As used in this chapter:

(A) "Agricultural commodity" means corn, soybeans, wheat, or any other agricultural crop that the director of agriculture may designate by rule. "Agricultural commodity" does not mean any grain that is purchased for sale as seed.

(B) "Agricultural commodity handling" or "handling" means any of the following:

(1) Engaging in or participating in the business of purchasing from producers agricultural commodities for any use in excess of thirty thousand bushels annually;

(2) Operating a warehouse as a bailee for the receiving, storing, shipping, or conditioning of an agricultural commodity;

(3) Receiving into a warehouse an agricultural commodity purchased under a delayed price agreement;

(4) Providing marketing functions, including storage, delayed price marketing, deferred payment, feed agreements, or any other marketing transaction whereby control is exerted over the monetary proceeds of a producer's agricultural commodities by a person other than the producer.

(C) "Agricultural commodity handler" or "handler" means any person who is engaged in the business of agricultural commodity handling.

(D) "Depositor" means:

(1) Any person who delivers an agricultural commodity to a licensed handler for storage, conditioning, shipment, or sale;

(2) Any owner or legal holder of a ticket or receipt issued for an agricultural commodity who is a creditor of the licensed handler for the value of the agricultural commodity;

(3) Any licensed handler storing an agricultural commodity that the licensed handler owns solely, jointly, or in common with others in a warehouse owned or controlled by the licensed handler or any other licensed handler.

(E) "Receipt" means a warehouse receipt issued by a licensed handler.

(F) "Nonnegotiable receipt" means a receipt on which it is stated that the agricultural commodity received will be delivered to the depositor or to the order of any other person named in the receipt.

(G) "Negotiable receipt" means a receipt on which it is stated that the agricultural commodity received will be delivered to the bearer or to the order of any person named in the receipt.

(H) "Ticket" means a scale weight ticket, a load slip, or any evidence, other than a receipt, given to a depositor by a licensed handler upon delivery of an agricultural commodity to the handler.

(I) "Warehouse" means any building, bin, protected enclosure, or similar premises under the control of a licensed or unlicensed handler used for receiving, storing, shipping, or handling an agricultural commodity.

(J) "Storage" means the deposit of an agricultural commodity into a warehouse either for the account of the licensed handler operating the warehouse or for the account of a depositor.

(K) "Producer" means any person who grows an agricultural commodity on land that the person owns or leases.

(L) "Agent" means any person, other than a producer, who delivers an agricultural commodity to a licensed handler, either for sale or for storage, for the account of the producer.

(M) "Agricultural commodity tester" or "tester" means a person who operates a moisture meter and other quality testing devices to determine the quality of an agricultural commodity.

(N) "Federally licensed grain inspector" means a person who is licensed by the United States department of agriculture under the "United States Grain Standards Act," 39 Stat. 482 (1916), 7 U.S.C. 71, as amended, to test and grade grain, as "grain" is defined in that act.

(O) "Bailee" means a person to whom an agricultural commodity is delivered in trust for storage in a warehouse with title remaining in the name of the depositor.

(P) "Bailor" means a person who delivers an agricultural commodity to a bailee in trust for storage in a warehouse with title remaining in the name of the depositor.

(Q) "Bailment agreement" means a bailor-bailee agreement between a depositor and a licensed handler as stated in the terms of a receipt that is issued for an agricultural commodity in storage and subject to the requirements of this chapter governing the use of a receipt.

(R) "Delayed price agreement" means a written executory contract executed by and between a licensed handler and a depositor that covers the sale and transfer of title of an agricultural commodity and states in its written terms the service charges and the method for pricing the commodity at a later date.

(S) "Delayed price marketing" means the sale and transfer of title of an agricultural commodity with the price to be established at a later date according to the terms of a delayed price agreement.

(T) "Deferred payment" means the deferral of payment to a depositor by a licensed handler for an agricultural commodity to which the licensed handler has taken title, for the purpose of deferring income of the depositor from one tax year to another.

(U) "Feed agreement" means a written contract executed by and between a licensed handler and a producer or depositor who delivers an agricultural commodity to the licensed handler for storage whereby each of the following applies:

(1) The producer or depositor transfers title to the agricultural commodity to the licensed handler in exchange for a nominal sum;

(2) The producer, upon delivery of the agricultural commodity to the licensed handler, becomes a creditor of the licensed handler due to the lien that arises under section 926.021 of the Revised Code;

(3) All or part of the agricultural commodity is returned to the producer at a later date and used for feed purposes.

(V) Notwithstanding section 1.02 of the Revised Code, "and" shall not be read "or" and "or" shall not be read "and."

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 31, SB 66, §1, eff. 10/11/2013.

Effective Date: 07-29-1998; 06-30-2005