Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2011/02/25/2011-4269/tart-cherries-grown-in-the-states-of-michigan-et-al-final-free-and-restricted-percentages-for-the
Timestamp: 2016-10-23 06:10:25
Document Index: 786434138

Matched Legal Cases: ['§\u2009930', '§\u2009930', '§\u2009930', '§\u2009930', '§\u2009930', '§\u2009930', '§\u2009930', 'art 1320', 'art 930', 'art2', '§\u2009930']

:: Tart Cherries Grown in the States of Michigan, et al.; Final Free and Restricted Percentages for the 2010-2011 Crop Year for Tart Cherries
Tart Cherries Grown in the States of Michigan, et al.; Final Free and Restricted Percentages for the 2010-2011 Crop Year for Tart Cherries
A Rule by the Agricultural Marketing Service on 02/25/2011
76 FR 10471
10471-10476
Doc. No. AMS-FV-10-0081
FV10-930-4 FR
2011-4269
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2011-4269
Start Printed Page 10471
This rule establishes final free and restricted percentages under the tart cherry marketing order for the 2010-2011 crop year. The percentages are 58 percent free and 42 percent restricted and will establish the proportion of cherries from the 2010 crop which may be handled in commercial outlets. The percentages are intended to stabilize supplies and prices, and strengthen market conditions. The percentages were recommended by the Cherry Industry Administrative Board (Board), the body that 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: February 26, 2011.
Kenneth G. Johnson, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, Unit 155, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD 20737; telephone: (301) 734-5245, Fax: (301) 734-5275; E-mail: Kenneth.Johnson@ams.usda.gov.
Small businesses may request information on complying with this regulation by contacting Antoinette Carter, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; telephone: (202) 720-2491, Fax: (202) 720-8938, or E-mail: Antoinette.Carter@ams.usda.gov.
This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order provisions now in effect, final free and restricted percentages may be established for tart cherries handled by handlers during the crop year. This rule establishes final free and restricted percentages for tart cherries for the 2010-2011 crop year, beginning July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011.
The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted before parties may file suit in court. Under section 608c(15)(A) of the Act, any handler subject to an order may file with the Secretary a petition stating that the order, any provision of the order, or any obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance with law and request a modification of the order or to be exempt therefrom. Such handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the petition. After the hearing, the Secretary would rule on the petition. The Act provides that the district court of the United States in any district in which the handler is an inhabitant, or has his or her principal place of business, has jurisdiction in equity to review the Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided an action is filed not later than 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
The order prescribes procedures for computing an optimum supply and preliminary and final percentages that establish the amount of tart cherries that can be marketed throughout the season. The regulations apply to all handlers of tart cherries that are in the regulated districts. Tart cherries in the free percentage category may be shipped immediately to any market, while restricted percentage tart cherries must be held by handlers in a primary or secondary reserve, or be diverted in accordance with § 930.59 of the order and § 930.159 of the regulations, or used for exempt purposes (to obtain diversion credit) under § 930.62 of the order and § 930.162 of the regulations. The regulated Districts for the 2010-2011 crop year are: District two-Central Michigan; District three-Southern Michigan; District four-New York; District seven-Utah; District eight-Washington; and District nine-Wisconsin. Districts one, five, and six (Northern Michigan, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, respectively) are not regulated for the 2010-2011 season.
The order prescribes under § 930.52 that those districts to be regulated shall be those districts in which the average annual production of cherries over the prior three years has exceeded six million pounds. A district not meeting the six million-pound requirement shall not be regulated in such crop year. Because this requirement was not met in the Districts of Oregon and Pennsylvania, handlers in those districts are not subject to volume regulation during the 2010-2011 crop year. Section 930.52 of the order also provides that any district producing a crop which is less than 50 percent of the average annual processed production in that district in the previous five years is exempt from volume regulation. Thus, Northern Michigan is also not subject to volume regulation for the 2010-2011 crop year because its 2010 crop production was less than 50 percent of its 5-year average production due to weather related crop damage.
