Federal Register publication

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 212 / Friday, October 31, 2008 / Rules and Regulations

collected, compromised, or settled
finally and that any applicable period
for seeking further review has elapsed.
(b) By March 31st of each year, each
agency must submit a written report to
OPM containing information about
student loan repayment benefits it
provided to employees during the
previous calendar year. Each report
must include the following information:
(1) The number of employees who
received student loan repayment
benefits;
(2) The job classifications of the
employees who received student loan
repayment benefits; and
(3) The cost to the Federal
Government of providing student loan
repayment benefits.
[FR Doc. E8–26013 Filed 10–30–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325–39–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Parts 1140 and 1145
[Docket No. AMS–DA–08–0031; DA–08–05]
RIN 0581–AC86

Dairy Forward Pricing Program
Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: This final rule establishes a
program for producers and cooperative
associations of producers to voluntarily
enter into forward price contracts with
handlers for milk used for Class II, III,
or IV purposes under the Agricultural
Marketing Agreement Act of 1937
(AMAA). The program allows handlers
regulated under the Federal milk
marketing order program to pay
producers and cooperative associations
in accordance with the terms of a
forward contract and not have to pay the
minimum Federal order blend price for
milk. This program is established in
accordance with section 1502 of the
Food, Conservation and Energy Act of
2008 (2008 Farm Bill).
DATES: Effective Date: November 3,
2008.

John
R. Mengel, Chief Economist, USDA/
AMS/Dairy Programs, Office of the
Chief Economist, STOP 0229–Room
2753, 1400 Independence Ave., SW.,
Washington, DC 20250–0229, (202) 720–
4664, e-mail address:
[email protected].

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

This rule
implements a program for producers

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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and cooperative associations of
producers to enter into forward price
contracts with handlers for Class II, III,
or IV milk under the AMAA. This
program is required to be established by
the 2008 Farm Bill. The program
authorizes that under the AMAA, milk
handlers pay producers or cooperative
associations of producers a negotiated
price, rather than the Federal order
minimum blend price for producer milk
if subject to conditions and terms of a
forward contract, provided the volume
of such milk does not exceed the
handler’s Class II, III, and IV utilization
for the month on the order that regulates
the milk. The program applies to
producer milk regulated under Federal
milk marketing orders that is not
classified as Class I milk or milk
otherwise intended for fluid use and
that is in the current of interstate or
foreign commerce or directly burdens,
obstructs, or affects interstate or foreign
commerce of Federally regulated milk.
The Federal milk marketing order
program consists of 10 Federal milk
marketing orders (7 CFR 1001–1135). In
accordance with the 2008 Farm Bill, the
program prohibits forward contracts
under the program from being entered
into after September 30, 2012, and no
forward contracts entered into under the
program may extend beyond September
30, 2015.
Background
The Consolidated Appropriations Act
of 2000 amended the Agricultural
Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 1 to
mandate the implementation of a Dairy
Forward Pricing Pilot Program (DFPPP)
through December 31, 2004. The law
allowed proprietary handlers, and
cooperative associations acting as milk
handlers with respect to non-member
milk, regulated under the Federal milk
marketing order program to forward
contract for deliveries of milk from
producers or cooperative associations of
producers at prices exempt from
minimum Federal milk marketing order
blend prices.2 The 2000 Act required
that the Department conduct a study on
the DFPPP to be submitted to Congress
concerning impacts on milk prices paid
to producers.3 The study, covering the
1 Section 23 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act
(7 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), reenacted with amendments
by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of
1937, as enacted by Public Law 106–113 (113 Stat.
1501A–519).
2 See Final Rule for Dairy Forward Pricing Pilot
Program, July 18, 2000; 65 FR 44408; 7 CFR Part
1140.
3 See A Study of the Dairy Forward Pricing Pilot
Program and Its Effect on Prices Paid to Producers
for Milk, October 31, 2002. Prepared for the Senate
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry

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period from September 2000 to March
2002, indicated that participation in the
DFPPP was relatively small in terms of
numbers of producers, handlers, and
milk quantities. On a monthly average
basis, 3.9 percent of eligible producers,
5.7 percent of proprietary
manufacturing plants, and 5.3 percent of
pooled milk received from eligible
producers participated. The study
concluded the DFPPP to be effective in
reducing price volatility. The average
monthly price received for contract milk
was $14.02, ranging from a low of
$13.23 to a high of $14.86. The average
monthly price of the same milk, had it
not been under contract, was $14.51,
ranging from a low of $12.04 to a high
of $17.75. Thus, the study concluded
that price volatility was substantially
reduced for producers and handlers that
participated in the Program. Subsequent
reports published by the Department,
covering the entire period of the
Program from September 2000 through
December 2004, indicated results that
were consistent with conclusions of the
report submitted to Congress. The study
and the final report on the DFPPP can
be found at http://www.ams.usda.gov/
dairy.
This Final Rule removes the
regulations covering the DFPPP that
appeared in 7 CFR Part 1140, (7 U.S.C.
601 et seq.; as amended by section
1001(a)(8) of Public Law 106–113) and
establishes a new 7 CFR Part 1145, as
mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill.
The program does not invalidate,
supersede, or otherwise change any
existing contractual agreements between
handlers and producers. Contracts
eligible under this program are those
contracts beginning no earlier than the
effective date of this final rule.
Executive Order 12866
This rule has been determined to be
not significant for purposes of Executive
Order 12866, and therefore has not been
reviewed by the Office of Management
and Budget.
Executive Order 12988
This rule has been reviewed under
Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice
Reform. It is not intended to have a
retroactive effect. The adopted
amendments do not preempt any state
or local laws, regulations, or policies,
unless they present an irreconcilable
conflict with this rule. There are no
administrative procedures which must
be exhausted prior to judicial challenge
to the provisions of this rule.
and the House Committee on Agriculture; http://
www.ams.usda.gov/dairy.

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Regulatory Flexibility Act and
Paperwork Reduction Act
The legal basis for this rule is set forth
in the 2008 Farm Bill, which directs the
Secretary of USDA to establish a dairy
forward pricing program. The 2008
Farm Bill directs USDA to establish a
program under which milk producers
and cooperative associations of
producers are authorized to enter
voluntarily into forward price contracts
with milk handlers.
In accordance with the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612), the
Agricultural Marketing Service has
considered the economic impact of this
action on small entities and has certified
that this rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. For the
purpose of the Regulatory Flexibility
Act, a dairy farm is considered a small
business if it has an annual gross
revenue of less than $750,000, and a
dairy products manufacturer is a small
business if it has fewer than 500
employees.
For the purposes of determining
which dairy farms are small businesses,
the $750,000 per year criterion was used
to establish a production guideline of
500,000 pounds per month. Although
this guideline does not factor in
additional monies that may be received
by dairy producers, it should be an
inclusive standard for most small dairy
farmers. For purposes of determining a
handler’s size, if the plant is part of a
larger company operating multiple
plants that collectively exceed the 500employee limit, the plant will be
considered a large business even if the
local plant has fewer than 500
employees.
Based on information available from
March 2008, the milk of 47,850 dairy
farmers was pooled on the Federal milk
marketing order system. Of the total,
44,979 dairy farmers, or 94 percent,
were considered small businesses.
During the same month, 317 handler
plants were regulated by or reported
their milk receipts to be pooled and
priced on a Federal milk marketing
order. Of the total, approximately 168
handler plants, or 53 percent, were
considered small businesses.
The Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS) is committed to complying with
the E-Government Act, to promote the
use of the Internet and other
information technologies to provide
increased opportunities for citizen
access to Government information and
services, and for other purposes.
The reporting and recordkeeping
requirements for this rule are minimal.
Section 1601 of the 2008 Farm Bill

