as Amended’’ (7 CFR 900.400– 

900.407). 

Ballots will be mailed to all growers 

of record and may also be obtained from 

the referendum agents or from their 

appointees. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 981 

Almonds, Marketing agreements, 

Nuts, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

Dated: December 17, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–30391 Filed 12–20–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1216 

[Document Number AMS–FV–13–0042] 

Peanut Promotion, Research, and 

Information Order; Amendment to 

Primary Peanut-Producing States and 

Adjustment of Membership 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposal invites 

comments on adding the State of 

Arkansas as a primary peanut-producing 

State under the Peanut Promotion, 

Research, and Information Order 

(Order). The Order is administered by 

the National Peanut Board (Board) with 

oversight by the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA). Under the Order, 

primary peanut-producing States must 

maintain a 3-year average production of 

at least 10,000 tons of peanuts. 

Arkansas’s peanut production meets 

this requirement. Primary peanutproducing States also have a seat on the 

Board, and this proposal would also add 

a seat on the Board for the State of 

Arkansas. The Board recommended this 

action to ensure that the Board’s 

representation reflects changes in the 

geographical distribution of the 

production of peanuts. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

January 22, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposal. Comments 

may be submitted on the Internet at: 

http://www.regulations.gov or to the 

Promotion and Economics Division, 

Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, 

USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Room 1406–S, Stop 0244, 

Washington, DC 20250–0244; facsimile: 

(202) 205–2800. 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, 

including name and address, if 

provided, in the above office during 

regular business hours or it can be 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeanette Palmer, Marketing Specialist, 

Promotion and Economics Division, 

Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, 

USDA, Stop 0244, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., Room 1406–S, 

Washington, DC 20250–0244; telephone: 

(202) 720–9915; facsimile: (202) 205– 

2800; or electronic mail: 

Jeanette.Palmer@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed rule is issued under the Order 

(7 CFR part 1216). The Order is 

authorized under the Commodity 

Promotion, Research, and Information 

Act of 1996 (1996 Act)(7 U.S.C. 7411– 

7425). 

Executive Order 12866 and Executive 

Order 13563 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

direct agencies to assess all costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts and equity). 

Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the 

importance of quantifying both costs 

and benefits, reducing costs, 

harmonizing rules and promoting 

flexibility. This action has been 

designated as a ‘‘non-significant 

regulatory action’’ under section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has waived the review process. 

Executive Order 13175 

This action has been reviewed in 

accordance with the requirements of 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments. The review reveals that 

this regulation would not have 

substantial and direct effects on Tribal 

governments and would not have 

significant Tribal implications. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposal has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. It is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. Section 524 of 

the 1996 Act provides that it shall not 

affect or preempt any other Federal or 

State law authorizing promotion or 

research relating to an agricultural 

commodity. 

Under section 519 of the 1996 Act, a 

person subject to an order may file a 

written petition with USDA stating that 

an order, any provision of an order, or 

any obligation imposed in connection 

with an order, is not established in 

accordance with the law, and request a 

modification of an order or an 

exemption from an order. Any petition 

filed challenging an order, any 

provision of an order, or any obligation 

imposed in connection with an order, 

shall be filed within two years after the 

effective date of an order, provision, or 

obligation subject to challenge in the 

petition. The petitioner will have the 

opportunity for a hearing on the 

petition. Thereafter, USDA will issue a 

ruling on the petition. The 1996 Act 

provides that the district court of the 

United States for any district in which 

the petitioner resides or conducts 

business shall have the jurisdiction to 

review a final ruling on the petition, if 

the petitioner files a complaint for that 

purpose not later than 20 days after the 

date of the entry of USDA’s final ruling. 

Background 

This proposed rule invites comments 

on adding the State of Arkansas as a 

primary peanut-producing State under 

the Order. The Order is administered by 

the Board with oversight by USDA. This 

proposal would also add a seat on the 

Board for the State of Arkansas. Under 

the Order, primary peanut-producing 

States must maintain a 3-year average 

production of at least 10,000 tons of 

peanuts. Arkansas’s peanut production 

meets this requirement. Primary peanutproducing States also have a seat on the 

Board. This action would ensure that 

the Board’s representation reflects 

changes in the geographical distribution 

of the production of peanuts covered 

under the Order. 

