North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.10. Exemptions
(a) When the required analysis and other information regarding the seed is present on a seedman’s label or tag which bears an official North Carolina seed stamp or is accompanied by the North Carolina seed analysis tag on which is written, stamped or printed the words “See Attached Tag for Seed Analysis,” the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-277.5 through 106-277.7 shall be deemed to have been complied with.
(b) The official tag or label of the North Carolina Crop Improvement Association shall be considered an “official North Carolina seed analysis tag” when attached to containers of seed duly certified by the said Association or when it refers to an accompanying tag which carries the same information required in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-277.5 to 106-277.7 and when fees applicable to the North Carolina seed analysis tag have been paid to the Commissioner.
(c) The label requirements for peanuts, cotton and tobacco seed may be limited to:
(1) Lot identification.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.10
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Agriculture of North Carolina or his designated agent or agents. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- conditioning: means cleaning, scarifying, or blending to obtain uniform quality and other operations that would change the purity or germination of the seed and therefore require retesting to determine the quality of the seed, but does not include operations such as packaging, labeling, blending together of uniform lots of the same kind, or kind and variety, without cleaning, or preparation of a mixture without cleaning, any of which would not require retesting to determine the quality of the seed. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- germination: means the percentages by count of seeds under consideration, determined to be capable of producing normal seedlings in a given period of time and under normal conditions. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- grower: shall mean any person who produces seed, directly as a landlord, tenant, sharecropper or lessee, which are offered or exposed for sale. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- kind: means one or more related species or subspecies which singly or collectively is known by one common name, for example, corn, wheat, striate lespedeza, alfalfa, tall fescue. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- labeling: includes all labels and other written, printed or graphic representations in any manner whatsoever accompanying and pertaining to any seed whether in bulk or in containers and includes representations on invoices. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- lot: means a definite quantity of seed, identified by a lot number or other identification, which shall be uniform throughout for the factors which appear on the label. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- month: shall be construed to mean a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year" a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- North Carolina seed analysis tag: means the tag designed and prescribed by the Commissioner as the official North Carolina seed analysis tag. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- origin: means the state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, possession of the United States or the foreign country where the seed was grown. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- person: shall include any individual, partnership, corporation, company, society or association. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- variety: means a subdivision of a kind characterized by growth, plant, fruit, seed or other constant characteristics by which it can be differentiated in successive generations from other sorts of the same kind; for example, Knox Wheat, Kobe Striate Lespedeza, Ranger Alfalfa, Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- vegetable seeds: shall include the seeds of those crops which are grown in gardens or on truck farms and are generally known and sold under the name of vegetable seed in this State. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
- vendor: shall mean any person, not classified as a grower, who buys, sells or offers for sale any seed for seeding purposes and shall include any person who has seed grown under contract for resale for seeding purposes. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-277.2
(2) Origin, if known. If unknown, so stated.
(3) Commonly accepted name of kind and variety.
(4) Name and number per pound of noxious-weed seeds.
(5) Percentage of germination with month and year of tests.
(6) Name and address of person who labeled said seed or who sells, offers, or exposes said seed for sale.
(d) The provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-277.3 through 106-277.7 do not apply:
(1) To seed or grain sold or represented to be sold for purposes other than for seeding provided that said seed is labeled “not for seeding purposes” and that the vendor shall make it unmistakably clear to the purchaser of such seed or grain that it is not for seeding purposes.
(2) To seed for conditioning when consigned to, being transported to or stored in an approved conditioning establishment, provided that the invoice or labeling accompanying said seed bears the statement “seed for conditioning” and provided further that other labeling or representation which may be made with respect to the unlearned or unconditioned seed shall be subject to this Article.
(3) To seed sold by a farmer grower to a seed dealer or conditioner, or to seed in storage in or consigned to a seed-cleaning or conditioning plant; provided that any labeling or other representation which may be made with respect to the unlearned or unconditioned seed shall be subject to this Article.
(4) To any carrier in respect to any seed or screenings transported or delivered for transportation in the ordinary course of its business as a carrier; provided that such carrier is not engaged in producing, conditioning, or marketing agricultural or vegetable seeds subject to provisions of this Article.
(e) No person shall be subject to the penalties of this Article for having sold, offered or exposed for sale in this State any agricultural or vegetable seeds which were incorrectly labeled or represented as to origin, kind or variety when such seeds cannot be identified by examination thereof unless such person has failed to obtain an invoice or grower’s declaration giving origin, kind and variety or to take such other precautions as may be necessary to insure the identity to be that stated. (1941, c. 114, s. 4; 1943, c. 203, s. 2; 1945, c. 828; 1949, c. 725; 1959, c. 585, s. 1; 1963, c. 1182; 2009-455, ss. 7, 8.)