Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 169 / Thursday, August 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 52597 

cranberry marketing order. Any 

comments received will be considered 

prior to finalization of this rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is found that this 

interim rule, as hereinafter set forth, 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

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

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect and that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) The handler reporting cycle 

for the current fiscal period has already 

begun; (2) the Committee would like 

this action in place prior to the start of 

the third reporting period which begins 

May 1; (3) the Committee unanimously 

recommended these changes at a public 

meeting and interested parties had an 

opportunity to provide input; and (4) 

this rule provides a 60-day comment 

period and any comments received will 

be considered prior to finalization of 

this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 929 

Cranberries, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 929 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 929—CRANBERRIES GROWN IN 

THE STATES OF MASSACHUSETTS, 

RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW 

JERSEY, WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN, 

MINNESOTA, OREGON, 

WASHINGTON, AND LONG ISLAND IN 

THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 929 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Amend § 929.105 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 929.105 Reporting. 

* * * * * 

(b) Certified reports shall be filed with 

the committee, on a form provided by 

the committee, by each handler not later 

than January 20, May 20, and July 20 of 

each fiscal period and by September 20 

of the succeeding fiscal period showing: 

(1) The total quantity of cranberries 

the handler acquired and the total 

quantity of cranberries and Vaccinium 

oxycoccus cranberries the handler 

handled from the beginning of the 

reporting period indicated through 

December 31, April 30, June 30, and 

August 31, respectively, and 

(2) The respective quantities of 

cranberries and Vaccinium oxycoccus 

cranberries and cranberry products and 

Vaccinium oxycoccus cranberry 

products held by the handler on January 

1, May 1, June 30, and August 31 of 

each fiscal period. 

Dated: August 22, 2012. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–21372 Filed 8–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1260 

[Doc. No. AMS–LS–11–0086] 

Beef Promotion and Research; 

Amendment to the Order 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule expands the 

contracting authority of the Beef 

Promotion and Research Order (Order). 

The Beef Research and Information Act 

(Act) requires that the Beef Promotion 

Operating Committee (BPOC) enter into 

contracts with established national nonprofit industry-governed organizations 

including the Federation of State Beef 

Councils to implement programs of 

promotion, research, consumer 

information, and industry information. 

The Act does not define ‘‘national nonprofit industry governed organization,’’ 

however, the Order states that these 

organizations must be governed by a 

board of directors representing the cattle 

or beef industry on a national basis and 

that they were active and ongoing prior 

to enactment of the Act. This final rule 

changes the date requirement in the 

Order so that organizations otherwise 

qualified could be eligible to contract 

with the BPOC for the implementation 

and conduct of Beef Checkoff programs 

if they have been active and ongoing for 

at least two years. 

DATES: Effective August 31, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Craig Shackelford, Agricultural 

Marketing Specialist, Marketing 

Programs Division, on 202/720–1115, 

fax 202/720–1125, or by email at 

craig.shackelford@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has waived the review process required 

by Executive Order 12866 for this 

action. 

Executive Order 12988 

This final rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. It is not intended to 

have a 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. 

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 final 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 2011 publication of 

‘‘Farms, Land in Farms, and Livestock 

Operations,’’ the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture’s (USDA) National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 

estimates that in 2010 the number of 

operations in the United States with 

cattle totaled approximately 935,000. 

The majority of these operations that are 

subject to the Order may be classified as 

small entities. 

The final rule imposes no new burden 

on the industry. It merely expands the 

contracting authority as established 

under section 1260.168(b) within the 

Order to permit a greater number of 

organizations to perform work on behalf 

of the BPOC. 

Background and Final Action 

The Order is authorized by the Act of 

1985 [7 U.S.C. 2901–2918]. The Act was 

passed as part of the 1985 Farm Bill 

[Pub. L. 99–198]. The program became 

effective on July 18, 1986, when the 

Order was issued [51 FR 26132]. 

Assessments began on October 1, 1986. 

Section 5(6) of the Act provides that 

the BPOC, to insure coordination and 

efficient use of funds, shall enter into 

contracts or agreements for 

implementing any activities, which it 


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52598 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 169 / Thursday, August 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

has approved to be carried out, with 

established national nonprofit industrygoverned organizations including the 

Federation of State Beef Councils. This 

language has the effect of requiring the 

BPOC to contract with organizations, 

which qualify as established national 

non-profit industry-governed 

organizations. The Act does not define 

‘‘national non-profit industry governed 

organization.’’ 

Previously, section 1260.113 of the 

Order defined ‘‘established national 

non-profit industry-governed 

organizations’’ as organizations which: 

(a) Are non-profit organizations 

pursuant to sections 501(c)(3), (5) or (6) 

of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 

501(c)(3), (5), and (6)); (b) are governed 

by a board of directors representing the 

cattle or beef industry on a national 

basis; and (c) were active and ongoing 

before enactment of the Act. This final 

rule amends section 1260.113 of the 

Order by replacing the existing language 

under paragraph (c), ‘‘were active and 

ongoing before the enactment of the 

Act’’ with ‘‘have been active and 

ongoing for at least two years.’’ 

