EnablingLegislationNorth Dakota Century Code

Chapter 4-28

Established in 1959to stabilize and improve

the agricultural economyof the state.

CONTENTS

Section4-28-01 Legislative intent .............................. 1

4-28-02 Definitions ........................................1

4-28-03 Members .......................................... 2

4-28-04 Districts ........................................... 5

4-28-05 Meetings, Expenses, Legal adviser ... 5

4-28-06 Duties and powers ............................6

4-28-07 Wheat tax levy .................................. 7

4-28-08 State wheat commission fund,

Continuing appropriation .................9

4-28-09 Penalty .............................................9

4-28-01. Legislative intent.4-28-01. Legislative intent.4-28-01. Legislative intent.4-28-01. Legislative intent.4-28-01. Legislative intent.The public policy of the state is declared to be that tofoster, promote, and protect opportunities for economicsecurity, individual rights and enterprise, the developmentof the natural resources of the state, and the health,prosperity and general welfare of all of the people of thestate, the greater development, more effective utilizationand better marketing of wheat produced in the stateinvolves and concerns a public purpose, theaccomplishment of which among other things, requires anddemands the establishment of a state wheat commission forthe purpose and with the objective of stabilizing andimproving the agricultural economy of the state.

The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed toabrogate or limit in any way the rights, powers, duties, andfunctions of the state department of agriculture or anyother agency of the state but are supplementary thereto andin aid and cooperation therewith; nor may such provisionsbe construed to authorize the state wheat commission toengage in competitive business enterprises, it being theintent and purpose of this chapter that the commissionshall promote, aid, and develop the orderly marketing andprocessing of North Dakota wheat.

4-28-02. Definitions.1. "Commercial channels" means the sale of wheat for

any use, when sold by the producer to any commercialbuyer, dealer, processor, cooperative, or to any person,firm, corporation, limited liability company,association, or partnership who resells any wheat orproduct produced therefrom.

2. "Commission" means the North Dakota state wheatcommission.

3. The term "final settlement" means the date the wheatupon which a loan was obtained is sold to the elevatoror to a private person or is assigned or transferred to anagency of the United States government; or the dateupon which the payment for the wheat is made ininstances when wheat is sold but payments aredeferred.

NORTH DAKOTAWHEAT COMMISSION ACTReprinted from N.D.C.C. ch 4-28 as amended

1

4. "First purchaser" means any person, firm, corporation,association, partnership, agent, or broker buying,accepting for sale, or otherwise acquiring, afterharvest, the property in or to wheat from the growerand includes a mortgagee, pledgee, lienor, or otherclaimant having a claim against the producer, wherethe actual or constructive possession of wheat is takenas part payment or in satisfaction of such mortgage,pledge, lien, or claim.

5. "Producer" means any landowner or tenant engaged ingrowing wheat and receiving, in such capacity, anyportion of the crop produced.

6. "Sale" includes any pledge or mortgage of wheat, afterharvest, to any person, firm, corporation, limitedliability company, association, or partnership.

7. "Wheat" includes all varieties of hard red springwheat, durum, and winter wheats.

4-28-03. Wheat Commission – Members.4-28-03. Wheat Commission – Members.4-28-03. Wheat Commission – Members.4-28-03. Wheat Commission – Members.4-28-03. Wheat Commission – Members.1. The North Dakota state wheat commission consists of

seven members. One member must be appointed orelected from each of the districts of the stateestablished by this chapter and one member must beappointed or elected from the state at large. Eachmember, except the member from the state at large,must be a resident of and a qualified elector in thedistrict the member represents, and must have farmingoperations in the district. The member from the state atlarge must have similar qualifications except as limitedby district lines. An individual is not eligible to be amember of the wheat commission if that individualrequested a refund under section 4-28-07 during thetwelve-month period before the date on which the termsought by the individual would commence. Thisineligibility does not apply to an individual whorequested a refund because of an overpayment, asprovided in subdivision c of subsection 2 of section4-28-07. Each member of the wheat commission mustbe actively engaged in the production of wheat. Amember of the wheat commission who elects not toplant wheat for one growing cycle may continue toserve on the commission if the member continues to beactively involved in farming. If a member elects not toplant wheat for more than one growing cycle, themember is deemed to have resigned and the

2

commission shall declare the member’s office vacant.A member of the wheat commission is not eligible toreceive a refund under section 4-28-07; however, amember may request a refund because of overpayment,as provided in subsection c of subsection 2 of section4-28-07. The commission may declare a member’sposition vacant if the member fails to attend twoconsecutive commission meetings.

