Rule2024-16960
Onions Grown in South Texas; Redistricting and Reapportionment of Committee Membership
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 2, 2024
Effective
September 3, 2024
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentAgricultural Marketing Service
Abstract
This final rule implements a recommendation from the South Texas Onion Committee (Committee) to reestablish the districts in the production area and reapportion representation on the Committee. This action reduces the number of districts from two to one and reapportions membership to reflect changes in the industry, provide equitable representation on the Committee, and create the opportunity for more producers and handlers to serve on the Committee.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 149 (Friday, August 2, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 149 (Friday, August 2, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63079-63082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16960]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 959
[Doc. No. AMS-SC-23-0040]
Onions Grown in South Texas; Redistricting and Reapportionment of
Committee Membership
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture
(USDA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule implements a recommendation from the South
Texas Onion Committee (Committee) to reestablish the districts in the
production area and reapportion representation on the Committee. This
action reduces the number of districts from two to one and reapportions
membership to reflect changes in the industry, provide equitable
representation on the Committee, and create the opportunity for more
producers and handlers to serve on the Committee.
DATES: Effective September 3, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Delaney Fuhrmeister, Marketing
Specialist, or Christian D. Nissen, Chief, Southeast Region Branch,
Market Development Division, Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA;
Telephone: (863) 324-3375, Fax: (863) 291-8614, or Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#82c6e7eee3ece7fbacc4f7eaf0efe7ebf1f6e7f0c2f7f1e6e3ace5edf4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3377565f525d564a1d75465b415e565a4047564173464057521d545c45">[email protected]</span></a> or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e3a08b918a90978a828dcdad8a9090868da396908782cd848c95"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cd8ea5bfa4beb9a4aca3e383a4bebea8a38db8bea9ace3aaa2bb">[email protected]</span></a>.
Small businesses may request information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Richard Lower, Market Development Division,
Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP
0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 720-8085, Fax: (202)
720-8938, or Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5d0f343e353c2f397311322a382f1d282e393c733a322b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8cdee5efe4edfee8a2c0e3fbe9feccf9ffe8eda2ebe3fa">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553,
amends regulations issued to carry out a marketing order as defined in
7 CFR 900.2(j). This rule is issued under Marketing Order No. 959, as
amended (7 CFR part 959), regulating the handling of onions in South
Texas. Part 959 (referred to as 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 Committee locally
administers the Order and is comprised of producers and handlers of
onions operating within the production area.
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is issuing this rule in
conformance with Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094. Executive
Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094 direct agencies to assess all costs and
benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is
necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits
(including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety
effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive Order 13563
emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits,
reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and promoting flexibility. Executive
Order 14094 reaffirms, supplements, and updates Executive Order 12866
and further directs agencies to solicit and consider input from a wide
range of affected and interested parties through a variety of means.
This action falls within a category of regulatory actions that the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) exempted from Executive Order
12866 review.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 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 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.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988--Civil
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.
The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted
before parties may file suit in court. Under sec. 608c(15)(A) of the
Act, any handler subject to an order may file with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (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 redistricts and reapportions the membership of the
Committee as prescribed under the Order. This rule consolidates the
current two districts into a single district and reapportions all
Committee membership to the single district. These actions reflect
changes in the industry, will help provide equitable representation on
the Committee and create opportunity for more producers and handlers to
serve on the Committee. Further, these changes will better enable
Committee staff to conduct nominations and ensure the appointment of a
full Committee, allowing for an easier achievement of quorum at
assembled meetings. The Committee unanimously recommended these changes
when meeting on June 8, 2023.
Section 959.22 of the Order provides for the establishment of
membership on the Committee and states that the Committee shall consist
of thirteen members, eight of whom shall be producers and five of whom
shall be handlers. Each member shall have an alternate.
Section 959.24 currently defines the counties in Texas that make up
District No. 1 and District No. 2 for the purpose of selecting
Committee members. Section 959.26 specifies that District No. 1 is
represented by five producer members and alternates and three handler
members and alternates, and District No. 2 is represented by three
producer members and alternates and two handler members and alternates.
Section 959.25 authorizes the Committee to recommend, with the
approval of the Secretary, reapportionment of members among districts,
and the reestablishment of districts within the production area. This
section also provides that, in making such recommendations, the
Committee shall consider shifts in onion acreage or production within
the districts, the importance of new
[[Page 63080]]
production in relation to existing districts, the equitable
relationship of Committee membership in districts, economies to result
for producers in promoting efficient administration due to
redistricting or reapportionment, and other relevant factors.
This rule adds two new sections to the rules and regulations under
the Order using the authority in Sec. 959.25. Section 959.110
reestablishes the districts currently identified in the Order from two
districts to one single district, and Sec. 959.111 reapportions the
eight producer seats and five handler seats and their alternates to the
new single district.
