This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

46961 

Vol. 79, No. 155 

Tuesday, August 12, 2014 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1260 

[No. AMS–LPS–13–0079] 

Beef Promotion and Research; 

Reapportionment 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule adjusts 

representation on the Cattlemen’s Beef 

Promotion and Research Board (Board), 

established under the Beef Promotion 

and Research Act of 1985 (Act), to 

reflect changes in cattle inventories as 

well as cattle and beef imports that have 

occurred since the most recent Board 

reapportionment rule became effective 

in July 2011. These adjustments are 

required by the Beef Promotion and 

Research Order (Order) and result in a 

decrease in Board membership from 103 

to 100, effective with the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 

appointments for terms beginning early 

in the year 2015. The rule also makes 

technical amendments to update and 

correct information in the Order and 

regulations. 

DATES: Effective August 13, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Angie Snyder, Research and Promotion 

Division, on 202–720–5705, fax 202– 

720–1125, or by email at angie.snyder@

ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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 § 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has waived the review process. 

Executive Order 12988 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. It is not intended to have 

retroactive effect. 

Section 11 of the Act provides that 

nothing in the Act may be construed to 

preempt or supersede any other program 

relating to beef promotion organized 

and operated under the laws of the 

United States or any State. There are no 

administrative proceedings that must be 

exhausted prior to any judicial 

challenge to the provisions of this rule. 

Executive Order 13175 

This rule has been reviewed in 

accordance with the requirements of 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments. The review reveals that 

this rule would not have substantial and 

direct effects on Tribal Governments 

and would not have significant tribal 

implications. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act and 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Pursuant to the requirements set forth 

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

(5 U.S.C. 601–612), the Administrator of 

the Agricultural Marketing Service 

(AMS) has considered the economic 

effect of this action on small entities and 

has determined that this rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The purpose of RFA is to fit regulatory 

actions to the scale of businesses subject 

to such actions in order that small 

businesses will not be unduly burdened. 

In the February 2013 publication of 

‘‘Farms, Land in Farms, and Livestock 

Operations,’’ USDA’s National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 

estimates that the number of operations 

in the United States with cattle in 2012 

totaled approximately 915,000, down 

from 950,000 in 2009. The majority of 

these operations that are subject to the 

Order may be classified as small 

entities. There are approximately 25 

importers who import beef or edible 

beef products into the United States and 

297 importers who import live cattle 

into the United States. It is estimated 

that the majority of these operations 

subject to the Order are considered 

small businesses under the criteria 

established by the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) [13 CFR 121.201]. 

SBA defines small agricultural service 

firms as those having annual receipts of 

$7.0 million or less, and small 

agricultural producers are defined as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$750,000. 

The rule imposes no new burden on 

the industry. It only adjusts 

representation on the Board to reflect 

changes in domestic cattle inventory, as 

well as changes in cattle and beef 

imports. The adjustments are required 

by the Order and result in a decrease in 

Board membership from 103 to 100. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

Chapter 35), the information collection 

and recordkeeping requirements 

imposed under part 1260 were 

previously approved under OMB 

control number 0581–0093. 

Background 

The Board was initially appointed 

August 4, 1986, pursuant to the 

provisions of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2901– 

2911) and the Order issued thereunder. 

Domestic representation on the Board is 

based on cattle inventory numbers, and 

importer representation is based on the 

conversion of the volume of imported 

cattle, beef, or beef products into live 

animal equivalencies. 

Reapportionment 

Section 1260.141(b) of the Order 

provides that the Board shall be 

composed of cattle producers and 

importers appointed by the Secretary of 

Agriculture from nominations submitted 

by certified producer and importer 

organizations. A producer may only be 

nominated to represent the State or unit 

in which that producer is a resident. 

Section 1260.141(c) of the Order 

provides that at least every 3 years and 

not more than every 2 years, the Board 

shall review the geographic distribution 

of cattle inventories throughout the 

United States and the volume of 

imported cattle, beef, and beef products 


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46962 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 155 / Tuesday, August 12, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

and, if warranted, shall reapportion 

units and/or modify the number of 

Board members from units in order to 

reflect the geographic distribution of 

cattle production volume in the United 

States and the volume of cattle, beef, or 

beef products imported into the United 

States. 

Section 1260.141(d) of the Order 

authorizes the Board to recommend to 

USDA modifications to the number of 

cattle per unit necessary for 

representation on the Board. 

Section 1260.141(e)(1) provides that 

each geographic unit or State that 

includes a total cattle inventory equal to 

or greater than 500,000 head of cattle 

shall be entitled to one representative 

on the Board. Section 1260.141(e)(2) 

provides that States that do not have 

total cattle inventories equal to or 

greater than 500,000 head shall be 

grouped, to the extent practicable, into 

geographically-contiguous units, each of 

which have a combined total inventory 

of not less than 500,000 head. Such 

grouped units are entitled to at least one 

representative on the Board. Each unit 

that has an additional 1 million head of 

cattle within a unit qualifies for 

additional representation on the Board 

as provided in § 1260.141(e)(4). As 

provided in § 1260.141(e)(3), importers 

are represented by a single unit, with 

the number of Board members based on 

a conversion of the total volume of 

imported cattle, beef, or beef products 

into live animal equivalencies. 

The initial Board appointed in 1986 

was composed of 113 members. 

Reapportionment, based on a 3-year 

average of cattle inventory numbers and 

import data, reduced the Board to 111 

members in 1990 and 107 members in 

1993 before the Board was increased to 

111 members in 1996. The Board was 

decreased to 110 members in 1999, 108 

members in 2001, and 104 members in 

2005; increased to 106 members in 

2009; and decreased to 103 members in 

2011. This proposal amends 

§ 1260.141(a) by decreasing the number 

of Board members from 103 to 100 with 

appointments for terms effective early in 

2015. 

The current Board representation by 

States or units was based on an average 

of the January 1, 2008, 2009, and 2010 

inventory of cattle in the various States 

as reported by NASS. Current importer 

representation was based on a combined 

total average of the 2007, 2008, and 

2009 live cattle imports as published by 

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service 

and the average of the 2007, 2008, and 

2009 live animal equivalents for 

imported beef products. 

In considering reapportionment, the 

Board reviewed cattle inventories for 

the period of January 1, 2011, 2012, and 

2013 as well as cattle, beef, and beef 

product import data for the period of 

January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2012. 

The Board recommended that a 3-year 

average of cattle inventories and import 

numbers should be continued. The 

Board determined that an average of the 

January 1, 2011, 2012, and 2013 cattle 

inventory numbers would best reflect 

the number of cattle in each State or 

unit since publication of the last 

reapportionment rule published in 2011 

(76 FR 42012). The Board reviewed data 

published by USDA’s Economic 

Research Service to determine proper 

importer representation. The Board 

recommended the use of a combined 

total of the average of the 2010, 2011, 

and 2012 cattle import data and the 

average of the 2010, 2011, and 2012 live 

animal equivalents for imported beef 

products. The method used to calculate 

the total number of live animal 

equivalents was the same as that used 

in the previous reapportionment of the 

Board. The live animal equivalent 

weight was changed in 2006 from 509 

pounds to 592 pounds (71 FR 47074). 

As discussed in the proposed rule, the 

Board’s recommended reapportionment 

plan would have decreased the number 

of representatives on the Board from 103 

to 99. Based on the Board’s 

recommendation, New Mexico would 

lose one Board seat and Texas would 

lose two Board seats. The Importer Unit 

loses one Board seat. This final rule, 

however, results in Texas losing one 

Board seat. 

The States and units affected by the 

reapportionment plan and the current 

and revised representation per unit are 

as follows: 

State/unit Current representation 

Revised 

representation 

New Mexico ...... 2 1 

Texas ................ 14 13 

Importers ........... 7 6 

The Board reapportionment takes 

effect with appointments that will be 

made to fill positions beginning January 

1, 2015. 

Technical Amendments 

A number of technical amendments 

are being made to update or correct 

information contained in the provisions 

of the Order and regulations. These 

include: 

Section 1260.129 references the U.S. 

Customs Service of the U.S. Department 

of the Treasury. The language has been 

amended to reflect the updated agency 

and department. 

Section 1260.312(4)(c) has been 

amended to update an outdated address. 

Section 1260.316 has been amended 

to reflect the correct OMB paperwork 

reduction number. 

Comments 

USDA published the proposed rule 

for public comment in the March 25, 

2014, Federal Register [79 FR 16236]. 

The comment period ended April 24, 

2014. USDA received two comments by 

the deadline. One comment from an 

individual was outside the scope of the 

rulemaking. 

Another comment, submitted jointly 

by eight Texas cattle, dairy, and farm 

associations, was against Texas losing 

two member positions because the 3- 

year average reflects a loss of cattle 

numbers due to a severe drought. With 

many regions of the State beginning to 

return to more normal precipitation and 

pasture conditions, the commenters 

argued, plus record cattle prices 

encouraging heifer retention and herd 

rebuilding, cattle numbers in Texas will 

increase in the next 1 or 2 years. 

