The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a final rule establishing a marketable quantity of 7.275 million barrels and a grower allotment percentage of 75 percent for volume regulation of the 2018-19 crop year under the marketing order regulating the handling of cranberries grown in the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Long Island in the State of New York. The Cranberry Marketing Committee recommended the quantity and percentage for seasonal volume regulation.
This action also:
- allows handlers to process up to 50 percent of the excess cranberries they receive above their growers’ allotment, provided they divert an equivalent amount of 2018-19 processed cranberry products;
- establishes an exemption for organically grown cranberries;
- specifies handlers subject to the regulation;
- revises the definition of outlets for excess fruit;
- revises the due dates for certain actions; and
- exempts handlers that processed less than 125,000 barrels during the 2017-18 fiscal year, or handlers that did not have carryover inventory at the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year. Accordingly, growers delivering their fruit to exempt handlers would not be subject to the allotment.
The final rule was published in the Federal Register Sept. 12, 2018, and will be effective Oct. 12, 2018. A 30-day public comment period for the proposed rule ended May 29. USDA received twenty-four comments.
Information about the marketing order is available on the 929 Cranberries page on the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) website.
Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, marketing orders are industry-driven programs that help producers and handlers achieve marketing success by leveraging their own funds to design and execute programs that they would not be able to do individually. The Agricultural Marketing Service provides oversight to 29 fruit, vegetable and specialty crops marketing orders and agreements, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
More information about federal marketing orders is available on the Marketing Orders and Agreements page of the AMS website or by contacting the Marketing Order and Agreement Division at (202) 720-2491.
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