Title 75, Regulation of Trade, Commerce and Investments

Nothing in this article shall be construed as requiring the commissioner or his representative to: (a) report for prosecution; (b) institute seizure proceedings; (c) issue a withdrawal from distribution order; or (d) hold an administrative hearing as a result of minor violations …

It shall be the duty of each prosecuting attorney to whom any violation is reported to cause appropriate proceedings to be instituted and prosecuted in a court of competent jurisdiction without delay.

The commissioner is hereby authorized to apply for and the court to grant a temporary or permanent injunction restraining any person from violating or continuing to violate any of the provisions of this article or any rule or regulation promulgated under this article notwithstand…

Any person who uses to his own advantage, or reveals to other than the commissioner and state chemist, or officers of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce and Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory, or to the courts when relevant in any judicial proceeding, any i…

The commissioner and state chemist may cooperate with and enter into agreements with governmental agencies of this state, agencies of the federal government, and private associations in order to carry out the purpose and provisions of this article.

This article shall be known as the “Mississippi Grain Dealers Law of 1978.”

(a) The following terms shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context shall otherwise require:(a) “Person” shall mean any person, firm, association or corporation.(b) “Grain” shall mean all grains for which standards have been established pursuant to the United States…

No person shall operate as a grain dealer without first having obtained a license pursuant to this article; provided, however, that grain dealers licensed under the provisions of the United States Warehouse Act, as amended, or the Mississippi Grain Warehouse Law shall not be requ…

(1) Every person licensed as a grain dealer shall have filed with the department a surety bond signed by the dealer as principal and by a responsible company authorized to execute surety bonds within the State of Mississippi. A grain dealer may file with the department, in lieu o…

(a) If the department is satisfied:(a) That the applicant is of good business reputation,(b) That the applicant has adequate bonding under Section 75-45-305,(c) That the applicant maintains a permanent business location in this state, and(d) That the applicant has sufficient fina…

(1) Every licensed grain dealer shall be examined by the commissioner each year. The cost of such examination shall be included in the annual license fee. The commissioner, at his discretion, may make additional examinations at any time. If any discrepancy is found as a result of…

If a grain dealer should fail or refuse to make payment to a producer for grain purchased when such payment is requested by the producer and the request is made within one hundred sixty (160) days of the date of sale or the date of delivery of such grain to the dealer, whichever …

The commissioner shall carry out and enforce the provisions of this article and is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out necessary inspections and to appoint and fix the duties of his personnel and provide such equipment as may be necessary to assist h…

(1) Any person who engages in business as a grain dealer without securing a license or who does not have a valid license or is in violation of this article or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, or who shall impede, obstruct, hinder or otherwise prevent or attempt t…

This chapter shall be known as the “Mississippi Grain Indemnity Act.”

Assessments shall be collected by the first purchaser licensee and by any agent or representative of the licensee. The first purchaser licensee shall deduct the assessment from the purchase price of the grain and shall document the amount of the assessment that was deducted on an…

(1) Initial assessments shall be collected beginning January 1, 2027, and shall be collected until the board determines that the amount in the Grain Indemnity Trust Fund is Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00). (2) If the amount in the Grain Indemnity Trust Fund is less t…

First purchaser licensees shall maintain a ledger of all assessments collected by the licensee that specifies the date of the collection, from whom the assessment was collected, and the amount of the assessment collected. Ledgers for the corresponding time frame shall be submitte…

(1) Participation by producers in the Grain Indemnity Trust Fund is voluntary, pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. (2) During any calendar year in which assessments are collected under this chapter, a producer who does not desire to pay the assessment set forth at Section…

The commissioner shall be responsible for determining when a first purchaser licensee has failed and/or when a failure has occurred. Upon making such a determination, the commissioner shall have the authority to call a special meeting of the board on three (3) days’ notice or sho…

(1) The board is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the operation of the board and to provide for a timely process to receive and adjudicate claims submitted in connection to the failure of a first purchaser licensee. (a) Claims submitted to the board mu…

(1) All claims submitted to the board shall be reviewed by a designee or designees of the board. The designee(s) shall make a preliminary determination regarding the eligibility for payment from the Grain Indemnity Trust Fund. If the preliminary determination provides that less t…

(1) Subject to Section 75-46-27, claims for storage losses shall be paid at one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of loss of the claimant less any amount received by the claimant from any other source. The value of the grain, subject to the claim, shall be the market price of …

If the total amount of eligible claims exceeds the amount of funds available to the board from the Grain Indemnity Trust Fund, the board shall make payments on a pro rata basis. Assessments subsequently collected and submitted to the Grain Indemnity Trust Fund shall not be used t…

The failure of a first purchaser licensee to timely collect and submit assessments required by Section 75-46-11 shall be basis for the commissioner to revoke a license issued to the licensee under Sections 75-44-23 and 75-45-309.

