Title 43, Agriculture And Horticulture

(a) The board shall plan and conduct a program of productive research, education, market development and advertising designed to promote the soybean industry in Tennessee, and is authorized to use the funds derived from the assessment imposed in this part for those purposes, incl…

This part does not apply to any person who purchases one thousand (1,000) or fewer bushels of soybeans in any calendar year; provided, that the person is not regularly engaged in the purchase of soybeans.

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Soybean Promotion Act.”

The general assembly finds that it is in the interest of the public welfare that Tennessee farmers who are producers of soybeans be encouraged and permitted to act jointly and in cooperation with other producers to levy upon themselves an assessment upon soybeans, for the purpose…

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Board” means the Tennessee soybean promotion board established by § 43-20-102;(2) “Commissioner” means the commissioner of agriculture;(3) “Department” means the department of agriculture;(4) “Producer” means a …

No association, meeting or act undertaken pursuant to this part and intended to benefit the producers and purchasers of soybeans is illegal or in restraint of trade.

Any commission, council, board or other entity that is fairly representative of soybean producers may make application to the commissioner requesting a referendum of producers of soybeans upon the question of whether an assessment of a specified amount should be levied, collected…

Within thirty (30) days of receipt of an application requesting a referendum, the commissioner shall set a date for the referendum, which shall not be more than sixty (60) days after receipt of the application, and shall publish by newspaper, the date of the referendum, the polli…

(a) Any referendum held under this part shall be conducted statewide, under the control and direction of the commissioner. The polling place in each county shall be the offices of the University of Tennessee agricultural extension office. All ballots shall be provided at the poll…

The assessed rate, as approved by referendum, shall be deducted by the purchaser from the amount paid the producer at the first point of sale. Within twenty (20) days after the end of each calendar month, each purchaser shall remit to the board the total amount of funds withheld …

Each purchaser shall keep a complete and accurate record of all soybeans handled by that purchaser and shall furnish each producer with a signed sales slip showing the number of bushels purchased from that producer and the amount deducted by the purchaser for the Tennessee soybea…

(a) Within ninety (90) days of an assessment being withheld by the purchaser, any producer may make application, on forms to be prescribed by the board, to the board for a refund of assessments withheld. The application shall be accompanied by copies of sales slips signed by the …

If the commissioner determines that during the first two (2) years the assessment is in effect that over fifty percent (50%) of the proceeds generated by the assessment is being refunded, then the commissioner shall conduct a referendum, within one hundred twenty (120) days of th…

(a) The board shall expend the proceeds of the assessment solely to finance a program of research, education, market development, marketing, advertising and other methods designed to promote the increased consumption, production, use and sale of soybean and soybean products. The …

Any amount withheld, or that should have been withheld, by the purchaser due to the assessment shall be a personal debt of the purchaser. If the purchaser's monthly payments to the board are not timely made, a penalty of ten percent (10%) of the amount due shall be imposed. The b…

Upon the effective date of an assessment levied pursuant to this part, the commissioner may waive the assessment imposed in § 43-20-103(a). It is the express intent of the general assembly that only one (1) assessment for the promotion of soybeans be in effect at any time.

The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, to provide for the implementation of this part.

The board may enter into an agreement with the federal commodity credit corporation to collect the specified assessment on all soybeans pledged as collateral for a commodity credit corporation price support loan or purchased by the commodity credit corporation under its loan or i…