An Act to provide for U.S. standards and a national inspection system for grain, and for other purposes
PL 90-487 (H.R.15794), enacted 08/15/1968

82. STAT, 1 
PUBLIC LAW 9a-4a7-^AUG. .15, 1968 
761 
Public Law 90-487 
AN ACT 
August 15, 1968 
To provide for United States standards and a national inspection system for 
[H-R- 15/94] 
grain, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the United Gra"n*sfand^.rd^s 
States Grain Standards Act, consisting of part B of "An Act Making Act!" 
appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year 
ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and for other 
purposes", approved August 11,1916 (39 Stat. 446, at 482), as amended 
(7 U.S.C. 71-87), is hereby amended to read as follows: 
a SHORT TITLE 
"SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the 'United States Grain 
Standards Act'. 
;; 
DECLARATION OF POLICY 
"SEC. 2. Grain is an essential source of the world's total supply of 
Ijuman food and animal feed and is merchandised in interstate and 
foreign commerce. It is declared to be the policy of the Congress, for 
the promotion and protection of such commerce in the interests of pro-
ducers, merchandisers, warehousemen, processors, and consumers of 
grain, and the general welfare of the people of the United States, to 
provide for the establishment of official United States standards for 
grain, to promote the uniform application thereof by official inspection 
personnel, and to provide for an official inspection system for grain; 
with the objectives that grain may be marketed in an orderly manner 
and that trading in grain may be facilitated. 
"DEFINITIONS 
"SEC. 3. When used in this Act, except where the context requires 
otherwise— 
"(a) the term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of Agriculture 
of the United States or his delegates; 
"(b) the term 'Department of Agriculture' means the LTnited 
States Department of Agriculture; 
"(c) the term 'person' means any individual, partnership, cor-
poration, association, or other business entity ; 
"(d) the term 'United States' means the States (including 
Puerto Rico) and the territories and possessions of the United 
States (including the District of Columbia); 
"(e) the term 'State" means any one of the States (including 
Puerto Rico) or territories or possessions of the United States 
(including the District of Columbia); 
"(f) the term 'interstate or foreign commerce' means commerce 
from any State to or through any other State, or to or through any 
foreign country; 
"(g) the term 'grain' means corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, flax-
seed, grain sorghum, soybeans, mixed grain, and any other food 
grains, feed grains, and oilseeds for which standards are estab-
lished under section 4 of this Act; 
"(h) the term 'export grain' means grain for shipment from 
the United States to any j)lace outside thereof; 
"(i) the term 'official inspection' means the determination and 
the certification, by official inspection personnel, of the kind, class, 
quality, or condition of grain, under standards provided for in 
this Act; or, upon request of the interested person applying for 
762 
PUBLIC LAW 90-487-AUG. 15, 1968 
[82 STAT. 
inspection, the quantity of sacks of grain, or other facts relating 
to grain under other criteria approved by the Secretary under this 
Act (the term 'officially inspected' shall be construed accordingly); 
"(j) the term 'official inspection personnel' means employees of 
State or other governmental agencies or commercial agencies or 
other persons who are licensed to perform all or specified functions 
involved in official inspection under this Act; employees of the 
Department of Agriculture who are authorized to supervise 
official inspection and to conduct appeal inspection or initial 
inspection of United States grain in Canadian ports; 
"(k) the term 'official inspection mark' means any symbol pre-
scribed by regulations of the Secretary to show the official deter-
mination of an official inspection; 
"(1) the term 'official grade designation' means a numerical or 
sample grade designation, specified in the standards provided for 
in this Act; 
"(m) the term 'official inspection agency' means the agency or 
person located at an inspection point designated by the Secretary 
for the conduct of official inspection under this Act; 
"(n) the terms 'official certificate' and 'official form' mean, 
respectively, a certificate or other form prescribed by regulations 
of the Secretary under this Act; 
"(o) the term 'official sample' means a sample obtained from a 
lot of grain by, and submitted for official inspection by, official 
inspection personnel (the teiTQ 'official sampling' shall be con-
strued accordingly) ; 
"(p) the term 'submitted sample' means a sample submitted 
by or for an interested person for official inspection, other than 
an official sample; 
"(q) the term 'lot' means a specific quantity of grain identified 
as such; 
"(r) the term 'interested person' means any person having a 
contract or other financial interest in grain as the owner, seller, 
purchaser, warehouseman, or carrier, or otherwise; 
"(s) the verb 'ship' with respect to grain means transfer physi-
cal possession of the grain to another person for the purpose of 
transportation by any means of conveyance, or transport one's 
own grain by any means of conveyance; 
" (t) the terms 'false', 'incorrect', and 'misleading' mean, respec-
tively, false, incorrect, and misleading in any particular; 
" (u) the term 'deceptive loading, handling, or sampling' means 
any manner of loading, handling, or sampling that deceives or 
tends to deceive official inspection personnel, as specified by regula-
tions of the Secretary under this Act. 
