Title FAC, California Food & Agric. Code

This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Farmer Equity Act of 2017. (Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 620, Sec. 1. (AB 1348) Effective January 1, 2018.)

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) California recognizes the importance of investing in the long-term prosperity of our food and farming system, starting with our farmers. (2) Farmers of color have historically not had equitable access to land and ot…

For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) “Secretary” refers to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. (b) “Socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher” means a farmer or rancher who is a member of a socially disadvantaged group. (c) “Sociall…

(a) The department shall ensure the inclusion of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, including socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in urbanized areas, in the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of food and agriculture laws, regulations, and pol…

(a) On or before January 1, 2020, the department shall submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature on efforts to serve socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and all female farmers and ranchers in California. The report shall include recommendations to the Governor a…

(a) The department, in consultation with the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Producer Advisory Committee and the Small-Scale Producer Advisory Committee, shall establish the Regional Farmer Equipment and Cooperative Resources Assistance Pilot Program to provide fin…

(a) Before the initiation of a referendum for the continuation of the operation of the commission, as described in Section 65573, and upon a finding by a two-thirds vote of the commissioners that the commission has effectuated the purposes of this chapter, the commission may file…

At the close of the referendum period established for any referendum required by Section 65660, the secretary shall tabulate the ballots filed during that period. The secretary shall declare the suspension of the operation of the commission, effective upon expiration of the curre…

Upon and after the effective date of suspension of the operation of the commission, the operations of the commission shall be wound up and any and all moneys remaining held by the commission, collected by assessment in the prior marketing year and not required to defray the expen…

Upon suspension of the operation of the commission, a notice of the suspension shall be posted on the department’s website. The commission shall mail a copy of the notice of suspension to all producers and shippers affected by the suspension whose names and addresses are on file …

(a) Any horse or other Equidae brought into this state shall be accompanied by the following: (1) A certificate of health from the state of origin issued by an accredited veterinarian. The certificate shall state that the horse or other Equidae is free from evidence of any commun…

(a) The director may issue a permit, valid on January 1 and renewable on or before January 1 of each year thereafter, that exempts any working horse from the requirements of Section 9641.5 under all of the following conditions: (1) The applicant owns or operates a business or bus…

Any positive test for equine infectious anemia performed in a California laboratory shall be reported by telephone within 24 hours to the department by the laboratory making the test. (Added by Stats. 1978, Ch. 1030.)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the secretary may proceed with the identification of nonreacting animals in a herd in the same manner as provided in Section 10401 and require the slaughter of those animals and the disinfection of the premises where the animal…

The value of a nonreacting animal that is slaughtered shall be determined by appraisement by a representative of the department or a representative of the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, and by the owner or his or her agent. If these …

If a nonreacting animal is slaughtered pursuant to this article, and indemnity funds are available, the owner of the animal may receive part or all of the following: (a) The proceeds of the sale of the salvage of the animal. (b) From the United States Department of Agriculture, a…

Indemnity provided by this article shall not be paid in any of the following cases: (a) For any bovine animal which reacts to the brucellosis test or shows active brucellosis prior to or at slaughter. In this case, the indemnity rate which is provided in Section 10405 shall apply…

It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision of this chapter, or any regulations which are adopted by the director pursuant to this chapter. (Enacted by Stats. 1967, Ch. 15.)

Renovated butter is the product made from impure or rancid butter reduced, for the purpose of cleansing and renovating, to a liquid state by melting and draining off the liquid milk fat and afterwards churning or otherwise manipulating it in connection with milk or any product of…

It is unlawful for any person to sell any renovated butter unless there is printed upon the label of each and every package, or other container in which such renovated butter is put up for sale or sold at retail, all of the following: (a) The words “renovated butter” in letters w…

“University,” as used in this article, means the University of California. (Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1536, Sec. 4.)

