9986 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 36 / Monday, February 24, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

however, this would require the 

Committee to continue collecting 

assessments and enforcing the reporting 

requirements. The Committee also 

considered requesting a producer 

continuance referendum. The 

Committee did not support either 

option, and instead recommended that 

the order be terminated. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

Chapter 35), the information collection 

requirements being terminated were 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178, Generic 

Vegetable and Specialty Crops. 

Termination of the reporting 

requirements under the marketing order 

would reduce the reporting and 

recordkeeping burden on California and 

Oregon potato handlers by 316.42 hours, 

and should further reduce industry 

expenses. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap or 

conflict with this rule. 

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/ 

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Jeffrey Smutny 

at the previously mentioned address in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

A proposed rule inviting comments 

regarding the termination of Federal 

Marketing Order 947 was published in 

the Federal Register on July 22, 2013 

(78 FR 43827). The Committee 

distributed the rule to handlers and 

producers. In addition, the rule was 

made available on the internet by the 

USDA and the Office of the Federal 

Register. The rule provided a 60-day 

comment period which ended on 

September 20, 2013. No comments were 

received. 

Based on the foregoing, and pursuant 

to section 608c(16)(A) of the Act and 

§ 947.71 of the order, it is hereby found 

that Federal Marketing Order 947 

regulating the handling of Irish potatoes 

grown in Modoc and Siskiyou Counties, 

California, and in all counties in 

Oregon, except Malheur County, does 

not tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act, and is therefore 

terminated. 

Section 8c(16)(A) of the Act requires 

USDA to notify Congress at least 60 

days before terminating a Federal 

marketing order program. Congress was 

so notified on November 12, 2013. 

USDA hereby appoints Committee 

Chairman, Jay Hoffman; Committee Vice 

Chairman Troy Betz; Jim Baggenstos, 

Mark Campbell, John Cross, Todd 

Dimbat, Scott Fenters, Tad Kloepper, 

Michael Macy, Frank Prosser, Sidney 

Staunton, Dan Walchli, and Roy Wright 

as trustees to conclude and liquidate the 

affairs of the Committee, and to 

continue in such capacity until 

discharged. 

It is further found that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register (5 

U.S.C. 553) because: (1) This action 

relieves restrictions on handlers by 

terminating the requirements of the Irish 

potato order; (2) handling, reporting, 

and assessment collection regulations 

under the order have been suspended 

since 1999; (3) the Committee 

recommended termination, and all 

handlers and producers in the industry 

have been notified and provided an 

opportunity to comment; and (4) no 

useful purpose would be served by 

delaying the effective date. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 947 

Marketing agreements, Potatoes, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

PART 947—[REMOVED] 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, and under authority of 7 

U.S.C. 601–674, 7 CFR part 947 is 

removed. 

Dated: February 18, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–03900 Filed 2–21–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 948 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0072; FV13–948–2 

FIR] 

Irish Potatoes Grown in Colorado; 

Decreased Assessment Rate for Area 

No. 2 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

rule that decreased the assessment rate 

established for the Colorado Potato 

Administrative Committee, Area No. 2 

(Committee) for the 2013–2014 and 

subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0051 

to $0.0033 per hundredweight of 

potatoes handled. The Committee 

locally administers the marketing order 

for Irish potatoes grown in Colorado. 

The interim rule was necessary to allow 

the Committee to reduce its financial 

reserve while still providing adequate 

funding to meet program expenses. 

DATES: Effective February 25, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue 

Coleman or Gary D. Olson, Northwest 

Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order 

and Agreement Division, Fruit and 

Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA; 

Telephone: (503) 326–2724, Fax: (503) 

326–7440, or Email: Sue.Coleman@

ams.usda.gov or GaryD.Olson@

ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may obtain 

information on complying with this and 

other marketing order regulations by 

viewing a guide at the following Web 

site: http://www.ams.usda.gov/

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide; 

or by contacting Jeffrey Smutny, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email: 

Jeffrey.Smutny@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

No. 97 and Marketing Order No. 948, 

both as amended (7 CFR part 948), 

regulating the handling of Irish potatoes 

grown in Colorado, hereinafter referred 

to as the ‘‘order.’’ The order is effective 

under the Agricultural Marketing 

Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 

U.S.C. 601–674), hereinafter referred to 

as the ‘‘Act.’’ 

The Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866 and Executive Order 13563. 

Under the order, Colorado Area No. 2 

potato handlers are subject to 

assessments, which provide funds to 

administer the order. Assessment rates 

issued under the order are intended to 

be applicable to all assessable Colorado 

Area No. 2 potatoes for the entire fiscal 

period and continue indefinitely until 

amended, suspended, or terminated. 

The Committee’s fiscal period begins on 

September 1 and ends on August 31. 

In an interim rule published in the 

Federal Register on November 22, 2013, 

and effective on November 23, 2013 (78 

FR 69985, Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0072, 

FV13–948–2 IR), § 948.216 was 

amended by decreasing the assessment 

rate established for Colorado Area No. 2 

potatoes for the 2013–2014 and 

subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0051 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 36 / Monday, February 24, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 9987 

to $0.0033 per hundredweight. The 

decrease in the per hundredweight 

assessment rate allows the Committee to 

reduce its financial reserve while still 

providing adequate funding to meet 

program expenses. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) has 

considered the economic impact of this 

rule 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 

businesses subject to such actions in 

order that small businesses will not be 

unduly or disproportionately burdened. 

