Title 06, Title 06: Agriculture

§ 3026. Sale or other unauthorized disposition of diseased bees The owner of any apiary in which a disease exists shall not knowingly sell, barter, give away, or move any diseased bees, colonies, honey, hives, combs, or equipment without the written consent of the Secretary; such…

§ 3027. Abandoned apiaries and equipment Any diseased hive or hives found by the Secretary or the Secretary’s inspector in an abandoned apiary shall be destroyed. Any abandoned diseased beekeeping equipment may be destroyed. (Added 1983, No. 83, § 1; amended 2003, No. 42, § 2, ef…

§ 3028. Traffic in bees; inspection; certification A person engaged in the rearing of bees for sale shall have the person’s apiary inspected by the Secretary within 45 days prior to any sale and, if any disease is found that is injurious to bees, shall at once cease to ship bees …

§ 3029. Movable comb frames required (a) All hives shall be constructed with frames containing the honeycombs and brood combs that may be removed from the hive for purposes of inspection. Upon determination that any hive containing bees is not constructed with removable frames, t…

§ 3030. Rules The Secretary may adopt and enforce rules to implement the requirements of this chapter, including rules regarding: (1) inspection, disinfection, seizure, destruction, or other disposition of bees, equipment, or bee products capable of carrying or transmitting any d…

§ 3031. Right of entry; impeding prohibited The Secretary or the Secretary’s inspector may enter at a reasonable hour public or private premises, except private dwellings, for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter and shall have access, ingress, and egress to an…

§ 3032. Transportation of bees or used equipment into the State (a) Except as provided under subsection (c) of this section, bees, used equipment, or colonies shall not be brought into the State of Vermont unless approved by the Secretary by permit. The Secretary shall not approv…

§ 3033. Shipping bees or equipment into another state or country; application for inspection; expenses; certificate (a) If an owner wishes to ship bees or equipment into another state or country, the owner may apply to the Secretary for an inspection for bee diseases likely to pr…

§ 3034. Establishing an apiary location No person shall locate an apiary within two miles of an existing apiary registered to a different person, with the following exceptions: (1) A person may locate an apiary anywhere on the person’s own property. (2) Beekeepers with a total ow…

§ 3035. Penalty A person who violates a provision of this chapter, or a regulation adopted under its authority, shall be fined not more than $500.00 for each offense. (Added 1983, No. 83, § 1.)

§ 3036. Monitoring of pollinator health The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets shall monitor managed pollinator health to establish pollinator health benchmarks for Vermont, including: (1) presence of pesticides in hives; (2) mite pressure; (3) disease pressure; (4) mite …

§ 3131. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets. (2) “Slaughterer” means any person regularly engaged in the commercial slaughtering of livestock. (3) “Livestock” means cattle, calves, sheep, swine, horses, mules, …

§ 3132. Prohibition No slaughterer, packer, or stockyard operator may bleed or slaughter livestock except by a humane method. The use of a manually operated hammer, sledge, poleax, or similar instrument is not a humane method within the meaning of this chapter. (Added 1967, No. 2…

§ 3133. Administration; rules The Secretary shall administer this chapter and shall adopt and from time to time revise rules to affect its purpose. The rules shall conform substantially with those promulgated by the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States under the federal …

§ 3134. Penalty A person who violates section 3132 of this title shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined upon conviction not more than $1,000.00 for the first violation, not more than $5,000.00 for the second violation, and not more than $10,000.00 per violation for t…

§ 3301. Legislative findings Meat, meat food products, poultry, and poultry products are an important source of the State’s total supply of food. They are consumed throughout the State. It is essential to the public interest that the health and welfare of consumers be protected b…

§ 3302. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Adulterated” shall apply to any livestock product or poultry product under one or more of the following circumstances: (A) If it contains any poisonous or harmful substance that may render it injurious to health. The product shall…

§ 3303. Purposes It is the objective of this chapter to provide for meat and poultry products inspection programs that will impose and enforce requirements with respect to intrastate operations and commerce that are at least equal to those imposed and enforced under the Federal M…

§ 3304. Powers of the Secretary In order to accomplish the objectives stated in section 3303 of this title, the Secretary shall: (1) by rules require ante mortem and post mortem inspections, quarantine, segregation, and reinspections with respect to the slaughter of livestock and…

§ 3305. Additional powers of the Secretary In order to accomplish the objectives stated in section 3303 of this title, the Secretary may: (1) Remove inspectors from any establishment that fails to destroy condemned products as required under subdivision 3304(2) of this title. (2)…

§ 3306. Licensing (a) No person shall engage in intrastate commerce in the business of buying, selling, preparing, processing, packing, storing, transporting, or otherwise handling meat, meat food products, or poultry products, unless that person holds a valid license issued unde…

§ 3307. Periodic review of noninspected licensed establishments (a) The Secretary may cause establishments that are required to be licensed under section 3306 of this title, but exempt from inspection under subdivision 3305(13) of this title, to be periodically reviewed by inspec…

§ 3308. Prohibited acts in general (a) No person shall, with respect to any livestock or poultry or any livestock products or poultry products: (1) slaughter any livestock or poultry or prepare any products that are capable of use as human food, at any establishment preparing the…

