[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 11 (Thursday, January 16, 2014)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 2773-2775] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2014-00753] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service 7 CFR Part 915 [Doc. No. AMS-FV-13-0054; FV13-915-2 FR] Avocados Grown in South Florida; Increased Assessment Rate AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Final rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This rule increases the assessment rate established for the Avocado Administrative Committee (Committee) for the 2013-14 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.25 to $0.30 per 55-pound bushel container of Florida avocados handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order, which regulates the handling of avocados grown in South Florida. Assessments upon Florida avocado handlers are used by the [[Page 2774]] Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period begins April 1 and ends March 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated. DATES: Effective Date: January 17, 2014. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Jamieson, Marketing Specialist, or Christian D. Nissen, Regional Director, Southeast Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA; Telephone: (863) 324-3375, Fax: (863) 325-8793, or Email: [email protected] or [email protected]. Small businesses may request information on complying with this regulation by contacting Jeffrey Smutny, Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA; 1400 Independence Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 720- 2491, Fax: (202) 720-8938, or Email: [email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing Order No. 915, as amended (7 CFR part 915), regulating the handling of avocados grown in South Florida, hereinafter referred to as the ``order.'' The order is effective under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-674), hereinafter referred to as the ``Act.'' The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive Orders 12866 and 13563. This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order now in effect, Florida avocado handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to administer the order are derived from such assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable to all assessable Florida avocados beginning April 1, 2013, and continue until amended, suspended, or terminated. 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 USDA 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 exempted therefrom. Such handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the petition. After the hearing, USDA 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 to review USDA's ruling on the petition, provided an action is filed not later than 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling. This rule increases the assessment rate established for the Committee for the 2013-14 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.25 to $0.30 per 55-pound bushel container of avocados. The Florida avocado marketing order provides authority for the Committee, with the approval of USDA, to formulate an annual budget of expenses and collect assessments from handlers to administer the program. The members of the Committee are producers and handlers of Florida avocados. They are familiar with the Committee's needs and with the costs of goods and services in their local area and are thus in a position to formulate an appropriate budget and assessment rate. The assessment rate is formulated and discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all directly affected persons have an opportunity to participate and provide input. For the 2012-13 and subsequent fiscal periods, the Committee recommended, and USDA approved, an assessment rate that would continue in effect from fiscal period to fiscal period unless modified, suspended, or terminated by USDA upon recommendation and information submitted by the Committee or other information available to USDA. The Committee met on June 12, 2013, and unanimously recommended 2013-14 expenditures of $472,553 and an assessment rate of $0.30 per 55-pound container of avocados. In comparison, last year's budgeted expenditures were $324,575. The assessment rate of $0.30 is $0.05 higher than the rate currently in effect. The Committee recommended increasing the assessment rate to provide additional funds for research to address the Laurel Wilt fungus, which can infect and kill avocado trees. The major expenditures recommended by the Committee for the 2013-14 year include $175,000 for research, $119,483 for salaries, and $51,500 for employee benefits. Budgeted expenses for these items in 2012-13 were $75,000, $101,705, and $48,000, respectively. The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was derived by reviewing anticipated expenses, expected shipments of Florida avocados, and available reserves. Florida avocado shipments for the year are estimated at 1,000,000 55-pound bushel containers, which should provide $300,000 in assessment income. Income derived from handler assessments and interest, and funds from the Committee's authorized reserve, should be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve (currently $465,000) will be kept within the maximum permitted by the order (approximately three fiscal periods' expenses, Sec. 915.42). The assessment rate established in this rule will continue in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated by USDA upon recommendation and information submitted by the Committee or other available information. Although this assessment rate will be in effect for an indefinite period, the Committee will continue to meet prior to or during each fiscal period to recommend a budget of expenses and consider recommendations for modification of the assessment rate. The dates and times of Committee meetings are available from the Committee or USDA. Committee meetings are open to the public and interested persons may express their views at these meetings. USDA will evaluate Committee recommendations and other available information to determine whether modification of the assessment rate is needed, and further rulemaking will be undertaken as necessary. The Committee's 2013-14 budget and those for subsequent fiscal periods would be reviewed and, as appropriate, approved by USDA. Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the economic impact of this rule on small entities. Accordingly, AMS has prepared this final regulatory flexibility analysis. 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. Marketing orders issued pursuant to the Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are unique in that they are brought about through group action of essentially small entities acting on their own behalf. There are approximately 30 handlers of Florida avocados subject to regulation under the order and approximately 300 producers of avocados in the production area. Small agricultural service firms, which include avocado handlers, are defined by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as those having annual receipts of less than $7,000,000, [[Page 2775]] and small agricultural producers are defined as those having annual receipts of less than $750,000 (13 CFR 121.201). According to Committee data and information from the National Agricultural Statistical Service, the average price for Florida avocados during the 2011-12 season was approximately $20.79 per 55- pound bushel container and total shipments were slightly higher than 1.2 million 55-pound bushels. Using the average price and shipment information, the majority of avocado handlers could be considered small businesses under SBA's definition. In addition, based on avocado production, producer prices, and the total number of Florida avocado producers, the average annual producer revenue is less than $750,000. Consequently, the majority of avocado handlers and producers may be classified as small entities. This rule increases the assessment rate for the 2013-14 and subsequent fiscal periods from the current rate of $0.25 to $0.30 per 55-pound bushel container of avocados. The Committee unanimously recommended the increased assessment rate, and 2013-14 expenditures of $472,553. The increase was recommended to provide an additional $100,000 for research to address the Laurel Wilt fungus, which can infect and kill avocado trees. As previously stated, income from handler assessments and interest, and funds from reserves, should be adequate to meet this year's expenses. Alternative expenditure and assessments levels were discussed prior to arriving at this budget. However, the Committee agreed on $472,553 in expenditures, reviewed the quantity of assessable avocados and available reserves, and recommended an assessment rate of $0.30 per 55- pound bushel container. This action increases the assessment obligation imposed on handlers. While assessments impose some additional costs on handlers, the costs are minimal and uniform on all handlers. Some of the additional costs may be passed on to producers. However, these costs are offset by the benefits derived by the operation of the marketing order. In addition, the Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout the Florida avocado industry and all interested persons were invited to attend the meeting and participate in Committee deliberations on all issues. Like all Committee meetings, the June 12, 2013, meeting was a public meeting and all entities, both large and small, were able to express views on this issue. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the order's information collection requirements have been previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and assigned OMB No. 0581-0189 Generic OMB Fruit Crops. No changes in those requirements as a result of this action are necessary. Should any changes become necessary, they would be submitted to OMB for approval. This rule imposes no additional reporting or recordkeeping requirements on either small or large Florida avocado handlers. As with all Federal marketing order programs, reports and forms are periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and duplication by industry and public sector agencies. As noted in the initial regulatory flexibility analysis, USDA has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this final rule. AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to promote the use of the internet and other information technologies to provide increased opportunities for citizen access to Government information and services, and for other purposes. A proposed rule concerning this action was published in the Federal Register on September 17, 2013 (78 FR 57099). Copies of the proposed rule were also mailed or sent via facsimile to all Florida avocado handlers. Finally, the proposal was made available through the internet by USDA and the Office of the Federal Register. A 15-day comment period ending October 2, 2013, was provided for 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/MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. Any questions about the compliance guide should be sent to Jeffrey Smutny at the previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. After consideration of all relevant material presented, including the information and recommendation submitted by the Committee and other available information, it is hereby found that this rule, as hereinafter set forth, will tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also found and determined that good cause exists for not postponing the effective date of this rule until 30 days after publication in the Federal Register because handlers are already receiving avocadoes from the 2013-14 crop from growers, the fiscal period began on April 1, 2013, and the assessment rate applies to all Florida avocados received during the 2013-14 and subsequent seasons. Further, handlers are aware of this rule which was recommended at a public meeting. Also, a 15-day comment period was provided for in the proposed rule and no comments were received. List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 915 Avocados, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 915 is amended as follows: PART 915--AVOCADOS GROWN IN SOUTH FLORIDA 0 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 915 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674. 0 2. Section 915.235 is revised to read as follows: Sec. 915.235 Assessment rate. On and after April 1, 2013, an assessment rate of $0.30 per 55- pound container or equivalent is established for avocados grown in South Florida. Dated: January 10, 2014. Rex A. Barnes, Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service. [FR Doc. 2014-00753 Filed 1-15-14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-02-P