Karnal Bunt; Compensation for Custom Harvesters in Northern Texas

In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on May 5, 2004, we amended the Karnal bunt regulations to provide for the payment of compensation to custom harvesters for losses they incurred due to the requirement that their equipment be cleaned and disinfected after four counties in northern Texas were declared regulated areas for Karnal bunt during the 2000-2001 crop season. We also amended the regulations to provide for the payment of compensation to owners or lessees of other equipment that came into contact with Karnal bunt- positive host crops in those counties and was required to be cleaned and disinfected during the 2000-2001 crop season. The interim rule contained a deadline of September 2, 2004, for the submission of claims for compensation; in this document, we are extending the deadline to December 31, 2004.