Proposed Rule2021-20379
National Dairy Promotion and Research Board Reapportionment
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Published
September 21, 2021
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentAgricultural Marketing Service
Abstract
This document invites comments on a proposed amendment to the Dairy Promotion and Research Order (Dairy Order). The proposal would modify the number of National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (Dairy Board) members in two of the 12 regions. The total number of domestic Dairy Board members would remain the same at 36. This modification was requested by the Dairy Board, which administers the Dairy Order, to better reflect the geographic distribution of milk production in the United States.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 180 (Tuesday, September 21, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 21, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52420-52422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20379]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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.
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 21, 2021 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 52420]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 1150
[Document No. AMS-DA-20-0060]
National Dairy Promotion and Research Board Reapportionment
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: This document invites comments on a proposed amendment to the
Dairy Promotion and Research Order (Dairy Order). The proposal would
modify the number of National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (Dairy
Board) members in two of the 12 regions. The total number of domestic
Dairy Board members would remain the same at 36. This modification was
requested by the Dairy Board, which administers the Dairy Order, to
better reflect the geographic distribution of milk production in the
United States.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 21, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on
this proposed rule. Comments may be submitted through the Federal e-
rulemaking portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or emailed to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a3f4cbcad7cdc6da8df1cac0c8e3d6d0c7c28dc4ccd5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="92c5fafbe6fcf7ebbcc0fbf1f9d2e7e1f6f3bcf5fde4">[email protected]</span></a> and should reference the document number, date,
and page number of this issue of the Federal Register. All comments
submitted in response to this proposed rule will be included in the
record and will be made available to the public. Please be advised that
the identity of the individuals or entities submitting comments will be
made public on the internet at the address provided above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Whitney A. Rick, Director, Promotion,
Research, and Planning Division, Dairy Program, AMS, USDA, 1400
Independence Ave. SW, Room 2958-S, Stop 0233, Washington, DC 20250-
0233. Phone: (202) 720-6909. Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#baedd2d3ced4dfc394e8d3d9d1facfc9dedb94ddd5cc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="90c7f8f9e4fef5e9bec2f9f3fbd0e5e3f4f1bef7ffe6">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule is issued pursuant to the
Dairy Production Stabilization Act (Dairy Act) of 1983, Public Law 98-
180 as codified in 7 U.S.C. 4501-4514, as amended.
Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has waived the review
process required by Executive Order 12866 for this action. This action
falls within a category of regulatory actions that the OMB exempted
from Executive Order 12866 review.
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. This proposed rule is not intended to have a
retroactive effect. If adopted, this rule would not preempt any State
or local laws, regulations, or policies unless they present an
irreconcilable conflict with this rule.
The Dairy Act provides that administrative proceedings must be
exhausted before parties may file suit in court. Under section 118 of
the Dairy Act, any person subject to the Dairy Order may file with the
Secretary a petition stating that the Dairy Order, any provision of the
Dairy Order, or any obligation imposed in connection with the Dairy
Order is not in accordance with the law and may request a modification
of the Dairy Order or to be exempted from the Dairy Order (7 U.S.C.
4509). Such person is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the
petition. After a hearing, the Secretary would rule on the petition.
The Dairy Act provides that the district court of the United States in
any district in which the person is an inhabitant or has his principal
place of business has jurisdiction to review the Secretary's ruling on
the petition, provided a complaint is filed not later than 20 days
after the date of the entry of the ruling.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-
612), the Agricultural Marketing Service has considered the economic
impact of this action on small entities and has certified that this
proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The purpose of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of businesses
subject to such actions so that small businesses will not be
disproportionately burdened.
The Dairy Act authorizes a national program for dairy product
promotion, research and nutrition education. Congress found that it is
in the public interest to authorize the establishment of an orderly
procedure for financing (through assessments on all milk produced in
the United States for commercial use and on imported dairy products)
and carrying out a coordinated program of promotion designed to
strengthen the dairy industry's position in the marketplace and to
maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets for fluid milk and
dairy products.
