Milk in the Southwest Plains Marketing Area; Proposed Temporary Revision of Certain Provisions of the Order

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7 CFR Part 1106

[DA-94-17]

Milk in the Southwest Plains Marketing Area; Proposed Temporary

Revision of Certain Provisions of the Order

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed temporary revision of rule.

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SUMMARY: This document invites written comments on a proposal to reduce

the shipping requirement for a cooperative association that operates a

balancing plant under the Southwest Plains Federal milk order (Order

106) for a 12-month period, beginning October 1, 1994. The proposed

action was requested by Associated Milk Producers, Inc. (AMPI), which

contends the action is necessary to prevent the uneconomic and

inefficient movement of producer milk regularly associated with the

market.

DATES: Comments are due no later than August 15, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments (two copies) should be sent to USDA/AMS/Dairy

Division, Order Formulation Branch, Room 2971, South Building, P.O. Box

96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicholas Memoli, Marketing Specialist,

USDA/AMS/Dairy Division, Order Formulation Branch, Room 2971, South

Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456 (202) 690-1932.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601-612) requires the Agency to examine the impact of a proposed rule

on small entities. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the Administrator of

the Agricultural Marketing Service has certified that this proposed

rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. This rule would lessen the regulatory impact

of the order on certain milk handlers and would tend to ensure that

dairy farmers would continue to have their milk priced under the order

and thereby receive the benefits that accrue from such pricing.

The Department is issuing this proposed rule in conformance with

Executive Order 12866.

This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,

Civil Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have a retroactive

effect. If adopted, this proposed rule will not preempt any state or

local laws, regulations, or policies, unless they present an

irreconcilable conflict with the rule.

The Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7

U.S.C. 601-674), 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 wih

the Secretary a petition stating that the order, any provisions of the

order, or any obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in

accordance with law and request a modification of an order or to be

exempted from the order. A handler is afforded the opportunity for a

hearing on the petition. After a 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

its principal place of business, has jurisdiction in equity to review

the Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided a bill in equity is

filed not later than 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling.

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the provisions of the

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act and the provisions of Sec. 1106.7

(c) and (d) of the order, the temporary revision of certain provisions

of the order regulating the handling of milk in the Southwest Plains

marketing area is being considered for the months of October 1, 1994,

through September 30, 1995.

All persons who desire to submit written data, views or arguments

about the proposed revision should send two copies of their views to

USDA/AMS/Dairy Division, Order Formulation Branch, Room 2971, South

Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456 by the 30th day

after publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

All written submissions made pursuant to this notice will be made

available for public inspection in the Dairy Division during regular

business hours (7 CFR 1.27(b)).

Statement of Consideration

The proposed revision would reduce from 45 to 35 percent the

shipping requirement for a cooperative association that operates a

balancing plant for the period of October 1994 through September 1995.

In order for a cooperative association's plant that is located in the

marketing area or in a county adjacent to the marketing area to be a

pool plant, the Southwest Plains order requires that the cooperative

deliver to pool distributing plants a minimum of 45 percent of the

total quantity of milk marketed by the cooperative, either during the

month or during the 12-month period ending with the immediately

preceding month. The order also authorizes the Director of the Dairy

Division to increase or decrease this requirement by up to 10

percentage points if such a revision is necessary to obtain needed

shipments or prevent uneconomic shipments of milk.

According to AMPI, Mid-America Dairymen (Mid-Am) and AMPI have

formed an agency for the purpose of pooling member-producers' milk.

These two cooperatives represented about 73 percent of the producers

and 77 percent of the milk pooled on Order 106 in May 1994. AMPI states

that the agency has shipped approximately 40 percent of its total

receipts to pool distributing plants during the past 12 months and

anticipates a similar demand for milk during the next 12 months. It

concludes, therefore, that the 45 percent cooperative association

shipping requirement, which was reduced to 35 percent for the period of

October 1, 1992, through September 30, 1994, should remain at that

level for the 12-month period commencing on October 1, 1994.

AMPI contends that, without the continuation of the reduced

shipping requirements, milk normally pooled under the Southwest Plains

order would become ineligible for pooling unless the cooperative made

uneconomic, inefficient, and unnecessary shipments of milk of fluid

handlers.

Accordingly, it may be necessary to reduce from 45 to 35 percent

the delivery requirement as proposed to provide for the efficient and

economic marketing of milk during the months of October 1, 1994,

through September 30, 1995.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1106

Milk marketing orders.

The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 1106 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: Secs. 1-19, 48 Stat 31, as amended; 7 U.S.C. 601-674.

Dated: July 11, 1994.

Silvio Capponi, Jr.,

Acting Director, Dairy Division

[FR Doc. 94-17244 Filed 7-14-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-M