The Order became effective on July 

30, 1999. Under the Order, the Board 

administers a nationally-coordinated 

program of promotion, research, and 

information designed to strengthen the 

position of peanuts in the market place 

and to develop, maintain, and expand 

the demand for peanuts in the United 

States. Under the program, all peanut 

producers pay an assessment of one 

percent of the total value of all farmers’ 

stock peanuts. The assessments are 

remitted to the Board by handlers and, 

for peanuts under loan, by the 

Commodity Credit Corporation. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2013 / Proposed Rules 77369 

The Order distinguishes between the 

terms ‘‘minor peanut-producing states’’ 

and ‘‘major peanut-producing states’’ for 

purposes of Board representation and 

voting at meetings. Section 1216.21 

defines primary peanut-producing 

States as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 

Mississippi, New Mexico, North 

Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, 

Texas and Virginia. These States must 

maintain a 3-year average production of 

at least 10,000 tons of peanuts. All other 

peanut-producing States are defined as 

minor peanut-producing States, 

pursuant to section 1217.15. 

As specified in section 1216.40(a), the 

Board is composed of 11 producer 

members and their alternates: One 

member and alternate from each 

primary peanut-producing State, and 

one at-large member and alternate 

collectively from the minor peanutproducing States. The members and 

alternates are nominated by producers 

or producer groups. 

Pursuant to section 1216.40(b) of the 

Order, at least once in each five-year 

period, the Board must review the 

geographical distribution of peanuts in 

the United States and make a 

recommendation to the Secretary of 

Agriculture (Secretary) to continue 

without change or whether changes 

should be made in the number of 

representatives on the Board to reflect 

changes in the geographical distribution 

of the production of peanuts. 

Board Recommendation 

As required by the Order, the Board 

met on April 9–10, 2013, and reviewed 

the geographical distribution of peanuts. 

According to data from the USDA’s 

Federal State Inspection Service, for the 

years 2010, 2011, and 2012, 1,357, 

6,092, and 38,866 tons of peanuts were 

inspected in Arkansas, respectively. 

Based on this data, the 3-year average 

annual peanut production for Arkansas 

totals 15,438 tons per year (46,315 

divided by 3) which exceeds the 

requirement set in the Order of 

maintaining a 3-year rolling average of 

10,000 tons per year to become a major 

peanut-producing State. (Data from 

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics 

Service (NASS) was not available at the 

time of the Board’s review because 

Arkansas had not produced enough 

peanuts annually to be recorded. NASS 

plans to record peanut production for 

Arkansas in the near future.) 

Based on Federal State Inspection 

Service data, the Board voted, with one 

member opposed, to add Arkansas as a 

primary peanut-producing State under 

the Order. The member opposed 

expressed concern that Arkansas did not 

produce 10,000 tons per year for three 

consecutive years, similar to when the 

Order was amended to add Mississippi 

as a primary peanut-producing State (73 

FR 39214; July 9, 2008). However, the 

Order does not require that a State 

produce 10,000 tons per year for three 

consecutive years to be a primary 

peanut-producing State. In addition, 

USDA’s Federal State Inspection Service 

summary for 2013 tonnage reports 

Arkansas peanut production to date at 

11,121 tons. This shows that Arkansas 

peanut production has maintained its 

production levels above 10,000 tons. 

This action would also add a producer 

member and alternate on the Board from 

the State of Arkansas. 

These changes would help ensure that 

the Board’s representation reflect 

changes in the geographical distribution 

of the production of peanuts. 

