This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

19155

Vol. 61, No. 85

Wednesday, May 1, 1996

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 53 and 54

[No. LS–94–009]

Standards for Grades of Slaughter

Cattle and Standards for Grades of

Carcass Beef

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service

(AMS), USDA.

ACTION: Final rule, postponement of

effective date.

SUMMARY: This document postpones the

effective date of the final rule (61 FR

2891–2898) to revise the official U.S.

standards for grades of carcass beef and

the related standards for grades of

slaughter cattle from July 1, 1996, until

January 31, 1997. Upon the effective

date, the changes eliminate ‘‘B’’

maturity (approximately 30–42 months

of age) carcasses with small or slight

marbling degrees from the Choice and

Select grades and include them in the

Standard grade. This action is being

taken because carcasses with these

characteristics have been shown to be

both variable and often unacceptable in

palatability, which contributes

significantly to inconsistent palatability

of Choice and Select grade beef. The

standards for grades of slaughter cattle,

which are based on the beef carcass

grades, are revised to parallel the

changes in the beef carcass grade

standards. The extension of the effective

date is in response to several requests

asking for additional time to make

needed adjustments to management

strategies in order to respond to the

grade change.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The effective date of the

final rule is postponed from July 1,

1996, to January 31, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Herbert C. Abraham, Chief, Livestock

and Meat Standardization Branch,

Livestock and Seed Division,

Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box

96456, Washington, D.C. 20090–6456,

202/720–4486.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

January 19, 1995, the Agricultural

Marketing Service (AMS), U.S.

Department of Agriculture, under

authority of the Agricultural Marketing

Act of 1946, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1621–

1627), published a proposed rule (60 FR

3982–3986) to revise the official U.S.

standards for grades of carcass beef and

the related slaughter cattle standards by

eliminating ‘‘B’’ maturity

(approximately 30–42 months of age)

carcasses with small or slight marbling

degrees from the Choice and Select

grades and including them in the

Standard grade. In consideration of the

over 400 written comments received on

the proposal, and all other available

information, the proposed rule was

adopted and a final rule was published

on January 30, 1996, (61 FR 2891–2898).

To allow the industry time to adjust its

production and marketing practices and

to market beef currently in the pipeline,

implementation was scheduled for July

1, 1996.

Since the publication of the final rule,

AMS has received several requests from

several State cattle associations, a

national packer organization, and

several members of Congress to delay

the effective date. The requests for a

delay primarily focused on the belief

that it is in the industry’s best interest

to provide a ‘‘full’’ adjustment period of

18 months prior to implementation,

which they indicated was provided for

in the AMS economic analysis. They

stated this would allow the industry to

better adjust management strategies to

conform to the new revised standards.

In the published final rule, the

Department did not conclude that an 18-

month adjustment period was necessary

prior to implementation of the changes.

The reference to an 18-month period in

the final rule was one of the periods of

time after implementation used to

calculate the economic impact of the

changes rather than a period of time for

delaying implementation. It was

concluded that during the 18-month

period following implementation, there

would be a net positive impact of $86-

million if only 25 percent of the Bmaturity carcasses were eliminated

through improved management

practices. Greater benefits would accrue

if more than 25 percent of the Bmaturity carcasses were eliminated. A 5-

month period prior to implementation

was provided so many of the cattle now

in feedlots could be marketed before the

changes became effective. Although an

18-month adjustment period was never

intended, AMS recognizes there may be

some confusion about establishment of

the implementation date, and that

implementation of the changes at a time

of large beef supplies and high grain

prices may not be in the best economic

interest of the industry. Consequently,

AMS has decided to delay

implementation of the beef grade

changes. Although the sooner that

changes in production and management

practices are implemented, the greater

the total benefits to the entire beef

industry, AMS recognizes that there are

some situations where short-term

economic losses might occur and this

additional delay should allow market

forces to adjust by the implementation

date. The delay in no way prevents

cattle producers and feeders from

adopting new management strategies at

this time to minimize the production of

B-maturity carcasses.

Therefore, the effective date of the

final rule that was published at 61 FR

2891–2898 on January 30, 1996, is

postponed until January 31, 1997.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627.

Dated: April 24, 1996.

Lon Hatamiya,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96–10712 Filed 4–30–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

Food and Consumer Service

7 CFR Parts 272 and 273

[Amendment No. 369]

RIN 0584–AC08

Food Stamp Program: Failure to

Comply with Federal, State, or Local

Welfare Assistance Program

Requirements

AGENCY: Food and Consumer Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This action amends Food

Stamp Program regulations to prohibit

an increase in food stamp benefits when

a household’s benefit from another