United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Animal and 

Plant Health 

Inspection 

Service

June 2011

Analysis in Support of Certification that the 

Rule will not have a Significant Economic 

Impact on a Substantial Number of Small 

Entities

Interim Rule 

APHIS-2011-0036

Golden Nematode: Removal of Regulated 

Areas

 Policy & Program Development

 Policy Analysis & Development
i

Summary

This rule codifies a Federal Order issued in December 2010, removing Elba and Byron 

townships in Genesee County, New York, from the areas listed in 7 CFR §301.85 as quarantined 

because of the golden nematode (GN). These two townships are the first areas removed from the 

GN quarantine.

GN is a major pest of potato plants and also attacks eggplant and tomato plants. The GN 

quarantine has also negatively affected the sales of other agricultural commodities, and the 

operations of non-agricultural businesses that use earth-moving equipment as well. It is spread 

by the transport of cysts in soil, in particular through the inadvertent movement of infested soil 

attached to agricultural products, farming equipment, and other regulated articles.

In 2007, there were 13 farms in Genesee County that harvested potatoes. These farms 

represented about 2 percent of such farms in New York, and comprised about 6 percent of the 

State’s acres of harvested potatoes. New York farms that harvested potatoes in 2007 represented 

about 6 percent of such farms in the United States and held about 2 percent of the Nation’s acres

of harvested potatoes. 

Affected entities will benefit from no longer needing to satisfy compliance requirements 

of the quarantine. They are also expected to find improved export opportunities. While the 

potato farms in the two townships qualify as small entities, they are few in number and their 

share of the Nation’s potato industry is minor. The APHIS Administrator has determined that 

this action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Introduction

This analysis provides the basis, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, for 

certification by the APHIS Administrator that the interim rule, if promulgated, will not have a 

significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

In December 2010, APHIS issued a Federal Order terminating the golden nematode (GN) 

quarantine for Genesee County, New York. This rule will codify the Order, removing the 

townships of Elba (approximately 35.7 square miles) and Byron (approximately 32.2 square 

miles) from the GN quarantined areas listed in 7 CFR §301.85. Other counties in New York will 

remain in quarantine.

These two townships have been regulated since 1977. APHIS and the New York 

Department of Agriculture and Markets work together in testing and treating soil, and providing 

assistance for cleaning of regulated articles for movement from GN quarantined areas. A total of 

11,194 soil samples from 6,152 acres in the two townships were tested from 1977 to 2010 as part 

of the quarantine program. 

GN is a major pest of potato plants and also attacks eggplant and tomato plants. It is 

spread by the transport of cysts in soil, in particular through the movement of infested soil 

attached to agricultural products, farming equipment, and other regulated articles. The 

quarantine has also negatively affected the sales of other agricultural commodities grown in 

Genesee County, such as onions, beets, carrots, turf grass, soybeans, and wheat. 

Potential Impact on Small Entities

Potato farms in Elba and Byron townships, which numbered 13 in 2007, are the primary

beneficiaries of the lifting of the GN quarantine. According to the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) standard, a business engaged in potato production is considered to be a 
small entity if its annual receipts are not more than $750,000. Average annual sales for New 

York potato producers in 2007 were estimated to have been about $61,500.

1

 We can assume that 

most if not all potato farms in the two townships are small.

Table 1 provides information on the number of farms and harvested acres affected by this 

rule, in relation to potato farms and harvested acres in New York and the United States. The 13

farms in Genesee County that harvested potatoes in 2007 represented about 2 percent of such 

farms in New York, and comprised about 6 percent of the State’s acres of harvested potatoes. 

New York farms that harvested potatoes in 2007 represented about 6 percent of such farms in the 

United States and held about 2 percent of the Nation’s acres of harvested potatoes.

Table 1. Number of farms that harvested potatoes and harvested acreages in the United States, in the 

State of New York, and in Genesee County, 2007

Number/percentage of Harvested Acres

United States 15,014 United States 1,131,963

State of New York 860 State of New York 18,911

Genesee County 13 Genesee County 1,123

State of New York as a percentage

of the United States 6%

State of New York as a 

percentage of the United 

States 2%

Genesee County as a percentage of 

the State of New York 2%

Genesee County as a 

percentage of the State of 

New York 6%

Source: 2007 Census of Agriculture.

Number/percentage of Farms

This rule will eliminate all costs associated with the GN pest control program, including 

labeling, inspection, and certification, for entities in Elba and Byron townships. Genesee 

County’s share of New York’s potato production is relatively small and the removal of the 

quarantine will not significantly affect the State’s potato market. But the farms will no longer 

need to satisfy quarantine restrictions when moving regulated articles from the townships. 

 

1 National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), production measured in dollars. 
The rule will also benefit agricultural enterprises in Genesee County other than potato 

growers. For example, there have been instances when the importation by Canada of soybeans 

produced in parts of Genesee County that are not under quarantine has been unnecessarily

restricted. Certain non-agricultural entities in the two townships will benefit from the rule as 

well. They include businesses that use earth-moving equipment and might inadvertently move 

infested soil out of the quarantined area, such as construction firms and entities that install and 

maintain pipelines. None will need to continue to comply with the GN quarantine regulations. 

A benefit of the rule for potato growers in the two townships may be improved export 

opportunities. Potato exports from New York may be constrained because of the GN quarantine, 

as suggested by the value of those exports relative to the value of potato exports from a State 

unaffected by GN, such as North Carolina. As shown in table 2, these two States have similar 

numbers of potato farms and acres harvested, but while the value of potato production in New 

York was over three times the value of North Carolina’s potato production in 2007, the value of 

potato exports by New York was less than one-fourth that of North Carolina. Recognizing that 

various factors influence States’ export levels, the GN quarantine, which continues in New York 

State other than in Elba and Byron townships, may play a role in constraining that State’s potato 

exports. Producers in the two townships will be relieved of GN-related export restrictions

imposed by other countries. 

The rule will not have negative economic impacts. The potato farms directly affected are 

small, but they are few in number and their share of the Nation’s potato industry is minor. The 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action 

will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Table 2. Potato farms, acreage, production, and exports, for New York and North Carolina, 

2007

State

Potato 

Farms 

Harvested 

Acres Production Export Export Rank 

North Carolina 1,123 14,760 22,545 3,613 10

New York 860 18,911 68,400 754 13

Source: 2007 Census of Agriculture.

Number Value (Million dollars)