(a) As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed in this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:(a) “Assessment” means the assessment established pursuant to 75-46-9.(b) “Board” means the Mississippi Grain Indemnity Trust Fund Board…

The commissioner shall establish a toll-free hotline and other information collection processes for the purposes of receiving information concerning the failure of a first purchaser licensee to make timely payments for the purchase of grain and information concerning any suspecte…

All the board’s books, records, accounts and other papers shall be subject to inspection, copying and audit by the Office of the State Auditor at any time.

(1) A claimant fully compensated under this chapter shall, as a matter of law, be deemed to have subrogated all claimant’s rights on a bond or other pledged financial assets set forth in Sections 75-44-29 and 75-45-305 and all the claimant’s rights to any other compensation from …

The board may adopt any and all rules and regulations deemed necessary or desirable by the board to carry out the powers and duties of the board, including, but not limited to, the collection and receipt of assessments, the procedure for adjudicating the claims of loss by the pro…

(1) There is hereby created the Mississippi Grain Indemnity Board, which is established for the purposes of administering and overseeing the Grain Indemnity Trust Fund and providing a process by which producers growing and selling grain in the State of Mississippi can make claims…

(1) The Grain Indemnity Trust Fund shall be administered by the board. All payments made to claimants under this chapter may only be made with board approval, and the board shall provide advice to the commissioner on the day-to-day operations of the Grain Indemnity Trust Fund. Th…

Beginning on January 1, 2027, producers of grain shall be charged an assessment equal to two-tenths percent (0.2%) of the price on all marketed grain that is sold to a first purchaser licensee.

This chapter shall be known as the “Mississippi Fertilizer Law of 1970.”

(1) There shall be paid to the commissioner for all commercial fertilizers distributed in this state an inspection fee at the rate of Twenty-five Cents (25¢) per ton, provided that sales to manufacturers or exchanges between them are hereby exempted. Fees so collected shall be us…

(a) All fertilizer registrants transacting, distributing or selling commercial fertilizer to a nonregistrant shall file with the commissioner an annual report showing the county code of the consignee, each grade of commercial fertilizer, the amounts in tons, the Uniform Fertilize…

(1) It shall be the duty of the commissioner, who may act through his authorized agent, to sample and inspect, and of the state chemist to make analyses of and test commercial fertilizers distributed within this state at any time and place and to such an extent as they may deem n…

(1) Penalty for Nitrogen, Available Phosphoric Acid or Phosphorus and Potash or Potassium. — If the analysis shall show that commercial fertilizer is deficient in one or more of its guaranteed primary plant foods (NPK) beyond the “investigational allowances” as established by reg…

For the purpose of determining the commercial values to be applied under the provisions of Section 75-47-17, the state chemist shall determine and publish annually the values per unit of nitrogen, available phosphoric acid, and soluble potash in commercial fertilizers in this sta…

(a) No person shall distribute misbranded fertilizer. A commercial fertilizer shall be deemed to be misbranded:(a) If its labeling is false or misleading in any particular.(b) If it is distributed under the name of another fertilizer product.(c) If it is not labeled as required i…

(a) No person shall distribute an adulterated fertilizer product. A commercial fertilizer shall be deemed to be adulterated:(a) If it contains any deleterious or harmful ingredient in sufficient amount to render it injurious to beneficial plant life when applied in accordance wit…

The commissioner shall publish at least annually and in such forms as he may deem proper: (a) Information concerning the distribution of commercial fertilizers, (b) Results of analyses based on official samples of commercial fertilizers distributed within the state as compared wi…

The commissioner and state chemist are authorized to prescribe and, after a public hearing following due public notice, to enforce such rules and regulations relating to investigational allowances, definitions, records, and the distribution of commercial fertilizers, and any othe…

Sections 75-27-1 through 75-27-67 shall be applicable with respect to the regulation and checking of the measure and weight of commercial fertilizers.

This chapter shall be administered jointly by the commissioner of agriculture and commerce of the State of Mississippi, hereinafter referred to as the commissioner, and the state chemist of Mississippi, as specified in the following sections.

The commissioner and state chemist are authorized and empowered to cancel the registration of any brand of commercial fertilizer or to refuse to register any brand of commercial fertilizer as herein provided, upon satisfactory evidence that the registrant has used fraudulent or d…