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provides that the promulgation of the
regulations to establish a Dairy Forward
Pricing Program shall be made without
regard to the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).
Although exempted, the requirements of
the Paperwork Reduction Act were
considered in developing the provisions
of this rule. The provisions
implementing the Dairy Forward Pricing
Program have been carefully reviewed
and every effort has been made to
minimize recordkeeping costs or
requirements.
Any handler that enters into a forward
contract with a producer or cooperative
association of producers must have
written proof of such an arrangement.
To meet other requirements for
participation in this program, a handler
must submit a copy of each forward
contract with a producer or cooperative
association of producers to the market
administrator of the order which
regulates the milk. Submitting this
information to the milk market
administrator is estimated to take five
minutes or less. The handler must
attach a disclosure statement to each
forward contract, or otherwise make
such statement part of the contract. The
disclosure statement must be signed by
each producer or cooperative
representative entering into a forward
contract. The disclosure statement
explains that producers or cooperative
associations of producers entering into
forward contracts forfeit their rights to
receive the minimum order price(s) for
that portion of their milk that is subject
to the contract for the duration of the
contract period. Preparing the contract
and attaching or including the
disclosure statement is estimated to take
twenty minutes or less per contract.
Any handler participating in the
program will continue to file all of the
reports that are required under the
applicable Federal milk marketing
order, as authorized under the
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act
of 1937. The information collection
requirements contained in the Federal
milk marketing order program have
been previously approved by the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB)
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 and have been assigned OMB
Control Number 0581–0032. This
includes reports of utilization of milk
and monthly payroll reports that show
information required by the orders.
Taking into account the Dairy Forward
Pricing Program, the monthly payroll
report of each participating handler and
the support statement sent from each
participating handler to each
participating producer must contain
detailed accounting that distinguishes

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64869

total rates used in making payment and
volumes for milk under forward
contract. While the resulting changes in
burden are exempt from the Paperwork
Reduction Act, slight modifications to
the currently approved ‘‘Handler’s
Report for Producer Payroll’’ form will
be submitted to the OMB.
If a handler’s contract milk exceeds
the handler’s eligible milk for any
month in which the specified contract
price(s) are below the order’s minimum
prices, the handler must designate
which producer milk shall not be
contract milk. Preparing this
notification is estimated to take five
minutes or less. If the handler does not
designate the suppliers of the overcontracted milk, the market
administrator shall prorate the overcontracted milk to each producer and
cooperative association having a
forward contract with the handler.
The primary sources of data used to
complete these reports are routinely
used in most business transactions. The
additional reporting requirements
required by this rule typically only
require a minimal amount of data
processing time, and the information
collection and reporting burden is
relatively small. Requiring the same
reports for all handlers does not
significantly disadvantage any handler
that is smaller than the industry
average.
USDA does not expect the forward
contracting program to unduly burden
small entities or impair their ability to
compete in the marketplace. In its
simplest form, a forward contract
between a milk buyer and a milk
producer (or cooperative) is an
agreement to sell a stated quantity of
milk for a specified period at a stated
price. Producers and handler are able to
‘‘lock-in’’ prices, thereby minimizing
risks associated with price and income
volatility and enhancing their ability to
obtain new or continued financing. By
providing another tool to possibly
reduce price risk, the program may aid
small businesses in competing with
larger entities that currently utilize
futures and options markets, among
other means, to reduce price volatility.
As previously discussed, the analysis
of the DFPPP found the Program to
substantially reduce price volatility for
those producers who used the Program
throughout the duration. The study
concluded that participation in the
DFPPP was small in terms of numbers
of producers, handlers, and milk
quantities. On a monthly average basis,
3.9 percent of eligible producers, 5.7
percent of proprietary manufacturing
plants and 5.3 percent of pooled milk
received from eligible producers

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participated. The study concluded the
DFPPP to be effective in reducing price
volatility. The average monthly price
received for contract milk was $14.02,
ranging from a low of $13.23 to a high
of $14.86. The average monthly price of
the same milk, had it not been under
contract, was $14.51, ranging from a low
of $12.04 to a high of $17.75.
Discussion of Rules Applicable to
Program
Section 1502 of the 2008 Farm Bill
requires the Secretary of Agriculture to
establish a dairy forward pricing
program. This section provides that a
handler may forward contract for an
amount of milk up to the volume of
Class II, III, and IV milk pooled on the
order by the handler under the AMAA,
as amended, during a month and be
exempt from the minimum Federal
order blend price provisions for that
milk. USDA, including Market
Administrator personnel, does not
determine the terms of forward
contracts or enforce negotiated prices.
For producers who consider forward
contracting as a risk-management tool,
the ‘‘benchmark’’ price for milk is the
Federal order blend price that they
would receive in the absence of a
forward contract. It is reasonable to
expect a producer to negotiate a forward
contract that would approximate the
minimum blend price plus applicable
premiums averaged over the forward
contract period. Over time, it is
reasonable to expect to see forward
contract prices paid to producers below
the applicable minimum order blend
price in some months and above the
minimum order blend price in others.
Participation in the dairy forward
pricing program is voluntary for dairy
farmers, dairy farmer cooperatives, and
handlers. Handlers may not require
producer participation in a forward
pricing program as a condition for
accepting milk. A producer or
cooperative association may continue to
have its milk priced under the
minimum payment provisions of the
applicable milk order.
Producer milk under forward contract
with a handler is exempt from the
minimum blend price requirements
offered through Federal milk orders
provided the volume of such milk does
not exceed the handler’s Class II, III, and
IV utilization for the month on the order
which regulates the milk.
Any ‘‘handler’’ defined in 7 CFR
1000.9 is eligible to enter into a forward
contract(s) with producers or
cooperatives of producers. As defined in
that section, ‘‘handler’’ includes not
only the operator of a pool plant or
nonpool plant, but also a broker serving

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as a handler as provided in § 1000.9(b),
a proprietary handler, and a cooperative
association acting as a handler with
respect to non-member milk delivered
to a pool plant or diverted to a nonpool
plant. Nothing in this regulation affects
any contractual arrangements between a
cooperative association and its
members.
A handler’s combined Class II, III, and
IV producer milk utilization is defined
in 7 CFR 1145 as the handler’s ‘‘eligible
milk.’’ In the case of a multi-plant
handler, the handler’s Class II, III, and
IV producer milk utilization will be
combined together for all of the
handler’s milk regulated under one milk
marketing order. A handler will only be
exempt from paying the milk marketing
order’s minimum blend price on its
volume of ‘‘eligible milk.’’ If a handler
enters into forward contracts for more
than the eligible milk volume, (‘‘overcontract’’ milk) the handler must notify
the Market Administrator. If the handler
fails to notify the Market Administrator
of payment adjustments, the Market
Administrator will prorate the overcontract milk to each producer and
cooperative association having a
contract with the handler.
Although handlers participating in
the program will not be required to pay
producers and cooperative associations
the minimum uniform blend or
component prices for contract milk,
they must continue to account to the
pool for all milk they receive at the
respective milk marketing order’s
minimum class prices. In the case of
milk received by a transfer from a
cooperative association’s pool plant, a
handler may forward contract for all
such transferred milk that is not used in
Class I.
In many milk markets nonpool plants
regularly receive pooled milk from milk
producers who are not members of a
cooperative association. This milk is
actually pooled by a pool plant operator
or by a cooperative association through
its deliveries to a pool plant. The nonmember milk delivered to a nonpool
plant is reported under the milk
marketing order program as producer
milk diverted to a nonpool plant by the
cooperative association on its monthly
report of receipts and utilization to the
milk market administrator.
Alternatively, if a cooperative
association is not involved in the
transaction, such milk could be reported
by a pool plant operator on its monthly
report of receipts and utilization.
Many nonpool plant operators who
receive non-member milk that is pooled
through another handler issue checks to
the nonpool plant’s non-member
producers. They submit their payrolls

