Published: 2015
Key Benefits:
For agriculture, see 11 AAC, part 4.
For animal products slaughtering, processing, and inspection, see 18 AAC 32, art. 2.
For animal health, see 18 AAC 36.
Sec. 03.05.010. Powers and duties of commissioner of natural resources.
(a) The commissioner of natural resources shall
(1) direct, administer, and supervise promotional and experimental work, extension services, and agricultural projects for the purpose of promoting and developing the agricultural industry within the state including such fields as horticulture, dairying, cattle raising, fur farming, grain production, vegetable production, and development of other agricultural products;
(2) procure and preserve all information pertaining to the development of the agricultural industry and disseminate that information to the public;
(3) assist prospective settlers and others desiring to engage in the agricultural industry in the state with information concerning areas suitable for agriculture and other activities and programs essential to the development of the agricultural industry in the state;
(4) review the marketing, financing, and development of agricultural products inside the state including transportation, with special emphasis upon local production, and negotiate for the marketing of agricultural products of the state with federal and state agencies operating in the state;
(5) regulate and control the entry into the state and the transportation, sale, or use inside the state of plants, seeds, vegetables, shell eggs, fruits and berries, nursery stock, animal feeds, remedies and mineral supplements, fertilizers, and agricultural chemicals in order to prevent the spread of pests, diseases, or toxic substances injurious to the public interest, and to protect the agricultural industry against fraud, deception, and misrepresentation; in this connection the commissioner may require registration, inspection, and testing, and establish procedures and fees; and
(6) regulate the farming of elk in a manner similar to the manner in which the commissioner regulates domestic animals and livestock, to the extent that is appropriate.
(b) To carry out the requirements of this title, the commissioner of natural resources may issue orders, regulations, quarantines, and embargoes relating to
(1) examination and inspection of premises containing products, articles, and commodities carrying pests;
(2) establishment of quarantines for eradication of pests;
(3) establishment of standards and labeling requirements pertaining to the sale of agricultural and vegetable seeds;
(4) tests and analyses which may be made and hearings which may be held to determine whether the commissioner will issue a stop order or quarantine;
(5) cooperation with federal and other state agencies.
Sec. 03.05.011. Powers and duties of commissioner of environmental conservation.
(a) To carry out the requirements of this title, the commissioner of environmental conservation may issue orders, regulations, permits, quarantines, and embargoes relating to
(1) examination and inspection of premises containing products, articles, and commodities carrying pests;
(2) establishment of quarantines for eradication of pests and diseases in livestock;
(3) tests and analyses that may be made and hearings that may be held to determine whether the commissioner will issue a stop order or quarantine;
(4) cooperation with federal and other state agencies;
(5) regulation of fur farming; for purposes of this paragraph, "fur farming" means the raising of and caring for animals for the purpose of marketing their fur, or animals themselves for breeding stock.
(b) The commissioner of environmental conservation shall regulate the farming of elk in a manner similar to the manner in which the commissioner regulates domestic animals and livestock, to the extent that is appropriate.
Sec. 03.05.015. Agricultural production credits. [Repealed, Sec. 2 ch 110 SLA 1986].
Repealed or Renumbered
Sec. 03.05.020. Miscellaneous powers of commissioner of environmental conservation.
(a) The commissioner shall
(1) require routine inspection of food animals to protect the public against fraud and disease;
(2) adopt a schedule of fees or charges, and credit provisions, for services rendered by state veterinarians to farmers and others at their request in caring for livestock and poultry, and all the fees shall be transmitted to the commissioner for deposit in the state treasury;
(3) designate points of entry for admission of livestock or poultry into the state, and arrange inspection at those points with or without collaboration and assistance of the federal government, and bar entry of stock or poultry not shipped under a valid permit or not free from contagious or infectious disease.
(b) In this section, "commissioner" means the commissioner of environmental conservation.
Sec. 03.05.025. Seafood processing permits and plans of operation. [Repealed, Sec. 26 ch 72 SLA 1998].
Repealed or Renumbered
Sec. 03.05.026. Seafood product quality standards and seals. [Repealed, Sec. 26 ch 72 SLA 1998].
Repealed or Renumbered
Sec. 03.05.030. Rules for grading and classification of agricultural products.
The commissioner may adopt rules, regulations, and procedures requiring the classification, grading, and inspection of agricultural products sold or offered for sale for general consumption before they are sold, and requiring the marking or labeling of any sack, box, carton, or other container of agricultural products to show the kind, grade, or other prescribed classification of the contents.
Sec. 03.05.035. Sale and labeling of frozen meat, fish and poultry. [Repealed, Sec. 26 ch 72 SLA 1998].
