Nectarines and Peaches Grown in California; Decreased Assessment Rates

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim final rule that decreased the assessment rates established for the Nectarine Administrative Committee and the Peach Commodity Committee (Committees) for the 2009-10 and subsequent fiscal periods. The Nectarine Administrative Committee (NAC) program decreased its assessment rate from $0.06 to $0.0175 per 25- pound container or container equivalent of nectarines handled. The Peach Commodity Committee (PCC) program decreased its assessment rate from $0.06 to $0.0025 per 25-pound container or container equivalent of peaches handled. The Committees locally administer the marketing orders for nectarines and peaches grown in California (order). The interim final rule was necessary to align the Committees' expected revenue with decreases in its proposed budget for the 2009-10 fiscal period, which began March 1, 2009.