33968 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 121 / Monday, June 28, 2021 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Doc. No. AMS–FGIS–20–0065] 

United States Standards for Beans 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of final action. 

SUMMARY: This action is being taken 

under the authority of the Agricultural 

Marketing Act of 1946, as amended 

(AMA). The United States Department 

of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) is revising the 

method of interpretation for the 

determination of ‘‘sample grade criteria’’ 

in the Bean Inspection Handbook, 

pertaining to the class ‘‘Blackeye beans’’ 

in the U.S. Standards for Beans. 

Stakeholders in the dry bean 

processing/handling industry requested 

that AMS amend the definition of 

sample grade in the Blackeye bean 

inspection instructions by revising the 

unit of measurement for the factor 

‘‘Insect Webbing or Filth’’ (IWOF) and 

removing ‘‘Clean-Cut Weevil-Bore’’ 

(CCWB) as a sample grade factor. As a 

result of this action Clean-Cut WeevilBore is considered a damage factor only. 

DATES: Applicability date: July 1, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Loren Almond, USDA AMS; Telephone: 

(816) 702–3925; Email: 

Loren.L.Almond@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

authority of the AMA (7 U.S.C. 1621– 

1627), as amended, AMS establishes 

and maintains a variety of quality and 

grade standards for agricultural 

commodities that serve as a 

fundamental starting point to define 

commodity quality in the domestic and 

global marketplace. 

Standards developed under the AMA 

include those for rice, whole dry peas, 

split peas, feed peas, lentils, and beans. 

The U.S. Standards for whole dry peas, 

split peas, feed peas, lentils and beans 

no longer appear in the Code of Federal 

Regulations, but are now maintained by 

USDA–AMS–Federal Grain Inspection 

Service (FGIS). The U.S. Standards for 

beans are voluntary and widely used in 

private contracts, government 

procurement, marketing 

communication, and for some 

commodities, consumer information. 

The bean standards facilitate bean 

marketing and define U.S. bean quality 

in the domestic and global marketplace. 

The standards define commonly used 

industry terms; contain basic principles 

governing the application of standards, 

such as the type of sample used for a 

particular quality analysis; provide the 

basis of determination; and specify 

grades and grade requirements. Official 

procedures for determining grading 

factors are provided in the Bean 

Inspection Handbook. Together, the 

grading standards and testing 

procedures allow buyers and sellers to 

communicate quality requirements, 

compare bean quality using equivalent 

forms of measurement, and assist in 

price discovery. 

AMS engages in outreach with 

stakeholders to ensure commodity 

standards maintain relevance to the 

modern market. Bean industry 

stakeholders include the US Dry Bean 

Council (USDBC), California Dry Bean 

Advisory Board, California Bean 

Shippers Association, and Cal Bean and 

Grain, among others. 

The United States Standards for Beans 

and the official inspection procedures 

for beans in the Bean Inspection 

Handbook are available on the AMS 

public website. The United States 

Standards for Beans were last revised in 

2017. Currently, sample grade 

tolerances for IWOF in all classes of 

beans are determined on a count basis 

of two or more beans in 1,000 grams. 

Also, CCWB is considered a sample 

grade and damage factor. This type of 

insect filth found in the Blackeye bean 

is not due to storage practices, but 

originates in the field, brought on by 

years of drought, and is the result of 

challenges associated with applying 

aerial pesticides. These elements have 

contributed to an increase of IWOF 

(beans and pieces of beans which 

contain webbing, refuse, excreta, dead 

insects, larvae, or eggs) in the Blackeye 

bean crops for years. With the current 

sample grade factor tolerance, difficulty 

in meeting contract specifications is 

problematic. Specifically, industry 

stakeholders asked AMS to revise the 

sample grade tolerance for IWOF and 

adjust CCWB to only be considered a 

damage factor, only in the class 

Blackeye beans. 