2. Not more than sixty days prior to expiration of theterm of the member from the state at large, anominating committee consisting of the commissionerof agriculture, the president of the North Dakota cropimprovement association, the director of the NorthDakota agricultural experiment station, the director ofthe North Dakota state university extension service, thepresident of the North Dakota farm bureau, thepresident of the North Dakota farmers union, thepresident of the North Dakota grain dealersassociation, the president of the North Dakota graingrowers association, and an individual who is aresident of this state and a member of the United Statesdurum growers association, or their duly authorizedrepresentatives, shall submit to the governor a list ofthree names and within sixty days after expiration ofthe term the governor shall appoint, from the nomineesso named, the member at large to the commission.

3. Each member of the commission shall hold office for aterm of four years and until the member’s successorhas been selected and has qualified except that thecommissioners elected and serving from the first andfourth districts shall hold office for terms ending onJune 30, 1984; the commissioners elected and servingfrom the second and fifth districts shall hold office forterms ending on June 30, 1985; and the commissionerselected and serving from the third and sixth districtsshall hold office for terms ending on June 30, 1982;and the commissioner appointed and serving as thestate at large member shall hold office for a termending on June 30, 1983. No producer is entitled toserve more than three terms.

4. At least sixty days prior to the expiration of the term ofoffice of a commissioner representing any district, ameeting of producers must be held in each county inthe district for the purpose of electing a countyrepresentative. The county agent shall call such

3

meeting by publishing notice in the official newspaperof the county for two successive weeks, the lastpublication to be not less than five nor more than tendays prior to the meeting. The meeting must be held ata central location within the county and must be calledto order by the county agent. The county agent, incooperation with the cooperative extension service,shall conduct all elections under this section in eachcounty in the manner the county agent deems fair andreasonable, except that a producer may vote only inthe producer’s county of residence. Votes must becanvassed by the county agent and certified by thecounty agent with the name and post-office address ofthe elected county representative to the director of theNorth Dakota state university extension service whoshall thereupon, as expeditiously as possible, call ameeting of the county representatives of the district.Notice of such meeting must be sent to each countyrepresentative by registered or certified mail not lessthan five days prior to the meeting which must be heldat a central location within the district. At such districtmeeting, the county representatives shall elect one oftheir number as the district member of thecommission. The ballots at such meeting must becanvassed by the North Dakota state universityextension service and the result of election certified tothe governor by the director. To be eligible to hold theposition of county representative, an individual mustbe actively engaged in the production of wheat. Acounty representative who elects not to plant wheat forone growing cycle may continue to serve as a countyrepresentative if the individual continues to be activelyinvolved in farming. If a county representative electsnot to plant wheat for more than one growing cycle,the member is deemed to have resigned and thecommission shall declare the member’s positionvacant. Additional meetings of county representativesmay be called by the state wheat commission for thepurpose of promoting its programs. All expenses of allsuch meetings and elections must be paid fromcommission funds. County representatives must bereimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred inattending meetings and performing other officialduties on the same basis as other state officers.

5. Any vacancy occurring on the commission other thanby expiration of term of office must be filled by thecounty representatives who shall elect one of their

4

number as the district member of the commission forthe remainder of the unexpired term. If the vacancy isfrom the state at large, appointment must be madefrom three nominations submitted by the nominatingcommittee as in the case of the original appointment.

4-28-04. State wheat commission districts.For the propose of this chapter, the state is hereby dividedinto the following districts:

1. State wheat commission district number one consistsof the counties of Golden Valley, Billings, Dunn,Mercer, Oliver, Stark, Morton, Slope, Hettinger,Grant, Sioux, Bowman, and Adams.

2. State wheat commission district number two consistsof the counties of Divide, Burke, Renville, Williams,Mountrail, Ward and McKenzie.

3. State wheat commission district number three consistsof the counties of McLean, Sheridan, Wells, Eddy,Burleigh, Kidder, Stutsman, Foster, Emmons, Loganand McIntosh.

4. State wheat commission district number four consistsof the counties of Bottineau, Rolette, Towner,McHenry, Pierce, Benson and Ramsey.