The Small Business Administration (13 CFR 121.201) defines small
dairy producers as those having annual receipts of not more than
$1,000,000 annually. Most of producers subject to the provisions of the
Dairy Order are considered small entities.
This proposed rule would amend the number of members in two of the
Dairy Board's 12 geographic regions to better reflect the geographic
distribution of milk production in the United States.
The Dairy Order is administered by a 37-member Dairy Board, with 36
members representing 12 geographic regions within the United States and
one member representing importers. Section 1150.131(e) of the Dairy
Order requires the Dairy Board to review the geographic distribution of
milk production volume throughout the United States at least every five
years and not more than every three years and, if warranted, recommend
to the Secretary a reapportionment of regions in order to better
reflect the geographic distribution of milk production volume in the
United States.
Based on a review of the 2019 geographic distribution of milk
production, the Dairy Board has concluded that the number of Dairy
Board members for two regions should be changed. The Dairy Board
conducted the previous reapportionment in 2016 based on 2014 milk
production.
The proposed amendment is not expected to have significant economic
impact on persons subject to the Dairy Order. The proposed changes
merely would allow representation of the Dairy Board to better reflect
geographic milk production in the United States.
[[Page 52421]]
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
regulation (5 CFR part 1320), which implements the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), information collection requirements
and record keeping provisions imposed by the Dairy Order have been
previously approved by OMB and assigned OMB Control No. 0581-0093.
This proposed rule would not impose any additional reporting or
recordkeeping requirements on either small or large entities. As with
all Federal research and promotion programs, reports and forms are
periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and
duplication by industry and public sector agencies. USDA has not
identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or
conflict with this proposed 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.
Executive Order 13175
This proposed rule has been reviewed under E.O. 13175--Consultation
and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, which requires
agencies to consider whether their rulemaking actions would have tribal
implications. AMS has determined that this proposed rule is unlikely to
have substantial direct effects on one or more Indian tribes, on the
relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on
the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes.
Background
The Dairy Order is administered by a 37-member Dairy Board, with 36
members representing 12 geographic regions within the United States and
one member representing importers. The Dairy Order provides in section
1150.131 that the Dairy Board shall review the geographic distribution
of milk production volume throughout the United States and, if
warranted, shall recommend to the Secretary a reapportionment of
regions and/or modification of the number of producer members from
regions in order to best reflect the geographic distribution of milk
production in the United States. The Dairy Board is required to conduct
the review at least every five years and not more than every three
years. The Dairy Board conducted the previous reapportionment review in
2016 based on 2014 milk production.
The Dairy Order does not specify the procedure for calculating the
factor of pounds of milk per member. For the purposes of the current
reapportionment analysis, the procedure will remain the same as the
2016 reapportionment, by using USDA's National Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS) milk production data and dividing by 36 to determine a
factor of pounds of milk represented by each domestic Dairy Board
member. The resulting factor was then divided into pounds of milk
produced in each region to determine the number of Dairy Board members
for each region. Accordingly, the same process using 2019 milk
production data was employed for the current reapportionment
calculation.
Table 1 summarizes, by region, the volume of U.S. milk production
distribution for 2019, the percentage of total U.S. milk production,
and the current number of domestic Dairy Board seats per region.
Table 1--Current Regions and Number of Board Seats
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Milk Percentage of
Proposed regions and states production total milk Current number
(mil. lbs.) production of board seats
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1. Alaska, Oregon, Washington................................... 9,378.2 4.3 2
2. California, Hawaii........................................... 40,565.9 18.6 7
3. Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah,Wyoming............. 13,005.6 6.0 2
4. Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas................ 26,654.0 12.2 4
5. Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota........................ 13,067.0 6.0 2
6. Wisconsin.................................................... 30,601.0 14.0 5
7. Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska........................... 9,548.0 4.4 2
8. Idaho........................................................ 15,631.0 7.2 2
9. Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia....................... 20,973.0 9.6 3
10. Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, 8,528.0 3.9 2
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia..................................
11. Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania................ 11,121.7 5.1 2
12. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, 19,308.6 8.8 3
Rhode Island, Vermont..........................................
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Total:...................................................... 218,382.0 100 36
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Source: USDA NASS Milk Production, Disposition, and Income 2019 Summary.
In 2019, total U.S. milk production was 218,382 billion pounds, and
each of the domestic Dairy Board members as currently apportioned would
represent 6,066.2 million pounds of milk.
Based on 2019 milk production data, the Dairy Board proposes that
member representation in Region 8 (Idaho) be increased from two members
to three members. Milk production in Region 8 increased to 15,631
million pounds, up from 13,873 million pounds in 2014, indicating three
Dairy Board members (15,631 divided by 6,066.2 = 2.58) compared to two
members based on 2014 milk production data.
Based on 2019 milk production data, the Dairy Board proposes that
member representation in Region 10 (Alabama, District of Columbia,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina,
Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) be decreased from
two members to one member. Milk production in Region 10 decreased to
8,528 million pounds, down from 9,987 million pounds in 2014,
indicating one Dairy Board member (8,528 divided by 6,066.2 = 1.40)
compared to two members based on 2014 milk production data.
Table 2 summarizes by region the volume of U.S. milk production
distribution for 2019, the percentage of total U.S. milk production,
and the proposed number of domestic Dairy Board members.
[[Page 52422]]
Table 2--U.S. Milk Production by Region and Proposed Number of Board Seats
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Milk Percentage of Proposed
Proposed regions and states production total milk number of
(mil. lbs.) production board seats
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1. Alaska, Oregon, Washington................................... 9,378.2 4.3 2
2. California, Hawaii........................................... 40,565.9 18.6 7
3. Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming............ 13,005.6 6.0 2
4. Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas................ 26,654.0 12.2 4
5. Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota........................ 13,067.0 6.0 2
6. Wisconsin.................................................... 30,601.0 14.0 5
7. Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska........................... 9,548.0 4.4 2
8. Idaho........................................................ 15,631.0 7.2 3
9. Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia....................... 20,973.0 9.6 3
10. Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, 8,528.0 3.9 1
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia..................................
11. Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania................ 11,121.7 5.1 2
12. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, 19,308.6 8.8 3
Rhode Island, Vermont..........................................
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Total:...................................................... 218,382.0 100 36
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Source: USDA NASS Milk Production, Disposition, and Income 2019 Summary.
The Dairy Board unanimously approved the proposal to change the
number of seats in two of the 12 geographic regions. AMS independently
reviewed the Dairy Board's reapportionment proposal and concluded that
data from USDA's NASS Milk Production, Disposition, and Income 2019
Summary supports the proposed changes. During AMS's independent
analysis, AMS also determined that the Dairy Board fulfilled the Dairy
Order's requirement to conduct an evaluation and recommended changes to
the Secretary in order to best reflect the geographic distribution of
milk production volume in the United States. Therefore, after AMS's
evaluation of the Dairy reapportionment proposal, AMS agrees that the
proposed membership change would better reflect the geographic
distribution of milk production volume in the United States. A 30-day
comment period is provided for interested persons to comment on this
proposed rule.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1150
Dairy Products, Milk, Promotion, Research.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, AMS proposes to amend 7
CFR part 1150 as follows:
PART 1150--DAIRY PROMOTION PROGRAM
0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1150 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 4501-4514 and 7 U.S.C. 7401
0
2. In Sec. 1150.131, revise paragraphs (b)(8) and (10) to read as
follows:
Sec. 1150.131 Establishment and membership.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(8) Three members from region number eight comprised of the
following State: Idaho.
* * * * *
(10) One member from region number ten comprised of the following
States: Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
* * * * *
Erin Morris,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-20379 Filed 9-20-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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