Revision of Blackeye Bean Sample 

Grade Tolerances for Insect Webbing or 

Filth and Removal of Clean-Cut WeevilBore as a Sample Grade Factor 

Stakeholders recommended AMS 

revise the Bean Inspection Handbook 

criteria for Blackeye bean sample grade 

tolerances of IWOF from counts to 

percentages, and change CCWB from a 

sample grade and damage factor to a 

damage factor only. AMS and 

stakeholders worked collaboratively to 

redefine the tolerances for IWOF and 

CCWB in Blackeye beans. Additionally, 

these changes were recommended to 

AMS by the specifically named 

stakeholder organizations identified 

above to facilitate the current marketing 

practices. 

Comment Review 

AMS published a Notice in the 

Federal Register on September 29, 2020 

(85 FR 60957), inviting interested 

parties to comment on the proposed 

revisions to the U.S. Standards for 

Beans. AMS received ten comments in 

response to the notice. Four comments 

strongly supported the proposed 

revisions; one comment was noncommittal but recommended applying a 

similar limit to all beans; one comment 

posed a question on the cost efficiency 

for the industry; and two comments 

opposed the proposed revisions. AMS 

received two comments that were not 

germane to the issue. One of the 

opposing comments stated that the 

quality of Blackeye beans could be 

compromised by this change, leading to 

a possible decrease in the consumption 

of these beans. The other opposing 

comment questioned whether these 

changes would lead to increased fraud. 

AMS does not foresee a decrease in 

consumption due to quality concerns or 

hidden fraud. The demand for plantbased protein has increased the 

consumption of pulses throughout the 

United States. Buyers of Blackeye beans 

can specify a count limit or tighter 

percentage in their purchase contract. 

The preponderance of comments 

suggest AMS should proceed with the 

revision. 

AMS believes these revisions will 

facilitate inspections, better reflect 

current marketing practices, be cost 

efficient, and facilitate purchasing and 

selling of Blackeye beans. Accordingly, 

AMS is making no changes to the 

revised Blackeye bean inspection 

methods as proposed. The revisions to 

Blackeye bean inspection are effective 

upon publication in the Federal 

Register. The Bean Inspection 

Handbook will be revised to incorporate 

the revisions. 

Final Action 

AMS–FGIS is revising the Blackeye 

bean inspection criteria by amending 

the Bean Inspection Handbook to 

change the sample grade tolerance for 

IWOF in the Blackeye bean class only, 

from a count of two or more beans in 

1,000 grams, to more than 0.10 percent 

on the basis of the representative sample 

as a whole, and remove CCWB as a 

sample grade factor. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 121 / Monday, June 28, 2021 / Notices 33969 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627. 

Erin Morris, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13631 Filed 6–25–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Eastern Idaho Resource Advisory 

Committee 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Eastern Idaho Resource 

Advisory Committee (RAC) will hold a 

virtual meeting by phone and/or video 

conference. The committee is 

authorized under the Secure Rural 

Schools and Community SelfDetermination Act (the Act) and 

operates in compliance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act. The purpose 

of the committee is to improve 

collaborative relationships and to 

provide advice and recommendations to 

the Forest Service concerning projects 

and funding consistent with Title II of 

the Act as well as make 

recommendations on recreation fee 

proposals for sites on the CaribouTarghee National Forest within 

Bannack, Bear Lake, Bonneville, 

Caribou, Clark, Franklin, Fremont, 

Madison, 0neida, and Teton County, 

consistent with the Federal Lands 

Recreation Enhancement Act. RAC 

information and virtual meeting 

information can be found at the 

following website: https://

www.fs.usda.gov/main/ctnf/working

together/advisorycommittees. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on July 

27, 2021 at 1:30 p.m., Mountain 

Daylight Time. 

All RAC meetings are subject to 

cancellation. For status of the meeting 

prior to attendance, please contact the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held 

virtually via telephone and/or video 

conference. 

