This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

56911 

Vol. 75, No. 180 

Friday, September 17, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration 

7 CFR Part 810 

[Docket # GIPSA–2010–FGIS–0004] 

RIN 0580–AB16 

Request for Public Comment on the 

United States Standards for Corn 

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration, USDA. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, 

Packers, and Stockyards Administration 

(GIPSA) is reviewing the United States 

Standards and grading procedures for 

corn under the United States Grain 

Standards Act (USGSA). Since the 

standards were last revised, the use of 

corn for ethanol and the number of 

different varieties of corn has increased 

tremendously. To ensure that standards 

and official grading practices remain 

relevant, GIPSA invites interested 

parties to comment on whether the 

current corn standards and grading 

procedures need to be changed. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 16, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit your 

written or electronic comments on this 

notice to: 

• Mail: Tess Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 

1643–S, Washington, DC 20250–3604. 

• E-Mail comments to 

comments.gipsa@usda.gov. 

• Fax: (202) 690–2173. 

• Internet: Go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov and follow the online instruction for submitting 

comments. 

All comments will become a matter of 

public record and should be identified 

as ‘‘United States Standards for Corn 

Notice Comments,’’ making reference to 

the date and page number of this issue 

of the Federal Register. Comments will 

be available for public inspection at 

http://www.regulations.gov and in the 

above office during regular business 

hours (7 CFR 1.27(b)). Please call the 

GIPSA Management Support Staff at 

(202) 720–7486 to make an appointment 

to read comments received. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross 

Heiman at GIPSA, USDA, Beacon 

Facility, Stop 1404, P.O. Box 419205, 

Kansas City, MO 64131–6205; 

Telephone (816) 823–2580; Fax Number 

(816) 823–4644; e-mail 

Ross.D.Heiman@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule has been determined to be 

exempt for the purposes of Executive 

Order 12866, and therefore has not been 

reviewed by the Office of Management 

and Budget. 

Under the authority of the USGSA (7 

U.S.C. 76), GIPSA establishes standards 

for corn and other grains regarding kind, 

class, quality and condition. The corn 

standards were established by USDA 

effective December 1, 1916. Standards 

specific to corn appear in the USGSA 

regulations at 7 CFR 810.401–810.405 

and were last revised in 1996 (60 FR 

61194). The 1996 revisions changed the 

reporting requirements for test weight to 

the nearest tenth of a pound, eliminated 

the count limit on stones for U.S. 

Sample Grade, and reduced the U.S. 

Sample Grade Aggregate Weight 

Tolerance for Stones from more than 0.2 

percent by weight to more than 0.1 

percent by weight. Stress crack analysis 

was also offered as official criteria. 

The standards facilitate corn 

marketing and define U.S. corn quality 

in the domestic and global marketplace. 

They 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; specify 

grades and grade requirements; and 

specify special grades and special grade 

requirements, such as flint corn and 

waxy corn. Official procedures for 

determining grading factors are 

provided in GIPSA’s Grain Inspection 

Handbook, Book II, Chapter 4, ‘‘Corn,’’ 

which also includes standardized 

procedures for additional quality 

attributes not used to determine grade, 

such as stress crack analysis. Together, 

the grading standards and procedures 

allow buyers and sellers to 

communicate quality requirements, 

compare corn quality using equivalent 

forms of measurement, and assist in 

price discovery. To learn more about 

corn standardization and quality, visit 

the GIPSA Web site at http:// 

www.gipsa.usda.gov. 

GIPSA’s grading and inspection 

services are provided through a network 

of federal, state, and private laboratories 

that conduct tests to determine the 

quality and condition of corn and other 

commodities. The tests used to measure 

grain quality are conducted in 

accordance with applicable standards 

using approved methodologies and can 

be applied at any point in the marketing 

chain. These tests yield rapid, reliable, 

and consistent results. In addition, 

GIPSA-issued certificates describing the 

quality and condition of graded corn are 

accepted as prima facie evidence in all 

Federal courts (7 U.S.C. 79(d)). U.S. 

corn standards and the affiliated grading 

and testing services offered by GIPSA 

verify that a seller’s corn meets 

specified requirements, and ensure that 

customers received the quality of corn 

they purchased. 

In order for U.S. standards and 

grading procedures for corn to remain 

relevant, GIPSA is issuing this advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking to invite 

interested parties to submit comments, 

ideas, and suggestions on all aspects of 

the U.S. corn standards and grading 

procedures. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71–87k. 