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showing these payments to the market
administrator. Nevertheless, these
nonpool plant operators are not
responsible under the milk marketing
order program for paying their nonmember producers the minimum
Federal milk marketing order price; it is
the handler (either the cooperative
association or pool plant operator) that
pools the milk for such nonpool plants
that is responsible for an underpayment
under the milk marketing order
program.
Accordingly, only producer milk that
is subject to forward contracting with a
handler in compliance with the Dairy
Forward Pricing Program will be exempt
from the order’s minimum blend price
provisions. In the case of non-member
milk that is reported as producer milk
by a cooperative association handler or
pool plant operator, but payrolled by a
nonpool plant operator, the cooperative
association or pool plant operator,
respectively, will be responsible for any
underpayment to a nonmember
producer in the event that milk under
contract becomes subject to minimum
milk marketing order pricing (as in the
case of over-contract milk). In this way,
cooperative association handlers, pool
plant operators, and nonpool plant
operators may continue the
arrangements that have evolved to pool
milk under the Federal milk marketing
order program and all will be permitted
to participate in the forward contracting
program.
Any handler participating in the
program will continue to file all of the
reports that are required under the
applicable Federal milk marketing
order. This includes reports of receipts
and utilization of milk and monthly
payroll reports that show all
information required by the orders. The
notable differences, however, between
the forward pricing program
implemented in this Final Rule and the
DFPPP are that handlers participating in
the forward pricing program must now
provide more detailed accounting in
their monthly payroll reports to the
market administrator and remittance
information provided to participating
producers (7 CFR 1__.31, 1001.73(e),
1005.73(e), 1006.73(e), 1007.73(e),
1030.73(f), 1032.73(f), 1033.73(e),
1124.73(f), 1126.73(e), 1131.73(e)). In
accordance with these provisions, the
monthly payroll reports of participating
handlers will be required to contain
detailed accounting that distinguishes
gross values paid for applicable volumes
of contract versus non-contract milk for
each producer. Handlers participating in
the DFPPP were not required to provide
such detailed accounting to the market
administrator. Remittance information

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 212 / Friday, October 31, 2008 / Rules and Regulations
from participating handlers to
participating producers must clearly
distinguish gross values and volumes
for contract versus non-contract milk.
These distinctions avoid any questions
concerning compliance with Federal
order minimum price requirements for
participant milk not under contract.
As with the DFPPP, handlers
participating in the Federal order
program must submit to the market
administrator a copy of each contract for
which it claims exemption from the
order’s minimum blend pricing
provisions. The contract must denote
the pricing terms for contract milk. The
contract must be signed prior to the first
day of the first month for which the
contract applies and must be received
by the market administrator by the 15th
day of that month. For the first month
that the program is effective, contracts
must be signed on or after the day on
which the program becomes effective.
For example, if the program becomes
effective on November 15, contracts for
December milk must be signed between
November 15 and November 30, and
copies must be received by the market
administrator by December 15.
Each handler must give each
contracting dairy farmer or cooperative
association a disclosure statement
informing them of the nature of the
program and providing certain
information that should be considered
before entering into a forward contract.
It is important that producers clearly
understand on what basis they are being
paid for contract milk. The disclosure
statement must be signed on the same
date as the contract by the dairy farmer
or cooperative association
representative and will have to be
returned by the handler to the market
administrator together with the contract.
The disclosure is less than one page
long and can easily be incorporated into
the body of the forward contract itself or
can be handled as a supplement that
may be attached to the forward contract.
Any contract that is submitted to the
market administrator without the
disclosure statement will be considered
to be invalid for the purpose of being
exempt from the order’s minimum
pricing and will be returned to the
handler.
Producers who are not members of a
cooperative association should be aware
that their milk weights and tests will
continue to be handled in the same way
by the milk market administrator even
if they choose to enter into a forward
contract which prices their milk on a
different basis than the milk marketing
order in which their milk is pooled. For
example, if a producer in the
Appalachian order, which prices the

