Title 7, AgricultureRelease 119-110

§4534 Required Terms of Order; Agreements Under Order; Records

Title 7 › CHAPTER 76 — DAIRY RESEARCH AND PROMOTION › SUBCHAPTER II — DAIRY RESEARCH PROGRAM › § 4534

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates rules for a dairy research program run by the Institute and a board. The board must run scientific research to help expand U.S. dairy markets. It can pick, fund, and review research on things like human nutrition, better processing methods (especially for small and medium family farms), new dairy products, and how research affects marketing. With the Secretary’s approval, the board can make agreements to carry out work, set up outside advisory committees, hire staff, make rules to run the program, handle complaints, and suggest changes to the order. The board must send research plans and yearly budgets to the Secretary for approval, publish an annual report and accounting, keep books and records for the Secretary to inspect, and require milk handlers and farmers who sell directly to consumers to keep and file records and reports as the order requires. The board may not use its funds to try to influence government actions, except to recommend changes to the order. Any outside group that gets money must give the board a research plan and budget, and the work only starts after the Secretary approves. That group must keep accurate records, account for money, and report its activities. Records and reports given to the Secretary are kept confidential, but may be used in legal or administrative cases brought by or involving the Secretary. The Secretary may publish non-identifying statistics and may name people who broke the order. Information cannot be shared with other agencies except to carry out or enforce this program. Anyone who wrongly shares the information can be fined up to $1,000, jailed for up to one year, or both, and may be fired if employed by the board or the Department.

Full Legal Text

Title 7, §4534

Agriculture, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Required terms

The dairy products research order issued under section 4533(b) of this title shall—

(1)provide for the establishment and administration, by the Institute, of appropriate scientific research activities designed to facilitate the expansion of markets for dairy products marketed in the United States;

(2)specify the powers of the board, including the powers to—

(A)receive and evaluate, or on its own initiative develop and budget for, research plans or projects designed to—

(i)increase the knowledge of human nutritional needs and the relationship of milk and dairy products to these needs;

(ii)improve dairy processing technologies, particularly those appropriate to small- and medium-sized family farms;

(iii)develop new dairy products; and

(iv)appraise the effect of such research on the marketing of dairy products;

(B)make recommendations to the Secretary regarding such plans and projects;

(C)administer the order in accordance with its terms and provisions;

(D)make rules and regulations to effectuate the terms and provisions of the order;

(E)receive, investigate, and report to the Secretary complaints of violations of the order;

(F)recommend to the Secretary amendments to the order;

(G)enter into agreements, with the approval of the Secretary, for the conduct of activities authorized under the order and for payment of the cost of such activities with any monies in the Fund other than monies appropriated or transferred by the Secretary to the Fund;

(H)with the approval of the Secretary, establish advisory committees composed of individuals other than members of the board, and pay the necessary and reasonable expenses and fees of the members of such committees; and

(I)with the approval of the Secretary, appoint or employ such persons, other than members of the board, as the board deems necessary and define the duties and determine the compensation of each;

(3)specify the duties of the board, including the duties to—

(A)develop, and submit to the Secretary for approval before implementation, any research plan or project to be carried out under this subchapter;

(B)submit to the Secretary for approval, budgets, on a fiscal year basis, of the board’s anticipated expenses and disbursements in the administration of the order, including projected costs of carrying out dairy products research plans and projects;

(C)prepare and make public, at least annually, a report of the board’s activities and an accounting for funds received and expended by the board;

(D)maintain such books and records (which shall be available to the Secretary for inspection and audit) as the Secretary may prescribe;

(E)prepare and submit to the Secretary, from time to time, such reports as the Secretary may prescribe; and

(F)account for the receipt and disbursement of all funds entrusted to the board;

(4)prohibit any monies received under this subchapter by the board to be used in any manner for the purpose of influencing governmental policy or actions, except as provided in paragraph (2)(F); and

(5)require that each person receiving milk from producers for commercial use and any person marketing milk of that person’s own production directly to consumers maintain and make available for inspection by the Secretary such books and records as may be required by the order and file with the Secretary reports at the time, in the manner, and having the content prescribed by the order.

(b)Agreements under order

Any agreement made under subsection (a)(2)(G) shall provide that—

(1)the person with whom such agreement is made shall develop and submit to the board a research plan or project together with a budget that shows estimated costs to be incurred to carry out such plan or project;

(2)such plan or project shall become effective on the approval of the Secretary; and

(3)such person shall keep accurate records of all of its transactions, account for funds received and expended, make periodic reports to the board of activities conducted to carry out such plan or project, and submit such other reports as the Secretary or the board may require.

(c)Confidentiality of records; disclosure exceptions; penalty for violation

(1)Information, books, and records made available to, and reports filed with, the Secretary under subsection (a)(6) shall be kept confidential by all officers and employees of the Department, except that such information, books, records, and reports as the Secretary deems relevant may be disclosed by such officers and employees in any suit or administrative proceeding that is brought at the request of the Secretary or to which the Secretary or any officer of the United States is a party, and that involves the order issued under section 4533(b) of this title.

(2)Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to prohibit—

(A)the issuance of general statements, based on such information, books, records, and reports, of the number of persons subject to the order or of statistical data collected from such persons if such statements do not specifically identify the data furnished by any one of such persons; or

(B)the publication, at the direction of the Secretary, of the name of any person violating the order, together with a statement of the particular provisions of the order violated by the person.

(3)No information obtained under the authority of this section may be made available to any agency, officer, or employee of the United States for any purpose other than the implementation of this subchapter and any investigatory or enforcement action necessary to implement this subchapter. Any person who violates this paragraph shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000, or to imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, and, if such person is employed by the board or the Department, shall be terminated from such employment.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

7 U.S.C. § 4534

Title 7, Agriculture

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110