Demand for tart cherries at the farm level is derived from the demand for tart cherry products at retail. Demand for tart cherries and tart cherry products tend to be relatively stable from year to year. The supply of tart cherries, by contrast, varies greatly from crop year to crop year. The magnitude of annual fluctuations in tart cherry supplies is one of the most pronounced for any agricultural commodity in the United States. In addition, since tart cherries are processed either into cans or frozen, they can be stored and carried over from crop year to crop year. This creates Start Printed Page 10472substantial coordination and marketing problems. The supply and demand for tart cherries is rarely balanced. The primary purpose of setting free and restricted percentages is to balance supply with demand and reduce large surpluses that may occur.
The order also provides that on or about July 1 of each crop year, the Board is to establish preliminary free and restricted percentages. These percentages are computed by deducting the actual carryin inventory from the optimum supply figure (adjusted to raw product equivalent—the actual weight of cherries handled to process into cherry products) and subtracting that figure from the current year's USDA crop forecast or from an average of such other crop estimates the Board votes to use. If the resulting number is positive, this represents the estimated over-production, which would be the restricted tonnage. The restricted tonnage is then divided by the sum of the crop estimates for the regulated districts to obtain a preliminary restricted percentage for the regulated districts. The preliminary free percentage is the difference between the restricted percentage and 100 percent. If the tonnage requirements for the year are more than the USDA crop forecast, the Board is required to establish a preliminary free tonnage percentage of 100 percent and a preliminary restricted percentage of zero. The Board is required to announce the preliminary percentages in accordance with paragraph (h) of § 930.50.
The Board met on June 17, 2010, and computed, for the 2010-2011 crop year, an optimum supply of 170 million pounds. The Board recommended that the desirable carryout figure be zero pounds. Desirable carryout is the amount of fruit required to be carried into the succeeding crop year and is set by the Board after considering market circumstances and needs. This figure can range from zero to a maximum of 20 million pounds.
The Board calculated preliminary free and restricted percentages as follows: The USDA estimate of the crop for the entire production area was 195 million pounds; a 51 million pound carryin (based on Board estimates) was subtracted from the optimum supply of 170 million pounds which resulted in the 2010-2011 poundage requirements (adjusted optimum supply) of 119 million pounds. The carryin figure reflects the amount of cherries that handlers actually have in inventory at the beginning of the 2010-2011 crop year. Subtracting the adjusted optimum supply of 119 million pounds from the USDA crop estimate, (195 million pounds) resulted in a surplus of 76 million pounds of tart cherries. The surplus was divided by the production in the regulated districts (191 million pounds) and resulted in a restricted percentage of 40 percent for the 2010-2011 crop year. The free percentage was 60 percent (100 percent minus 40 percent). The Board established these percentages and announced them to the industry as required by the order.
The preliminary percentages were based on the USDA production estimate and the following supply and demand information available at the June meeting for the 2010-2011 crop year:
Millions of poundsOptimum Supply Formula:(1) Average sales of the prior three years170(2) Plus desirable carryout0(3) Optimum supply calculated by the Board at the June meeting170Preliminary Percentages:(4) USDA crop estimate195(5) Carryin held by handlers as of July 1, 200951(6) Adjusted optimum supply for current crop year119(7) Surplus76(8) USDA crop estimate for regulated districts191
PercentagesFreeRestricted(9) Preliminary percentages (item 7 divided by item 8 × 100 equals restricted percentage; 100 minus restricted percentage equals free percentage)6040
Between July 1 and September 15 of each crop year, the Board may modify the preliminary free and restricted percentages by announcing interim free and restricted percentages to adjust to the actual pack occurring in the industry. No later than September 15, the Board must recommend final free and restricted percentages to the Secretary.
The Secretary establishes final free and restricted percentages through the informal rulemaking process. These percentages would make available the tart cherries necessary to achieve the optimum supply figure calculated by the Board. The difference between any final free percentage and 100 percent is the final restricted percentage.