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milk of dairy farmers on the basis of
skim milk and butterfat, enters into a
contract that prices milk on the basis of
protein, butterfat, other solids and
somatic cell count, the producer will
only receive data from the milk market
administrator on the skim and butterfat
components to compare against the
buying handler’s test data. If the
producer wants to verify other
component tests, they must do so at
their own expense.
Handlers with forward contracts
remain subject to all other milk
marketing order provisions. Payments
specified under a forward contract must
be made on the same dates as order
payments which they replace. If
handlers paid producers under contract
at different times than producers not
under contract, disorderly conditions
might occur. Payments for milk covered
under forward contract are required to
be made by the dates specified in
§ 1145.2(e) of the regulations.
Final Action
In accordance with the 2008 Farm
Bill, this final rule establishes the dairy
forward pricing program. These
provisions are included in a new part
1145, which provides separate sections
for Definitions, Rules Governing
Forward Contracts and Enforcement of
the program.
Subtitle F of Title I of the 2008 Farm
Bill at section 1601 provides for an
implementation timeframe and the
promulgation of the regulations to
establish a Dairy Forward Pricing
Program without regard to the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the Statement of Policy of
the Secretary of Agriculture, effective
July 24, 1971 (36 FR 13804), and the
notice and comment provisions of
section 553 of Title 5, United States
Code. Accordingly, these provisions are
made final in this action and for the
same reasons good cause exists for
making this rule effective one day after
publication in the Federal Register. To
do otherwise would be impracticable,
unnecessary, and contrary to the public
interest. (5 U.S.C. 553; 5 U.S.C. 808)
List of Subjects
7 CFR Part 1140
Contract, Forward contract, Forward
pricing, Milk.
7 CFR Part 1145
Contract, Forward contract, Forward
pricing, Milk.
■ For the reasons set forth in the
preamble and under the authority of 7
U.S.C. 601 et seq., Title 7, chapter X of
the Code of Federal Regulations is

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64871

amended by removing a reserving part
1140 and adding a new part 1145 to
read as follows:
PART 1140—[REMOVED AND
RESERVED]
PART 1145—DAIRY FORWARD
PRICING PROGRAM
Subpart A—Definitions
Sec.
1145. 1 Definitions.
Subpart B—Program Rules
1145.2 Program.
Subpart C—Enforcement
1145.3 Enforcement.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 8772.

Subpart A—Definitions
§ 1145.1

Definitions.

(a) Program means the dairy forward
pricing program as established by
Section 1502 of Public Law No. 110–
246.
(b) Eligible milk means the quantity of
milk equal to the contracting handler’s
Class II, III and IV utilization of
producer milk, in product pounds,
during the month, combining all plants
of a single handler regulated under the
same Federal milk marketing order.
(c) Forward contract means an
agreement covering the terms and
conditions for the sale of Class II, III or
IV milk from a producer defined in 7
CFR 1001.12, 1005.12, 1006.12, 1007.12,
1030.12, 1032.12, 1033.12, 1124.12,
1126.12, 1131.12 or a cooperative
association of producers defined in 7
CFR 1000.18, and a handler defined in
7 CFR 1000.9.
(d) Contract milk means the producer
milk regulated under a Federal milk
marketing order covered by a forward
contract.
(e) Disclosure statement means the
following statement which must be
signed by each producer or cooperative
representative entering into a forward
contract with a handler before the
Federal milk marketing order
administrator will recognize the
contract as satisfying the provisions of
this program.
Attachment to § 1145.1, paragraph (e):
Disclosure Statement
I am voluntarily entering into a
forward contract with [insert handler’s
name]. I have been given a copy of the
contract. By signing this form, I
understand that I am forfeiting my right
to receive the Federal milk marketing
order’s minimum prices for that portion
of the milk which is under contract for
the duration of the contract. I also

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understand that this contract milk will
be priced in accordance with the terms
and conditions of the contract.
Printed Name: lllllllllll
Signature: lllllllllllll
Date: llllllllllllllll
Address: llllllllllllll
Producer Number:
lllllllll
(f) Other definitions. The definition of
any term in Parts 1000–1131 of this
chapter apply to, and are hereby made
a part of this part, as appropriate.
Subpart B—Program Rules

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§ 1145.2

Program.