In 2017, the Committee recommended reducing the Committee size from
34 members to 26 members by removing one producer and one handler from
each district. The Committee recommended this change due to the
decrease in the number of onion handlers and producers, and believed
having a smaller Committee would help fulfill membership and quorum
requirements. The final rule reducing the Committee size was published
in the Federal Register on March 22, 2019 (84 FR 10665).
Despite reducing the Committee size in 2019, the Committee
continued to face difficulty filling member and alternate seats and
meeting quorum. Consequently, at its meeting on June 8, 2023, the
Committee reviewed the need to reapportion the membership and/or
redistrict the production area. In its discussion, the Committee
considered the distribution of production between the two districts and
the ongoing difficulty with finding candidates to fill membership
positions, with Committee staff reporting that this was a particularly
difficult task in District 2. Given the current state of the industry,
discussion focused on combining the current two districts into a single
district representing the entire production area.
The 2022-2023 fiscal period saw a 39-percent increase in acreage
planted from the previous year. However, from 2018-2019 to 2022-2023,
industry production decreased by 28 percent. During this time, the
percentage of industry acreage has remained stable between the two
districts, with District 1 accounting for around 85 percent of industry
acreage and District 2 accounting for around 15 percent. Production
totals between the two districts also reflect a similar distribution as
the percentages for acreage.
Since the reduction in Committee size in 2019, the industry has
also experienced some additional consolidation, with the number of
producers and handlers continuing to decline. As with acreage and
production, there is also a disparity in the number of producers and
handlers between the districts, with District 1 having considerably
more producers and handlers (71) than District 2 (9). Consequently,
District 2 has more representation on the Committee than is supported
by either the volume of production or by the numbers of producers and
handlers represented.
In addition, because of the limited number of producers and
handlers in District 2, it has been difficult to find qualified
nominees to fill the available member and alternate seats on the
Committee. In its discussion, the Committee recognized this would
continue to be a problem, and one that could become more difficult
should there be any further consolidation in District 2. The Committee
found that this, when combined with the disparity in volume and
industry numbers, supports the need to adjust the current membership
structure to make the Committee more reflective of the industry.
At the June meeting, there was little interest expressed in
considering another reduction in the size of the Committee, or for
further reapportioning the membership between the two districts to
increase the number of seats available in District 1. Neither of these
options received a motion. Committee members discussed that,
historically, onion production in South Texas was separated by two
distinct seasons with District 1 operating from May to July and
District 2 from March to May; however, the Committee recognized the
industry has been experiencing a shift, with District 1 and District 2
now aligning as a consolidated industry operationally with a single
season from March to July.
Considering this shift in the industry, the distribution of
production, and current Committee representation, the Committee
recommended combining current Districts 1 and 2 into a new single
district representing the entire production area. The Committee also
recommended that all member and alternate seats be reapportioned to the
reestablished district. By combining both District 1 and District 2
into a single district, the Committee believes it should enable the
Committee to fulfill membership and quorum requirements and make the
Committee more reflective of the industry.
These changes also make the representation on the Committee more
equitable and create the opportunity for more industry members to
serve. Currently, producers and handlers in District 1 that may be
interested in serving are not eligible to serve in the seats available
in District 2. By combining the two districts, the Committee is
addressing the issue of the limited number of producers and handlers in
District 2, opening the available seats to all producers and handlers
within the production area. In considering these changes, Committee
members agreed that producers and handlers in District 2 will still
have an opportunity to be nominated and elected to serve.
Accordingly, at the June 8, 2023, meeting, the Committee voted
unanimously to reduce the number of districts from two to one, and to
reapportion the producer and handler membership to the single district.
The Committee believes these changes will make the representation on
the Committee more reflective of the South Texas onion industry and
create opportunities for other producers and handlers to serve on the
Committee.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), 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 23 handlers of South Texas onions subject to regulation
under the marketing order and approximately 55 producers of South Texas
onions in the production area. At the time this analysis was prepared,
the Small Business Administration (SBA) defined small agricultural
service firms as those having annual receipts of less than $34,000,000
(North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 115114,
Postharvest Crop Activities), and small agricultural producers are
defined as those having annual receipts of less than $3,750,000 (NAICS
code 111219, Other Vegetable and Melon Farming) (13 CFR 121.201).
Based on data from Market News and production records from the
Committee, the average price for South Texas onions during the 2023
season was approximately $23.25 per 50-pound equivalent with total
shipments of
[[Page 63081]]
around 3.02 million 50-pound equivalents shipped. Using the average
price and shipment data, handlers have average annual receipts below
$34 million and could be considered small businesses under SBA's
definition ($23.25 multiplied by 3.02 million 50-pound equivalents
equals $70,215,000, divided by 23 equals $3.05 million).
In addition, based on data from the National Agricultural
Statistics Service and the Committee, the average price producers
received for South Texas onions during the 2022-2023 season was
approximately $17 per 50-pound equivalent, with total shipments of
around 3.02 million 50-pound equivalents. Using the average price
producers received and shipment information, the number of producers,
and assuming a normal distribution, the majority of producers have
estimated average annual receipts significantly less than $3.75 million
($17 multiplied by 3.02 million 50-pound equivalents equals
$51,340,000, divided by 55 producers equals $933,455 per producer).
