Or. Admin. Code § 603-076-0005

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1, 2024

Section 603-076-0005 - Definitions

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following definitions apply to OAR 603-076-0005 through 603-076-0021:

(1) "Active supervision" means the department's regulatory oversight and actions related to grass seed price negotiations intended to ensure that state action immunity will apply to the conduct.

(2) "Bargaining Council" means the group of dealers and representatives of the cooperative bargaining association(s) who voluntarily meet under the active supervision of the department as part of the regulatory program described in ORS 646.738(2).

(3) "Certified," as applied to agricultural, vegetable, or cereal grain seed, means inspected and labeled by, and in accordance with, the standards and rules and regulations adopted by the Oregon State University Seed Certification Program, or in accordance with similar standards established by some similar regularly constituted authority in another state or county.

(4) "Cooperative bargaining association" or "association" means any cooperative formed or operated pursuant to ORS chapter 62 and the federal Capper-Volstead Act (7 U.S.C. §§ 291-292).

(5) "Crop year" means the year in which a seed crop is harvested.

(6) "Dealer" or "seed dealer" means any person or agent of the person who purchases or contracts to purchase perennial ryegrass seed, annual ryegrass seed, or tall fescue seed kinds from a grower or agent of the grower for the purpose of processing or marketing such seed.

(7) "Department" means the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

(8) "Director" means the director of the department or the Director's agent.

(9) "Established price" means the price approved by the Director in a price order as the minimum price at which production contracted seed meeting established standards shall be sold by members of a cooperative bargaining association to dealers. The established price applies only to seed from the crop year in which the price order is issued. The established price applies only to seed that is both produced by, and purchased by, the parties.

(10) "Grower" means a producer of annual ryegrass seed, perennial ryegrass seed, or tall fescue seed kinds.

(11) "Good faith" means that a person acts with an honest belief or purpose, consistently with the justified expectations of the parties, and in faithfulness to the purpose of the regulatory program.

(12) "Kind" or "seed kind" means perennial ryegrass, annual ryegrass, or tall fescue seed.

(13) "Market price" means the price at which annual ryegrass, perennial ryegrass, or tall fescue seed is bought or sold, as determined by the forces of supply and demand.

(14) "Parties" or "party" includes:

(a) The cooperative bargaining association(s) that participate in the regulatory program described in ORS 646.738(2) and their members; and

(b) The dealers that participate in the regulatory program described in ORS 646.738(2).

(15) "Planning Committee" means the group of dealers and growers described in OAR 603-076-0018 that offers input to the department regarding regulatory program scheduling and processes.

(16) "Price negotiation(s)" and "negotiations" have the same meaning as "regulatory program."

(17) "Price order" means the document issued by the department and signed by the Director that sets the established price for annual ryegrass, perennial ryegrass, or tall fescue seed kinds produced in a crop year.

(18) "Producer" means a person engaged in the business of producing agricultural commodities.

(19) "Production contracted seed" means seed that is grown pursuant to a written agreement between a dealer and a grower under which the grower produces seed for the dealer.

(20) "Proposed price" means the proposed minimum price agreed upon by the members of the Bargaining Council for production contracted seed of annual ryegrass, perennial ryegrass, or tall fescue that meets established standards. A proposed price is not effective unless and until it is approved by the Director in a price order, at which point it becomes the established price.

(21) "Proprietary information" means information that has actual or potential commercial value, is known only to certain individuals within an organization and used in a business the organization conducts and would give its users an opportunity to obtain a business advantage over competitors who do not know or use it.

(22) "Regulatory program" means the state regulatory program described in ORS 646.738(2) that is actively supervised by the Director and that authorizes parties to engage in certain collective bargaining and negotiations to establish the price of perennial ryegrass seed to be produced and sold to perennial ryegrass seed dealers in the future, annual ryegrass seed to be produced and sold to annual ryegrass seed dealers in the future or tall fescue seed kinds to be produced and sold to tall fescue seed dealers in the future.

(23) "State action immunity" means immunity from liability under the federal antitrust laws and the Oregon Antitrust Act for conduct that is carried out pursuant to a regulatory program in which competition in certain areas of the grass seed industry is displaced by regulations and active state supervision in accordance with ORS 62.015, 646.736, 646.738, 646.535, and 646.740.

Or. Admin. Code § 603-076-0005

DOA 25-2001, f. & cert. ef. 11-6-01; DOA 13-2007, f. 7-2-07, cert. ef. 7-5-07; DOA 18-2023, amend filed 04/28/2023, effective 5/1/2023

Publications referenced are available from the agency.

Statutory/Other Authority: 561.190 & 646.738

Statutes/Other Implemented: 646.740, ORS 62.015, 646.515, 646.736, 646.535, 646.740 & 646.738