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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 222 (Monday, November 18, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 90569-90572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-26787]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1220

[Doc. No. AMS-LP-23-0079]

Soybean Promotion and Research: Adjustments to Representation on 
the United Soybean Board

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule adjusts the number of members on the United 
Soybean Board (Board) to reflect changes in production levels that have 
occurred since the Board was last reapportioned in 2021. As required by 
the Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act (Act), 
membership on the Board is reviewed every 3-years and adjustments are 
made accordingly. These adjustments decrease Board membership for the 
State of North Dakota from four members to three members and increase 
Board membership for the State of New York from one member to two 
members, thus the total number of Board members will remain at 77. 
These changes will be reflected in the Soybean Promotion and Research 
Order (Order) and become effective with the Secretary of Agriculture's 
(Secretary) appointments for terms in 2025.

DATES: This final rule is effective as of December 18, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Julian, Research and Promotion 
Division, at (202) 731-2149; or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 90570]]

Executive Orders 12866, 13563 and 14094

    USDA issues this final rule in conformance with Executive Orders 
(E.O.) 12866, 13563, and 14094. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563, and 
14094 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). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the importance of 
quantifying both costs and benefits, reducing costs, harmonizing rules, 
and promoting flexibility. E.O. 14094 reaffirms, supplements, and 
updates E.O. 12866 and further directs agencies to ask for and consider 
input from a wide range of affected and interested parties through a 
variety of means. This final rule is not a significant regulatory 
action within the meaning of E.O. 12866. So, this action has not been 
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Executive Order 13175

    This action has been reviewed per the requirements of E.O. 13175, 
Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, which 
requires agencies to consider whether their rulemaking actions would 
have Tribal implications. The review revealed that this regulation 
would not have substantial and direct efforts on Tribal governments or 
significant Tribal implications.

Executive Order 12988

    This final rule was reviewed under E.O. 12988, Civil Justice 
Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.
    The Act (7 U.S.C. 6309) provides that nothing in the Act may be 
construed to preempt or supersede any other program relating to soybean 
promotion organized and operated under the laws of the U.S. or any 
State. There are no administrative proceedings that must be exhausted 
prior to any judicial challenge to the provisions of this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with OMB regulations (5 CFR part 1320) that implement 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. part 35), the 
information collection and recordkeeping requirements contained in the 
Order and accompanying Rules and Regulations have previously been 
approved by OMB and were assigned OMB control number 0581-0093.

Background

    The Board was initially appointed on July 11, 1991, per the 
provisions of the Act (7 U.S.C. 6301-6311), and the Order (7 CFR part 
1220) issued thereunder. The Order set up an initial Board with sixty 
members, composed of soybean producers. For purposes of setting up the 
Board, the United States was divided into 31 States and geographical 
units. Representation on the Board from each unit was determined by the 
level of production in each unit.

Reapportionment

    Section 1220.201(c) of the Order provides that at the end of each 
3-year period, the Board shall review soybean production levels in the 
geographic units throughout the United States. Section 1220.130 of the 
Order defines a unit as each State, or group of States, which is 
represented on the Board. The Board may recommend to the Secretary that 
Board membership for each unit be changed to reflect current production 
levels.
    Section 1220.201(d) of the Order provides that at the end of each 
3-year period, the Secretary must review the volume of production of 
each unit and adjust the boundaries of any unit and the number of Board 
members from each such unit as necessary to conform with the criteria 
set forth in Sec.  1220.201(e): (1) To the extent practicable, States 
with annual average soybean production of less than 3 million bushels 
shall be grouped into geographically contiguous units, each of which 
has a combined production level equal to or greater than 3 million 
bushels, and each such group shall be entitled to at least 1 member on 
the Board; (2) units with at least 3 million bushels, but fewer than 15 
million bushels shall be entitled to 1 board member; (3) units with 15 
million bushels or more but fewer than 70 million bushels shall be 
entitled to 2 Board members; (4) units with 70 million bushels or more 
but fewer than 200 million bushels shall be entitled to 3 Board 
members; and (5) units with 200 million bushels or more shall be 
entitled to 4 Board members.
    The Board was last reapportioned in 2021. The total Board 
membership decreased from 78 to 77 members, with Alabama decreasing one 
member. The final rule was published in the Federal Register (86 FR 
61668) on November 8, 2021, and became effective with the 2022 
appointments.
    This final rule keeps total membership of the Board at 77 members. 
Production data was used for years 2018-2022 (excluding the crops in 
years in which production was the highest and in which production was 
the lowest in each State) was reported by USDA's National Agricultural 
Statistics Service (NASS). This change does not affect the number of 
geographical units.
    This final rule adjusts representation on the Board as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Previous           Current
                State                  representation    representation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York............................                 1                 2
North Dakota........................                 4                 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Board adjustments by this final rule will become effective with the 
2025 appointment process.