The Board met on September 10, 2010, to recommend final free and restricted percentages. The actual production reported by the Board was 189 million pounds, which is a 6 million pound decrease from the USDA crop estimate of 195 million pounds.
The Board also recommended an economic adjustment of 20 million pounds to be subtracted from the surplus to adjust the supply for the poor quality and yields due to adverse harvest conditions in various parts of the production area. Handlers stated that processing yields from the 2010 tart cherry harvest were significantly lower this year than in previous years. The lower yields resulted in processors using more raw tart cherries than usual Start Printed Page 10473to produce a given amount of finished product.
A 51 million pound carryin (based on handler reports) was subtracted from the optimum supply of 170 million pounds which resulted in the 2010-2011 poundage requirements (adjusted optimum supply) of 119 million pounds. Subtracting the adjusted optimum supply of 119 million pounds from the actual production of 189 million pounds results in a surplus of 70 million pounds of tart cherries. An economic adjustment of 20 million pounds was subtracted from the surplus, resulting in an adjusted surplus of 50 million pounds of tart cherries. The adjusted surplus of 50 million pounds was divided by the production in the regulated districts (120 million pounds) and resulted in a restricted percentage of 42 percent for the 2010-2011 crop year. The free percentage was 58 percent (100 percent minus 42 percent).
The final percentages are based on the Board's reported production figures and the following supply and demand information available in September for the 2010-2011 crop year:
Millions of poundsOptimum Supply Formula:(1) Average sales of the prior three years170(2) Plus desirable carryout0(3) Optimum supply calculated by the Board170Final Percentages:(4) Board reported production189(5) Carryin held by handlers as of July 1, 201051(6) Adjusted optimum supply119(7) Surplus (item 4 minus item 6)70(8) Economic adjustment20(9) Adjusted surplus (item 7 minus item 8)50(10) Production in regulated districts120
PercentagesFreeRestricted(11) Final Percentages (item 9 divided by item 10 × 100 equals restricted percentage; 100 minus restricted percentage equals free percentage)5842
The USDA's “Guidelines for Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crop Marketing Orders” specify that 110 percent of recent years' sales should be made available to primary markets each season before recommendations for volume regulation are approved. This goal would be met by the establishment of a final percentage which releases 100 percent of the optimum supply and the additional release of tart cherries provided under § 930.50(g). This release of tonnage, equal to 10 percent of the average sales of the prior three years, is made available to handlers each season. The Board recommended that such release should be made available to handlers the first week of December and the first week of May. Handlers can decide how much of the 10 percent release they would like to receive on the December and May release dates. Once released, such cherries are available for free use by such handler. Approximately 17 million pounds would be made available to handlers this season in accordance with Department Guidelines. This release would be made available to every handler in proportion to the handler's percentage of the total regulated crop handled. If a handler does not take his/her proportionate amount, such amount remains in the inventory reserve.
There are approximately 40 handlers of tart cherries who are subject to regulation under the tart cherry marketing order and approximately 600 producers of tart cherries in the regulated area. Small agricultural service firms, which includes handlers, have been defined by the Small Business Administration (SBA) (13 CFR 121.201) as those having annual receipts of less than $7,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined as those having annual receipts of less than $750,000. A majority of the producers and handlers are considered small entities under SBA's standards.
The principal demand for tart cherries is in the form of processed products. Tart cherries are dried, frozen, canned, juiced, and pureed. During the period 1997/98 through 2008/09, approximately 85 percent of the U.S. tart cherry crop, or 222.7 million pounds, was processed annually. Of the 222.7 million pounds of tart cherries processed, 61 percent was frozen, 27 percent was canned, and 12 percent was utilized for juice and other products.
