Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 80 / Monday, April 27, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 20521

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 51

[Docket Number FV–98–301]

Cantaloups; Grade Standards

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request

for comments.

SUMMARY: This rule will revise the

United States Standards for Grades of

Cantaloups. The standards are issued

under the Agricultural Marketing Act of

1946, and are voluntary. This rule will

revise the definition of decay in the

definitions section of the standards. The

change will provide that dry type

decays will not be scored against the

decay tolerance unless penetrating the

rind and extending into the edible flesh

of the melon. The regulation of

cantaloups under the Marketing Order

for Melons Grown in South Texas that

is issued under the Agricultural

Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 also

will be affected by this change. This

revision will result in a benefit to

handlers and producers of cantaloups

by allowing a more accurate scoring of

dry type decays.

DATES: This rule is effective April 28,

1998. Comments must be received by

June 26, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit written comments

concerning this interim final rule.

Comments must be sent to the

Standardization Section, Fresh Products

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs,

Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box

96456, Room 2065 South Building,

Washington, D.C. 20090–6456.

Comments should make reference to the

date and page number of this issue of

the Federal Register and will be made

available for public inspection in the

above office during regular business

hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Frank O’Sullivan, at the above address

or call (202) 720–2185.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Department of Agriculture (Department)

is issuing this rule in conformance with

Executive Order 12866.

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice

Reform. This action is not intended to

have retroactive effect. This rule will

not preempt any State or local laws,

regulations, or policies, unless they

present an irreconcilable conflict with

this rule. There are no administrative

procedures which must be exhausted

prior to any judicial challenge to the

provisions of the rule.

The Agricultural Marketing Service

(AMS) recently received a request from

the Texas Produce Association

(Association) to eliminate the definition

of decay from the cantaloup standards

in 7 CFR 51.490. The definition of decay

in the present standards is as follows:

‘‘Decay means breakdown,

disintegration or fermentation of the

flesh or rind of the cantaloup caused by

bacteria or fungi.’’ The current

tolerances are one-half of one percent at

shipping point for cantaloups affected

by decay or mold and two percent en

route or at destination for cantaloups

affected by decay. Under Section

979.304 of the regulations (7 CFR

979.304) issued under Marketing Order

No. 979, shipping point tolerances are

applied. The Association is particularly

concerned with the decay tolerances as

they relate to Fusarium Rot, which may

occur either as a soft or dry type decay.

Currently, the restrictive decay

tolerances are applied to both types of

Fusarium Rot.

The Association contends that dry

type decays, dry type Fusarium Rot

specifically, affecting the rind of the

melon when marketed under normal

conditions, progress at a very slow rate

and has not caused significant

marketing problems. They do not

suggest that dry type Fusarium Rot be

ignored as it is recognized that, under

certain circumstances, this disorder has

the potential to become a significant

marketing factor. However, in their

opinion, this disorder, when found in

the initial stages not penetrating into the

edible flesh of the cantaloup, should not

be covered under the same restrictive

scoring guidelines as more destructive

decays. This would permit shipments of

additional marketable melons. Under

the current definition of decay, a melon

affected by Fusarium Rot is scored

against the restrictive decay tolerance in

all instances. The Association feels that

scoring melons as decayed when

Fusarium has not, and quite possibly

may never affect the edible portion of

the melon before it is consumed, is

extremely harsh and accounts for

unjustified rejections and adjustments.

According to the Agricultural

Research Service of the USDA, as long

as the dry rot lesion does not penetrate

into the orange flesh and the epidermis

is not split, the melon should hold,

provided it is maintained at the

recommended temperature and

consumed within about 14 days.

The 1997 crop of Texas cantaloups

was heavily infected with dry type

Fusarium Rot. A major portion of the

crop, when graded in accordance with

the standard, failed a basic grade

requirement under the current

definition of decay and caused

significant economic losses to Texas

growers and handlers as a result. The

Department seeks to promote a more

accurate procedure to grade cantaloups

so that melons which are affected by dry

type decays are scored differently than

those infected with more destructive

types.

In reviewing the Association’s request

for removal of the definition of decay

from the standards, AMS has concluded

that a change to the definition is more

appropriate and practicable and will

accomplish the result requested by the

Association.

Therefore, based on the request made

by the Association, and to keep the

grade standards current with marketing

trends and commodity characteristics,

this interim final rule will revise the

definition of decay in the U.S.

Standards for Grades of Cantaloups,

§ 51.490.

Pursuant to the requirements set forth

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA),

AMS has considered the economic

impact of this action on small entities.

Accordingly, AMS has prepared this

initial regulatory flexibility analysis.

Interested parties are invited to submit

information on the regulatory and

informational impacts of this action on

small businesses.

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.

The United States standards issued

pursuant to the Agricultural Marketing

Act of 1946, and issued thereunder, are

unique in that they are brought about

through group action of essentially

small entities acting on their own

behalf. Thus, both statutes have

compatibility.