In response, USDA agrees that the 

drought and other factors affected cattle 

inventory across the country but in 

Texas in particular. In addition, based 

upon available information USDA has 

concluded that Texas cattle herds will 

increase due to beneficial 

environmental and economic 

conditions. In addition, reports indicate 

that cattle will be moving into Texas 

from other States. Therefore, by the time 

the Board is seated in February 2015 

when this reapportionment would 

actually take effect, cattle numbers in 

Texas should increase to a level to 

warrant the loss of only one Board 

member position in Texas rather than 

two as proposed. As a result, USDA is 

decreasing the number of Board 

members in Texas to 13 rather than 12, 

as proposed. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is found 

that good cause exists for not 

postponing the effective date of this 

action until 30 days after the 

publication in the Federal Register 

because this action needs to be in effect 

as soon as possible to allow sufficient 

time for completion of the nomination 

process and appointments for the term 

of office beginning February 2015. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1260 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Advertising, Agricultural 

research, Imports, Marketing agreement, 

Meat and meat products, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

For reasons set forth in the preamble, 

7 CFR part 1260 is amended as follows: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 155 / Tuesday, August 12, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 46963 

PART 1260—BEEF PROMOTION AND 

RESEARCH 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 1260 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2901–2911 and 7 

U.S.C. 7401. 

■ 2. Revise § 1260.129 to read as 

follows: 

§ 1260.129 Customs Service. 

Customs Service means the United 

States Customs and Border Protection of 

the United States Department of 

Homeland Security. 

■ 3. In § 1260.141, paragraph (a) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 1260.141 Membership of Board. 

(a) Beginning with the 2014 Board 

nominations and the associated 

appointments effective early in the year 

2015, the United States shall be divided 

into 37 geographical units and, 1 unit 

representing importers, for a total of 38 

units. The number of Board members 

from each unit shall be as follows: 

CATTLE AND CALVES 1

State/Unit (1,000 head) Directors 

1. Arizona ................................................................................................................................................................. 897 1 

2. Arkansas .............................................................................................................................................................. 1,663 2 

3. Colorado .............................................................................................................................................................. 2,667 3 

4. Florida .................................................................................................................................................................. 1,667 2 

5. Idaho .................................................................................................................................................................... 2,270 2 

6. Illinois ................................................................................................................................................................... 1,097 1 

7. Indiana ................................................................................................................................................................. 840 1 

8. Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,883 4 

9. Kansas ................................................................................................................................................................. 6,083 6 

10. Kentucky ............................................................................................................................................................ 2,193 2 

11. Louisiana ........................................................................................................................................................... 787 1 

12. Michigan ............................................................................................................................................................ 1,107 1 

13. Minnesota .......................................................................................................................................................... 2,377 2 

14. Mississippi ......................................................................................................................................................... 920 1 

15. Missouri ............................................................................................................................................................. 3,833 4 

16. Montana ............................................................................................................................................................. 2,533 3 

17. Nebraska ........................................................................................................................................................... 6,317 6 

18. New Mexico ....................................................................................................................................................... 1,423 1 

19. New York ........................................................................................................................................................... 1,403 1 

20. North Carolina ................................................................................................................................................... 810 1 

21. North Dakota ..................................................................................................................................................... 1,727 2 

22. Ohio ................................................................................................................................................................... 1,247 1 

23. Oklahoma .......................................................................................................................................................... 4,600 5 

24. Oregon ............................................................................................................................................................... 1,303 1 

25. Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................... 1,610 2 

26. South Dakota ..................................................................................................................................................... 3,733 4 

27. Tennessee ......................................................................................................................................................... 1,930 2 

28. Texas ................................................................................................................................................................. 12,167 13 

29. Utah ................................................................................................................................................................... 790 1 

30. Virginia ............................................................................................................................................................... 1,547 2 

31. Wisconsin .......................................................................................................................................................... 3,433 3 

32. Wyoming ............................................................................................................................................................ 1,317 1 

33. Northwest ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 

Alaska ............................................................................................................................................................... 13 

Hawaii ............................................................................................................................................................... 138 

Washington ....................................................................................................................................................... 1,117 

Total ........................................................................................................................................................... 1,267 

34. Northeast ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 

Connecticut ....................................................................................................................................................... 49 

Delaware ........................................................................................................................................................... 18 

Maine ................................................................................................................................................................ 87 

Massachusetts .................................................................................................................................................. 40 

New Hampshire ................................................................................................................................................ 34 

New Jersey ....................................................................................................................................................... 31 

Rhode Island .................................................................................................................................................... 5 

Vermont ............................................................................................................................................................ 267 

Total ........................................................................................................................................................... 531 

