7 U.S.C. § 1622: Duties of Secretary relating to agricultural products

To conduct, assist, and foster research, investigation, and experimentation to determine the best methods of processing, preparation for market, packaging, handling, transporting, storing, distributing, and marketing agricultural products: Provided , That the results of such research shall be made available to the public for the purpose of expanding the use of American agricultural products in such manner as the Secretary of Agriculture may determine. To determine costs of marketing agricultural products in their various forms and through the various channels and to foster and assist in the development and establishment of more efficient marketing methods (including analyses of methods and proposed methods), practices, and facilities, for the purpose of bringing about more efficient and orderly marketing, and reducing the price spread between the producer and the consumer. To develop and improve standards of quality, condition, quantity, grade, and packaging, and recommend and demonstrate such standards in order to encourage uniformity and consistency in commercial practices. Within thirty days after September 29, 1977 , the Secretary shall by regulation adopt a standard of quality for ice cream which shall provide that ice cream shall contain at least 1.6 pounds of total solids to the gallon, weigh not less than 4.5 pounds to the gallon and contain not less than 20 percent total milk solids, constituted of not less than 10 percent milkfat. In no case shall the content of milk solids not fat be less than 6 percent. Whey shall not, by weight, be more than 25 percent of the milk solids not fat. Only those products which meet the standard issued by the Secretary may bear a symbol thereon indicating that they meet the Department of Agriculture standard for “ice cream”. To conduct, assist, foster, and direct studies and informational programs designed to eliminate artificial barriers to the free movement of agricultural products. To foster and assist in the development of new or expanded markets (domestic and foreign) and new and expanded uses and in the moving of larger quantities of agricultural products through the private marketing system to consumers in the United States and abroad. In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may assess and collect reasonable fees and late payment penalties to mediate and arbitrate disputes arising between parties in connection with transactions involving agricultural products moving in foreign commerce under the jurisdiction of a multinational entity. Fees and penalties collected under subparagraph (A) shall be deposited into the account that incurred the cost of providing the mediation or arbitration service. Fees and penalties collected under subparagraph (A) shall be available to the Secretary without further Act of appropriation and shall remain available until expended to pay the expenses of the Secretary for providing mediation and arbitration services under this paragraph. No person shall be required by the Secretary to use the mediation and arbitration services provided under this paragraph. To conduct and cooperate in consumer education for the more effective utilization and greater consumption of agricultural products: Provided , That no money appropriated under the authority of this Act shall be used to pay for newspaper or periodical advertising space or radio time in carrying out the purposes of this section and subsection (e). To collect and disseminate marketing information, including adequate outlook information on a market-area basis, for the purpose of anticipating and meeting consumer requirements, aiding in the maintenance of farm income, and bringing about a balance between production and utilization of agricultural products. To inspect, certify, and identify the class, quality, quantity, and condition of agricultural products when shipped or received in interstate commerce, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of Agriculture may prescribe, including assessment and collection of such fees as will be reasonable and as nearly as may be to cover the cost of the service rendered, to the end that agricultural products may be marketed to the best advantage, that trading may be facilitated, and that consumers may be able to obtain the quality product which they desire, except that no person shall be required to use the service authorized by this subsection. Any fees collected under this subsection, late payment penalties, the proceeds from the sales of samples, and interest earned from the investment of such funds shall be credited to the trust fund account that incurs the cost of the services provided under this subsection and shall remain available without fiscal year limitation to pay the expenses of the Secretary incident to providing such services. Such funds may be invested by the Secretary in insured or fully collateralized, interest-bearing accounts or, at the discretion of the Secretary, by the Secretary of the Treasury in United States Government debt instruments. Any official certificate issued under the authority of this subsection shall be received by all officers and all courts of the United States as prima facie evidence of the truth of the statements therein contained. Whoever knowingly shall falsely make, issue, alter, forge, or counterfeit any official certificate, memorandum, mark, or other identification, or device for making such mark or identification, with respect to inspection, class, grade, quality, size, quantity, or condition, issued or authorized under this section or knowingly cause or procure, or aid, assist in, or be a party to, such false making, issuing, altering, forging, or counterfeiting, or whoever knowingly shall possess, without promptly notifying the Secretary of Agriculture or his representative, utter, publish, or use as true, or cause to be uttered, published, or used as true, any such falsely