Written comments may be submitted 

as described under SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. All comments, including 

names and addresses when provided, 

are placed in the record and are 

available for public inspection and 

copying. The public may inspect 

comments received upon request. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill 

Davis, Committee Coordinator, by 

phone at 208–374–5422 or email at 

william.davis6@usda.gov. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the 

hearing-impaired (TDD) may call the 

Federal Information Relay Service 

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 between 8:00 

a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight 

Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the meeting is to discuss a 

recreation fee proposal and make a 

recommendation for the Jensen Cabin 

located on the Palisades Ranger District 

in Bonneville County, Idaho. 

The meeting is open to the public. 

The agenda will include time for people 

to make oral statements of three minutes 

or less. Individuals wishing to make an 

oral statement should request in writing 

by July 12, 2021, to be scheduled on the 

agenda. Anyone who would like to 

bring related matters to the attention of 

the committee may file written 

statements with the committee staff 

before or after the meeting. Written 

comments and requests for time for oral 

comments must be sent to Bill Davis, 

P.O. Box 46, Dubois, ID 83423; or by 

email to william.davis6@usda.gov. 

Meeting Accommodations: If you are 

a person requiring reasonable 

accommodation, please make requests 

in advance for sign language 

interpreting, assistive listening devices, 

or other reasonable accommodation. For 

access to the facility or proceedings, 

please contact the person listed in the 

section titled FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. All reasonable 

accommodation requests are managed 

on a case-by-case basis. 

Dated: June 22, 2021. 

Cikena Reid, 

USDA Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13682 Filed 6–25–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business—Cooperative Service 

[Docket #RBS–21–Business–0023] 

Inviting Applications for Agriculture 

Innovation Demonstration Center 

Grants 

AGENCY: Rural Business—Cooperative 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of solicitation of 

applications. 

SUMMARY: This Notice announces that 

the Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

(Agency) is accepting fiscal year (FY) 

2021 applications for the Agriculture 

Innovation Demonstration Center (AIC) 

program. In FY 2021, the program has 

$7,392,479 available for grant funding. 

The purpose of this program is to 

establish and operate Agriculture 

Innovation Centers (Centers) that 

provide technical and business 

development assistance to agricultural 

producers seeking to engage in the 

marketing or the production of ValueAdded products. Eligible applicants 

include nonprofit and for-profit 

corporations, public bodies, and 

institutions of higher education. 

Consortiums are also eligible to apply, 

but they must select a single 

organization to represent the consortium 

as the applicant. Only the applicant 

organization must meet the eligibility 

requirements. This program supports 

Rural Development’s (RD) mission of 

improving the quality of life for rural 

Americans and commitment to directing 

resources to those who most need them. 

DATES: We will offer two training 

sessions for potential applicants 

approximately one month after this 

Notice is published. The training 

sessions will be similar and will be 

offered on different dates and at 

different times to accommodate 

applicants in different time zones. The 

training sessions will provide an 

overview of the requirements for the 

program and address questions posed by 

potential applicants. It is expected that 

the sessions will be offered via webinar 

and will have a duration of 

approximately two hours. Details 

regarding the specific dates, times, and 

access information will be posted at 

least two weeks prior to the sessions on 

the program’s website at: https://

www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/ 

agriculture-innovation-center-program. 

A summary will be posted on the 

website after the sessions are completed. 

Completed applications for grants 

must be submitted electronically by no 

later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, 

September 27, 2021, through Grants.gov. 

Late applications are not eligible for 

funding under this Notice and will not 

be evaluated. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gail 

Thuner, Grants Division, Cooperative 

Programs, Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, United States Department of 

Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW, MS 3201, Room 5803—South, 

Washington, DC 20250–3250, or call 

202–720–1400, or email cpgrants@

wdc.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview 

Federal Agency Name: USDA Rural 

Business-Cooperative Service. 

Funding Opportunity Title: 

Agriculture Innovation Demonstration 

Center. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES