[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 134 (Friday, July 14, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45055-45057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14856]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 134 / Friday, July 14, 2023 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 45055]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Parts 800 and 810
[Doc. No. AMS-AMS-22-0083]
United States Standards for Soybeans
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is revising the
United States Standards for Soybeans by removing soybeans of other
colors (SBOC) as an official factor. In addition, AMS is revising the
table of Grade Limits and Breakpoints for Soybeans to reflect this
change.
DATES: This rule is effective September 1, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Gomoll, USDA AMS; Telephone:
(202) 720-8286; Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 551 et
seq., amends regulations, at 7 CFR part 800 and part 810, issued under
the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 71-87k), as amended
(USGSA). Section 4 of the USGSA (7 U.S.C. 76(a)) grants the Secretary
of Agriculture the authority to establish standards for grain regarding
kind, class, quality, and condition.
Background
In response to requests from grain industry representatives, AMS
published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on March 31, 2023 (88
FR 19229), inviting interested parties to comment on the proposed
removal of SBOC as an official factor for soybeans.
AMS regularly reviews grain standards to ensure their effectiveness
in meeting the quality requirements of grain moving in the value chain.
An increase in the amount of SBOC in officially graded soybean lots
over the past two years has led to a decrease in the marketability of
U.S. soybeans versus those from other exporting countries. In the
proposed rule, AMS invited stakeholders to comment on the effect of
removing SBOC as an official grade-determining factor.
Additionally, the proposed rule addressed making the standards
effective on an expediated timeline. According to the USGSA, ``No
standards established or amendments or revocations of standards under
this chapter shall become effective less than one calendar year after
promulgation thereof, unless in the judgment of the Secretary, the
public health, interest, or safety require that they become effective
sooner'' (7 U.S.C. 76(b)(1)). In the proposed rule, AMS argued that
effecting the standards change in a shorter timeframe is in the
public's interest and invited comments to determine if this is the
case.
Comment Review
AMS received 14 comments in response to the proposed rule. All 14
comments were in favor of the proposed changes. The comments received
were submitted by individuals, small businesses, trade organizations,
and producer advocacy groups. Two commenters were national and state
organizations representing soybean growers. Another comment was
submitted by a large grain trade organization and was cosigned by 43
organizations that represent grain handling, storage, export,
processing, as well as seed and feed sectors. The remainder of comments
were from individuals representing small producers and trade
businesses.
Many comments expressed favor toward the proposed rule, noting that
there is no significant difference in end-use quality between soybeans
with differing levels of SBOC. Nine of the comments included this
information, in some form or another. Of these, four specifically cited
the study that AMS conducted, based on the recommendation of the Grain
Inspection Advisory Committee.\1\
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\1\ https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/FGISSBOCStudy.pdf.
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Five of the comments noted that the inclusion of SBOC, as a grade
factor, causes U.S. soybeans to be less competitive in the world export
market. Two of these comments also noted that other major soybean
producing countries do not use a factor like SBOC to determine soybean
quality.
Some comments referenced the negative impact that higher levels of
SBOC had on growers and handlers of soybeans. Five commenters mentioned
that SBOC, as a grade determining factor, has led to reduced income for
growers who failed to meet the standard for U.S. No. 2 Yellow Soybeans
on SBOC alone. Two comments noted that higher SBOC levels has led to
increased operational cost, such as having to pay for extra inspections
or trucking soybeans longer distances to find buyers.
Commenters also asserted that keeping SBOC, as a grading criterion,
would be contrary to the stated objectives of the USGSA, which states
that the grading standards shall ``offer users of such standards the
best possible information from which to determine end-product yield and
quality of grain'' and ``reflect the economic value-based
characteristics in the end uses of grain'' (7 U.S.C. 74(b)(3)).
AMS agrees with the commentors. The comment process is designed to
give interested parties an opportunity to present data, views, and
arguments. The needs of the trade in soybeans requires this change for
U.S. soybeans to be competitive in the export market, and the available
data shows that SBOC does not affect soybean quality. Therefore, AMS is
amending the standards for soybeans.
Implementation Period
AMS invited interested parties to comment on whether the proposed
changes should go into effect by September 1, 2023. The Agency sought
such comments because the USGSA requires that changes to the grain
standards may not be made effective within one calendar year of their
promulgation ``unless in the judgment of the Secretary, the public
health, interest, or safety require that they become effective sooner''
(7 U.S.C. 76(b)(1)). This provision was put into place to allow
industry participants adequate time to adjust and transition to new
standards. However, in this case, the soybeans that are more likely to
exhibit discolored seedcoats and trigger higher determinations of SBOC
in soybean samples are already present in the supply chain.
Additionally, based on AMS research showing that the color
[[Page 45056]]
variation does not materially affect the end use of the soybeans, the
Agency did not foresee any deleterious effects to farmers or
merchandisers by making the rule effective sooner.
As a result of the request for comments regarding the
implementation period, AMS received a comment from a national producer
organization that strongly urged the Agency to implement the rule in
advance of the 2023-2024 soybean marketing year, which begins on
September 1, 2023. All other comments were in support of implementing
the proposed rule, as published.
In light of the comment urging AMS to adopt the new standard
quickly, the standard ``shall become effective less than one calendar
year after promulgation thereof'' because ``the public health,
interest, or safety require that [this standard] become effective
sooner [than one year.]'' (7 U.S.C. 76(b)(1)). The current standard is
unnecessarily increasing costs to the public and farmers, and
unnecessarily foreclosing markets for otherwise commercially
indistinguishable soybeans. Therefore, AMS will maintain September 1,
2023, as the effective date for implementing the changes contained in
this final rule.
AMS Action
AMS is revising 7 CFR part 810, Subpart J, United States Standards
for Soybeans to eliminate SBOC as an official factor but retain it in
the standards as part of the definition of the class Yellow soybeans.
AMS is also revising 7 CFR 800.86 Inspection of shiplot, unit train,
and lash barge grain in single lots, paragraph (c)(2), by removing SBOC
from Table 17.
List of Subjects
7 CFR Part 800
Administrative practice and procedure, Conflict of interests,
Exports, Freedom of information, Grains, Intergovernmental relations,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
7 CFR Part 810
Exports, Grain.
For reasons set forth in the preamble, the Agricultural Marketing
Service amends 7 CFR parts 800 and 810 as follows:
PART 800--GENERAL REGULATIONS
0
1. The authority citation for part 800 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71-87k.
0
2. Amend Sec. 800.86 by revising Table 17 to paragraph (c)(2) to read
as follows:
Sec. 800.86 Inspection of shiplot, unit train, and lash barge grain
in single lots.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(2) * * *
Table 17 to Paragraph (c)(2)
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Maximum limits of--
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Damaged kernels
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Grade Heat-damaged Total (percent) Foreign Material Splits
(percent) ------------------ (percent) (percent)
------------------ -----------------------------------
GL BP GL BP GL BP GL BP
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U.S. No. 1.............................. 0.2 0.2 2.0 0.8 1.0 0.2 10.0 1.6
U.S. No. 2.............................. 0.5 0.3 3.0 0.9 2.0 0.3 20.0 2.2
U.S. No. 3 \1\.......................... 1.0 0.5 5.0 1.2 3.0 0.4 30.0 2.5
U.S. No. 4 \2\.......................... 3.0 0.9 8.0 1.5 5.0 0.5 40.0 2.7
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\1\ Soybeans which are purple mottled or stained shall be graded not higher than U.S. No. 3.
\2\ Soybeans which are materially weathered shall be graded not higher than U.S. No. 4.
* * * * *
PART 810--OFFICIAL UNITED STATES STANDARDS FOR GRAIN
0
3. The authority citation for part 810 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71-87k.
0
4. Amend Sec. 810.1602 by revising paragraph (a)(1), removing
paragraph (g), and redesignating paragraph (h) as paragraph (g).
The revisions read as follows.
Sec. 810.1602 Definition of other terms.
(a) * * *
(1) Yellow soybeans. Soybeans that have yellow or green seed coats
and which, in cross section, are yellow or have a yellow tinge, and may
include not more than 10.0 percent of soybeans of other colors.
Soybeans of other colors are soybeans that have black or bicolored
seedcoats, as well as soybeans that have green seedcoats and are green
in cross section. Bicolored soybeans will have seed coats of two
colors, one of which is brown or black, and the brown or black color
covers 50 percent of the seed coats. The hilum of a soybean is not
considered a part of the seed coat for this determination.
* * * * *
0
5. Revise Sec. 810.1603 to read as follows:
Sec. 810.1603 Basis of determination.
Each determination of class, heat-damaged kernels, damaged kernels,
and splits is made on the basis of the grain when free from foreign
material. Other determinations not specifically provided for under the
general provisions are made on the basis of the grain as a whole.
0
6. Revise Sec. 810.1604 to read as follows:
Sec. 810.1604 Grades and grade requirements for soybeans.
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Grades U. S. Nos.
Grading factors ---------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4
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Maximum percent limits of:
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Damaged kernels:
Heat (part of total)........................ 0.2 0.5 1.0 3.0
[[Page 45057]]
Total................................... 2.0 3.0 5.0 8.0
Foreign material................................ 1.0 2.0 3.0 5.0
Splits.......................................... 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0
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Maximum count limits of:
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Other materials:
Animal filth................................ 9 9 9 9
Castor beans................................ 1 1 1 1
Crotalaria seeds............................ 2 2 2 2
Glass....................................... 0 0 0 0
Stones \1\.................................. 3 3 3 3
Unknown foreign substance................... 3 3 3 3
Total \2\............................... 10 10 10 10
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U.S. Sample grade are soybeans that:
(a) Do not meet the requirements for U.S. Nos. 1, 2, 3, or 4; or
(b) Have a musty, sour, or commercially objectionable foreign odor (except garlic odor); or
(c) Are heating or otherwise of distinctly low quality.
\1\ In addition to the maximum count limit, stones must exceed 0.1 percent of the sample weight.
\2\ Includes any combination of animal filth, castor beans, crotalaria seeds, glass, stones, and unknown foreign
substances. The weight of stones is not applicable for total other material.
Melissa Bailey,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-14856 Filed 7-13-23; 8:45 am]
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