Title 46, Agriculture

(A) The grain dealer shall remit assessments and file with the department a report of such assessments on grain received by him by the fifteenth day of each calendar month following any calendar month in which the grain dealer has received quantities of grain subject to assessmen…

All grain dealers shall participate in the fund.

No grain dealer is entitled to be paid more than once from any state guaranty fund for any losses incurred as a result of the bankruptcy of this debtor.

(A) From the effective date of this chapter until the time the department determines that all approved claims against the debtor as defined in Section 46-40-20(4) have been paid and that all monies received from the Insurance Reserve Fund or state general fund under Section 46-40…

For the purpose of this chapter the following words shall mean: (1) "Dealer in agricultural products" means any person, association, itinerant dealer, copartnership or corporation engaged in the State in the business of buying, receiving, selling, exchanging, negotiating, process…

The Commissioner shall have power to investigate upon complaint of any interested person or upon his own initiative the record of any applicant, licensee or unlicensed person, partnership or corporation alleged or suspected to be a dealer in agricultural products, or any transact…

Whenever produce is shipped to or received by a licensed dealer for handling, purchase or sale in this State at any market point, and the dealer finds such to be in a spoiled, damaged, unmarketable or unsatisfactory condition, unless both parties shall waive inspection before sal…

The Commissioner may decline to grant a license or may suspend or revoke a license already granted if he is satisfied that the applicant or licensee has either: (1) Suffered a money judgment to be entered against him upon which execution has been returned unsatisfied; or (2) Made…

(A) Before the commissioner refuses to issue a license or revokes a license he shall give ten days' notice, by registered mail, to the applicant or licensee of a time and place of hearing. At the hearing the applicant or licensee must be allowed to appear in person or by or with …

The Commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

The Commissioner may employ all help and services as may be necessary and fix their compensation.

All moneys received as license fees shall be placed in the general fund of the State.

(A) Any dealer in agricultural products violating the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall for the first offense be fined not less than one thousand dollars or, in the case of individuals, the members of a partnership, and…

Every dealer who is a nonresident or every resident dealer who subsequently becomes a nonresident of this State shall be deemed to have appointed the Commissioner of Agriculture as his true and lawful attorney in fact for the service of process upon him in any action in the court…

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to: (1) Resident farmers or groups of resident farmers in the sale or purchase of agricultural products. (2) All persons who buy for cash and pay at the time of delivery with United States currency and maintain on file in the office …

There is created within the State Treasury a fund to be known as the "South Carolina Grain and Cotton Producers Guaranty Fund" (fund).

As used in this article: (1) "Agricultural commodity" or "commodity" means cotton and all agricultural products commonly classed as grain, including corn, wheat, oats, soybeans, barley, and grain sorghum, produced within this State. (2) "Agricultural commodity dealer" or "commodi…

An assessment of one cent a bushel must be imposed on all soybeans, one-half cent a bushel on all other grain delivered by producers, and fifty cents per bale of cotton. The assessment for soybeans and grain shall be collected at the first point of sale. The assessment for cotton…

(A) The State Treasurer shall administer the investment of the fund. The department shall administer the collection of assessments and investigate losses for which payment is requested. Unless the agricultural commodity dealer who allegedly occasioned the loss has filed for bankr…

(A) The agricultural commodity dealer shall remit assessments and file with the department a report of the assessments on agricultural commodities that he received by the first day of January, April, July, and October following any calendar quarter in which the agricultural commo…

The provisions of Section 46-41-30 shall not apply to any South Carolina miller who receives and purchases grains from producers on a cash on delivery basis only and pays by check or draft and post conspicuously in his place of business a notice to the producer that the miller is…

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any producer may elect not to participate in the fund for any calendar year by applying for an exemption with the department as provided in this section. (B) The election consists of a written, notarized application upon a …

(A) There is established within the Department of Agriculture the South Carolina Agricultural Commodities Advisory Commission to make recommendations to the department regarding the duties of the department in administering the Grain and Cotton Producers Guaranty Fund. (B) The ad…

It is unlawful for a dealer in agricultural products to engage in that business without a state license issued by the commissioner. This requirement applies to all dealers in agricultural products who are not exempted by Sections 46-41-20 and 46-41-25. (1) A person violating the …