In 2006, the National Cattlemen’s Beef 

Association (NCBA) and the American 

Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) 

initiated the Industry-Wide Beef 

Checkoff Taskforce (Taskforce) to 

review, study, and recommend 

enhancements to the Beef Checkoff 

program for the purpose of 

strengthening the Beef Checkoff 

Program for the common good of the 

beef industry. The Taskforce included 

producer and industry representatives 

and representatives from national 

organizations, while USDA took on an 

advisory role during meetings. The 

Taskforce issued a report in September 

2006, which included a 

recommendation to eliminate section 

1260.113(c) in order to make the Beef 

Checkoff more inclusive. USDA believes 

that permitting a greater number of 

organizations to contract with the BPOC 

could bring new perspectives to the 

contracting process. 

In February 2008 at the Cattle 

Industry Annual Convention, leaders of 

the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (Board) 

asked AMS officials if the Board could 

conduct a program review. The industry 

officials believed that it would be in the 

best interest of the Beef Checkoff 

Program to conduct a review of the 

operations to determine if there are any 

changes that need to or could be made 

in program operations, the Act, or Order 

that would facilitate a more effective 

Beef Checkoff Program. Included in the 

Board’s subsequent January 2009 

recommendations to AMS was a 

recommendation for a statutory 

amendment intended to result in an 

expansion of the contracting authority 

to organizations created after the 1986 

enactment of the Act. 

Finally, a meeting was held in 

Minneapolis, Minnesota on September 

27, 2011, attended by many industry 

stakeholders and co-hosted by the U.S. 

Cattlemen’s Association and the 

National Farmers Union as requested by 

the Secretary. The goal of the meeting 

was to bring more broad-based producer 

support to the Beef Checkoff program 

through a discussion of issues regarding 

Beef Checkoff administration and to 

provide the Secretary with 

recommendations that would enhance 

support for the Beef Checkoff. Many 

major Beef Checkoff industry 

stakeholders attended, including the 

American National Cattlewomen, 

American Veal Association, Livestock 

Marketing Association, NCBA, National 

Livestock Producers Association, and 

Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, 

United Stockgrowers of America (R– 

CALF). Representatives from the AMS 

also attended the meeting, as did the 

Chief Executive Officer and Producer 

Chairman of the Board. 

As a result of that meeting, the 

Secretary received a joint letter signed 

by most of the organizations in 

attendance. The letter requested that 

USDA amend Beef Checkoff regulations 

to expand the contracting authority as 

authorized under the Act and Order by 

permitting organizations that are active 

and ongoing for at least two years to 

contract with the BPOC. 

Conclusion 

A greater number of beef industry 

organizations exist now than did at the 

time the Order was issued. The Beef 

Checkoff Program could benefit from the 

perspectives and skills of some of these 

organizations that are ineligible solely 

because they were formed after the 

enactment of the Act. For several years, 

the beef industry has been 

recommending expanding the eligibility 

of organizations to contract with the 

BPOC in order to enhance the Beef 

Checkoff Program. Amending the Order 

will allow the BPOC to contract with 

organizations possessing the requisite 

experience, skills and information 

related to the marketing of beef and beef 

products, as is intended under the Act. 

Comments 

On March 2, 2012, USDA published 

in the Federal Register (77 FR 12752) 

for public comment a proposed rule 

providing for the expansion of the 

contracting authority as authorized 

under the Order by permitting 

organizations that are active and 

ongoing for at least two years to contract 

with the BPOC. Comments were due to 

USDA by May 1, 2012. 

USDA received 20 timely comments 

associated with the proposed rule for 

expansion of the contracting authority. 

Ten comments were submitted by 

individual cattle ranchers or members of 

the general public. Ten comments were 

received from cattle industry 

organizations. No untimely comments 

were received and no new information 

was obtained that was not already 

provided in the timely comments that 

are considered below. 

Twelve commenters directly 

expressed support of the expansion of 

the contracting authority and for the 

provision requiring that otherwise 

qualified organizations must have been 

active and ongoing for at least 2 years. 

One commenter provided background 

information on how the Order came to 

have its current contracting provisions 

and compared this to the current 

proposal. This commenter fully 

supported the expansion of the 

contracting authority and the 

requirement that qualifying contracting 

organizations be active and ongoing for 

at least 2 years. 

Several commenters offered ideas and 

suggestions that were pertinent to the 

Program but were outside the scope of 

this final rule. One commenter 

suggested that farmers and ranchers 

who pay into the Beef Checkoff should 

be given the opportunity to vote on Beef 

Checkoff promotion programs every five 

years. Six commenters suggested that 

AMS should reinstate the eligibility 

requirement contained in its proposed 

rule dated March 14, 1986 (51 FR 8984) 

that such organizations must be 

governed by a board of directors 

composed of a majority of producers. 

