Milk in the Southern Illinois-Eastern Missouri Marketing Area; Suspension of Certain Provisions of the Order

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1032

[DA-95-08]

Milk in the Southern Illinois-Eastern Missouri Marketing Area;

Suspension of Certain Provisions of the Order

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Suspension of rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document suspends a portion of the pool supply plant

definition of the Southern Illinois-Eastern Missouri Federal milk

marketing order (Order 32) for the month of January 1995. The proposed

suspension was requested by Mid-America Dairymen, Inc., and Prairie

Farms, Inc., which contend the proposed action is necessary to ensure

that producers' milk historically associated with Order 32 will

continue to be priced and pooled under the order.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1995, through January 31, 1995.

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: Prior document in this proceeding:

Notice of Proposed Suspension: Issued December 27, 1994; published

January 3, 1995 (60 FR 65).

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 rule will not have a

significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

This rule lessens the regulatory impact of the order on certain milk

handlers and tends to ensure that dairy farmers will continue to have

their milk priced under the order and thereby receive the benefits that

accrue from such pricing.

The Department is issuing this final rule in conformance with

Executive Order 12866.

This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,

Civil Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have a 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 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 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 the law and requesting 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.

This order of suspension is issued pursuant to the provisions of

the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act and of the order regulating

the handling of milk in the Southern Illinois-Eastern Missouri

marketing area.

Notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal Register

on January 3, 1995 (60 FR 65) concerning a proposed suspension of

certain provisions of the order. Interested persons were afforded

opportunity to file written data, views and arguments thereon. One

comment letter supporting the proposed suspension was received.

After consideration of all relevant material, including the

proposal in the notice and other available information, it is hereby

found and determined that for the period of January 1, 1995, through

January 31, 1995, the following provisions of the order do not tend to

effectuate the declared policy of the Act:

In Sec. 1032.7(c), the words ``each of'', the letter ``s'' at the

end of the word ``months'', and the words ``through January'' and ``for

the months of February''.

Statement of Consideration

This rule suspends a portion of the pool supply plant definition of

the Southern Illinois-Eastern Missouri Federal milk order. The

suspension allows a supply plant to qualify as a pool plant during the

month of January 1995 if it qualified as a pool supply plant during the

immediately preceding month of September.

Mid-America Dairymen, Inc. (Mid-America), and Prairie Farms, Inc.

(Prairie Farms), jointly requested the suspension. According to the

request letter, Mid-America lost a major account with a pool

distributing plant regulated under Order 32, effective December 16,

1994. As a result, Mid-America and Prairie Farms contend that much of

the producer milk supplying the distributing plant will no longer be

needed for Class I use. The proponents assert that the order should not

penalize producers who have historically supplied the Class I needs of

the market by requiring milk shipments that are not needed.

Mid-America and Prairie Farms filed a comment letter reiterating

its support for the proposed suspension. No comments were received in

opposition to the proposed action.

The suspension is found to be necessary for the purpose of assuring

[[Page 6006]] that producers whose milk has long been associated with

the Southern Illinois-Eastern Missouri marketing area will continue to

benefit from pooling and pricing under the order.

It is hereby found and determined that thirty days' notice of the

effective date hereof is impractical, unnecessary and contrary to the

public interest in that:

(a) The suspension is necessary to reflect current marketing

conditions and to assure orderly marketing conditions in the marketing

area, in that such rule is necessary to permit the continued pooling of

the milk of dairy farmers who have historically supplied the market

without the need for making costly and inefficient movements of milk;

(b) This suspension does not require of persons affected

substantial or extensive preparation prior to the effective date; and

(c) Notice of proposed rulemaking was given interested parties and

they were afforded opportunity to file written data, views or arguments

concerning this suspension. One comment letter supporting the proposed

suspension was received.

Therefore, good cause exists for making this order effective less

than 30 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1032

Milk marketing orders.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the following provision

in Title 7, Part 1032, is amended as follows:

PART 1032--MILK IN THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS-EASTERN MISSOURI MARKETING

AREA

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 1032 continues to read as

follows:

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

674.

Sec. 1032.7 [Suspended in part]

2. In Sec. 1032.7(c), the words ``each of'', the letter ``s'' at

the end of the word ``months'', and the words ``through January'' and

``for the months of February'', are suspended for the period of January

1, 1995, through January 31, 1995.

Dated: January 27, 1995.

Patricia Jensen,

Acting Assistant Secretary, Marketing and Regulatory Programs.

[FR Doc. 95-2447 Filed 1-31-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P