(( 
STANDARDS 
"SEC. 4. (a) The Secretary is authorized to investigate the handling, 
grading, and transportation of grain and to fix and establish standards 
of kind, class, quality, and condition for corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, 
flaxseed, grain sorghum, soybeans, mixed grain, and such other grains 
as in his judgment the usages of the trade may warrant and permit, and 
the Secretary is authorized to amend or revoke such standards when-
ever the necessities of the trade may require. 
ires°^°ubr"° ion 
"(^) Before establishing, amending, or revoking any standards 
ices, pu ication. 
^j^^^^. ^j^jg ^^^^ ^.j^^ Secretary shall publish notice of the proposal and 
give interested persons opportunity to submit data, views, and argu-
ments thereon and, upon request, an opportunity to present data, views, 
and arguments orally in an informal manner. No standards established 
or amendments or revocations of standards under this Act shall become 
82 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 90-487-AUG. 15, 1968 
763 
effective less than one calendar year after promulgation thereof, unless 
in the judgment of the Secretary, the public health, interest, or safety 
require that they become effective sooner. 
"OFFICIAL INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN EXPORT GRAIN 
"SEC. 5. Whenever standards are effective under section 4 of this 
Act for any grain, no person shall ship from the United States to any 
place outside thereof any lot of such grain that is sold, offered for 
sale, or consigned for sale by grade, unless such lot is officially inspected 
in accordance with such standards on the basis of official samples 
taken after final elevation as the grain is being loaded aboard, or while 
it is in, the final carrier in which it is to be transported from the United 
States, and unless a valid official certificate showing the official grade 
designation of the lot of grain is promptly furnished by the shipper, 
or his agent, to the consignee w4th the bill of lading or other shipping 
documents covering the shipment: Provided^ however^ That the Secre- 
waiver authority. 
tary may waive any requirement of this section wdth respect to ship-
ments from or to any area or any other class of shipments when in his 
judgment it is impracticable to provide official inspection with respect 
to such shipments. 
"REQUIRED USE OF OFFICIAL GRADE DESIGNATIONS AND PROHIBITION 
OF CERTAIN ACTS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN GRAIN 
"SEC. 6. (a) Whenever standards are effective under section 4 of 
this Act for any grain no person shall in any sale, offer for .sale, or 
consignment for sale, which involves the shipment of such grain in 
interstate or foreign commerce, describe such grain as being of any 
grade in any advertising, price quotation, other negotiation of sale, 
contract of sale, invoice, bill of lading, other document, or description 
on bags or other containers of the grain, other than by an official grade 
designation, with or without additional information as to specified 
factors: Provided^ That the description of such grain by any proprie-
tary brand name or trademark that does not resemble an official grade 
designation, or with respect to interstate commerce, by the use of one 
or more grade factor designations set forth in the official United States 
standards for grain, or by other factor information shall not be deemed 
to be a description of grain as being of any grade. 
"(b) No person shall, in any sale, offer for sale, or consignment for 
sale, of any grain which involves the shipment of such grain from the 
United States to any place outside thereof, knowingljy describe such 
grain by any official grade designation, or other description, which is 
false or misleading. 
"OFFICIAL INSPECTION AUTHORITY AND FUNDING 
"SEC. 7. (a) The Secretary is authorized to cause official inspection 
under the standards provided for in section 4 of this Act to be made 
of all grain required to be officially inspected as provided in section 5 
of this Act, in accordance with such regulations as he may prescribe. 
"(b) The Secretary is further authorized, upon request of any 
interested person, and under such regulations as he may prescribe, to 
cause official inspection to be made with respect to any grain whether 
by official sample, submitted sample, or otherw^ise within the United 
States or with respect to United States grain in Canadian ports under 
standards provided for in section 4 of this Act, or, upon request of the 
interested person, under other criteria approved by the Secretary for 
determining the kind, class, quality, or condition of grain, or quantity 
of sacks of grain, or other facts relating to grain, whenever in his 
764 
PUBLIC LAW 90-487-AUG. 15, 1968 
[82 
STAT. 
Reinsp 
and appe 
tions. 
ections 
al inspec 
63 Stat. 377. 
judgment providing such service will elfectuate any of the objectives 
stated in section 2 of this Act. 