Repealed or Renumbered
Sec. 03.05.040. Inspection.
(a) On any business day during the usual hours of business the commissioner or an authorized inspector may, for the purpose of inspecting agricultural products subject to regulation, enter a storehouse, warehouse, cold storage plant, packing house, slaughterhouse, retail store, or other building or place where those products are kept, stored, processed, or sold.
(b) In this section, "commissioner" means commissioner of natural resources with respect to those products over which the commissioner of natural resources has jurisdiction under this title, and the commissioner of environmental conservation with respect to those products over which the commissioner of environmental conservation has jurisdiction under this title.
Sec. 03.05.050. Products in violation of regulations.
(a) An agricultural product found by the commissioner, or an authorized inspector, to violate a regulation adopted under this chapter is declared to be a public nuisance injurious to the public interest and may not be moved by the person in whose possession it may be except upon the specific direction of the commissioner or inspector.
(b) In this section, "commissioner" means commissioner of natural resources with respect to those products over which the commissioner of natural resources has jurisdiction under this title, and the commissioner of environmental conservation with respect to those products over which the commissioner of environmental conservation has jurisdiction under this title.
Sec. 03.05.060. Checking spread of contagious diseases.
(a) The commissioner shall issue or cause to be issued by an authorized veterinarian, emergency orders designed to prevent the spread of contagious or infectious diseases among livestock and poultry inside designated areas or from one part of the state to another in cases of epidemic or threatened epidemic. The orders may cover care or extermination of afflicted stock and may prohibit the transportation of the stock and products derived from the stock, with compensation to owners as authorized by law.
(b) In this section, "commissioner" means the commissioner of environmental conservation.
Sec. 03.05.070. Control of rabies. [Repealed, Sec. 26 ch 72 SLA 1998].
Repealed or Renumbered
Sec. 03.05.075. Elk farming.
(a) Elk may be raised and bred as domestic stock for commercial purposes, including the sale of meat, by a person who lawfully owns the elk and who holds a current valid elk farming license. The commissioner of natural resources may issue an elk farming license for the farming of elk to a person who applies on a form provided by the commissioner, pays the biennial elk farming license fee, and proves to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the person lawfully owns the elk, intends to raise and breed elk, and possesses facilities for maintaining the elk under positive control. Before issuing or renewing an elk farming license, the commissioner shall conduct a physical inspection of the elk farming facilities and determine that the facilities are in good repair and comply with the fencing standards established under (d) of this section. In this subsection, "lawfully owns" means ownership that was obtained without violating a state or federal law or regulation or a condition of a license or permit issued with respect to elk.
(b) The commissioner of natural resources shall provide to the Department of Fish and Game a copy of each application for an elk farming license received by the commissioner and each elk farming license issued by the commissioner.
(c) The fee for a biennial elk farming license is $250.
(d) The commissioner of natural resources shall establish fencing standards for elk farming facilities to maintain elk under positive control. Proposed fencing standards shall be submitted to the commissioner of fish and game for review before the standards are adopted or amended.
(e) Notwithstanding other provisions of law, a license or permit is not required from the Department of Fish and Game in order to import, export, or possess elk for the purpose of elk farming. Elk imported, exported, or possessed for the purpose of elk farming are subject to the provisions of this title and regulations adopted under this title by the commissioner of natural resources or the commissioner of environmental conservation for domestic animals and livestock, to the extent they are made applicable to elk by the commissioners.
(f) In this section, "elk" means an animal of a subspecies of cervus elaphus that is indigenous to North America; "elk" does not include red deer or a red deer hybrid.
Sec. 03.05.080. Controlling exportation of animals.
(a) The commissioner shall establish requirements and procedures for examination and certification of dogs, cats, and other animals being shipped out of the state.
(b) In this section, "commissioner" means the commissioner of environmental conservation.
Sec. 03.05.085. Seafood processing research. [Repealed, Sec. 26 ch 72 SLA 1998].
Repealed or Renumbered
Sec. 03.05.090. Penalty for violation.
A person who violates a provision of this chapter or a regulation, order, or quarantine made under authority of this chapter, or violates a provision of a permit issued under this chapter, or sells seeds failing to meet the labeling requirements, standards, and tests provided for by regulation of the commissioner of natural resources or the commissioner of environmental conservation is guilty of a class A misdemeanor for each offense.
Sec. 03.05.100. Definitions.
In this chapter,
(1) "agricultural products" does not include fish or fisheries products;
(2) [Repealed, Sec. 26 ch 72 SLA 1998].
(3) "fish or fisheries products" means any aquatic animal, including amphibians, or aquatic plants or parts of those plants, animals, or amphibians that are usable as human food.
Chapter 03.09. BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSERVATION