Marketing step 1 Sale by farmer to country elevator: Inspection.-Performed by private employees with company grades applied to the grain being marketed. These grades are applied to allow company discounts or premiums and to establish a paying price to the producer and to allow elevator operators to control quality in storage. An Official Certificate is very seldom issued. Sampling.-Usually obtained by probe sampling of farmer's truck at time of arrival at the scale of the country elevator. Sample size is usually limited to allow grading factors listed below. Grading. Factors considered in grading are usually limited to moisture, test weight, and foreign matter with discounts and premiums applied to these factors. Weighing. The weighing of grain comes under authority of the U.S. Warehouse Act (see attachment I(A)).* Marketing step 2 Country elevator to subterminal: Inspection. Official inspection is required only if the grain is to be bought or sold with official grade designation as part of the trade agreement. This is generally the first point in the marketing chain where official grading is performed. Licensed inspectors and graders may be employees of private agencies, Boards of Trade, Chambers of Commerce, or States licensed under the Grain Standards Act. Performance is supervised by federally employed agricultural commodity graders. If official grade designation is not a part of the trade agreement, the inspection process, as outlined in Marketing step I, may be used. Sampling. If official grading is being performed, samplers must be licensed as described above and along with employment as listed above, the sampler may be employed by the elevator or warehouse. Provisions for this type of sampling are detailed in part 26.8 of the Grain Standards Act. Grading. If official grade designation is applied to the lot of grain, the grading must be performed by official inspection personnel and procedure followed as described in part 26.12 of the Grain Standards Act. Weighing. See attachment I(A). Marketing step 3 Country elevator to export terminal: * See p. 211. Marketing step 4 Subterminal to export elevator: Marketing step 5 Export elevator to aboard ship: Inspection. Specifications for inspection of export grain is detailed in parts 26.110 through 26.118 of the Grain Standards Act. These sections generally outline that grain bought, sold, or consigned for sale with indication of grade or quality, must be officially inspected by licensed inspectors. Employment of licensed inspection personnel is the same as outlined in Marketing step 2 except samplers may not be employees of elevators. Sampling.-Procedure specified in part 26.110 (d), (2) and (3) of the Grain Standards Act. REGULATIONS UNDER THE UNITED STATES GRAIN STANDARDS ACT, AS AMENDED (Title 7, Chapter I, Subchapter A, Part 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations) PROVISIONS GOVERNING GRAIN MERCHANDISING § 26.110 Mandatory inspection-export grain. (d) Sampling requirements. (1) The inspection for official grade and official factor information must be based on official samples obtained from the grain as it is being loaded aboard, or while it is in, the final carrier in which it is to be transported from the United States. (2) The samples must be obtained by official inspection personnel (other than licensed employees of a grain elevator or warehouse). (3) If the grain is sampled as it is being loaded aboard the carrier, the sample must be obtained after the final vertical elevation, at such place or places and in such manner as will obtain the most representative sample, and otherwise in accordance with the instructions. Grading.-Same as marketing step 2. Weighing. See attachment I(A). C. Each of the persons in marketing steps 2-5 that issue official grade certificates are licensed under the Grain Standards Act as amended August 15, 1968, and are agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They must abide by provisions of this act that specify the operational requirements and standards for licensed inspectors. These standards are specified in sections 8, 9, 10, 11, and subsections 26.75 through 26.90 of the U.S. Grain Standards Act. LICENSES AND AUTHORIZATIONS SEC. 8. (a) The Secretary is authorized to issue a license to any individual upon presentation to him of satisfactory evidence that such individual is competent, and is employed by an official inspection agency to perform all or specified functions involved in official inspection; to authorize any competent employee of the Department of Agriculture to perform all or specified functions involved in supervisory or appeal inspection or initial inspection of United States grain in Canadian ports; and to license any other competent individual to perform specified functions involved in official inspection under a contract with the Department of Agriculture. No person shall perform any official inspection functions for purposes of this Act unless he holds an unsuspended and unrevoked license or authorization from the Secretary under this Act. (b) All classes of licenses issued under this Act shall terminate triennially on a date or dates to be fixed by regulation of the Secretary: Provided, That any license shall be suspended automatically when the licensee ceases to be employed by an official inspection agency or to operate independently under the terms of a contract for the conduct of and functions involved in official inspection under this Act: Provided further, That subject to paragraph (c) of this section, such license shall be reinstated if the licensee is employed by an official inspection agency or resumes operation under such a contract within one year of the suspension date and the license has not expired in the interim. (c) The Secretary may require such examinations and reexaminations as he may deem warranted to determine the competence of any applicants for licenses, licensees, or employees of the Department of Agriculture, to perform any official inspection function under this Act. (d) Persons employed by an official inspection agency and persons performing official inspection functions under contracts with the Department of Agriculture shall not, unless otherwise emploved by the Federal Government. be deemed to be employees of the Federal Government of the United States. REFUSAL OF RENEWAL, OR SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION, OF LICENSES SEC. 9. The Secretary may refuse to renew, or may suspend or revoke, any license issued under this Act whenever, after the licensee has been afforded an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary shall determine that such licensee is incompetent, or has inspected grain for purposes of this Act by any standard or criteria other than as provided for in this Act, or has issued, or caused the issuance of, any false or incorrect official certificate or other official form, or has knowingly or carelessly inspected grain improperly under this Act, or has accepted any money or other consideration, directly or indirectly, for any neglect or improper performance of duty, or has used his license or allowed it to be used for any improper purpose, or has otherwise violated any provision of this Act or of the regulations prescribed or instructions issued to him by the Secretary under this Act. The Secretary may, without first affording the licensee an opportunity for a hearing, suspend any license temporarily pending final deterniination whenever the Secretary deems such action to be in the best interest of the official inspection system under this Act. REFUSAL OF OFFICIAL INSPECTION SEC. 10. (a) The Secretary may (for such period, or indefinitely, as he deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Act) refuse to provide official inspection otherwise available under this Act with respect to any grain offered in inspection, or owned, wholly or in part, by any person if he determines (1) that the individual (or in case such person is a partnership, any general partner; or in case such person is a corporation, any officer, director, or holder or owner of more than 10 per centum of the voting stock; or in case such person is an unincorporated association or other business entity, any officer or director thereof) has been convicted of any violation of section 13 of this Act, or that official inspection has been refused for any of the above-specified causes (for a period which has not expired) to such person, or any other person conducting a business with which the former was, at the time such cause existed, or is responsibly connected; and (2) that providing official inspection with respect to such grain would be inimical to the integrity of the official inspection service. (b) For purposes of paragraph (a) of ths section, a person shall be deemed to be responsibly connected with a business if he was or is a partner, officer, director, or holder or owner of 10 per centum or more of its voting stock, or an employee in a managerial or executive capacity. (c) Before official inspection is refused to any person under paragraph (a), such person shall be afforded opportunity for a hearing. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CONFLICTS OF INTEREST SEC. 11. No person licensed or authorized by the Secretary to perform any official inspection function under this Act, or employed by the Secretary in otherwise carrying out any of the provisions of this Act, shall, during the term of such license, authorization, or employment, (a) be financially interested (directly or otherwise) in any business entity owning or operating any grain elevator or warehouse or engaged in the merchandising of grain, or (b) be in the employment of, or accept gratuities from, any such entity, or (c) be engaged in any other kind of activity specified by regulation of the Secretary as involving a conflict of interest: Provided, however, That the Secretary may license qualified employees of any grain elevators or warehouses to perform official sampling functions, under such conditions as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe, and the Secretary may by regulation provide such other exceptions to the restrictions of this section as he determines are consistent with the purposes of this Act. REGULATIONS UNDER THE UNITED STATES GRAIN STANDARDS ACT, AS AMENDED (Title 7, Chapter I, Subchapter A, Part 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations) * * * * * LICENSES, AUTHORIZATIONS, AND CONTRACTS $26.75 When license or authorization is required. (a) General. Any person who performs, or represents that he is licensed or authorized to perform, in whole or in part, any official inspection function under the Act and the regulations, must be duly licensed, or duly authorized under the Act and the regulations: Provided, That a prospective applicant for a sampler's or a technician's license may, for a limited period of time not to exceed 2 weeks, help perform official sampling or testing functions under the direct supervision of an individual who is licensed to perform such functions: Provided, further, That such supervising licensee shall be fully responsible for the official inspection functions performed by the prospective applicant and shall initial any work forms prepared by the prospective applicant. A person shall be deemed to be licensed or authorized to perform an official inspection function only if he holds a license or an authorization for each official inspection function which he performs, or represents that he is licensed or authorized to perform. (b) When license not required. A license or authorization under the Act and the regulations is not required for (1) the opening or closing of a means of conveyance or the transporting or filing of official samples or similar laboring functions; or (2) the typing or filing of inspection records or similar clerical functions; or (3) the performance of private (not official) inspection functions. $26.76 Who may be licensed or authorized. (a) Prohibitions. No person may be licensed or authorized to perform official inspection functions under the Act and the regulations who (1) is financially interested (directly or otherwise) in any business entity owning or operating any grain elevator or warehouse or engaged in the merchandising of grain, other than as a grower; (2) is in the employment of any such entity; or (3) is engaged in any of the activities specified in § 26.87 as involving a conflict of interest: Provided, That qualified employees of any grain elevator or warehouse may be licensed to perform specified sampling functions in accordance with the provisions of § 26.79 (c) (2). (b) General qualifications. Any individual may be licensed to perform official inspection functions if he is employed by an official inspection agency to perform such functions, or enters into a contract with the Department of Agriculture to perform such functions, and if he is found competent in accordance with this section and § 26.78. To be deemed competent, the individual must (1) have graduated from grade school and had one or more year's qualifying experience, or have graduated from high school, or have an equivalent amount of education and experience; (2) have been found in accordance with |