"(c) The regulations prescribed by the Secretary under this Act 
shall include provisions for reinspections and appeal inspections; 
cancellation of certificates superseded by reinspections and appeal in-
spections. The Secretary may provide by regulation that samples 
obtained by or for employees of the Department of Agriculture for 
purposes of official inspection shall become the property of the United 
States, and such samples may be disposed of without regard to the 
provisions of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act 
of 1949, as amended (40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.). 
"(d) Certificates issued and not canceled under this Act shall be 
received by all officers and all courts of the United States as prima 
facie evidence of the truth of the facts stated therein. 
"(e) The Secretary may, under such regulations as he may prescribe, 
charge and collect reasonable fees to cover the estimated total cost of 
official inspection except when the inspection is performed by 
employees of an official inspection agency. The fees authorized by this 
paragraph shall, as nearly as practicable and after taking into con-
sideration any proceeds from the sale of samples, cover the costs of the 
Department of Agriculture incident to the performance of appeal and 
Canadian port inspection services for which the fees are collected, 
including supervisory and administrative costs. Such fees, and the 
proceeds from the sale of samples obtained for purposes of official 
inspection which become the property of the United States, shall be 
deposited into a fund which shall be available without fiscal year limi-
tation for the expenses of the Department of Agriculture incident to 
providing official inspection services. 
"(f) Not more than one inspection agency for carrying out the pro-
visions of this section shall be operative at one time for any one city, 
town, or other area, but this subsection shall not be applicable to pre-
vent any inspection agency from operating in any area in which it was 
operative on the date of enactment of this subsection. 
Licenses 
nation and 
sion. 
, termi-
suspen-
"LICENSES AND AUTHORIZATIONS 
"SEC. 8. (a) The Secretary is authorized to issue a license to any 
individual upon presentation to him of satisfactory evidence that such 
individual is competent, and is employed by an official inspection 
agency to perform all or specified functions involved in official inspec-
tion; to authorize any competent employee of the Department of 
Agriculture to perform all or specified functions involved in super-
visory or appeal inspection or initial inspection of United States grain 
in Canadian ports; and to license any other competent individual to 
perform specified functions involved in official inspection under a con-
tract with the Department of Agriculture. No person shall perform 
any official inspection functions for purposes of this Act unless he 
holds an unsuspended and unrevoked license or authorization from the 
Secretary under this Act. 
"(b) AH classes of licenses issued under this Act shall terminate 
triennially on a date or dates to be fixed by regulation of the Secretary: 
FWovided^ That any license shall be suspended automatically when the 
licensee ceases to be employed by an official inspection agency or to 
operate independently under the terms of a contract for the conduct of 
any functions involved in official inspection under this Act: Provided 
further^ That subject to paragraph (c) of this section, such license 
shall be reinstated if the licensee is employed by an official inspection 
agency or resumes operation under such a contract within one year 
of the suspension date and the license has not expired in the interim. 
82 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 90-487-AUG. 15, 1968 
765 
"(c) The Secretary may require such examinations and reexamina- andnatlon"*^' ^* 
tions as he may deem warranted to determine the competence of any 
applicants for licenses, licensees, or employees of the Department of 
Agriculture, to perform any official inspection function under this 
Act. 
"(d) Persons employed by an official inspection agency and persons 
performing official inspection functions under contracts with the 
Department of Agriculture shall not, unless otherwise employed by 
the Federal Government, be deemed to be employees of the Federal 
Government of the United States. 
"REFUSAL OF RENEWAL, OR SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION, OF LICENSES 
"SEC. 9. The Secretary may refuse to renew, or may suspend or 
revoke, any license issued under this Act whenever, after the licensee 
has been afforded an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary shall 
determine that such licensee is incompetent, or has inspected grain for 
purposes of this Act by any standard or criteria other than as provided 
for in this Act, or has issued, or caused the issuance of, any false or 
incorrect official certificate or other official form, or has knowingly or 
carelessly inspected grain improperly under this Act, or has accepted 
any money or other consideration, directly or indirectly, for any 
neglect or improper performance of duty, or has used his license or 
allowed it to be used for any improper purpose, or has otherwise 
violated any provision of this Act or of the regulations prescribed or 
t 
instructions issued to him by the Secretary under this Act. The Secre-
tary may, without first affording the licensee an opportunity for a 
hearing, suspend any license temporarily pending final determination 
w^henever the Secretary deems such action to be in the best interests of 
the official inspection system under this Act. 
