CHAPTER 127
WAREHOUSE KEEPERS AND GRAIN DEALERS SECURITY ACT
127.02 Warehouse keepers' licenses and fees.
127.03 Grain dealers licenses and fees.
127.04 Applicability to nonresident grain dealers.
127.05 Warehouse keeper's insurance.
127.06 Financial statements; warehouse keepers and grain dealers.
127.065 Minimum financial standards; warehouse keepers.
127.067 Minimum financial standards; grain dealers.
127.069 Monthly reports; warehouse keepers and grain dealers.
127.07 Security requirements; warehouse keepers and grain dealers.
127.09 Duties of a warehouse keeper.
127.10 Duties of a grain dealer.
127.105 Liability of warehouse keepers and grain dealers.
127.11 Prohibitions; warehouse keepers and grain dealers.
127.12 Producers and depositors; duties and prohibitions.
127.13 Inspection and investigation.
127.14 Claims by producers and depositors; default proceedings and payment of claims.
127.15 Rule-making authority.
127.17 Enforcement; penalties; private remedy.
127.18 Conflict with chs.
401 to
411.
127.01
127.01
Definitions. In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
127.01(1)
(1) "Affiliate" means any of the following:
127.01(1)(a)
(a) An officer, director or partner of a warehouse keeper or grain dealer.
127.01(1)(b)
(b) A firm or corporation owned or operated by an officer, director or partner of a warehouse keeper or grain dealer.
127.01(1)(c)
(c) A person who, as agent for a warehouse keeper or grain dealer, buys or receives grain from a producer or contracts with a producer to grow grain for delivery to a warehouse keeper or grain dealer.
127.01(1g)
(1g) "Asset" means anything of value owned, including current assets, fixed assets and other assets.
127.01(1r)
(1r) "Audited financial statement" means a financial statement on which an independent certified public accountant, or an independent public accountant holding a certificate of authority under
ch. 442, has expressed an opinion according to generally accepted accounting principles and has conducted an audit according to generally accepted auditing standards.
127.01(2)
(2) "Balance sheet" means a statement of the assets, liabilities and equity on a specific date.
127.01(3)
(3) "Capacity" means the maximum amount of grain, measured in bushels, which may be stored in a warehouse. The capacity of a warehouse shall be determined by dividing the cubic volume of all bins by 1.244 cubic feet.
127.01(4)
(4) "Cash payment" means payment in the form of currency, certified check, money order, barter or irrevocable letter of credit.
127.01(5d)
(5d) "Class A grain dealer" means a person, other than an exempt grain dealer, a Class B grain dealer, a Class B2 grain dealer or a Class C grain dealer, who does any of the following:
127.01(5d)(a)
(a) Buys grain from producers for resale or for introduction into commercial channels.
127.01(5d)(b)
(b) Sells, on behalf of producers, grain received from those producers.
127.01(5d)(c)
(c) A person who is a feeder of livestock or poultry or who operates a feed mill or other manufacturing facility if the person spends $400,000 or more during that person's fiscal year to buy grain from producers.
127.01(5p)
(5p) "Class B grain dealer" means a person, other than a Class B2 grain dealer, who buys grain from producers only in connection with the operation of a feed mill or other manufacturing facility operated by that person and who spends less than $400,000 during that person's fiscal year to buy grain from producers.
127.01(5r)
(5r) "Class B2 grain dealer" means a person who buys grain from producers only in connection with the operation of a feed mill or other manufacturing facility operated by that person, who spends less than $50,000 during that person's fiscal year to buy grain from producers and who does not buy any grain under a deferred payment contract or a deferred price contract.
127.01(5t)
(5t) "Class C grain dealer" means a feeder of livestock or poultry, or a producer who buys grain from producers solely for his or her own use as a feed or seed or a producer that is engaged solely in selling grain that he or she has produced. "Class C grain dealer" does not include a person who does any of the following:
127.01(5t)(a)
(a) Spends at least $400,000 during that person's fiscal year to buy grain from producers.
127.01(5t)(b)
(b) Sells grain other than grain that the person produced.
127.01(6)
(6) "Current assets" means cash and assets that can be readily converted into cash in the ordinary course of business within one year after the date of the balance sheet.
127.01(7)
(7) "Current liabilities" means those liabilities that are due and payable within a period of one year after the date of the balance sheet.
127.01(8)
(8) "Deferred payment contract" means a contract for the sale of grain from a producer to a grain dealer under which the grain dealer takes custody of the grain more than 7 calendar days before paying the producer in full for the grain.
127.01(9)
(9) "Deferred price contract" means a contract for the sale of grain from a producer to a grain dealer under which the grain dealer takes custody of the grain before the grain dealer and the producer agree on the price that the grain dealer will pay for the grain.
127.01(10)
(10) "Department" means the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection.
127.01(11)
(11) "Depositor" means any of the following:
127.01(11)(a)
(a) A person who delivers grain to a warehouse keeper for storage, conditioning, shipping or handling.
127.01(11)(b)
(b) A person who owns or legally holds a scale ticket, warehouse receipt or other document that is issued by a warehouse keeper for grain and that entitles that person to receive possession of that grain or its equivalent.
127.01(12)
(12) "Equity" means the excess of total assets over total liabilities.
127.01(13)
(13) "Equity statement" means a report of the change in equity from the beginning to the end of the accounting period covered by the report.