Based on National Agricultural Statistics Service data, acreage in the United States devoted to tart cherry production has been trending downward. Bearing acreage has declined from a high of 50,050 acres in 1987/88 to 35,550 acres in 2009/10. This represents a 29 percent decrease in total bearing acres. Michigan leads the nation in tart cherry acreage with 73 percent of the total and produces about 75 percent of the U.S. tart cherry crop each year.
The 2010/11 crop is 189 million pounds. This production level is 6 million pounds less than the 195.3 million pounds estimated by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in June. The largest crop occurred in 1995 with production in the regulated districts reaching a record 395.6 million pounds. The price per pound received by tart cherry growers Start Printed Page 10474ranged from a low of 7.3 cents in 1987 to a high of 46.4 cents in 1991. These problems of wide supply and price fluctuations in the tart cherry industry are national in scope and impact. Growers testified during the order promulgation process that the prices they received often did not come close to covering the costs of production.
In an effort to stabilize prices, the tart cherry industry uses the volume control mechanisms under the authority of the Federal marketing order. This authority allows the industry to set free and restricted percentages. These restricted percentages are only applied to states or districts with a 3-year average of production greater than six million pounds, and to states or districts in which the production is 50 percent or more of the previous 5-year processed production average.
The price that growers receive for their crop is largely determined by the total production volume and carryin inventories. The Federal marketing order permits the industry to exercise supply control provisions, which allow for the establishment of free and restricted percentages for the primary market, and a storage program. The establishment of restricted percentages impacts the production to be marketed in the primary market, while the storage program has an impact on the volume of unsold inventories.
The volume control mechanism used by the cherry industry results in decreased supplies to primary markets. Without volume control the primary markets (domestic) would likely be over-supplied, resulting in lower grower prices.
To assess the impact that volume control has on the prices growers receive for their product, an econometric model has been developed. The econometric model provides a way to see what impacts volume control may have on grower prices. The two districts in Michigan, along with the districts in Utah, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin are the restricted areas for this crop year and their combined total production is 120 million pounds. A 42 percent restriction means 70 million pounds is available to be shipped to primary markets from these five states. Production levels of 65.3 million pounds for Northwest Michigan, 1.2 million pounds for Oregon, and 2.2 million pounds for Pennsylvania (the unregulated areas in 2010/11), result in an additional 69 million pounds available for primary market shipments.
In addition, USDA requires a 10 percent release from reserves as a market growth factor. This results in an additional 17 million pounds being available for the primary market. The 70 million pounds from the two Michigan districts, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and New York, the 69 million pounds from the other producing states, the 17 million pound release, and the 51 million pound carryin inventory gives a total of 207 million pounds being available for the primary markets.
The econometric model is used to estimate the impact of establishing a reserve pool for this year's crop. With the volume controls, grower prices are estimated to be approximately $0.12 per pound higher than without volume controls.
The use of volume controls is estimated to have a positive impact on growers' total revenues. With regulation, growers' total revenue from processed cherries is estimated to be $23 million higher than without restrictions. The without-restrictions scenario assumes that all tart cherries produced would be delivered to processors for payments.
It is concluded that the 42 percent volume control would not unduly burden producers, particularly smaller growers. The 42 percent restriction would be applied to the growers in two districts in Michigan, New York, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. The growers in the other unregulated areas covered under the marketing order will benefit from this restriction.
Recent grower prices have been as high as $0.44 per pound in 2002-03 when there was a crop failure. Prices in the last two crop years have been $0.372 in 2008-09 and $0.194 per pound in 2009-10. At current production levels, yield is estimated at approximately 10,251 pounds per acre. At this level of yield the cost of production is estimated to be $0.25 per pound (costs were estimated by representatives of Michigan State University with input provided by growers for the current Start Printed Page 10475crop). The grower price for 2010-11 will likely be less than $0.25 per pound for the combined free and restricted production. Thus, this year's grower price even with regulation is estimated to be below the cost of production. The use of volume controls is believed to have little or no effect on consumer prices and will not result in fewer retail sales or sales to food service outlets.