Summary of Comments

    A proposed rule was published in the Federal Register (89 FR 51277) 
on June 17, 2024, with a 30-day comment period. USDA received three 
comments. One comment communicated displeasure for North Dakota's 
decreased number from four seats to three seats. Upon reviewing the 
requirements of the Act and Order, USDA determined that leaving the 
North Dakota seats at four would not be consistent with the Act and 
Order, which requires that at the end of each 3-year period, the 
Secretary review the volume of production of each unit and adjust the 
boundaries of any unit and the number of Board members from each such 
unit as necessary to conform with the formula to determine the number 
of directors for each unit set forth in Sec.  1220.201(e) of the Order. 
This was done by calculating production data for years 2018-2022 
(excluding the crops in years in which production was the highest and 
in which production was the lowest in each State) as reported by USDA's 
NASS, resulting in a 3-year average for North Dakota that fell below 
the required number of bushels to retain four seats under Sec.  
1220.201(e)(5) of the Order. Accordingly, no change is made in response 
to this comment.
    One comment was in favor of the seat adjustments for North Dakota 
and New York.
    One comment was not germane to the proposed rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), the Agricultural Marketing 
Service (AMS) considered the economic effect of this action on small 
entities and determined that this final rule would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the

[[Page 90571]]

scale of businesses subject to such actions in order that small 
businesses will not be unduly burdened.
    Effective August 19, 2019, the Small Business Administration (SBA) 
(13 CFR 121.201) published an interim final rule (84 FR 34261) that 
adjusts the monetary-based size standards for inflation. As a result of 
this rule, the size classification for soybean producers changed from 
sales of $750,000 or less to sales of $1,000,000 or less. There are an 
estimated 413,358 soybean producers and an estimated 10,000 first 
purchasers who collect the assessment, most who would be considered 
small businesses under the criteria set up by SBA.
    According to USDA's NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture, the number of 
operations in the United States with soybean production totaled 
270,851.\1\ The most recent (2022) Census of Agriculture data show that 
roughly 19 percent of producers with soybean production, or 52,756 
operations, have annual receipts of $1,000,000 or more.\2\ Therefore, 
most soybean producers, 81 percent, are considered small businesses 
with the new SBA guidance. It should be noted that producers are only 
indirectly affected by this final rule.
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    \1\ https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/index.php.
    \2\ https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/results/F0860BE3-0E1F-33B4-8571-74E2B061CBED.
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    This final rule imposes no new burden on the industry, as it only 
adjusts representation on the Board to reflect changes in soybean 
production. The adjustments are required by the Order and do not result 
in a change to Board membership, which will remain at 77 members.
    AMS is committed to following e-Government Act of 2002 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.
    USDA has not found any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, 
overlap, or conflict with this rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1220

    Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Agricultural 
research, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Soybeans.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Agricultural 
Marketing Service amends 7 CFR part 1220 as follows:

PART 1220--SOYBEAN PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND CONSUMER INFORMATION

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1220 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 6301-6311 and 7 U.S.C. 7401.

0
2. Amend Sec.  1220.201 by revising paragraph (a) to read as follows:

Sec.  1220.201   Membership of Board.

    (a) For the purposes of nominating and appointing producers to the 
Board, the United States shall be divided into thirty-one geographic 
units and the number of Board members from each unit, subject to 
paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section shall be as follows:

                        Table 1 to Paragraph (a)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Number of
                       State/unit                             members
------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Dakota............................................               4
Ohio....................................................               4
Nebraska................................................               4
Missouri................................................               4
Minnesota...............................................               4
Iowa....................................................               4
Indiana.................................................               4
Illinois................................................               4
North Dakota............................................               3
Wisconsin...............................................               3
Tennessee...............................................               3
Mississippi.............................................               3
Michigan................................................               3
Kentucky................................................               3
Kansas..................................................               3
Arkansas................................................               3
Virginia................................................               2
Pennsylvania............................................               2
North Carolina..........................................               2
Maryland................................................               2
Louisiana...............................................               2
New York................................................               2
Alabama.................................................               1
Texas...................................................               1
South Carolina..........................................               1
Oklahoma................................................               1
New Jersey..............................................               1
Georgia.................................................               1
Delaware................................................               1
Unit:
    Eastern Region (Connecticut, Florida, Maine,                       1
     Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
     Vermont, West Virginia, District of Columbia, and
     Puerto Rico).......................................
    Western Region (Alaska, Arizona, California,                       1
     Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New
     Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming).....
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 90572]]

* * * * *

Melissa Bailey,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-26787 Filed 11-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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