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the 

Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. 

There are 80 handlers of Colorado 

Area No. 2 potatoes subject to regulation 

under the order and approximately 180 

producers in the regulated production 

area. Small agricultural service firms are 

defined by the Small Business 

Administration (13 CFR 121.201) as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$7,000,000, and small agricultural 

producers are defined as those having 

annual receipts of less than $750,000. 

During the 2011–2012 fiscal period, 

the most recent for which statistics are 

available, 15,072,963 hundredweight of 

Colorado Area No. 2 potatoes were 

inspected under the order and sold into 

the fresh market. Based on an estimated 

average f.o.b. price of $12.60 per 

hundredweight, the Committee 

estimates that 66 Area No. 2 handlers, 

or about 83 percent, had annual receipts 

of less than $7,000,000. In view of the 

foregoing, the majority of Colorado Area 

No. 2 potato handlers may be classified 

as small entities. 

In addition, based on information 

provided by the National Agricultural 

Statistics Service, the average producer 

price for the 2011 Colorado fall potato 

crop was $10.70 per hundredweight. 

Multiplying $10.70 by the shipment 

quantity of 15,072,963 hundredweight 

yields an annual crop revenue estimate 

of $161,280,704. The average annual 

fresh potato revenue for each of the 180 

Colorado Area No. 2 potato producers is 

therefore calculated to be approximately 

$896,000 ($161,280,704 divided by 180), 

which is greater than the SBA threshold 

of $750,000. Consequently, on average, 

many of the Colorado Area No. 2 potato 

producers may not be classified as small 

entities. 

This rule continues in effect the 

action that decreased the assessment 

rate established for the Committee and 

collected from handlers for the 2013– 

2014 and subsequent fiscal periods from 

$0.0051 to $0.0033 per hundredweight 

of potatoes. The Committee 

unanimously recommended 2013–2014 

expenditures of $55,745 and an 

assessment rate of $0.0033. The 

assessment rate of $0.0033 is $0.0018 

lower than the 2012–2013 rate. The 

quantity of assessable potatoes for the 

2013–2014 fiscal period is estimated at 

14,360,000. Thus, the $0.0033 rate 

should provide $47,388 in assessment 

income. Income derived from handler 

assessments and funds from the 

Committee’s authorized reserve will be 

adequate to cover budgeted expenses. 

This rule continues in effect the 

action that decreased the assessment 

obligation imposed on handlers. 

Assessments are applied uniformly on 

all handlers, and some of the costs may 

be passed on to producers. However, 

decreasing the assessment rate reduces 

the burden on handlers, and may reduce 

the burden on producers. 

In addition, the Committee’s meeting 

was widely publicized throughout the 

Colorado Area No. 2 potato industry and 

all interested persons were invited to 

attend the meeting and participate in 

Committee deliberations on all issues. 

Like all Committee meetings, the July 

18, 2013, meeting was a public meeting 

and all entities, both large and small, 

were able to express views on this issue. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

Chapter 35), the order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178, Generic 

Vegetable and Specialty Crops. No 

changes in those requirements as a 

result of this action are anticipated. 

Should any changes become necessary, 

they would be submitted to OMB for 

approval. 

This action imposes no additional 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

on either small or large Colorado Area 

No. 2 potato handlers. As with all 

Federal marketing order programs, 

reports and forms are periodically 

reviewed to reduce information 

requirements and duplication by 

industry and public sector agencies. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap or 

conflict with this rule. 

Comments on the interim rule were 

required to be received on or before 

January 21, 2014. No comments were 

received. Therefore, for reasons given in 

the interim rule, we are adopting the 

interim rule as a final rule, without 

change. 

To view the interim rule, go to: http://

www.regulations.gov/

#!documentDetail;D=AMS-FV-13-0072- 

0001. 

This action also affirms information 

contained in the interim rule concerning 

Executive Orders 12866, 12988, and 

13563; the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35); and the E-Gov Act 

(44 U.S.C. 101). 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, it is found that 

finalizing the interim rule, without 

change, as published in the Federal 

Register (78 FR 69985, November 22, 

2013) will tend to effectuate the 

declared policy of the Act. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 948 

Marketing agreements, Potatoes, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

PART 948—IRISH POTATOES GROWN 

IN COLORADO 

■ Accordingly, the interim rule 

amending 7 CFR part 948, which was 

published at 78 FR 69985 on November 

22, 2013, is adopted as a final rule, 

without change. 

Dated: February 18, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–03848 Filed 2–21–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 966 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0076; FV13–966–1 

FR] 

Tomatoes Grown in Florida; Increased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule increases the 

assessment rate established for the 

Florida Tomato Committee (Committee) 

for the 2013–14 and subsequent fiscal 

periods from $0.024 to $0.0375 per 25- 

pound carton of tomatoes handled. The 

Committee locally administers the 

Federal marketing order, which 

regulates the handling of tomatoes 

grown in Florida. Assessments upon 

Florida tomato handlers are used by the 


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