It is the intent of the Legislature that the department contract with the Regents of the University of California to operate poultry and livestock disease laboratories pursuant to this article. The central laboratory should be located next to the facilities of the Veterinary Medi…

When a central diagnostic laboratory constructed on the Davis campus of the university is ready for occupancy, the director shall contract with the Regents of the University of California for its School of Veterinary Medicine to establish and operate the California Animal Health …

The contract executed pursuant to this article shall provide that the university maintain sufficient numbers of laboratories to perform the functions contained in this article. The central diagnostic laboratory shall be established on the Davis campus of the university, and branc…

(a) A central diagnostic laboratory building to be constructed on the Davis campus of the university adjacent to the facilities of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, together with the equipment necessary for a modern veterinary diagnostic laboratory, is hereby specifically…

After the contract has been executed pursuant to Section 521, the diagnostic functions of the regional laboratories maintained at Petaluma and Sacramento shall be transferred to other laboratories in the system and those two laboratories shall be closed. (Added by Stats. 1982, Ch…

The contract shall provide that the university, in consultation with the department, shall establish a schedule of fees to help defray the cost of operation of the laboratories. (Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1536, Sec. 4.)

The contract shall provide for all of the following services which, when included in the department’s budget, shall be provided without charge: (a) Services performed in the course of a department-approved investigation of an animal health problem. (b) Department-approved service…

The contract shall specify the accounting procedures to be used and any reports necessary to assure compliance with state and university requirements. (Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1536, Sec. 4.)

It is intended that the contractual arrangement between the university and the department be of long-term duration. The department’s budget for the laboratories shall be reviewed annually. A Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Board is hereby established, consisting of representativ…

A member of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Board is entitled to be paid his or her actual expenses which are incurred while engaged in performing his or her duties that are authorized by this article. (Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1536, Sec. 4.)

The budget for the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory shall be established as a line item in the budget of the department. The operating budget requests shall be submitted annually, and requests for funding of construction of facilities and special items of labor…

In any civil or criminal action or proceeding for violation of the Cartwright Act (Section 16700, Business and Professions Code, and following), the Unfair Practices Act (Section 17000, Business and Professions Code, and following), the Fair Trade Act (Section 16900, Business and…

The commission shall reimburse to the secretary all expenses incurred by them in the supervision of elections. (Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 614, Sec. 46. (AB 482) Effective January 1, 2026.)

This chapter shall be liberally construed. If any section, clause or part of this chapter is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid as applied to any person or as applied under certain circumstances, such decision shall not affect the remaining portions of this cha…

The director shall meet periodically with the livestock sanitary officials or committees of other states, the duly authorized agricultural representatives of other states and of the United States, or any of them, for the purpose of coordinating livestock sanitary activities withi…

A county may appropriate and expend money from the general fund of the county to carry on investigation, inspection, control, and eradication of disease in domestic animals. For such purposes it may enter into agreements with the department or with any other county and the depart…

An agreement which is entered into pursuant to Section 9672 may do all of the following: (a) Provide that payments from the county treasuries may be made to the department and disbursed only for investigation, inspection, control and eradication of disease in domestic animals wit…

An agreement which is entered into pursuant to Section 9672 shall provide for the disposition, division, or distribution of any property which is acquired as the result of the joint exercise of powers, and the return of any surplus moneys, in proportion to the contributions which…

If an owner of cattle refuses to slaughter exposed, nonreacting bovine animals pursuant to the provisions of Article 7 (commencing with Section 10421) when requested by the director to do so, the cattle owner shall then be responsible for paying to the director the full costs of …

The following procedures shall be followed when brucellosis has been identified in a herd of cattle: (a) An official veterinarian shall conduct an epidemiological investigation of the infected herd and premises involved in order to determine the specific methods and actions neces…

If an owner of brucellosis infected or exposed cattle refuses to participate in the development and signing of the memorandum of understanding required by subdivision (e) of Section 10493, or fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of such memorandum, the cattle owner shal…

If an owner of a brucellosis infected herd violates any law or regulation pertaining to brucellosis eradication, the cattle owner shall immediately become responsible for paying to the director all further costs incurred by the department in eradicating the disease from the herd …

(a) An owner who fails to achieve eradication of brucellosis in his or her herd is responsible for the costs of maintaining the required testing schedule after 24 months from the date of an order to hold issued by the director pursuant to Section 9565. Evidence of eradication sha…

This article shall be known and may be cited as the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Act of 1986. (Added by Stats. 2010, Ch. 200, Sec. 1. (AB 1891) Effective January 1, 2011.)

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) There is a growing movement in California and the nation to change farming techniques by adopting more resource-conserving, energy-efficient systems of agriculture. The objective of these changes is to produce agricultu…