§ 3309. Additional prohibited acts; official devices, marks, and certificates (a) No brand manufacturer, printer, or other person shall cast, print, lithograph, or otherwise make any device containing any official mark or simulation, or any label bearing any mark or simulation, o…

§ 3310. Additional prohibited acts: labeling; denaturing; dealing in dead, dying, disabled, and diseased animals; licensing (a) No person shall sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in intrastate commerce, any carcasses of horses, mules…

§ 3311. Specific offenses; penalties (a) Any person that gives, pays, or offers, directly or indirectly, any money or other thing of value to any officer or employee of this State authorized to perform any duties prescribed by this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter, wit…

§ 3311a. Livestock; inspection; licensing; personal slaughter; itinerant slaughter (a) As used in this section: (1) “Assist in the slaughter of livestock” means the act of slaughtering or butchering an animal and shall not mean the farmer’s provision of a site on the farm for sla…

§ 3312. Inspection; exceptions (a) Not intended for human food. Inspection shall not be provided under this chapter at any establishment for the slaughter of livestock or poultry or the preparation of any livestock products or poultry products that are not intended for use as hum…

§ 3313. Inspection and seal (a) No inspection of products placed in any container at any official establishment shall be deemed to be complete until the products are sealed or enclosed under the supervision of an inspector. (b) For purposes of any inspection of products required …

§ 3314. Detention When any livestock product or poultry product or any product exempted from the definition of a livestock product and from the definition of a poultry product, or any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased livestock or poultry, is found by any authorized representati…

§ 3315. Forfeiture (a) Any livestock product or poultry product of any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased livestock or poultry that is being transported in intrastate commerce, or is otherwise subject to this chapter, or is held for sale in this State after transportation, and th…

§ 3316. Appeal and jurisdiction (a) Any order issued under subdivision 3304(3) of this title; subdivision 3305(1), (2), or (3) of this title; subsection 3306(e) of this title; or a decision issued by the Secretary under subsection 3306(c) of this title shall be final unless appea…

§ 3317. Penalties; generally (a) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, or the rules adopted under this chapter, for which no other criminal penalty is provided by this chapter shall upon conviction be subject to imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine o…

§ 3318. Investigation; record keeping (a) The Secretary shall also have power: (1) To gather and compile information and to investigate the organization, business, conduct, practices, and management of any person engaged in intrastate commerce and the relationship to other person…

§ 3319. Skilled meat cutter training The Secretary shall issue a request for proposals to develop a curriculum and provide classroom and on-the-job training for the occupation of skilled meat cutter. (Added 2011, No. 52, § 41, eff. May 27, 2011.)

§ 4021. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets or his or her designee. (2) “Agency” means the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. (3) “Nursery” means all lands, premises, and buildings on or in which nursery …

§ 4022. Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets as enforcing official The Secretary shall enforce the provisions of this chapter and perform such duties as may be required by the federal plant pest quarantine statutes. The Secretary may employ such assistance as necessary for …

§ 4023. Nursery inspection; fees (a) The Secretary, as he or she deems necessary, may inspect nursery stock in the possession of a nursery grower or nursery dealer licensed under section 4024 of this title or any place within the State where nursery stock is grown, collected, sto…

§ 4024. Nursery license (a) No person shall operate as a nursery grower or nursery dealer in the State without first obtaining a nursery license from the Secretary. A nursery grower or nursery dealer shall apply annually for a nursery license on a form provided by the Secretary. …

§ 4025. Shipments by nursery dealers to be accompanied by inspection certificates Whenever a nursery dealer or nursery grower licensed under this chapter ships or delivers any nursery stock grown within this State, he or she shall include with each shipment a copy of the inspecti…

§ 4026. Foreign nursery stock; certificate of inspection; transportation; penalty Nursery stock transported into this State for sale, distribution, or installation shall be accompanied by a valid certificate of inspection, or a reasonable facsimile, or other certification accepte…

§ 4027. Diseased or infested stock; stop-sale; destruction (a) Only sound, healthy nursery stock that will maintain its vigor shall be offered for sale. Offering for sale stock that is diseased or infested with injurious pests is a violation of this chapter. Whenever the Secretar…

§ 4028. Access to records; nursery stock A nursery dealer or nursery grower engaged in the sale, distribution, or installation of nursery stock shall: (1) provide access for inspection by the Secretary of all nursery stock; (2) follow appropriate practices so that an adequate ins…

§ 4029. Rules; distribution; penalties (a) The Secretary shall adopt rules as prescribed by 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 as he or she deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The rules shall be printed by the State and distributed by the Secretary. (b) A person who vio…

§ 4030. Special conditions; certification (a) The Secretary is authorized to establish conditions and rules under which certain plants may be grown and certified free from virus, fungi, bacteria, or any infesting organism considered detrimental to the plant. (b) The Secretary is …

§ 4031. Plants taken from the wild (a) The Secretary may adopt procedural rules pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act as set forth in 3 V.S.A. chapter 25, for the collection, sale, or distribution of plants taken from the wild, on the list of Convention on International Tr…