LICENSING AND REGULATION

PRODUCE RECOVERY FUND

CONTACT: AgCommodities@TexasAgriculture.gov | (512) 936 - 4178

Overview

The Produce Recovery Fund provides a means of recovery for producers and other produce dealers who do not receive payment for Texas grown perishable commodities sold on consignment or credit. The law requires any person or business purchasing perishable commodities on credit to obtain a General Handler and Marketer of Perishable Commodity (HMPC) license from TDA.

Cost

• Complaint filing fee: $50 • HMPC license: $400

Award amount

• Up to $50,000 for claims from the same contract • Up to $85,000 in a given calendar year • If a purchasing entity does not have an HMPC license but is required to, recovery is limited to 80% of the contract amount. Producers should always verify the HMPC license when selling on credit.

PRODUCE SAFETY

CONTACT: ProduceSafety@TexasAgriculture.gov (512) 475 - 0336

Overview

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) authorizes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take a preventative approach to food safety. The law incorporates new enforcement actions that are designed to achieve higher rates of compliance with preventative safety standards. As part of FSMA, the Produce Safety Rule establishes, for the first time, science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption.

Texas Office of Produce Safety (TOPS)

TDA partners with the FDA through a cooperative agreement to advance efforts for a nationally integrated food safety system. This has occurred through planning and establishing a State Produce Safety Program that encourages the safe production of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Requirements for Covered Farms

• On-farm assessments to ensure compliance to the Produce Safety Rule • Grower training

Qualified Exemptions

(determined by TOPS)

To be eligible for a qualified exemption, the farm must meet two requirements: • Farm must have food sales averaging less than $500,000 per year during the previous three years; and • Farm’s sales to qualified end-users must exceed sales to all others combined during the previous three years. A qualified end-user is either (a) the consumer of the food or (b) a restaurant or retail food establishment that is located in the same state or the same Indian reservation as the farm or not more than 275 miles away.

A farm with a qualified exemption must still meet certain modified requirements, including disclosing the name and the complete business address of the farm where the produce was grown either on the label of the produce or at the point of purchase. These farms are also required to establish and keep certain documentation.

Operations not covered by the Produce Safety Rule

• Produce that is not a raw agricultural commodity • Produce commodities that FDA has identified as rarely consumed raw • Food grains • Produce that is used for personal or on-farm consumption • Farms that have an average annual value of produce sold during the previous three year period of $25,000 or less

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION

CONTACT: Organic@TexasAgriculture.gov | (512) 936 – 4178

Overview

The mission of the Texas Department of Agriculture Organic Certification Program is to ensure the integrity of organic agriculture products produced and manufactured in Texas by providing certification services to Texas producers and agribusinesses. As an accredited Certifying Agent by the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program, the TDA Organic Certification Program has the authority to certify organic producers as well as processors, distributors and retailers of organic agricultural products. To be certified, an operation must comply with organic production and handling regulations established by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP).

Cost

• Crop Scope: $1,000 for operations with less than 50 acres, and $1,500 for operations with more than 50 acres. Additional costs for materials used. • Handler Scope: $1,500 with additional costs for labeling and multi-ingredient products. • Livestock Scope: $1,000 with additional costs for materials used.

AGRICULTURAL PESTICIDE APPLICATOR LICENSE

CONTACT: Pesticides@TexasAgriculture.gov | (512) 463 – 7622

Overview

The Texas Pesticide Law requires that agricultural pesticide applicators be licensed or certified by TDA in order to lawfully use a restricted-use pesticide, state-limited-use pesticide or regulated herbicides. Agricultural pesticide applicators are required to take a certification exam and obtain continuing education credits. No license is required to apply general-use pesticides to produce agricultural commodities.

Types of licenses

PRIVATE – Someone who uses or supervises the use of regulated pesticides and herbicides to produce an agricultural commodity on personal property, their employer’s property, or without compensation

COMMERCIAL – Someone who operates a business or is employed by a business that applies regulated pesticides to the property of another person for hire or compensation

NONCOMMERCIAL – Someone who is required to be licensed, but does not qualify as commercial

Cost

• Private: $100 • Commercial: $200/year • Noncommercial: $140/year • General standards and category exams: $64/exam

SEED CERTIFICATION

CONTACT: AgCommodities@TexasAgriculture.gov | (979) 542 – 3691

Overview

The mission of the Seed Certification Program is to create and make available a source of seeds and vegetative propagation materials of crops and plants grown, conditioned, certified, and distributed to insure genetic purity and identity in relation to TDA standards. The program licenses Certified Seed Growers and Registered Plant Breeders, presents variety requests to the State Seed and Plant Board for approval, conducts field inspections on certified seed productions, and prints certification labels.

Cost

• Certified Seed Grower: $250 • Registered Plant Breeder: $250 • Variety Eligibility Application: $100 • Field Inspections: $100 per field plus acreage fees • Certified Labels: $0.18 per 100 pounds

SEED ARBITRATION

CONTACT: AgCommodities@TexasAgriculture.gov | (979) 542 - 3691

Overview

Seed arbitration is a hearing before the Seed Arbitration Board to determine a dispute between the purchaser and seller of seed sold in Texas regarding the failure of seed to produce or perform as represented by the warranty, by the label, or as a result of negligence.

Filing a Complaint

The purchaser begins arbitration by mailing a sworn complaint and a non-refundable filing fee of $500 to TDA. The purchaser must send a copy of the complaint to the seller via certified mail. The purchaser must submit the sworn complaint no later than the 10th day after the date that the purchaser discovered the defect. The seller files an answer to the complaint with TDA and sends a copy to the purchaser by certified mail no later than 15 days after receipt of the complaint.

Process

TDA conducts a preliminary investigation. TDA will refer the complaint, the answer, and preliminary investigation findings to the Seed Arbitration Board. The Board then will schedule a hearing and give reasonable notice to all parties. The Board will report its findings and recommendations to the Commissioner no later than 60 days after the date of the referral. TDA then transmits the report to all parties via certified mail.

Dispute Settlement

The purchaser must go through this process before they can take a seed company to court. The board cannot make a seed company reimburse a purchaser, but the purchaser can utilize the findings and recommendations of the board in court.

Cost

$500 per complaint filed with TDA