Justification for Change APC-7 Form

Justification of Change Worksheet

Pecans Grown in AL, AR, AZ, CA, FL, GA, KS, LA, MO, MS, NC, NM, OK, SC and TX

OMB No. 0581-0291

Marketing Order No. 986

March 2019

AMS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register seeking public comment on expanding the type of information collected by the American Pecan Council on October 9, 2018. The Council locally administers a Federal marketing order for pecans under AMS’s oversight. The proposed rule provided for a 30-day comment period on amending § 986.175 to require handlers to include additional information in the currently approved Year-End Report form (APC-7). No comments were received. The final rule was published on Mach 8, 2019 and will be effective April 8, 2019. The revisions to this form would provide space on the form for handlers to report the average price paid for all inshell pecans they purchase from growers or other handlers, and the average yield of shelled pecans.

The Year-End Report form (APC-7) is contained in OMB No. 0581-0291 with 15 other forms currently approved by OMB. The APC-7 enables the Council to gather data on the amount of shelled and inshell pecans in inventory, total inventory calculated on an inshell basis, total weight and type of domestic pecans handled for the fiscal year, and information on assessments owed and paid. The proposed rule would revise § 986.175 to require that handlers report the average price they paid to growers and other handlers, and average yield of shelled pecans as part of the existing year-end report.

Necessary edits to the APC-7 involve: (1) adding a column titled “Crop Year – Average Price Paid (Per Pound)” to the table titled “Inshell Inventory on August 31”; and (2) adding a column titled “Shell-Out/Yield” to the column titled “Shelled Meats in Inventory on August 31.” Text is also added to the page of instructions accompanying the APC-7 to describe how handlers should include the information on the form.

AMS personnel confirmed with Council staff that no additional time would be needed for handlers to include the price and yield information on the APC-7. Such information is readily included on sales documents retained with inventory records. The estimated time for handlers to complete and submit the form remains at 30 minutes. In addition, the number of handlers submitting information to the Council would not change from 250 as a result of the Council’s expanded collection information through the APC-7.