made, altered, forged, or counterfeited official certificate, memorandum, mark, identification, or device, or whoever knowingly represents that an agricultural product has been officially inspected or graded (by an authorized inspector or grader) under the authority of this section when such commodity has in fact not been so graded or inspected shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. Shell eggs packed under the voluntary grading program of the Department of Agriculture shall not have been shipped for sale previous to being packed under the program, as determined under a regulation promulgated by the Secretary. The use of a label or advertising material on, or in conjunction with, packaged honey that bears any official certificate of quality, grade mark or statement, continuous inspection mark or statement, sampling mark or statement, or any combination of the certificates, marks, or statements of the Department of Agriculture is hereby prohibited under this Act unless there appears legibly and permanently in close proximity (such as on the same side(s) or surface(s)) to the certificate, mark, or statement, and in at least a comparable size, the 1 or more names of the 1 or more countries of origin of the lot or container of honey, preceded by the words “Product of” or other words of similar meaning. A violation of the requirements of subparagraph (A) may be deemed by the Secretary to be sufficient cause for debarment from the benefits of this Act only with respect to honey. To determine the needs and develop or assist in the development of plans for efficient facilities and methods of operating such facilities for the proper assembly, processing, transportation, storage, distribution, and handling of agricultural products. To assist in improving transportation services and facilities and in obtaining equitable and reasonable transportation rates and services and adequate transportation facilities for agricultural products and farm supplies by making complaint or petition to the Surface Transportation Board, the Federal Maritime Commission, or other Federal or State transportation regulatory body, or the Secretary of Transportation, with respect to rates, charges, tariffs, practices, and services, or by working directly with individual carriers or groups of carriers. To collect, tabulate, and disseminate statistics on marketing agricultural products, including, but not restricted to statistics on market supplies, storage stocks, quantity, quality, and condition of such products in various positions in the marketing channel, utilization of such products, and shipments and unloads thereof. To develop and promulgate, for the use and at the request of any Federal agency or State, procurement standards and specifications for agricultural products, and submit such standards and specifications to such agency or State for use or adoption for procurement purposes. To conduct, assist, encourage, and promote research, investigation, and experimentation to determine the most efficient and practical means, methods, and processes for the handling, storing, preserving, protecting, processing, and distributing of agricultural commodities to the end that such commodities may be marketed in an orderly manner and to the best interest of the producers thereof. all fish of the order Siluriformes; and for which the Secretary receives a petition requesting such voluntary fee based grading; and that the Secretary considers appropriate. To conduct such other research and services and to perform such other activities as will facilitate the marketing, distribution, processing, and utilization of agricultural products through commercial channels. to limit the subjectivity in the application of beef grading standards; to provide producers with greater confidence in the price of the producers’ cattle; and to provide investors with both long and short positions more assurance in the cattle delivery system. The Centers shall be located near cattle feeding and slaughter populations and areas shall be strategically identified in order to capture regional variances in cattle production. Each Center shall be organized and administered by offices of the Department of Agriculture in operation on the date on which the respective Center is established, or in coordination with other appropriate Federal agencies or academic institutions. The Centers shall offer intensive instructional programs involving classroom and field training work for individuals described in subsection (a). Each Center, in carrying out the functions of the Center, shall make use of information generated by the Department of Agriculture, the State agricultural extension and research stations, relevant designated contract markets, and the practical experience of area cattle producers, especially cattle producers cooperating in on-farm demonstrations, correlations, and research projects. Funds made available to carry out this section shall not be used for the construction of a new building or facility or the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing building or facility (including site grading and improvement, and architect fees). Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the Secretary may use funds made available to carry out this section to provide a Center with payment for the cost of the rental of a space determined to be necessary by the Center for conducting training under this section and may accept donations (including in-kind contributions) to cover such cost.” carry out the proviso under 7 U.S.C. 1622(f) ; or carry out 7 U.S.C. 1622(h) unless the Secretary of Agriculture inspects and certifies agricultural processing equipment, and imposes a fee for the inspection and certification, in a manner that is similar to the inspection and certification of agricultural products under that section, as determined by the Secretary: Provided , That this provision shall not affect the authority of the Secretary to carry out the Federal Meat Inspection Act ( 21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the Poultry Products Inspection Act ( 21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), or the Egg Products Inspection Act ( 21 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.).” California (including San Francisco); the East Coast region (including Washington, D.C.); the Midwest region (including Chicago, Illinois); Texas; the Rocky Mountain region; and Florida; sheep and lamb inventories, including on-feed reports; the price and supply relationships between retailers and breakers; the viability of voluntary or mandatory reporting for sheep prices; and information on the import and export of sheep, analyzed by cut, carcass, box, breeder stock, and sex. develop a price discovery system formula for the lamb market, such as carcass equivalent pricing; and establish a price discovery and reporting system for the lamb market to assist lamb producers to better allocate their resources and make informed production and marketing decisions. The price discovery and reporting system for the lamb market shall be implemented by the Secretary not later than 180 days after the date of the submission of the report. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to develop and establish the system required under this subsection. In preparing the report required under subsection (a) and establishing the price discovery and reporting system required under subsection (b), the Secretary shall consult with lamb producers and other persons in the national lamb industry.” “As used in this subtitle, the term ‘cosmetic appearance’ means the exterior appearance of an agricultural commodity, including changes to that appearance resulting from superficial damage or other alteration that do not significantly affect yield, taste, or nutritional value. The Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct research to examine the effects, to the extent listed in subsection (b), of grade standards and other regulations, as developed and promulgated pursuant to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 ( 7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.), and other statutes governing cosmetic appearance. determine pesticide application levels for United States perishable commodity production and assess trends, and factors influencing those trends, of pesticide application levels since 1975; determine the extent to which Federal grade standards and other regulations affect pesticide use in agriculture for cosmetic appearance; the application and availability of pesticides in agriculture; the adoption of agricultural practices that result in reduced pesticide use; production and marketing costs; domestic and international markets and trade for perishable commodities; determine the extent to which grade standards and other regulations reflect consumer preferences; develop options for implementation of food marketing policies and practices that will remove obstacles that may exist to pesticide use reduction, based on the findings of research conducted under this section. The Secretary of Agriculture shall implement, not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act [ Nov. 28, 1990 ], a minimum of three, 2-year market research projects, in at least three States, to demonstrate and evaluate the feasibility of consumer education and information programs. offer consumers choices among perishable commodities produced with different production practices; provide consumers with information about agricultural practices used in the production of perishable commodities; or educate the public about the relationship, as determined in the research conducted under this subtitle, between the cosmetic appearance of perishable commodities and pesticide use. The Secretary of Agriculture shall disseminate to concerned parties the results obtained from prior scientifically valid research concerning Federal marketing policies and practices described in this section to avoid any duplication of effort and to ensure that current knowledge concerning such policies and practices is enhanced. The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish an advisory committee for the purpose of providing ongoing review of the implementation of the requirements in this section and providing the Secretary of Agriculture with recommendations regarding the implementation of those requirements. The Advisory Committee shall consist of 12 members comprised of three representatives from not-for-profit consumer organizations, three representatives from not-for-profit environmental organizations, three representatives from production agriculture and the perishable commodity grower and shipper community, and three representatives from the food retailing sector, each with experience in the policy issues discussed in this section. The Secretary of Agriculture shall report to Congress on the research conducted under this section no later than September 30, 1992 . The Secretary shall report on the research conducted under subsection (c) no later than September 30, 1993 . Take into account the impact of those standards on the ability of perishable commodity growers to reduce the use of pesticides. Provide for citizens outside of the perishable commodity industry fair and reasonable opportunity to formally petition a change in grade standards. Provide for a comment period after a formal petition to change grade standards has been made to enable all interested parties to submit information. The Secretary of Agriculture shall evaluate the information and consider it in the revision process. Provide interested parties with annual status reports during the period 1992 through 1994, updated upon request, on all pending grade standard changes the Department of Agriculture is considering. “There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the activities required under this subtitle, $4,000,000 for each fiscal year.”