Every dealer in agricultural products, desiring to transact business within the State, shall, prior to transacting such business, file an application for a license with the Commissioner. License shall be renewed annually on its anniversary date. The application shall be on a form…

Each application for a dealer's license under Section 46-41-40 or affidavit registered and filed under Section 46-41-25 shall be subject to an annual fee for the principal place of business for a dealer in agricultural products of fifty dollars. For each additional place of busin…

(A) Before any license shall be issued the applicant shall make and deliver to the commissioner a surety bond or equivalent security in an amount of either twenty-five thousand, fifty thousand, or one hundred thousand dollars as determined by the method set forth below, executed …

Any person claiming himself to be damaged by any breach of the conditions of a bond given by a licensed dealer in agricultural products or by any alleged injurious practice or transaction by a dealer in agricultural products may enter a complaint to the Commissioner, which compla…

No dealer in agricultural products or commission merchant to whom any consignment of an agricultural product by a South Carolina producer, his agent or representative, has been made shall consign such consignment to another commission merchant or broker and receive, collect, or c…

Every dealer in agricultural products must upon the receipt of agricultural products on consignment basis and as he handles and disposes of them, make and preserve for at least one year a record, specifying the name and address of the producer consigning the agricultural products…

(1) Each licensed dealer shall maintain complete and current records to show all transactions of business as defined in item (1) of Section 46-41-10. All records shall be maintained on a daily basis as directed by the Commissioner. The Department of Agriculture shall by regulatio…

All dealers and handlers engaged in the grading of grain and oilseeds shall be responsible for the proper grade determination as set forth by the official United States Standards for grain or those approved by the Commissioner of Agriculture. All persons engaged in grading of gra…

All equipment used and procedures employed in the sampling, grading and inspection of grains and oilseeds shall be capable of consistently producing results in accordance with those specified by the United States Grain Standards Act or those approved by the Commissioner of Agricu…

If requested by the deliverer of grain or oilseed on which a discount or weight deduction is assessed, one-half must be placed and sealed in a tamper-proof container provided by the Department of Agriculture and the container must be returned to the deliverer of the grain or oils…

All weighing devices used by grain or oilseed dealers and handlers shall be those approved by weights and measures laws. Personnel and procedures shall conform to the provisions of the Public Weighmasters Law.

Dealers and handlers shall be required to issue a printout or punch ticket of a design approved by the Commissioner for each lot of grain or oilseed received into custody of such dealers and handlers. The printout or punch ticket shall contain all weighing, grading and dispositio…

The Department of Agriculture shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this chapter.

Any person violating the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars or imprisoned for a term not to exceed six months or both.

The General Assembly finds that: (1) The policy of the State is to conserve, protect, and encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural land and facilities for the production of food and other agricultural products. (2) When nonagricultural land uses extend into a…

(A) For purposes of this chapter, "agricultural facility" includes, but is not limited to, any land, building, structure, pond, impoundment appurtenance, machinery, or equipment which is used for the commercial production or processing of crops, trees, livestock, animals, poultry…

For the purposes of this chapter, the established date of operation is the date on which an agricultural operation commenced operation. If the physical facilities of the agricultural operation are expanded subsequently or new technology adopted, the established date of operation …

The provisions of Section 46-45-70 do not affect or defeat the right of a person to recover damages for any injuries or damages sustained by him because of pollution of, or change in condition of, the waters of a stream or because of an overflow on his lands.

(A) Notwithstanding any local law or ordinance, an agricultural operation or facility is considered to be in compliance with the local law or ordinance if the operation or facility would otherwise comply with state law or regulations governing the facility or operation. With the …

No established agricultural facility or any agricultural operation at an established agricultural facility is or may become a nuisance, private or public, by any changed conditions in or about the locality of the facility or operation. This section does not apply whenever a nuisa…

Any setback distances given in R. 61-43, Standards for Permitting of Agricultural Animal Facilities, are minimum siting requirements as established by the Department of Health and Environmental Control. As long as the established setbacks are achieved, the department may not requ…

As used in this chapter, unless otherwise stated or the context of the subject matter clearly indicates otherwise: (1) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity. (2) "Distributor" means one or more of the persons listed in this …