There are approximately 450

cantaloup handlers and producers in the

United States. Of these 450 handlers

and producers, approximately 70 are

from the State of Texas and produce/

handle approximately 5 percent of the

total crop. Approximately 16 handlers

are regulated under the Marketing Order

for Melons Grown in South Texas and

there are approximately 33 producers in

the production area. Approximately 320

growers and handlers are from the State

of California and produce/handle

approximately 60 percent of the crop,

and, approximately 31 handlers and

producers from the State of Arizona

produce/handle 15 percent of the total

crop. The remaining commercial
20522 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 80 / Monday, April 27, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

production of cantaloups is distributed

throughout other various growing

regions of the United States. Small

agricultural service firms, which

includes handlers, have been defined by

the Small Business Administration

(SBA) (13 CFR 121.601) as those having

annual receipts of less than $5,000,000

and small agricultural producers are

defined as those having annual receipts

of less than $500,000.

The cantaloup industry is

characterized by producers and

handlers whose farming operations

involve more than one commodity, and

whose income from farming operations

is not exclusively dependent on

cantaloup production. Alternative crops

provide an opportunity to utilize many

of the same facilities and equipment not

in use when the cantaloup production

season is complete. Typical cantaloup

producers and handlers either produce

multiple crops or alternate crops within

a single year. Therefore, it is difficult to

obtain an exact number of cantaloup

producers and handlers that can be

classified as small entities based on the

SBA’s definition. However, it is

estimated that the majority of handlers

and producers of cantaloups may be

classified as small entities.

This rule will revise the U.S.

Standards for Grades of Cantaloups that

was issued under the Agricultural

Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et

seq.). In addition, the regulations under

Marketing Order No. 979 (7 CFR Part

979), as issued under the Agricultural

Marketing Act of 1937 (7 U.S.C. 601–

674) references the U.S. Standards for

Grades of Cantaloups, including the

term ‘‘decay’’ and accordingly, the

regulation of cantaloups grown in South

Texas is affected. In the standards, the

definition of decay applies to all four

grades; U.S. Fancy, U.S. No. 1, U.S.

Commercial and U.S. No. 2. This action

changes the definition of decay to

provide that dry type decays will not be

scored against the decay tolerance

unless penetrating the rind and

extending into the edible flesh of the

melon. This revision will be a benefit to

producers and handlers by allowing a

more accurate scoring of dry type

decays. As a result, more melons are

expected to be marketed that would

otherwise be graded as defective.

It is estimated that total commercial

cantaloup production in the U.S. was

approximately 67 million cartons with

an estimated value of $401 million.

Cantaloup production covered under

the Marketing Order for Melons Grown

in South Texas comprises

approximately 5 percent of the domestic

market share.

AMS has determined that this action

would not impose an additional

reporting or recordkeeping requirement

on either small or large cantaloup

growers and handlers.

The Department has not identified

any relevant Federal rules that

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this

rule, except that the regulation of

cantaloups grown in South Texas under

7 CFR Part 979 would be affected by this

action.

With regard to alternatives to this

action, if no action were taken by the

Agency, this could result in continued

scoring of marketable melons with

possible revenue loss by growers,

shippers or handlers of these melons.

Accordingly, this action will make the

standards more consistent and uniform

with marketing trends and commodity

characteristics.

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is 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 30 days after

publication in the Federal Register

because: (1) Harvesting of the year’s

crop will begin in late April; (2) this

revision should be made as soon as

possible to make the standards more

consistent and uniform with marketing

trends and commodity characteristics;

(3) cantaloup production is increasing

on a yearly basis and further delaying

the standards revision would result in

the increased loss of marketable melons

and subsequent revenue loss by growers

and handlers; and, (4) this interim final

rule provides a 60 day comment period,

and all comments timely received will

be considered prior to finalization of

this rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 51

Agricultural commodities, Food

grades and standards, Fruits, Nuts,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Trees, Vegetables.

For reasons set forth in the preamble,

7 CFR Part 51 is amended as follows:

PART 51—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 51

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627.

2. In part 51, § 51.490 is revised to

read as follows:

§ 51.490 Decay.

Decay means breakdown,

disintegration or fermentation of the

flesh or rind of the cantaloup caused by

bacteria or fungi; except that dry type

decays will only be scored when

penetrating the rind and extending into

the edible flesh of the melon.

Dated: April 20, 1998.

Robert C. Keeney,

Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable

Programs.

[FR Doc. 98–11040 Filed 4–24–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 930

[Docket No. FV97–930–6 FR]

Tart Cherries Grown in the States of

Michigan, et al.; Final Free and

Restricted Percentages for the 1997–98

Crop Year for Tart Cherries

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule establishes

final free and restricted percentages for

the 1997–98 crop year. The percentages

are 55 percent free and 45 percent

restricted. These percentages establish

the proportion of cherries from the 1997

crop which may be handled in normal

commercial outlets and are intended to

stabilize supplies and prices, and

strengthen market conditions. The

percentages were recommended by the

Cherry Industry Administrative Board

(Board), the body which locally

administers the marketing order. The

marketing order regulates the handling

of tart cherries grown in the States of

Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania,

Oregon, Utah, Washington, and

Wisconsin.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 28, 1998 through

June 30, 1998, and applies to all tart

cherries handled from the beginning of

the 1997–98 crop year.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patricia A. Petrella or Kenneth G.

Johnson, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, Fruit and

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room

2525–S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington,

DC 20090–6456; telephone: (202) 720–

2491. Small businesses may request

information on compliance with this

regulation by contacting: Jay Guerber,

Marketing Order Administration

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs,

AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room

2525–S, Washington, DC 20090–6456;

telephone: (202) 720–2491; Fax: (202)

720–5698.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final

rule is issued under marketing