7 CFR Chapter VI - NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amends the Common Crop Insurance Regulations, Sugar Beet Crop Insurance Provisions (Crop Provisions). The intended effect of this action is to update existing policy provisions and definitions to better reflect current agricultural practices. The changes will be effective for the 2019 and succeeding crop years in states with a November 30 contract change date and for the 2020 and succeeding crop years in all other states.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is issuing a final rule to conform with newly implemented uniform posting requirements for federal grants, so that interested applicants need only search one federal posting site on grant opportunities.

Through this action, the Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency) is proposing to amend its regulations for the direct and guaranteed single family housing loan and grant programs.

This proposed rule would implement a recommendation from the Fresh Pear Committee (Committee) to increase the assessment rate established for the 2018-2019 and subsequent fiscal periods. The assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This rule implements a recommendation from the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee (Committee) to increase the assessment rate established for Area No. 2 for the 2018-2019 and subsequent fiscal periods. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This proposed rule would implement a recommendation from the Texas Valley Citrus Committee (Committee) to decrease the assessment rate established for the 2018-19 and subsequent fiscal periods. The assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency) proposes to make several changes to the single-family housing guaranteed loan program (SFHGLP) regulations to streamline the loss claim process for lenders who have acquired title to property through voluntary liquidation or foreclosure; clarify that lenders must comply with applicable laws, including those within the purview of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and better align loss mitigation policies with those in the mortgage industry.

The Agricultural Marketing Service is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on July 12, 2018. The document implemented new information collection and reporting requirements for a handler diversion under the Cranberry marketing order (Order).

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations, increasing the value assigned to imported cotton for the purposes of calculating supplemental assessments collected for use by the Cotton Research and Promotion Program. This amendment is required each year to ensure that assessments collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products will be the same as those paid on domestically produced cotton. In addition, AMS is updating the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) statistical reporting numbers that were amended since the last assessment adjustment in 2017.

This rule revises the eligibility requirements, enrollment procedures, and payment calculation for ARC and PLC required to conform with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA). BBA amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill) to add seed cotton as a covered commodity and remove generic base acres from ARC and PLC. This rule also amends provisions to include seed cotton yields, allocation of generic base acres, election of ARC-County Option (ARC-CO) or PLC for seed cotton base acres, and enrollment for 2018. This rule also makes some minor, clarifying changes to the administration section.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposes to revise the U.S. Standards for Grades of Canned Lima Beans, U.S. Standards for Grades of Canned Mushrooms, U.S. Standards for Grades of Pickles, and U.S. Standards for Grades of Green Olives. AMS is proposing to replace the term “midget” with “petite” in the canned lima bean, canned mushroom, and pickle standards, and to remove “midget” completely from the green olive standards as there is an alternative term. AMS is also proposing to replace the two-term grading system (dual nomenclature) with a single term to describe each quality level in the canned lima bean, canned mushroom, and green olive standards. Editorial changes would also be made to the grade standards that conform to recent changes made in other grade standards.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing a meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to assist the USDA in the development of standards for substances to be used in organic production and to advise the Secretary of Agriculture on any other aspects of the implementation of the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA).

This rulemaking proposes amendments to Marketing Order No. 959, which regulates the handling of onions grown in South Texas. The proposed amendments would reduce the size of the South Texas Onion Committee (Committee) and make conforming and clarifying amendments as needed.

The 2017 Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program (2017 WHIP) will provide payments to eligible producers who suffered eligible crop, tree, bush, and vine losses resulting from hurricanes and wildfires that occurred in the 2017 calendar year, as authorized by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA). This rule specifies the administrative provisions, eligibility requirements, application procedures, and payment calculations for 2017 WHIP.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is amending the Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement to add 12 sections that designate product categories within which biobased products will be afforded Federal procurement preference by Federal agencies and their contractors.

On June 3, 2016, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service promulgated changes to its Guaranteed Loanmaking and Servicing Regulations. Following final implementation of this final rule, RBS found that conforming amendments for adoption for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) had not been included. This technical correction makes amendments to allow REAP to continue to use procedures and forms from the revised Guaranteed program.

We are proposing to amend the Phytophthora ramorum regulations to remove regulated areas for P. ramorum from the regulations, as well as all regulatory requirements specific to such areas. We are proposing to amend the regulations by revising the inspection and sampling requirements for certain nurseries that are in areas quarantined for P. ramorum and that ship regulated nursery stock interstate. We are proposing to change the nature of the inspection and sampling requirements to have them take into consideration additional potential sources of P. ramorum inoculum at the nurseries. Finally, we are proposing to establish conditions under which we would regulate nurseries located outside of the quarantined areas for P. ramorum, if sources of P. ramorum inoculum are detected at those nurseries and the nurseries ship certain articles interstate. These changes would provide regulatory relief to nurseries in areas that are regulated for P. ramorum, while also ensuring that nurseries that may pose a risk of disseminating P. ramorum through the interstate movement of regulated nursery stock are subject to measures that address this risk.