(a) Voting for regional and State producer representatives will be made by mail ballot.
(b) Nominations for the initial Council will be handled by the Department. Subsequent nominations will be handled by the Council.
(c) The nominations for the six producer and alternate members from States producing a minimum three year average of three million pounds of raspberries delivered for processing will be submitted to the Council in the following manner:
(1) For those States that have a State raspberry commission or State marketing order, the State raspberry commission or committee will nominate producers and their alternates to serve. Nominations will be sent to the Council and placed on a ballot which will then be sent to producers in the State for a vote. The nominee for member will have received the highest number of votes cast. The person with the second highest number of votes cast will be the nominee for alternate. The persons with the third and fourth place highest number of votes cast will be designated as additional nominees for consideration by the Secretary. Once the Council has received all of the nominations from commissions or committees, the information will be submitted to the Secretary for appointment. Nominations for the initial Council will be handled by the Department. Subsequent nominations will be handled by the Council staff and shall be submitted to the Secretary not less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the term of office; or
(2) For those States that do not have a State raspberry commission or State marketing order, the Council will seek nominations from the State Departments of Agriculture for members and alternates from the specific States. The State Departments of Agriculture will have the opportunity to participate in nomination caucuses and may directly submit as a group, a single slate of nominations to the Department for the six producer positions and producer alternate positions for the initial Council. Subsequent nominations shall be submitted to the Council and will be handled by the Council staff who in turn shall submit those nominations to the Secretary not less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the term of office.
(3) The distribution of the six producer and alternate seats will be proportional to the percentage determined by the average of the total pounds produced and delivered to processors for processing over the previous three years divided by the average total pounds produced over the previous three years.
(d) The nominee for the one raspberry producer of raspberries for processing and alternate member who represents all other States producing less than a minimum three year average of three million pounds of raspberries delivered for processing, will constitute a region and the nominations will be submitted to the Council in the following manner:
(1) For those States that have a State raspberry commission or State marketing order, the State raspberry commission or committee will nominate producers and their alternates to serve. The State raspberry commission or committee nominations will be sent to the Council and placed on a ballot which will then be sent to producers in the Region for a vote. The nominee for member will have received the highest number of votes cast. The person with the second highest number of votes cast will be the nominee for alternate. The persons with the third and fourth place highest number of votes cast will be designated as additional nominees for consideration by the Secretary. Once the Council has received all of the nominations from commissions or committees, the information will be submitted to the Secretary for appointment. Nominations for the initial Council will be handled by the Department. Subsequent nominations will be handled by the Council staff and shall be submitted to the Secretary not less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the term of office; or
(2) For those States that do not have a State raspberry commission or State marketing order, the Council will seek nominations from the State Departments of Agriculture for the member and alternate from the specific States. The State Departments of Agriculture will have the opportunity to participate in nomination caucuses and will directly submit as a group a single slate of nominations to the Department for the producer position and the producer alternate position for the initial Council. Subsequent nominations shall be submitted to the Council and will be handled by the Council staff who in turn shall submit those nominations to the Secretary not less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the term of office.
(e) Only producers from States that deliver raspberries for processing and are covered under the program are eligible for nomination and election to the Council. Average production will be based upon Department production data for the initial nomination and production figures generated by either the Council or the Department thereafter.
(f) Nominations for the importer positions and their alternates will be made by qualified national organizations representing importers as follows:
(1) All qualified national organizations representing importers will have the opportunity to participate in nomination caucuses and will submit as a group a single slate of nominations to the Secretary for the importer positions and the importer alternate positions on the Council. Eligible organizations must submit nominations to the Department not less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the term of office. Two nominees for each member and each alternate position will be submitted to the Secretary for consideration.
(2) If the Department determines that there are no qualified national organizations representing importers, individuals who have paid their assessments to the Council in the most recent fiscal year or for the initial Council, those that imported processed raspberries into the U.S., may directly submit nominations to the Department for the initial Council. Subsequent nominations shall be submitted to the Council and will be handled by the Council staff who in turn shall submit those nominations to the Secretary not less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the term of office.
(g) Nominations for the foreign producer positions and their alternates will be made by qualified organizations representing foreign producers as follows:
(1) All qualified organizations representing foreign producer interests will have the opportunity to participate in nomination caucuses and will submit as a group a single slate of nominations to the Secretary for the foreign producer positions and the foreign producer alternate positions on the Council.
(2) If the Department determines that there are no qualified organizations representing foreign producer interests, individual foreign producers may directly submit nominations to the Department for the initial Council. Subsequent nominations shall be submitted to the Council and will be handled by the Council staff who in turn shall submit those nominations to the Secretary not less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the term of office. For the initial Council, persons that meet the definition of foreign producer as defined in this subpart will certify such qualification and upon certification, if qualified, may submit nominations. Two nominees for each member and each alternate position will be submitted to the Secretary for consideration.
(h) Nominations for the at-large member and alternate will be conducted at a Council meeting by the Council and shall be submitted by the Council to the Secretary for approval. Nominations for the initial Council will be handled by the Department. Subsequent nominations will be handled by the Council and shall be submitted to the Secretary not less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the term of office.
(i) From the nominations, the Secretary shall select the members of the Council and alternates for each position on the Council. Members will serve until their replacements have been appointed by the Secretary.
(j) If there is an insufficient number of nominees from whom to appoint members to the Council, the Secretary may appoint members in such a manner as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(k) Qualified national organization representing importer interests. To be certified as a qualified national organization representing importer interests, an organization must meet the following criteria, as evidenced by a report submitted by the organization to the Secretary:
(1) The organization must represent a substantial number of importers who market or produce a substantial volume of raspberries for processing;
(2) The organization has a history of stability and permanency and has been in existence for more than one year;
(3) The organization must promote processed raspberries importers' welfare; and
(4) The organization must derive a portion of its operating funds from importers.
(l) Qualified organization representing foreign producer interests. To be certified by the Secretary as a qualified organization representing foreign producer interests, an organization must meet the following criteria, as evidenced by a report submitted by the organization to the Secretary:
(1) The organization must represent a substantial number of foreign producers who produce a substantial volume of raspberries for processing;
(2) The organization has a history of stability and permanency and has been in existence for more than one year;
(3) The organization must promote processed raspberry foreign producers' welfare;
(4) The organization must derive a portion of its operating funds from foreign producers; and
(5) The organization must be from a country exporting a minimum of three million pounds of raspberries for processing to the U.S. based on a three-year average.
(m) Eligible organizations, foreign producers, or importers must submit nominations to the Secretary not less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the term of office. At least two nominees for each position to be filled must be submitted.