7 CFR Part 58 - GRADING AND INSPECTION, GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR APPROVED PLANTS AND STANDARDS FOR GRADES OF DAIRY PRODUCTS 1

This document amends the General Specifications for Dairy Plants Approved for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspection and Grading Service (General Specifications) by raising the maximum allowable somatic cell count in producer herd goat milk from 1,000,000 cells per milliliter to 1,500,000 cells per milliliter. This will ensure that goat milk can continue to be shipped and recognizes that goats have a need for different regulatory limits for somatic cells than cows. In addition this document eliminates mandatory sediment testing on producer milk except for milk in cans. The requirement for sediment testing has become outdated and is no longer needed.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is proposing to increase the fees for voluntary Federal dairy grading and inspection services. The fee increases proposed are 15 percent during fiscal year (FY) 2013 and 5 percent during FY 2014. These fees were last adjusted in 2006. Dairy grading and inspection services are voluntary and are financed in their entirety through user fees assessed to participants using the program. Despite the adoption of technologies that have improved services, additional changes in operations that enhanced efficiencies, and reduced employee numbers, increases in salaries, technology investments, and general inflation have more than offset savings resulting in the need to increase fees. AMS estimates the proposed fee increase will result in an overall cost increase to the industry of less than $0.0004 per pound of dairy product graded. This increase is needed to avoid a reduction in the services offered that aid the dairy industry in effectively marketing their products.