Eight commenters suggested that AMS 

should add a new provision to the Order 

that would restrict any contracting 

organization from receiving more than a 

specified percentage of the Beef 

Checkoff annual program funding. Five 

commenters suggested that the Beef 

Checkoff should promote U.S. produced 

beef. One commenter suggested that 

AMS should reopen the comment 

period and propose a plan to make 

improvements to the administration and 

operation of the Program. These 

comments were all beyond the scope of 

this rulemaking and therefore no 

changes were incorporated into this 

final rule based on these comments. 

One commenter raised a number of 

points regarding AMS and the beef 

industry as a whole that are not 

pertinent to the proposal and therefore 

are not addressed. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 169 / Thursday, August 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 52599 

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: 

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. In § 1260.113, paragraph (c) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 1260.113 Established national non-profit 

industry-governed organizations. 

* * * * * 

(c) Have been active and ongoing for 

at least two years. 

Dated: August 22, 2012. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–21374 Filed 8–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 117 

[Docket No. USCG–2012–0679] 

Drawbridge Operation Regulation; 

Sacramento River, Sacramento, CA 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of temporary deviation 

from regulations. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard has issued a 

temporary deviation from the operating 

regulation that governs the Tower 

Drawbridge across Sacramento River, 

mile 59.0, at Sacramento, CA. The 

deviation is necessary to allow the 

community to participate in the A.L.S. 

5K walk and run event. This deviation 

allows the bridge to remain in the 

closed-to-navigation position during the 

event. 

DATES: This deviation is effective from 

11 a.m. to 2 p.m., on October 6, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Documents mentioned in 

this preamble as being available in the 

docket are part of the docket USCG– 

2012–0679 and are available online by 

going to http://www.regulations.gov, 

inserting USCG–2012–0679 in the 

‘‘Keyword’’ box and then clicking 

‘‘Search’’. They are also available for 

inspection or copying at the Docket 

Management Facility (M–30), U.S. 

Department of Transportation, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions on this rule, call or 

email David H. Sulouff, Chief, Bridge 

Section, Eleventh Coast Guard District; 

telephone 510–437–3516, email 

David.H.Sulouff@uscg.mil. If you have 

questions on viewing the docket, call 

Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, 

Docket Operations, telephone 202–366– 

9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

California Department of Transportation 

has requested a temporary change to the 

operation of the Tower Drawbridge, 

mile 59.0, over Sacramento River, at 

Sacramento, CA. The drawbridge 

navigation span provides a vertical 

clearance of 30 feet above Mean High 

Water in the closed-to-navigation 

position. The draw opens on signal from 

May 1 through October 31 from 6 a.m. 

to 10 p.m. and from November 1 

through April 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

At all other times the draw shall open 

on signal if at least four hours notice is 

given, as required by 33 CFR 117.189(a). 

Navigation on the waterway is 

commercial and recreational. 

The drawspan will be secured in the 

closed-to-navigation position from 11 

a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 6, 2012 to 

allow the community to participate in 

the A.L.S. 5K walk and run event. This 

temporary deviation has been 

coordinated with waterway users. There 

are no scheduled river boat cruises or 

anticipated levee maintenance during 

this deviation period. No objections to 

the proposed temporary deviation were 

raised. Vessels that can transit the 

bridge, while in the closed-to-navigation 

position, may continue to do so at any 

time. In the event of an emergency the 

drawspan can be opened without delay. 

In accordance with 33 CFR 117.35(e), 

the drawbridge must return to its regular 

operating schedule immediately at the 

end of the designated time period. This 

deviation from the operating regulations 

is authorized under 33 CFR 117.35. 

Dated: August 21, 2012. 

D.H. Sulouff, 

District Bridge Chief, Eleventh Coast Guard 

District. 

[FR Doc. 2012–21383 Filed 8–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 117 

[USCG–2012–0357] 

RIN 1625–AA09 

Drawbridge Operation Regulation; 

Elizabeth River, Eastern Branch, 

Norfolk, VA 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is modifying 

the operating schedule that governs the 

Berkley (I–264) Bridge, at mile 0.4, 

across the Eastern Branch of the 

Elizabeth River, Norfolk, VA. The 

current temporary regulation for the 

Berkley Bridge is scheduled to end on 

October 5, 2012. This regulation will 

make the provisions of the temporary 

regulation permanent. This change to 

the regulation is necessary to alleviate 

heavy vehicular traffic delays 

throughout the day and secondary 

congestion during the afternoon rush 

hour, while still providing for the 

reasonable needs of navigation. 

DATES: This interim rule is effective at 

5 a.m. on October 6, 2012. Comments 

and related material must reach the 

Coast Guard on or before October 1, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by docket number USCG– 

2012–0357 using any one of the 

following methods: 

(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

(2) Fax: 202–493–2251. 

(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility 

(M–30), U.S. 

Department of Transportation, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC, 20590–0001. 

(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail 

address above, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The telephone number 

is 202–366–9329. 

See the ‘‘Public Participation and 

Request for Comments’’ portion of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below for instructions on submitting 

comments. To avoid duplication, please 

use only one of these four methods. See 

the ‘‘Public Participation and Request 

for Comments’’ portion of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below for instructions on submitting 

comments. 


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