[Federal Register: March 31, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 61)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 15387-15388]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31mr03-35]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 927
[Docket No. FV03-927-1]
Winter Pears Grown in Oregon and Washington; Continuance
Referendum
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Referendum order.
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SUMMARY: This document directs that a continuance referendum be
conducted among eligible growers of winter pears in Oregon and
Washington to determine whether they favor continuance of the marketing
order regulating the handling of winter pears grown in the production
area.
DATES: The referendum will be conducted from April 16 through April 30,
2003. To vote in this referendum, growers must have been engaged in
producing winter pears within the production area during the period
July 1, 2001, through June 30, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the marketing order may be obtained from USDA,
Northwest Marketing Field Office, 1220 SW Third Avenue, Room 369,
Portland, Oregon, 97204, or the Office of the Docket Clerk, Marketing
Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural
Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, Stop 0237, Washington, DC, 20250-0237.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary D. Olson, Regional Manager,
Northwest Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order Administration
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1220 SW Third Avenue, Room 369,
Portland, OR 97204; telephone (503) 326-2724; fax (503) 326-7440; or
Melissa Schmaedick, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and
Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, PO Box 1035, Moab, UT 84532; telephone (435) 259-7988; fax
(435) 259-4945.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Marketing Order No. 927 (7 CFR
part 927), hereinafter referred to as the ``order,'' and the applicable
provisions of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as
amended (7 U.S.C. 601-674), hereinafter referred to as the ``Act,'' it
is hereby directed that a referendum be conducted to ascertain whether
continuance of the order is favored by growers. The referendum shall be
conducted during the period April 16 through April 30, 2003, among
eligible winter pear growers in the production area. Only growers that
were engaged in the production of winter pears in the States of Oregon
and Washington during the period of July 1, 2001, through June 30,
2002, may participate in the continuance referendum.
USDA has determined that continuance referenda are an effective
means for determining whether growers favor continuation of marketing
order programs. The USDA would consider termination of the order if
continuance is favored by less than two-thirds of the growers voting in
the referendum and by growers of less than two-thirds of the volume of
winter pears represented in the referendum.
In evaluating the merits of continuance versus termination, the
USDA will not only consider the results of the continuance referendum.
The USDA will also consider all other relevant information concerning
the operation of the order and the relative benefits and disadvantages
to growers, processors, and consumers in order to determine whether
continued operation of the order would tend to effectuate the declared
policy of the Act.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35), the ballot materials used in the referendum herein ordered
have been submitted to and approved by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and have been assigned OMB No. 0581-0177. It has been
estimated that it will take an average of 30 minutes for each of the
approximately 1,528 producers of winter pears in the production area to
cast a ballot. Participation is voluntary. Ballots postmarked after
April 30, 2003, will be marked invalid and not included in the vote
tabulation.
Gary D. Olson and Susan M. Hiller of the Northwest Marketing Field
Office, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA, are hereby designated as the referendum agents of USDA to conduct
such referendum. The procedure applicable to the referendum shall be
the ``Procedure for the Conduct of Referenda in Connection With
Marketing Orders for Fruits, Vegetables, and Nuts Pursuant to the
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as Amended'' (7 CFR
900.400 et seq.).
Ballots will be mailed to all growers of record and may also be
obtained from the referendum agents and their appointees.
[[Page 15388]]
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 927
Marketing agreements, Pears, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
Dated: March 24, 2003.
A.J. Yates,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 03-7635 Filed 3-28-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P