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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 22-425

NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Referendum on Continuation of the Pennsylvania Apple Program

[52 Pa.B. 1643]
[Saturday, March 19, 2022]

 I. The Pennsylvania Apple Program was established under the provisions of the Agricultural Commodities Marketing Act (Act). The Act requires that the Secretary of Agriculture call a referendum of affected producers every five years to determine whether or not a majority of those voting still desire the program. The program was established by a referendum conducted in 2017. It is now time for a review referendum to determine whether a majority of the apple producers desire the program to continue.

 II. Referendum Period: The referendum period shall be from March 21, 2022, until 4 p.m. on April 18, 2022. Completed ballots shall be mailed or hand-delivered to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Market Development, Room 310, 2301 North Cameron Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110-9408. Hand-delivered ballots must be received by 4 p.m. on April 18, 2022. Ballots that are mailed must be postmarked no later than April 18, 2022, and received no later than May 6, 2022.

 III. Notice of Referendum: This referendum order and an official ballot shall be mailed no later than March 18, 2022, to all affected producers whose names appear on the list of Pennsylvania apple producers maintained in the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture. Additional copies of the same materials shall be made available at the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture.

 IV. Eligible Voters: The rules governing the eligibility of a producer for voting are as follows: The record date for determination of whether a producer is eligible to vote is March 18, 2022. Names of affected eligible producers shall be taken from the commodity apple list of producers maintained in the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture. An affected producer is a person who produces or grows, or causes to be produced or grown, apples in Pennsylvania for the purpose of sale and has 500 or more apple trees of all ages.

 V. Counting of Ballots: The ballots will be opened and counted by a Teller Committee appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. The counting of the ballots will begin at 10 a.m., Monday, May 9, 2022, at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 2301 North Cameron Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110. The Secretary will announce the results of the referendum within 30 days following the completion of the referendum period. The results will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and the Harrisburg Patriot-News, and disseminated to the news media.

 VI. Reporting Irregularities: Any irregularities or disputes concerning the referendum procedures must be reported in written form to the Secretary of Agriculture not later than seven (7) calendar days from the end of the referendum period.

 VII. Publication: This referendum order shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

 VIII. Effective Date: The foregoing order shall be effective immediately.

RUSSELL C. REDDING, 
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 22-425. Filed for public inspection March 18, 2022, 9:00 a.m.]


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