5. State wheat commission district number five consistsof the counties of Griggs, Steele, Traill, Barnes, Cass,LaMoure, Dickey, Ransom, Sargentand Richland.

6. State wheat commission district number six consists ofthe counties of Cavalier, Pembina, Walsh, Nelson andGrand Forks.

4-28-05. Wheat commission – Meeting – Expenses –Legal adviser.Upon call of the governor, the commission shall first meetand organize by electing from the membership a chairmanand vice-chairman, who shall hold office for one year anduntil their successors are elected and have qualified.Thereafter the commission shall meet at least once everycalendar quarter at such times and places as determined bythe commission and may meet in special meetings uponsuch call and notice as prescribed by rules adopted by thecommission. The commission shall determine the amount

5

of compensation payable to each member of thecommission. The amount payable may not exceed seventy-five dollars per day plus reimbursement of expenses asprovided by law for state officers, while attendingmeetings or performing other official duties directed bythe commission. The attorney general shall act as legaladviser to the commission or designate an assistant for thatpurpose and within the limit of the funds available to thecommission it may employ other counsel to advise andrepresent the commission in its affairs and proceedings.

4-28-06. Wheat commission – Duties and powers.In the administration of this chapter, the commission hasthe following powers, authority, and duties:

1. To foster and promote programs aimed at increasingthe sale, utilization, and development of wheat, both athome and abroad.

2. To publish and disseminate reliable information on thevalue of wheat and wheat products for any purpose forwhich they are valuable and useful to both processorand consumer.

3. To search for and promote new uses of wheat andwheat products.

4. To contract and cooperate with any person, firm,corporation, limited liability company, or association,or with any local, state, or federal department oragency for executing or carrying on a program orprograms of research, education, and publicity.

5. To lease, purchase, own, equip, maintain, and operate acommission office.

6. To appoint, employ, bond, discharge, fix thecompensation and prescribe the duties of suchadministrative, clerical, technical and other personnel,employees, and agents as it may deem necessary toconduct the business and affairs of the commission.

7. To accept donations of funds, property, and services orother assistance, financial or otherwise, from federal,state, and other public or private sources for thepurpose of aiding and promoting the work andobjectives of the commission, depositing all funds soreceived in the state wheat commission fund in thestate treasury.

6

8. To provide market maintenance and developmentservices, utilization research, transportation researchand education.

9. To address trade and domestic issues.

10. To seek improvement in the export quality of wheat.

11. To exercise all express and implied rights, powers, andauthority that may be necessary to perform and carryout the expressed purposes of this chapter and all ofthe purposes reasonably implied incidentally thereto orlawfully connected therewith and to adopt, rescind,modify, and amend all necessary and proper orders,resolutions, rules, and regulations for the procedureand exercise of its powers and the performance of itsduties.

12. To prosecute in the name of the state of North Dakotaany suit or action to enforce collection or assurepayment of the tax or assessment authorized by theprovisions of this chapter, and to sue and be sued inthe name of the commission.

13. To engage in any other related activities.

4-28-07. Wheat tax levy.4-28-07. Wheat tax levy.4-28-07. Wheat tax levy.4-28-07. Wheat tax levy.4-28-07. Wheat tax levy.1. a. A tax of fifteen mills per bushel (35.24 liters) by

weight must be levied and imposed upon all wheatgrown in this state, delivered into this state, or soldthrough commercial channels to a first purchaser inthis state.

b. The tax must be levied and assessed at the time ofsale and deducted by the purchaser from the pricepaid, or in the case of a lien, pledge, or mortgage,deducted from the proceeds of the loan or claimsecured, subject to adjustment at the time ofsettlement in the event the number of bushels[liters] is not accurately determined at the time ofthe lien, pledge, or mortgage.

c. At the time of sale, the first purchaser in this stateshall issue and deliver to the producer or seller arecord of the transaction in the manner prescribedby the commission.

7

2. a. Any producer who sells wheat to a first purchaser inthis state and who is subject to the deductionprovided in this chapter, within sixty days followingthe deduction or final settlement, may makeapplication by personal letter to the wheatcommission for a refund application blank.

b. Upon the return of the blank, properly executed bythe producer, accompanied by a record of thededuction by the purchaser, the producer must berefunded the net amount of the deduction collected.

c. If no request for refund has been made within theperiod prescribed above, then the producer ispresumed to have agreed to the deduction. However,a producer, for any reason, having paid the tax morethan once on the same wheat, upon furnishing proofof this to the commission, is entitled to a refund ofthe overpayment.