(a) Any handler defined in 7 CFR
1000.9 may enter into forward contracts
with producers or cooperative
associations of producers for the
handler’s eligible volume of milk. Milk
under forward contract in compliance
with the provisions of this part will be
exempt from the minimum payment
provisions that would apply to such
milk pursuant to 7 CFR 1001.73,
1005.73, 1006.73, 1007.73, 1030.73,
1032.73, 1033.73, 1124.73, 1126.73 and
1131.73 for the period of time covered
by the contract.
(b) No forward price contract may be
entered into under the program after
September 30, 2012, and no forward
contract entered into under the program
may extend beyond September 30, 2015.
(c) Forward contracts must be signed
and dated by the contracting handler
and producer (or cooperative
association) prior to the 1st day of the
1st month for which they are to be
effective and must be received by the
Federal milk market administrator by
the 15th day of that month. The
disclosure statement must be signed on
the same date as the contract by each
producer entering into a forward
contract, and this signed disclosure
statement must be attached to or
otherwise included in each contract
submitted to the market administrator.
(d) In the event that a handler’s
contract milk exceeds the handler’s
eligible milk for any month in which the
specified contract price(s) are below the
order’s minimum prices, the handler
must designate which producer milk
shall not be contract milk. If the handler
does not designate the suppliers of the
over-contracted milk, the market
administrator shall prorate the overcontracted milk to each producer and
cooperative association having a
forward contract with the handler.
(e) Payments for milk covered by a
forward contract must be made on or
before the dates applicable to payments
for milk that are not under forward
contract under the respective Federal
milk marketing order.

VerDate Aug<31>2005

13:44 Oct 30, 2008

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(f) Nothing in this part shall impede
the contractual arrangements that exist
between a cooperative association and
its members.
Subpart C—Enforcement
§ 1145.3

Enforcement.

A handler may not require
participation in a forward pricing
contract as a condition of the handler
receiving milk from a producer or
cooperative association of producers.
USDA will investigate all complaints
made by producers or cooperative
associations alleging coercion by
handlers to enter into forward contracts
and based on the results of the
investigation will take appropriate
action.
Dated: October 24, 2008.
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing
Service.
[FR Doc. E8–25856 Filed 10–30–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA–2008–0430; Directorate
Identifier 2007–SW–42–AD; Amendment 39–
15694; AD 2008–21–10]
RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter
France Model AS332 C, L, L1 and L2
Helicopters
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new
airworthiness directive (AD) for the
specified Eurocopter France (ECF)
model helicopters. This AD results from
mandatory continuing airworthiness
information (MCAI) originated by the
aviation authority of France to identify
and correct an unsafe condition on an
aviation product. The aviation authority
of France, with which we have a
bilateral agreement, states in the MCAI:
‘‘This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is
issued following two cases of LH
hydraulic power system loss on two
AS332 helicopters. In both cases, the
pilot received the ‘‘low level’’ hydraulic
failure alarm. The investigations
conducted on the two helicopters
revealed a hydraulic fluid leak from the
hydraulic pump casing. In both cases,
incorrect position of the liner of the

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compensating piston had caused the
seals to deteriorate. This incorrect
positioning of the liner is due to noncompliant application of the repair
process by a repair station. Deterioration
of hydraulic pumps causes:
• The loss of the RH and LH
hydraulic power systems in the event of
a substantial hydraulic fluid leak from
both hydraulic pumps during a given
flight.
• The loss of the hydraulic system
concerned, in the event of a substantial
hydraulic fluid leak from only one
pump.’’
This AD requires actions that are
intended to address this unsafe
condition.
DATES: This AD becomes effective on
December 5, 2008.
The incorporation by reference of
certain publications is approved by the
Director of the Federal Register as of
December 5, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD
docket on the Internet at http://
regulations.gov or in person at the
Docket Operations office, U.S.
Department of Transportation, M–30,
West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m. Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
You may get the service information
identified in this AD from American
Eurocopter Corporation, 2701 Forum
Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75053–4005,
telephone (972) 641–3460, fax (972)
641–3527, or at http://
www.eurocopter.com.
Examining the AD Docket: The AD
docket contains the Notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM), the economic
evaluation, any comments received, and
other information. The street address
and operating hours for the Docket
Operations office (telephone (800) 647–
5527) are in the ADDRESSES section of
this AD. Comments will be available in
the AD docket shortly after they are
received.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Uday Garadi, Aviation Safety Engineer,
FAA, Rotorcraft Directorate, Regulations
and Guidance Group, Fort Worth, Texas
76193–0110, telephone (817) 222–5123,
fax (817) 222–5961.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Discussion
We issued an NPRM to amend 14 CFR
part 39 to include an AD that would
apply to the specified Eurocopter model
helicopters on April 3, 2008. That
NPRM was published in the Federal
Register on April 22, 2008 (73 FR
21553). That NPRM proposed to replace

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