[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 180 (Friday, September 17, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 56911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23190]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 180 / Friday, September 17, 2010 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 56911]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
7 CFR Part 810
[Docket GIPSA-2010-FGIS-0004]
RIN 0580-AB16
Request for Public Comment on the United States Standards for
Corn
AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, USDA.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection,
Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is reviewing the United
States Standards and grading procedures for corn under the United
States Grain Standards Act (USGSA). Since the standards were last
revised, the use of corn for ethanol and the number of different
varieties of corn has increased tremendously. To ensure that standards
and official grading practices remain relevant, GIPSA invites
interested parties to comment on whether the current corn standards and
grading procedures need to be changed.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 16, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit your written or electronic comments on this
notice to:
Mail: Tess Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue,
SW., Room 1643-S, Washington, DC 20250-3604.
E-Mail comments to [email protected].
Fax: (202) 690-2173.
Internet: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the
on-line instruction for submitting comments.
All comments will become a matter of public record and should be
identified as ``United States Standards for Corn Notice Comments,''
making reference to the date and page number of this issue of the
Federal Register. Comments will be available for public inspection at
http://www.regulations.gov and in the above office during regular
business hours (7 CFR 1.27(b)). Please call the GIPSA Management
Support Staff at (202) 720-7486 to make an appointment to read comments
received.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Heiman at GIPSA, USDA, Beacon
Facility, Stop 1404, P.O. Box 419205, Kansas City, MO 64131-6205;
Telephone (816) 823-2580; Fax Number (816) 823-4644; e-mail
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Order 12866
This rule has been determined to be exempt for the purposes of
Executive Order 12866, and therefore has not been reviewed by the
Office of Management and Budget.
Under the authority of the USGSA (7 U.S.C. 76), GIPSA establishes
standards for corn and other grains regarding kind, class, quality and
condition. The corn standards were established by USDA effective
December 1, 1916. Standards specific to corn appear in the USGSA
regulations at 7 CFR 810.401-810.405 and were last revised in 1996 (60
FR 61194). The 1996 revisions changed the reporting requirements for
test weight to the nearest tenth of a pound, eliminated the count limit
on stones for U.S. Sample Grade, and reduced the U.S. Sample Grade
Aggregate Weight Tolerance for Stones from more than 0.2 percent by
weight to more than 0.1 percent by weight. Stress crack analysis was
also offered as official criteria.
The standards facilitate corn marketing and define U.S. corn
quality in the domestic and global marketplace. They define commonly
used industry terms; contain basic principles governing the application
of standards such as the type of sample used for a particular quality
analysis; specify grades and grade requirements; and specify special
grades and special grade requirements, such as flint corn and waxy
corn. Official procedures for determining grading factors are provided
in GIPSA's Grain Inspection Handbook, Book II, Chapter 4, ``Corn,''
which also includes standardized procedures for additional quality
attributes not used to determine grade, such as stress crack analysis.
Together, the grading standards and procedures allow buyers and sellers
to communicate quality requirements, compare corn quality using
equivalent forms of measurement, and assist in price discovery. To
learn more about corn standardization and quality, visit the GIPSA Web
site at http://www.gipsa.usda.gov.
GIPSA's grading and inspection services are provided through a
network of federal, state, and private laboratories that conduct tests
to determine the quality and condition of corn and other commodities.
The tests used to measure grain quality are conducted in accordance
with applicable standards using approved methodologies and can be
applied at any point in the marketing chain. These tests yield rapid,
reliable, and consistent results. In addition, GIPSA-issued
certificates describing the quality and condition of graded corn are
accepted as prima facie evidence in all Federal courts (7 U.S.C.
79(d)). U.S. corn standards and the affiliated grading and testing
services offered by GIPSA verify that a seller's corn meets specified
requirements, and ensure that customers received the quality of corn
they purchased.
In order for U.S. standards and grading procedures for corn to
remain relevant, GIPSA is issuing this advance notice of proposed
rulemaking to invite interested parties to submit comments, ideas, and
suggestions on all aspects of the U.S. corn standards and grading
procedures.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71-87k.
J. Dudley Butler,
Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-23190 Filed 9-16-10; 8:45 am]
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