3. The commission, to inform the producer, shall developand disseminate information and instructions relating tothe purpose of the wheat tax and manner in whichrefunds may be claimed and to this extent shallcooperate with governmental agencies, state andfederal, and private businesses engaged in the purchaseof wheat.

4. The commission shall expend an amount at least equalto that raised by two mills of the levy provided for inthis section to contract for activities related to domesticwheat policy issues, wheat production, promotion andsales. The contracts may be with no more than twotrade associations that are incorporated in this state andwhich have as their primary purpose the representationof wheat producers. The contracts must require that anytrade association receiving money under this sectionpay from that money all dues required as a condition ofthe trade association’s membership in any nationaltrade association. The contracts also must prohibit anytrade association receiving money under this sectionfrom eliminating any dues required as a condition ofmembership in that trade association or from reducingsuch dues below the amount required for membershipas of January 1, 2005.

5. The commission shall expend an amount at least equalto that raised by three mills of the levy provided for in

8

this section to pay any debts for legal services incurredby the commission, until the debts for legal servicesare paid in full.

6. When the wheat commission presents the reportrequired by section 4-24-10, the commission shallpresent a separate report detailing the nature and extentof the commission’s efforts to address trade anddomestic policy issues. The commission may inviteother entities with which it has contracted to assist inthe presentations.

7. At the time the wheat commission presents the reportrequired by section 4-24-10, each trade associationwith which the wheat commission has contracted undersubsection 4 also shall present a report detailing allactivities in which the trade association engaged underthe provision of the contract

9

4-28-08. State wheat commission fund – Continuingappropriation.Each first purchaser shall make quarterly reports andreturns to the commission, on or before the twentieth dayof the month next succeeding each calendar quarterlyperiod, commencing with the calendar quarter endingSeptember 30, 1995. The commission shall prescribe theforms to be used. With each report and return, the firstpurchaser shall remit to the commission, in the form of aremittance payable to the state treasurer, the tax due. Thecommission shall transmit all such payments to the statetreasurer to be deposited in the state treasury to the creditof a special revolving fund known as the "state wheatcommission fund". All money in the state wheatcommission fund is appropriated on a continuing basis tothe commission for carrying out the purposes of thischapter. Expenditures from the fund may be made uponvouchers duly approved by the commission to carry outthis chapter. Regular audits of the commission’s accountsmust be conducted in accordance with chapter 54-10.

4-28-09. Penalty.4-28-09. Penalty.4-28-09. Penalty.4-28-09. Penalty.4-28-09. Penalty.Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapteris guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.

Effective July 1, 2009 — The wheat tax levy referredto in 4-28-07 will become twelve mills per bushel andsubsection 5 will be eliminated.

4023 State Street • Bismarck, ND 58503-0690Phone 701-328-5111 • Fax 701-328-5115

E-mail: ndwheat@ndwheat.com • Web site: www.ndwheat.com

Wheat: North Dakota’s Staff of LifeYIELDING $3.56 BILLION A YEAR

Wheat is king in North Dakota. With an annualeconomic impact of $3.56 billion, it is one of the mostimportant economic activities in the state, agriculturalor otherwise.

Main street benefits. According to a 2005study by North Dakota State University agriculturaleconomists, direct annual impacts from all wheatactivities in North Dakota are estimated at $1.35billion. This includes:

• $1.1 billion from production,• $32 million from grain handling,• $73 million in expenditures for truck transportation,• $55 million retained in North Dakota’s economy for

rail transportation (of $199 million spent), and• $100 million from wheat processing.

These direct impacts generate an additional $2.21billion in secondary impacts including 35,000 full-timejobs.

Every acre counts. Each acre of wheat plantedgenerates about $394 in total economic activityannually plus about $13.94 in state tax revenue. Thewheat industry is responsible for an annual average of$1.2 billion in retail trade activity and $1.1 billion ineconomy-wide personal income.

Leading all commodities. Wheat leads allcommodities produced in the state in cash receiptsfrom farm marketings, accounting for an average 20percent, according to the N.D. Agricultural StatisticsService.

Production is widespread. Wheat is producedin all areas of the North Dakota, but production is mostconcentrated in the Red River Valley and northernthird of the state.