35. Mid-Atlantic ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 

Maryland ........................................................................................................................................................... 196 

West Virginia .................................................................................................................................................... 390 

Total ........................................................................................................................................................... 586 

36. Southeast ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 

Alabama ............................................................................................................................................................ 1,220 

Georgia ............................................................................................................................................................. 1,023 

South Carolina .................................................................................................................................................. 370 

Total ........................................................................................................................................................... 2,613 

37. Southwest .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 

California ........................................................................................................................................................... 5,283 

Nevada ............................................................................................................................................................. 463 

Total ........................................................................................................................................................... 5,747 


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46964 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 155 / Tuesday, August 12, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

CATTLE AND CALVES 1—Continued 

State/Unit (1,000 head) Directors 

38. Importer 2 ........................................................................................................................................................... 5,927 6 

1 2011, 2012, and 2013 average of January 1 cattle inventory data. 

2 2010, 2011, and 2012 average of annual import data. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 1260.312, paragraph (c) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 1260.312 Remittance to the Cattlemen’s 

Board or Qualified State Beef Council. 

* * * * * 

(c) Remittances. The remitting person 

shall remit all assessments to the 

qualified State beef council or its 

designee, or if there is no qualified State 

beef council, to the Cattlemen’s Board at 

P.O. Box 803834, Kansas City, MO 

64180–3834, with the report required in 

paragraph (a) of this section not later 

than the 15th day of the following 

month. All remittances sent to a 

qualified State beef council or the 

Cattlemen’s Board by the remitting 

persons shall be by check or money 

order payable to the order of the 

qualified State beef council or the 

Cattlemen’s Board. All remittances shall 

be received subject to collection and 

payment at par. 

■ 5. Section 1260.316 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 1260.316 Paperwork Reduction Act 

assigned number. 

The information collection and 

recordkeeping requirements contained 

in this part have been approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under the provisions of 44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35 and have been assigned 

OMB control number 0581–0093. 

Dated: August 7, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–19029 Filed 8–11–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 13 

[Docket No.: FAA–2014–0505; Amdt. No. 

13–36] 

RIN 2120–AK43 

Orders of Compliance, Cease and 

Desist Orders, Orders of Denial, and 

Other Orders 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Immediate final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rulemaking provides the 

opportunity for an informal conference 

with an FAA attorney before an order is 

issued under the FAA’s regulation 

covering orders other than certificate 

action and civil penalty orders. This 

change is necessary to provide 

additional fairness and process to those 

persons who are subject to such an 

order, and is consistent with the process 

available in other enforcement actions. 

These conferences may result in either 

a resolution of the matter or a narrowing 

of the issues, thereby conserving 

resources for respondents and the FAA. 

DATES: Effective October 14, 2014. 

Submit comments on or before 

September 11, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number, FAA–2014–0505 

using any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments to Docket 

Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W12–140, West 

Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take 

comments to Docket Operations in 

Room W12–140 of the West Building 

Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: Fax comments to Docket 

Operations at 202–493–2251. 

Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 

553(c), DOT solicits comments from the 

public to better inform its rulemaking 

process. DOT posts these comments, 

without edit, including any personal 

information the commenter provides, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice (DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 

www.dot.gov/privacy. 

Docket: Background documents or 

comments received may be read at 

http://www.regulations.gov at any time. 

Follow the online instructions for 

accessing the docket or Docket 

Operations in Room W12–140 of the 

West Building Ground Floor at 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

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

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical or legal questions concerning 

this action, contact Edmund Averman, 

Office of the Chief Counsel (AGC–210), 

Federal Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 

267–3147; email Ed.Averman@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Good Cause for Immediate Adoption 

Section 553(b)(3)(A) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 

U.S.C. 553) authorizes agencies to 

dispense with notice and comment 

procedures for rules when the agency 

for ‘‘good cause’’ finds that those 

procedures are ‘‘impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest.’’ Under this section, an agency, 

upon finding good cause, may issue a 

final rule without seeking comment 

prior to the rulemaking. 

The FAA finds that notice and public 

comment to this immediately adopted 

final rule are impracticable, 

unnecessary, and contrary to the public 

interest. This rulemaking provides the 

opportunity for an informal conference 

with an FAA attorney before an order is 

issued under § 13.20. Since this change 

provides additional fairness and process 

to those persons who are subject to such 

an order, this amendment should not 

adversely impact those covered by an 

order. In fact, these conferences may 

result in a resolution of the matter or, in 

some cases, a narrowing of the issues, 

thereby conserving resources for 

respondents and the FAA. Finally, these 

conferences are optional. 


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