Vidalia Onions Grown in Georgia; Revision of Handler Reporting Requirements

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 955

[Docket No. FV93-955-2FIR]

Vidalia Onions Grown in Georgia; Revision of Handler Reporting

Requirements

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting as a

final rule, without change, the provisions of an interim final rule

that revised the administrative rules and regulations established under

the Federal marketing order for Vidalia onions grown in Georgia. The

interim final rule relaxed the reporting requirements on handlers by

expanding the period of coverage of the report for receipts and

shipments of onions from one week to one month. This is the only form

handlers are required to file with the Vidalia Onion Committee

(Committee). The reduction in the reporting burden on handlers will not

adversely impact program operations. This rule is based on a unanimous

recommendation of the Committee, which is responsible for local

administration of the order.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 25, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shoshana Avrishon, Marketing

Specialist, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable

Division, AMS, USDA, Room 2536-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-

6456; telephone (202) 720-3610, or FAX (202) 720-5698; or William G.

Pimental, Marketing Specialist, Southeast Marketing Field Office, Fruit

and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 2276, Winter Haven, Florida

33883-2276; (813) 299-4770, or FAX (813) 299-5169.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing

Agreement and Order No. 955 [7 CFR Part 955] regulating the handling of

Vidalia onions grown in Georgia. The marketing agreement and order are

authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as

amended [7 U.S.C. 601-674], hereinafter referred to as the Act.

The Department is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive

Order 12866.

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil

Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.

This rule will not preempt any state or local laws, regulations, or

policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this

rule.

The Act 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 provision of the order, or any

obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance

with law and requesting a modification of the order or to be exempted

therefrom. 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 his or her

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 date of entry of the ruling.

Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility

Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service

(AMS) has considered the economic impact of this rule on small

entities.

The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of

business subject to such actions in order that small businesses will

not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued

pursuant to the Act, and rules issued thereunder, are unique in that

they are brought about through group action of essentially small

entities acting on their own behalf. Thus, both statutes have small

entity orientation and compatibility.

There are approximately 145 handlers of Vidalia onions that are

subject to regulation under the marketing order and approximately 250

producers in the production area. Small agricultural service firms are

defined by the Small Business Administration [13 CFR 121.601] as those

whose annual receipts are less than $3,500,000, and small agricultural

producers have been defined as those having annual receipts of less

than $500,000. The majority of the Vidalia onion handlers and producers

may be classified as small entities.

This rule finalizes an interim final rule which revised

Sec. 955.101 of Subpart -- Administrative Rules and Regulations and is

based on a unanimous recommendation of the Committee and other

available information.

Previously under Sec. 955.101, Report of Shipments, handlers were

required to provide the Committee with information regarding the volume

of Vidalia onions received and shipped during each week of the shipping

season. The normal shipping season for cured Vidalia onions runs from

April through June, approximately 12 weeks. In addition, green Vidalia

onions usually are shipped beginning in January of each year. Handlers

were required to provide this information to the Committee each week.

The Committee provided a form to assist handlers in providing this

information. The information required included the name and address of

handler, the period covered for the report, the total weekly receipts

of Vidalia onions and the total fresh market shipments of Vidalia

onions.

The Committee needs such information for the purpose of computing

and collecting assessments, which are necessary to finance the program.

When the reporting requirement was first implemented, the Committee

believed that the best method for obtaining the necessary information

was to require handlers to report to the Committee the volume of fresh

market shipments at the end of each week during the harvesting and

shipping season.

The Committee also uses the information from the reports in

planning and evaluating market development activities and recommending

production research projects. This information is also made available

to the industry on a composite basis to aid growers and handlers in

planning their individual operations and making marketing decisions

during the season. At the time of implementation, the reporting burden

was estimated to be five minutes for a handler to complete each weekly

report.

The Committee was experiencing problems in receiving the reports on

a timely basis from many handlers. Many of the handlers not reporting

were smaller grower-handlers (2 to 10 acres) who only operate two or

three weeks of the year and do their bookkeeping at the end of the

season. During the harvest season, these small handlers, mostly family-

run operations, are very busy and have complained that weekly reporting

is burdensome to them. These reports are used by the Committee in

calculating the assessments owed by each handler. Thus, it is important

that the reports be filed on a timely basis. Because many handlers

filed reports late, the Committee experienced difficulty in collecting

all assessments. The Committee expended much time and effort in

identifying and locating these handlers. In addition, handlers who

filed their reports on a timely basis complained to the Committee that

others were not being assessed.

The Committee met on August 28, 1993, to discuss these complaints

and reporting problems and unanimously recommended revising the

administrative rules and regulations by expanding the period of

coverage of the reports to be filed from one week to one month. This

reduced the number of reports filed on an annual basis from

approximately 24 to approximately 6. Prior to the issuance of the

interim final rule, the reporting process for the 24-week period

expended approximately 203 reporting hours annually. The interim final

rule reduced the reporting hours to approximately 93, a reduction of

110 hours on an annual basis.

The Committee also recommended that the report be required to be

filed no later than seven days after the end of each month.

The Committee believed that its recommendation would decrease the

reporting burden on handlers by eliminating unnecessary reporting while

still providing the Committee with the information it needs to properly

administer the order. The interim final rule brought the reporting

requirements into conformance with current industry operating practices

and provided an acceptable time frame for the submission of reports.

The Committee believed that this relaxation would enable the small

family-run operations to file reports and pay assessments on a timely

basis, and reduce the time and effort the Committee expends on locating

handlers who have not filed reports.

The Committee expressed concern about the effect monthly reporting

will have on their marketing efforts. The weekly reporting provided a

good source of information that was used in their marketing decisions.

It was determined that the monthly reporting will provide sufficient

information to assist the Committee in its marketing efforts and if any

problems arise at a later date, alternate sources of obtaining this

information on a weekly basis can be explored. The Committee continues

to believe, at this time, that it is more important to ensure that all

handlers are properly filing reports with the Committee and paying

assessments that are due on a timely and equitable basis.

The interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on

January 13, 1994, [59 FR 1894]. That rule amended Sec. 955.101 of the

rules and regulations in effect under the order. That rule provided a

30-day comment period which ended February 14, 1994. No comments were

received.

Based on the above, the Administrator of the AMS has determined

that this final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

The information collection requirements contained in these

regulations have been previously approved by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) and have been assigned OMB Control Number 0581-0160.

After consideration of all relevant information presented,

including the Committee's unanimous recommendation and other

information, it is found that finalizing the interim final rule,

without change, will tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 955

Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 955, is

amended as follows:

PART 955--VIDALIA ONIONS GROWN IN GEORGIA

Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 955 which

was published at 59 FR 1894, on January 13, 1994, is adopted as a final

rule without change.

Dated: March 17, 1994.

Robert C. Keeney,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 94-6945 Filed 3-23-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P