J. Dudley Butler, 

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2010–23190 Filed 9–16–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration 

7 CFR Part 868 

RIN 0580–AB17 

[Docket # GIPSA–2010–FGIS–0009] 

Request for Public Comment on the 

United States Standards for Rough 

Rice, Brown Rice for Processing, and 

Milled Rice 

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration, USDA 


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56912 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 180 / Friday, September 17, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, 

Packers, and Stockyards Administration 

(GIPSA) is reviewing the United States 

Standards and grading procedures for 

Rough Rice, Brown Rice for Processing, 

and Milled Rice under the Agriculture 

Marketing Act of 1946 (AMA). Since the 

standards were last revised, numerous 

changes have occurred in the breeding 

and production practices of rice; the 

technology used to harvest, process, and 

test rice; and also rice marketing. To 

ensure that standards and official 

grading practices remain relevant, 

GIPSA invites interested parties to 

comment on whether the current rice 

standards and grading procedures need 

to be changed. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 16, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit your 

written or electronic comments on this 

notice to: 

• Mail: Tess Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 

1643–S, Washington, DC 20250–3604. 

• E-Mail: comments.gipsa@usda.gov. 

• Fax: (202) 690–2173 

• Internet: Go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov and follow the online instruction for submitting 

comments. 

All comments will become a matter of 

public record and should be identified 

as ‘‘United States Standards for Rough 

Rice, Brown Rice for Processing, and 

Milled Rice Notice Comments,’’ making 

reference to the date and page number 

of this issue of the Federal Register. 

Comments will be available for public 

inspection in the above office during 

regular business hours (7 CFR 1.27(b)). 

Please call the GIPSA Management 

Support Staff at (202) 720–7486 to make 

an appointment to read comments 

received. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Beverly A. Whalen at GIPSA, USDA, 

Beacon Facility, Stop 1404, P.O. Box 

419205, Kansas City, MO 64131–6205; 

Telephone: (816) 823–4648; Fax 

Number: (816) 823–4644; e-mail: 

Beverly.A.Whalen@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule has been determined to be 

exempt for the purposes of Executive 

Order 12866, and therefore has not been 

reviewed by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB). 

Under the authority of the AMA (7 

U.S.C. 1621–1627), as amended, GIPSA 

establishes and maintains a variety of 

quality and grade standards for 

agricultural commodities that define 

commodity quality in the domestic and 

global marketplace. Standards 

developed by GIPSA under the AMA 

include rice, whole dry peas, split peas, 

feed peas, lentils, and beans. The AMA 

standards are voluntary and widely 

used in private contracts, government 

procurement, marketing 

communication, and, for some 

commodities, consumer information. 

The U.S. Standards for Rough Rice, 

Brown Rice for Processing, and Milled 

Rice standards were last revised in 1993 

(58 FR 68015) and appear in the 

regulations at 7 CFR 868.202–868.316. 

The standards facilitate the marketing of 

rice in foreign and domestic trade, and 

provide a uniform measure of quality by 

providing a common language to 

describe commodity attributes for U.S. 

producers, exporters and their 

customers. Official procedures for 

inspections are provided in GIPSA’s 

Rice Inspection Handbook for 

determining the various grading factors. 

To learn more about Rough Rice, Brown 

Rice for Processing, and Milled Rice 

standardization and quality, visit the 

GIPSA Web site at http:// 

www.gipsa.usda.gov. 

GIPSA inspects shipments of rice in 

accordance with AMA standards to 

establish the grade of the rice and issues 

inspection certificates for each 

shipment. GIPSA-issued certificates 

describing the quality and condition of 

graded rice are accepted as prima facie 

evidence in all Federal courts (7 U.S.C 

1622(h). U.S. rice standards and the 

affiliated grading and testing services 

offered by GIPSA verify that a seller’s 

rice meets specified requirements, and 

ensure that customers receive the 

quality of rice they purchased. In 

addition to Federal usage, the rice 

standards are applied by one State and 

one private cooperator. 

In order for U.S. standards and 

grading procedures for Rough Rice, 

Brown Rice for Processing, and Milled 

Rice to remain relevant, GIPSA is 

issuing this advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking to invite interested parties 

to submit comments, ideas, and 

suggestions on all aspects of the U.S. 

rice standards and grading procedures. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627. 

J. Dudley Butler, 

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2010–23188 Filed 9–16–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–KD–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 91 

[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0067] 

RIN 0579-AD18 

Live Goats and Swine for Export; 

Removal of Certain Testing 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend 

the livestock exportation regulations to 

eliminate the requirement for pre-export 

tuberculosis and brucellosis testing of 

goats and breeding swine intended for 

export to countries that do not require 

such tests. This action would facilitate 

the exportation of goats and breeding 

swine by eliminating the need to 

conduct pre-export tuberculosis and 

brucellosis testing when the receiving 

country does not require such testing. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before November 

16, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

∑ Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

(http://www.regulations.gov/ 

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2009-0067) to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

∑ Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send one copy of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS-2009-0067, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737-1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS2009-0067. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on this 

docket in our reading room. The reading 

room is located in room 1141 of the 

USDA South Building, 14th Street and 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC. Normal reading room 

hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 690-2817 before 

coming. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

(http://www.aphis.usda.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Antonio Ramirez, Senior Staff 


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