Accordingly, this proposed rule would 

amend sections 1216.15 and 1216.21 of 

the Order to classify the State of 

Arkansas as a primary peanut-producing 

State. This proposal would also revise 

sections 1216.40(a) and 1216.40 (a)(1) of 

the Order to specify that the Board 

would be composed of 12 peanut 

producer members and their alternates 

rather than 11. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Analysis 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601– 

612), AMS is required to examine the 

impact of the proposed rule on small 

entities. Accordingly, 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 so 

that small businesses will not be 

disproportionately burdened. The Small 

Business Administration (SBA) defines, 

in 13 CFR Part 121, small agricultural 

producers as those having annual 

receipts of no more than $750,000 and 

small agricultural service firms 

(handlers) as those having annual 

receipts of no more than $7.0 million. 

According to the Board, there were 

approximately 9,208 producers and 29 

handlers of peanuts who were subject to 

the program in 2012. 

Most producers would be classified as 

small businesses under the criteria 

established by the SBA. USDA’s NASS 

reports that the farm value of the 

peanuts produced in the top 10 States 

in the years 2010, 2011, and 2012 was 

$939 million, $1.169 billion, and $2.309 

billion, respectively; the 3-year average 

crop value was $1.472 billion. With a 

2012 crop value of $2.309 billion, 

average peanut sales per producer were 

approximately $251,000. With a 2010– 

2012 average crop value of $1.472 

billion, average peanut sales per 

producer was approximately $160,000. 

The average peanut crop value per 

handler for 2010–2012 ranged from 

about $32 million to $80 million. This 

is many times larger than the $7 million 

SBA threshold and is thus an indication 

that most of the handlers would not be 

classified as small businesses. 

The quantity of U.S. peanut 

production from the 10 major peanutproducing States for 2010, 2011, and 

2012 was 4.157 billion pounds, 3.659 

billion pounds, and 6.741 billion 

pounds, respectively; the 3-year average 

crop quantity was 4.852 billion pounds. 

NASS reports that Georgia was the 

largest producer (48 percent of the 3- 

year average quantity), followed by 

Alabama (13 percent), Florida (12 

percent), Texas (9 percent), North 

Carolina (7 percent), South Carolina (6 

percent), Mississippi (2 percent), 

Virginia (1 percent), Oklahoma (1 

percent) and New Mexico (less than 1 

percent). According to the 2007 Census 

of Agriculture, small amounts of 

peanuts were also grown in six other 

States. 

If the number of peanut producers 

(9,208) is divided into the total U.S. 

production for 2012 (6.741 billion), the 

resulting average peanut production per 

producer is approximately 732,000 

pounds. If divided by the 3-year average 

production for 2010–2012 (4.852 

billion), the resulting average is 

approximately 527,000 pounds per 

producer. 

This proposal would amend sections 

1216.15 and 1216.21 of the Order to 

classify the State of Arkansas as a 

primary peanut-producing State. The 

Order is administered by the Board with 

oversight by USDA. This proposal 

would also amend section 1216.40(a)(1) 

to add a seat on the Board for the State 

of Arkansas. Under the Order, primary 

peanut-producing States must maintain 

a 3-year average production of at least 

10,000 tons of peanuts. Arkansas’s 

peanut production meets this 

requirement. Primary peanut-producing 

States also have a seat on the Board. 

This action would ensure that the 

Board’s representation reflects changes 

in the geographical distribution of the 

production of peanuts covered under 

the Order. This action is authorized 

under section 1216.40(b) of the Order 

and Section 515(b)(3) of the 1996 Act. 

Regarding the economic impact of this 

proposed rule on affected entities, this 

action would impose no costs on 

producers and handlers. The changes 

would define the State of Arkansas as a 

primary peanut-producing State based 

on recent production data and add a 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
77370 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

seat on the Board for the State of 

Arkansas. 

With regard to alternatives, the Board 

reviewed the peanut distribution for all 

the minor peanut-producing States, and 

determined that Arkansas was the only 

current minor State that met the Order’s 

requirement for a 3-year average peanut 

production of at least 10,000 tons. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

Chapter 35), the background form, 

which represents the information 

collection and recordkeeping 

requirements that may be imposed by 

this proposed rule, was previously 

approved under OMB control number 

0505–0001. 

Adding a producer member and 

alternate member representing the State 

of Arkansas for the Board means that 

four additional producers would be 

required to submit background forms to 

USDA in order to be considered for 

appointment to the Board. Four 

producers would be affected because 

two names must be submitted to the 

Secretary for consideration for each 

position on the Board (two members 

and two alternates). The public 

reporting burden is estimated to 

increase by an average 0.5 hours per 

response for each of the four producers. 

This additional burden would be 

included in the existing information 

collections approved for use under OMB 

control number 0505–0001. The 

estimated annual cost of providing the 

information by the four producers 

would be $66.00 or $16.50 per producer. 

However, serving on the Board is 

optional, and the burden of submitting 

the background form would be offset by 

the benefits of serving on the Board. 

As with all Federal promotion 

programs, reports and forms are 

periodically reviewed to reduce 

information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. Finally, USDA has not 

identified any relevant Federal rules 

that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 

this proposed rule. 

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 regards to outreach efforts, the 

Board discussed Arkansas peanut 

production level at its November 27–30, 

2012, meeting. The Board notified the 

major peanut-producing States (Georgia, 

Alabama, Florida, Texas, North 

Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, 

Virginia, Oklahoma, and New Mexico) 

of Arkansas production numbers by 

disseminating information through the 

Board’s weekly newsletter which is 

titled News in a Nutshell. The Board 

also sent out notification about 

Arkansas’ increased production 

numbers to the peanut industry through 

its Peanut Quarterly newsletter. In 

addition, Arkansas’s increased 

production numbers in the year 2012 to 

present date were widely published in 

trade publications. The Board met in 

April 2013 and recommended adding 

the State of Arkansas as a primary 

peanut-producing State. All of the 

Board’s meetings are open to the public 

and interested persons are invited to 

participate and express their views. 

We have performed this initial RFA 

regarding the impact of this proposed 

action on small entities and we invite 

comments concerning potential effects 

of this action on small businesses. 

While this proposed rule set forth 

below has not yet received the approval 

of USDA, it has been determined that it 

is consistent with and would effectuate 

the purposes of the 1996 Act. 

A 30-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposal. Thirty days is deemed 

appropriate so that the proposed 

amendments, if adopted, may be 

implemented for the next nomination 

process which begins early in spring 

2014. If this process is not in effect by 

spring 2014, then Arkansas would not 

have representation on the Board until 

the year 2015. All written comments 

received in response to this proposed 

rule will be considered prior to 

finalizing this action. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1216 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Advertising, Consumer 

information, Marketing agreements, 

Peanut promotion, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 1216 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 1216—PEANUT PROMOTION, 

RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION 

ORDER 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 1216 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7411–7425; 7 U.S.C. 

7401. 

■ 2. Section 1216.15 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 1216.15 Minor peanut-producing states. 

Minor peanut-producing states means 

all peanut-producing states with the 

exception of Alabama, Arkansas, 

Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New 

Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, 

South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. 

■ 3. Section 1216.21 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 1216.21 Primary peanut-producing 

states. 

Primary peanut-producing states 

means Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, 

Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, 

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South 

Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, Provided, 

these states maintain a 3-year average 

production of at least 10,000 tons of 

peanuts. 

■ 4. Section 1216.40, paragraph (a) 

introductory text and (a)(1) are revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 1216.40 Establishment and membership. 

(a) Establishment of a National 

Peanut Board. There is hereby 

established a National Peanut Board, 

hereinafter called the Board, composed 

of no more than 12 peanut producers 

and alternates, appointed by the 

Secretary from nominations as follows: 

(1) Eleven members and alternates. 

One member and one alternate shall be 

appointed from each primary peanutproducing state, who are producers and 

whose nominations have been 

submitted by certified peanut producer 

organizations within a primary peanutproducing state. 

* * * * * 

Dated: December 17, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2013–30416 Filed 12–20–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 94 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0017] 

RIN 0579–AD41 

Importation of Beef From a Region in 

Brazil 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend 

the regulations governing the 

importation of certain animals, meat, 

and other animal products by allowing, 

under certain conditions, the 

importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) 

beef from a region in Brazil (the States 

of Bahia, Distrito Federal, Espirito 

Santo, Goias, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS