Onions Grown in South Texas; Amendment of Sunday Packing and Loading Prohibitions

This interim final rule amends, for the remainder of the 1997 period, the regulation under the South Texas onion marketing order which specifies that no handler may package or load onions on Sunday during the period March 1 through May 20 to remove the prohibition. The order regulates the handling of onions grown in South Texas and is administered locally by the South Texas Onion Committee (Committee). The Committee unanimously recommended the change to increase supplies of South Texas onions in the marketplace. Recent heavy rainfall in the production area has prevented handlers from packing and loading enough onions to meet buyer needs.