127.01(13m)
(13m) "Exempt grain dealer" means a person who buys grain from producers and who makes full cash payment for all grain that the person receives from producers before taking custody of the grain.
127.01(14)
(14) "Exempt warehouse keeper" means a warehouse keeper who has a total of less than 50,000 bushels of grain obligations to others, for all of the warehouse keeper's warehouses, at any time during a license year. "Exempt warehouse keeper" does not include a warehouse keeper who represents to any person that the warehouse keeper is bonded or has filed security with the department for the benefit of depositors.
127.01(16)
(16) "Financial statement" means a financial statement that complies with
s. 127.06.
127.01(17)
(17) "Fixed assets" means those assets representing investments of a more permanent nature, such as land, buildings, machinery and equipment.
127.01(18)
(18) "Grain" means corn, wheat, soybeans, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, sorghum, flaxseed, milo, sunflower seed and mixed grain as defined in the federal grain standards act,
7 USC 71 to
87k. "Grain" does not include canning crops for processing or grain used or intended for use solely for planting purposes.
127.01(19)
(19) "Grain dealer" means a Class A grain dealer, Class B grain dealer, Class B2 grain dealer, Class C grain dealer or exempt grain dealer. "Grain dealer" does not include any of the following:
127.01(19)(c)
(c) A broker acting solely as an agent bringing buyers and sellers together without taking title to or possession of any grain or the proceeds.
127.01(19)(d)
(d) A person engaged solely in buying or selling commodity futures on a board of trade or commodity exchange.
127.01(21)
(21) "Income statement" means a report of the financial results of business operations for the accounting period covered by the report.
127.01(22)
(22) "Interim statement" means a financial statement prepared for a period shorter than a fiscal year.
127.01(23)
(23) "Liability" means an obligation to pay money or other assets or to render a service to another person either currently or in the future.
127.01(24)
(24) "Other assets" means noncurrent assets other than fixed assets.
127.01(25)
(25) "Producer" means a person who is not a Class A grain dealer, a Class B grain dealer, a Class B2 grain dealer or an exempt grain dealer and who is one of the following:
127.01(25)(a)
(a) An owner, tenant or operator of land who is engaged in growing and producing grain on land in this state.
127.01(25)(b)
(b) An owner, tenant or operator of land who is engaged in growing and producing grain on land outside of this state and who sells that grain to a grain dealer in this state or deposits that grain with a warehouse keeper in this state.
127.01(25m)
(25m) "Reviewed financial statement" means a financial statement, other than an audited financial statement, that meets all of the following requirements:
127.01(25m)(a)
(a) The grain dealer or warehouse keeper attests in writing, under oath, that the financial statement is accurate.
127.01(25m)(b)
(b) The financial statement is reviewed according to generally accepted accounting principles by an independent certified public accountant or an independent public accountant who holds a certificate of authority under
ch. 442.
127.01(26)
(26) "Statement of cash flows" means a report of cash receipts and cash disbursements from operating, investing and financing activities, including an explanation of changes in cash and cash equivalents for the accounting period covered by the report.
127.01(28)
(28) "Warehouse" means any building, bin or storage facility used for receiving, storing, conditioning, shipping or handling grain. "Warehouse" does not include transport vehicles or facilities used for on-farm drying of grain.
127.01(29)
(29) "Warehouse keeper" means a person, including a cooperative association, engaged in operating one or more warehouses in this state for the receiving, conditioning, storing or shipping of grain for others. "Warehouse keeper" does not include a person licensed under the federal act.
127.02
127.02
Warehouse keepers' licenses and fees. 127.02(1)(1)
Requirement; exception. No person may act as a warehouse keeper unless the person holds an annual warehouse keeper's license issued by the department, except that an exempt warehouse keeper is not required to hold a license.
127.02(2)
(2) Application. An application for an annual warehouse keeper's license shall be filed on a form prescribed by the department. The application shall include information reasonably required by the department for licensing purposes. An application shall be accompanied by all applicable fees and surcharges under
sub. (3).
127.02(3)(a)(a)
License fees. The fee for an annual warehouse keeper's license is $50. A warehouse keeper maintaining more than one business location in this state shall pay an additional license fee of $25 for each additional location.
127.02(3)(am)
(am)
License fee surcharge. An applicant for an annual warehouse keeper's license shall pay a license fee surcharge of $500 if the department determines that, within 365 days prior to submitting an application for a warehouse keeper's license, the applicant acted as a warehouse keeper without a license in violation of
sub. (1). Payment of the license fee surcharge does not relieve the applicant of other civil or criminal liability that may result from acting as a warehouse keeper without a license, but does not constitute evidence of a violation of law.
127.02(3)(b)
(b)
Basic inspection fee. A warehouse keeper shall pay an annual inspection fee to the department based on the combined storage capacity of all of the warehouse keeper's warehouses in this state. The inspection fee is, if the combined storage capacity is:
127.02(3)(b)2.
2. At least 150,000 bushels but less than 250,000 bushels, $325.
127.02(3)(b)3.
3. At least 250,000 bushels but less than 500,000 bushels, $375.
127.02(3)(b)4.
4. At least 500,000 bushels but less than 750,000 bushels, $425.
127.02(3)(b)5.
5. At least 750,000 bushels but less than 1,000,000 bushels, $475.