Therefore, the majority of handlers and producers of South Texas onions
may be classified as small entities.
This rule reduces the number of districts under the Order from two
districts to one and reapportions the producer and handler member and
alternate seats to the single district. The Committee believes that
these changes will realign the Committee to reflect the composition of
the industry, provide for equitable representation, and create the
opportunity for more producers and handlers to serve on the Committee.
This rulemaking establishes Sec. Sec. 959.110 and 959.111 in the rules
and regulations under the Order to establish the single district and to
allot the members and alternates to the single district. The authority
for this action is provided in Sec. 959.25. These changes were
unanimously recommended by the Committee at a meeting on June 8, 2023.
It is not anticipated that this action will impose any additional
costs on the industry. Given the division of production, the
distribution of producers and handlers across the industry, and the
difficulty in filling member and alternate seats on the Committee, this
action will have a beneficial impact that aligns the Committee
membership to reflect the industry. Redistricting and reapportionment
of the membership also makes it easier for Committee staff to conduct
nominations, provide nominees for all seats, and readily achieve a
quorum when meetings are assembled. These changes save time and
operating resources by making it easier to find candidates to serve on
the Committee, improving the efficiency of operations. This also helps
avoid the cost associated with travel and assembly of a meeting where a
quorum is not achieved.
These changes also provide for more equitable representation on the
Committee and increase diversity by allowing more producers and
handlers the opportunity to serve. These changes are intended to make
the Committee more representative of the current industry. The effects
of this rulemaking will not be disproportionately greater or less for
small entities than for larger entities. The Committee discussed
alternatives to these changes, including making no changes,
reapportioning the Committee membership, and further reducing the size
of the Committee. The Committee recognized there is a disparity in the
volume of onions produced and the number of producers and handlers
between the districts. The Committee determined changes were needed to
make the districts and the apportionment of members more reflective of
the current industry. Members agreed that further reducing the
Committee size could negatively affect industry participation, and that
combining the districts rather than reducing the number of seats allows
for a wider participation from candidates who want to serve on the
Committee. Therefore, for the reasons above, these alternatives were
rejected.
The Committee's meetings are widely publicized throughout the South
Texas onion industry and all interested persons are invited to attend
the meetings and participate in Committee deliberations on all issues.
Like all Committee meetings, the June meeting was a public meeting and
all entities, both large and small, were able to express views on this
issue. Finally, interested persons were invited to submit comments on
this rule, including the regulatory impacts of this action on small
businesses.
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 OMB and assigned OMB No. 0581-0178, Vegetable
and Specialty Crops. No changes in those requirements will be necessary
as a result of this rule. Should any changes become necessary, they
will be submitted to OMB for approval.
This final rule will not impose any additional reporting or
recordkeeping requirements on either small or large South Texas onion
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.
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.
AMS has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate,
overlap, or conflict with this rule.
A proposed rule concerning this action was published in the Federal
Register on April 8, 2024 (89 FR 24393). Copies of the proposed rule
were provided to all South Florida onion handlers. The proposal was
also made available through the internet by USDA and the Office of the
Federal Register. A 30-day comment period ending May 8, 2024, was
provided for interested persons to respond to the proposal. AMS
received one comment from an industry member located in District 1 who
expressed opposition to the proposal but provided no substantive data
or justification. After reviewing the comment, AMS made no changes to
the rule as proposed.
A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at:
<a href="https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/moa/small-businesses">https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/moa/small-businesses</a>. Any
questions about the compliance guide should be sent to Richard Lower at
the previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section.
After consideration of all relevant material presented, including
the information and recommendations submitted by the Committee and
other available information, AMS has determined that this final rule is
consistent with and will effectuate the purposes of the Act.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 959
Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Agriculture
Marketing Service amends 7 CFR part 959 as follows:
PART 959--ONIONS GROWN IN SOUTH TEXAS
0
1. The authority citation for part 959 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
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2. Add Sec. 959.110 to read as follows:
[[Page 63082]]
Sec. 959.110 Reestablishment of districts.
Pursuant to Sec. 959.25, a single district is reestablished to
include all counties in the production area as follows: the counties of
Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, DeWitt, Dimmit,
Duval, Frio, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Val Verde,
Kenedy, Kinney, Kleberg, La Salle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen,
Medina, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde, Victoria, Webb,
Willacy, Wilson, Zavala and Zapata in the State of Texas.
0
3. Add Sec. 959.111 to read as follows:
Sec. 959.111 Reapportionment of Committee membership.
Pursuant to Sec. 959.25, the Committee membership of eight
producer members and five handler members and the respective alternates
is reapportioned to a single district made up of all counties in the
production area.
Melissa R. Bailey,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-16960 Filed 8-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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