Chapter Definitions

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Agriculture and Horticulture
  4. Commodity Warehouses, Dealers and Producers
  5. Commodity Dealer and Warehouse Law
  6. Chapter Definitions

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As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

  1. “Claimant” means:
    1. Any producer or person, possessing warehouse receipts covering commodities owned or stored by the warehouseman;
    2. Any person with written evidence of ownership, other than warehouse receipts, disclosing a storage obligation of a commodity warehouseman, including scale tickets, settlement sheets and ledger cards;
    3. Any person who has lent money to a commodity warehouseman and who was to receive a warehouse receipt as security for that loan, but the commodity dealer or warehouseman failed within twenty-one (21) days after receiving the loan moneys and no warehouse receipt was issued;
    4. Any person who has surrendered warehouse receipts as a part of a commodities sale transaction, the commodity warehouseman failed within twenty-one (21) days thereafter and the person surrendering the warehouse receipt did not get fully paid therefor; or
    5. Any producer who possesses written evidence of the sale of commodities to a failed commodity dealer not limited to scale tickets, settlement sheets, price later contracts, basis contracts or similar commodities delivery contracts, but did not get fully paid therefor and who is unable to secure satisfaction of financial obligations due from a person licensed by the department in accordance with this chapter;
  2. “Commissioner” means the commissioner of agriculture, or the commissioner's designated representatives;
  3. “Commodity” means grain;
  4. “Commodity assets” means all commodities owned or stored by a failed commodity dealer or warehouseman, including commodities in transit that were shipped by the failed commodity dealer or warehouseman or failed warehouseman and for which payment has not been received; proceeds from sale or commodities due or to become due; the equity (net of any secured financing directly associated therewith) in assets in commodity exchange commodities margin accounts; any moneys due or to become due (net of any secured financing directly associated therewith) from any future contracts on any recognized commodity exchange; any other unencumbered funds or property or equity of the failed commodity dealer or warehouseman in funds or property wherever located that can be directly traced as being from the sale of commodities by the failed commodity dealer or warehouseman or failed warehouseman; provided, that any such funds, property, or equity in funds or property shall not be deemed to be encumbered unless the encumbrance results from good and valuable consideration advanced by any secured party on a bona fide basis; and provided further, that the encumbrance is not the result of the taking of the funds, property, or equity in funds or property as additional collateral for an antecedent debt; or other unencumbered funds, property, or equity in assets;
  5. “Commodity dealer” means any person engaged in the business of buying commodities from producers thereof for resale or for milling or processing. A producer of commodities buying commodities for the producer's own use as seed or feed shall not be considered as being engaged in the business of buying commodities for resale or for milling or processing;
  6. “Cooperative agreement” means any agreement made by the department with a person, local unit of government, or state or federal agency as may be reasonable and proper to carry out this chapter;
  7. “Department” means the Tennessee department of agriculture;
  8. “Failure” means:
    1. An inability to financially satisfy a claimant in accordance with applicable statute or regulation and the time limits provided therein, if any;
    2. A declaration of insolvency;
    3. A revocation of license and leaving of outstanding indebtedness to claimants;
    4. A failure to pay claimants in the ordinary course of business where a bona fide dispute does not exist between a commodity dealer or warehouseman and a customer;
    5. A failure to apply for license renewal;
    6. A denial of license renewal; or
    7. A voluntary surrendering of a license;
  9. “Grain” means corn, wheat, oats, rye, soybeans, rape seed, canola and grain sorghums;
  10. “Incidental commodity dealer” means any commodities dealer who purchases commodities from producers and whose total purchases of commodities during any fiscal year do not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000);
  11. “Incidental commodity dealer, nonsecured” means a commodities dealer who purchases commodities from producers and whose total purchases during any fiscal year do not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), and who has notified the commissioner on the dealer's license application or renewal application that the dealer has opted not to maintain a security instrument;
  12. “Person” includes an individual, corporation, partnership and all associations of two (2) or more persons having a joint or common interest;
  13. “Producer” means the owner, tenant or operator of land in this state who has an interest in and receives all or any part of the proceeds from the sale of the commodities produced thereon;
  14. “Program” means the Tennessee commodity producer indemnity program;
  15. “Stored commodities” means any commodities received in any commodities warehouse, located in this state, if such commodities are not purchased and beneficially owned by the commodities warehouseman;
  16. “United States Warehouse Act” means the United States Warehouse Act, enacted August 11, 1916, as amended;
  17. “Valid claim” means a claim arising from a failure of a commodity dealer or warehouseman that occurs after July 1, 1989, and adjudicated valid by the commissioner, net of all credits and offsets, and in accordance with § 43-32-210;
  18. “Warehouse” or “commodities warehouse” means any building, structure, or other protected enclosure in this state used for the purpose of storing commodities for a consideration;
  19. “Warehouse receipt” means:
    1. A warehouse receipt issued under this chapter in accordance with the Uniform Commercial Code; or
    2. A warehouse receipt issued under the United States Warehouse Act; and
  20. “Warehouseman” or “commodities warehouseman” means any person who owns, controls or manages a public commodities warehouse in which commodities are stored for compensation and who is authorized to issue warehouse receipts, and includes any grain warehouse licensed under the United States Warehouse Act that has entered into a cooperative agreement.


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