Release No. 149-16
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2016 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will hold a public hearing for proposed amendments to the federal marketing order for hazelnuts grown in Oregon and Washington on Oct. 18, 2016, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT at the Holiday Inn Portland South, Wilsonville, Ore.
The Hazelnut Marketing Board, which is responsible for local administration of the order, proposed two amendments that would: 1) add authority to regulate quality and 2) establish different regulations for different markets.
If evidence submitted at the hearing favors these proposals, and if USDA agrees that the amendments would improve the order’s operation, producers that produce hazelnuts grown in Oregon and Washington would then vote in a producer referendum.
The proposal and the hearing notice was published in the Sept. 30, 2016, Federal Register.
Information on the hearing and amendments may be obtained from Melissa Schmaedick, Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Rulemaking Branch, Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, Post Office Box 952, Moab, UT 84532, telephone: (202) 557-4783, fax: (435) 259-1502; or Michelle P. Sharrow, Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Rulemaking Branch, Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; telephone: (202) 720-2491, fax: (202) 720-8938 or by emailing Melissa.Schmaedick@ams.usda.gov or Michelle.Sharrow@ams.usda.gov.
Individuals requiring a sign language interpreter or other reasonable accommodations should contact Melissa Schmaedick, AMS Specialty Crops Program, by phone at (202) 720-2491 or e-mail Melissa.Schmaedick@ams.usda.gov before the hearing begins.
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