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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7 CFR Part 1106

[DA-94-08]

Milk in the Southwest Plains Marketing Area; Proposed Suspension

of Certain Provisions of the Order

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed suspension of rule.

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SUMMARY: This document invites written comments on a proposal to

suspend certain provisions of the Southwest Plains Federal milk

marketing order (Order 106) for the months of February 1994 through

August 1996. The proposal would suspend a portion of the supply plant

shipping requirement and the touch-base requirement during the months

of February through August of each year. The action was requested by

Kraft General Foods (Kraft), which contends the suspension is necessary

to prevent the uneconomical and inefficient movement of milk and to

ensure that producers historically associated with the market will

continue to have their milk pooled under Order 106.

DATES: Comments are due no later than February 22, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments (two copies) should be filed with the USDA/AMS/

Dairy Division, Order Formulation Branch, room 2968, 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 2968, 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

action would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. Such action 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 rule in conformance with Executive

Order 12866.

This proposed suspension has been reviewed under Executive Order

12778, Civil Justice Reform. This action is not intended to have a

retroactive effect. If adopted, this proposed action 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, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-

674), provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted before

parties may file suit in court. Under section 8c(15)(A) of the Act, any

handler subject to an order may file with 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 the 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 of 1937, suspension of the

following provisions of the order regulating the handling of milk in

the Southwest Plains marketing area is being considered for the months

of February through August of 1994 through 1996, effective upon

publication in the Federal Register:

In Sec. 1106.6, the words ``during the month''.

In Sec. 1106.7(b)(1), beginning with the words ``of February

through August'' and continuing to the end of the paragraph.

In Sec. 1106.13, paragraph (d)(1) in its entirety.

All persons who wish to send written data, views or arguments about

the proposed suspension should send two copies of them to the USDA/AMS/

Dairy Division, Order Formulation Branch, room 2968, South Building,

P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456, by the 7th day after

publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The period for

filing comments is limited to 7 days because a longer period would not

provide the time needed to complete the required procedures before the

requested suspension is to be effective.

The comments that are sent will be made available for public

inspection in the Dairy Division during normal business hours (7 CFR

1.27(b)).

Statement of Consideration

The proposed suspension would suspend the requirement that

producers ``touch-base'' at a pool plant with at least one day's

production during the month before their milk is eligible for diversion

to a nonpool plant. By suspending the touch-base provision, producer

milk would not be required to be delivered to pool plants before going

to unregulated manufacturing plants.

Additionally, the proposed suspension would allow a supply plant

that has been associated with the Southwest Plains order during the

months of September through January of each year to qualify as a pool

plant without shipping any milk to a pool distributing plant during the

following months of February through August. Without the suspension, a

supply plant would be required to ship 20 percent of its producer

receipts to pool distributing plants to qualify as a pool plant during

each of the months of February through August.

According to Kraft's letter requesting the suspension, supplemental

milk supplies will not be needed to meet the fluid needs of

distributing plants. Kraft anticipates that there will be an adequate

supply of direct-ship producer milk located in the general area of

distributing plants available to meet the Class I needs of the market.

Consequently, it states, there is no need to require producers located

some distance from pool distributing plants to touch-base when their

milk can more economically be diverted directly to manufacturing plants

in the production area.

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: February 7, 1994.

Lon Hatamiya,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 94-3327 Filed 2-11-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P