Without the use of volume controls, the industry could be expected to start to build large amounts of unwanted inventories. These inventories have a depressing effect on grower prices. The econometric model shows for every 1 million-pound increase in carryin inventories, a decrease in grower prices of $0.0036 per pound occurs. The use of volume controls allows the industry to supply the primary markets while avoiding the disastrous results of over-supplying these markets. In addition, through volume control, the industry has an additional supply of cherries that can be used to develop secondary markets such as exports and the development of new products. The use of reserve cherries in the production shortened 2002/03 crop year proved to be very useful and beneficial to growers and packers.
In discussing the possibility of marketing percentages for the 2010-2011 crop year, the Board considered the following factors contained in the marketing policy: (1) The estimated total production of tart cherries; (2) the estimated size of the crop to be handled; (3) the expected general quality of such cherry production; (4) the expected carryover as of July 1 of canned and frozen cherries and other cherry products; (5) the expected demand conditions for cherries in different market segments; (6) supplies of competing commodities; (7) an analysis of economic factors having a bearing on the marketing of cherries; (8) the estimated tonnage held by handlers in primary or secondary inventory reserves; and (9) any estimated release of primary or secondary inventory reserve cherries during the crop year.
The Board's review of the factors resulted in the computation and announcement in September 2010 of the free and restricted percentages proposed to be established by this rule (58 percent free and 42 percent restricted).
One alternative to this action would be not to have volume regulation this season. Board members believed that no volume regulation would be detrimental to the tart cherry industry.
As mentioned earlier, the Department's “Guidelines for Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crop Marketing Orders” specify that 110 percent of recent years' sales should be made available to primary markets each season before recommendations for volume regulation are approved. The quantity available under this rule is 110 percent of the quantity shipped in the prior three years.
The free and restricted percentages established by this rule release the optimum supply and apply uniformly to all regulated handlers in the industry, regardless of size. There are no known additional costs incurred by small handlers that are not incurred by large handlers. The stabilizing effects of the percentages impact all handlers positively by helping them maintain and expand markets, despite seasonal supply fluctuations. Likewise, price stability positively impacts all producers by allowing them to better anticipate the revenues their tart cherries will generate.
In compliance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations (5 CFR part 1320) which implement the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13), the information collection and recordkeeping requirements under the tart cherry marketing order have been previously approved by OMB and assigned OMB Number 0581-0177.
As noted in the initial regulatory flexibility analysis, the Department has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this regulation.
In addition, the Board's meeting was widely publicized throughout the tart cherry industry and all interested persons were invited to attend the meeting and participate in Board deliberations on all issues. Like all Board meetings, the September 10, 2010, meeting was a public meeting and all entities, both large and small, were able to express views on this issue.
A proposed rule concerning this action was published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2010 (75 FR 77564). Copies of the rule were mailed or sent via facsimile to all Board members and alternates. Finally, the rule was made available through the Internet by USDA and the Office of the Federal Register. A 30-day comment period ending January 12, 2011, was provided to allow interested persons to respond to the proposal. No comments were received.
A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/​fv/​moab.html. Any questions about the compliance guide should be sent to Antoinette Carter at the previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
It is further found that good cause exists for not postponing the effective date of this rule until 30 days after publication in the Federal Register (5 U.S.C. 553) because handlers are already shipping tart cherries from the 2010-2011 crop. Further, handlers are aware of this rule, which was recommended at a public meeting. Also a 30-day comment period was provided for in the proposed rule. No comments were received.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 930 is amended as follows:
Start Printed Page 10476
Start Amendment Part2. Section 930.256 is added to read as follows:End Amendment Part
§ 930.256 Final free and restricted percentages for the 2010-2011 crop year.
The final percentages for tart cherries handled by handlers during the crop year beginning on July 1, 2010, which shall be free and restricted, respectively, are designated as follows: Free percentage, 58 percent and restricted percentage, 42 percent.
Dated: February 18, 2011.
[FR Doc. 2011-4269 Filed 2-24-11; 8:45 am]