Removal of U.S. Grade Standards

This rule will remove the voluntary U.S. grade standards for Beans, Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and Lentils from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). These are an accumulation of regulations which have been developed for more than 75 years to facilitate the marketing of agricultural commodities by providing a uniform language which may be used to describe the quality of various agricultural commodities as valued in the marketplace. The voluntary standards and all subsequent revisions or new standards will be made available in a separate publication. This regulatory action is being taken as part of the National Performance Review program to eliminate unnecessary regulations and improve those that remain in force. In carrying out this responsibility, the Administrator of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), will ensure that proposed, new or revised voluntary standards will appear in the ``Notices'' section of the Federal Register and that the public will have an opportunity to comment.