293 - Definitions.
§ 293. Definitions. (1) "Agricultural commodity" means any and all agricultural, horticultural, vineyard products, corn for grain, oats, soybeans, barley, wheat, poultry or poultry products, bees, maple sap and pure maple products produced therefrom, christmas trees, livestock, including swine, and honey, sold in the state either in their natural state or as processed by the producer thereof but does not include milk, timber or timber products, other than christmas trees, all hay, rye and legumes except for soybeans. (1-a) "Aquaculture" means the culture, cultivation and harvest of aquatic plants and animals. (1-b) "Aquatic products" means any food or fiber products obtained through the practice of aquaculture, including mariculture; or by harvest from the sea when such products are cultured or landed in New York state. Such products include but are not limited to fish, shellfish, seaweed or other water based plant life. (2) "Producer" means any person engaged within this state in the business of producing, or causing to be produced for any market, any agricultural commodity or aquatic product. (3) "Handler" means any person engaged in the operation of packing, grading, selling, offering for sale or marketing any marketable agricultural commodities or aquatic products, who as owner, agent or otherwise ships or causes an agricultural commodity to be shipped. (4) "Processor" means any person engaged within this state in processing, or in the operation of receiving, grading, packing, canning, freezing, dehydrating, fermenting, distilling, extracting, preserving, grinding, crushing, or in any other way preserving or changing the form of an agricultural product or aquatic product for the purpose of marketing such commodity but shall not include a person engaged in manufacturing from an agricultural commodity or aquatic product another and different product. (5) "Distributor" means any person engaged within this state, in selling, offering for sale, marketing or distributing an agricultural commodity or aquatic product which he has purchased or acquired from a producer or other person or which he is marketing on behalf of a producer or other person, whether as owner, agent, employee, broker or otherwise, but shall not include a retailer, except such retailer who purchases or acquires from, or handles on behalf of any producer or other person, an agricultural commodity or aquatic product subject to regulation by the marketing agreement or order covering such commodity. (6) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture and markets. (7) "Marketing agreement" means an agreement entered into, with the approval of the commissioner, by producers with distributors, processors and handlers regulating the preparation, sale and handling of agricultural commodities or aquatic products. (8) "Marketing order" means an order issued by the commissioner pursuant to this article, prescribing rules and regulations governing the marketing for processing, the distributing, the sale of, or the handling in any manner of any agricultural commodity or aquatic product sold in this state during any specified period or periods. * (9) "Good faith bargaining" means the mutual obligation of processors and growers to meet at reasonable times and places and negotiate with respect to the price, quantity to be marketed, quality specifications, terms of sale and other contract provisions. * NB Expired January 1, 1987 * (10) "Joint settlement committee" means a committee with equal representation of processors or handlers and producers or associations of producers together with a chairman who shall be the representative of the commissioner.* NB Expired January 1, 1987