Ohio Code 943.08 – Weighing regulations
(A) Each person maintaining and operating any weighing facilities used for, in connection with, or incident to the purchase or sale of livestock at any auction market, concentration yard, stockyard, packing plant, or place for assembling livestock in the state, shall do both of the following:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 943.08
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- agriculture: includes farming; ranching; aquaculture; algaculture meaning the farming of algae; apiculture and related apicultural activities, production of honey, beeswax, honeycomb, and other related products; horticulture; viticulture, winemaking, and related activities; animal husbandry, including, but not limited to, the care and raising of livestock, equine, and fur-bearing animals; poultry husbandry and the production of poultry and poultry products; dairy production; the production of field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, sod, or mushrooms; timber; pasturage; any combination of the foregoing; the processing, drying, storage, and marketing of agricultural products when those activities are conducted in conjunction with, but are secondary to, such husbandry or production; and any additions or modifications to the foregoing made by the director of agriculture by rule adopted in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code. See Ohio Code 1.61
- livestock: means horses, mules, and other equidae, cattle, sheep, and goats and other bovidae, swine and other suidae, poultry, alpacas, llamas, and monitored captive deer, captive deer with status, or captive deer with certified chronic wasting disease status. See Ohio Code 943.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
(1) Maintain and operate all the weighing facilities so as to ensure accurate weights;
(2) Be licensed as a weigher, or employ one or more weighers licensed by the department of agriculture, and require that all livestock handled for purchase, sale, or exchange be accurately weighed by the licensed weighers upon scales approved by the department and inspected, tested, maintained, and operated in accordance with this section. This section does not prevent such weighers from performing other duties not inconsistent with this section.
(B) Any person maintaining and operating a weighing facility used for the purposes set forth in this section may operate unapproved scales if he meets all of the following conditions:
(1) Signs and files with the director of agriculture an affidavit stating that any unapproved scales will not be used in connection with the purchase, exchange, or sale of livestock;
(2) Posts a conspicuous sign above any unapproved scales stating, “this scale cannot be used to weigh livestock for purchase, exchange, or sale”;
(3) Agrees to submit to an audit of market records once every six months by the director or any of his authorized agents.