Watermelon Research and Promotion Plan; Proposed Amendments to the Plan, Rules and Regulations, and Rules of Practice for Petitions; Order Directing That a Referendum be Conducted

Résumé

This proposed rule would amend the Watermelon Research and Promotion Plan (Plan) to exempt from assessments producers with less than 10 acres of watermelons rather than 5 acres and importers of less than 150,000 pounds, cover all 50 States by the Plan, and revise the criteria for determining the eligibility of producers to serve on the Board. In addition, conforming changes would be made to the rules and regulations issued under the Plan and the rules of practice for petitions. Furthermore, the Department is announcing that a referendum will be conducted among eligible producers, handlers, and importers to determine whether they favor the elimination of refunds of assessments and (2) whether they favor the assessment of watermelon imports and the addition of importer members to the National Watermelon Promotion Board (Board).