"REFUSAL OF OFFICIAL INSPECTION 
"SEC. 10. (a) The Secretary may (for such period, or indefinitely, 
as he deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Act) refuse to 
provide official inspection otherwise available under this Act with 
respect to any gi-ain offered for inspection, or owned, wholly or in part, 
by any person if he determines (1) that the individual (or in case such 
person is a partnership, any general partner; or in case such person is 
a corporation, any officer, director, or holder or ow'ner of more than 10 
per centum of the voting stock; or in case such person is an unincor-
porated association or other business entity, any officer or director 
thereof) has been convicted of any violation of section 13 of this Act, 
or that official inspection has been refused for any of the above-
specified causes (for a period which has not expired) to such person, or 
any other person conducting a business with which the former was, at 
the time such cause existed, or is responsibly connected; and (2) that 
providing official inspection with respect to such grain would be 
inimical to the integrity of the official inspection service. 
"(b) For purposes of paragraph (a) of this section, a person shall 
be deemed to be responsibly connected with a business if he was or is a 
partner, officer, director, or holder or owner of 10 per centum or more 
of its voting stock, or an employee in a managerial or executive capac-
"(c) Before official inspection is refused to any person under para- 
Hearing. 
graph (a), such person shall be afforded opportunity for a hearing. 
766 
PUBLIC LAW 90-487-AUG. 15, 1968 
[82 STAT. 
Sampling func-
tions. 
"PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CONFLICTS OF INTEREST 
"SEC. 11. No person, licensed or authorized by the Secretary to 
perform any oiRcial inspection function under this Act, or employed 
by the Secretary in otherwise carrying out any of the provisions of this 
Act, shall, during the term of such license, authorization, or employ-
ment, (a) be financially interested (directly or otherwise) in any 
business entity owning or operating any grain elevator or warehouse 
or engaged in the merchandising of grain, or (b) be in the employment 
of, or accept gratuities from, any such entity, or (c) be engaged in any 
other kind of activity specified by regulation of the Secretary as 
involving a conflict of interest: Provded, however^ That the Secretary 
may license qualified employees of any grain elevators or warehouses 
to perform official sampling functions, under such conditions as the 
Secretary may by regulation prescribe, and the Secretary may by 
regulation provide such other exceptions to the restrictions of this 
section as he determines are consistent with the purposes of this Act. 
Requirements. 
Access 
ords. 
"RECORDS 
"SEC. 12. (a) Every official inspection agency and every person 
licensed to perform any official inspection function under this Act shall 
maintain such samples of officially inspected grain and such other 
records as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe for the purpose 
of administration and enforcement of this Act. 
"(b) Every official inspection agency required to maintahi records 
under this section shall keep such records for a period of two yeai-s 
after the inspection or transaction, which is the subject of the record, 
occurred: Provided,, hoioever,, That grain samples shall be required 
to be maintained only for such period not in excess of ninety days as 
the Secretary, after consultation with the grain trade and taking into 
account the needs and circumstances of local markets, shall prescribe; 
and in specific cases other records may be required by the Secretary 
to be maintained for not more than three years in addition to said 
two-year period whenever in his judgment the retention of such 
records for the longer period is necessary for the effective administra-
tion and enforcement of this Act. 
"(c) Every official inspection agency required to maintain records 
under this section shall permit any authorized representative of the 
Secretary to have access to, and to copy, such records at all reasonable 
times. 
u 
PROHIBITED ACTS 
SEC. 13. (a) No person shall— 
"(1) knowingly falsely make, issue, alter, forge, or counterfeit 
any official certificate or other official form or official inspection 
mark; 
"(2) knowingly utter, publish, or use as true any falsely made, 
issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited official certificate or other 
official form or official inspection mark, or knowingly possess, 
without promptly notifying the Secretary or his representative, 
or fail to surrender to such a representative upon demand, any 
falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited official in-
spection certificate or other official form^ or any device for making 
any official inspection mark or simulation thereof, or knowingly 
possess any grain in a container bearing any falsely made, issued, 
altered, forged, or counterfeited official inspection mark without 
promptly giving such notice; 
82 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 90-487-AUG. 15, 1968 
767 
"(3) knowingly cause or attempt (whether successfully or not) 
to cause the issuance of a false or incorrect official certificate or 
other official form by any means, including but not limited to 
deceptive loading, handling, or sampling of grain, or submitting 
grain for official inspection knowing that it has been deceptively 
loaded, handled, or sampled, without disclosing such knowledge 
to the official inspection personnel before official sampling; 
"(4) alter any official sample of grain in any manner or, know-
ing that an official sample has been altered, thereafter represent 
it as an official sample; 
"(5) knowingly use any official grade designation or official 
inspection mark on any container of grain by means of a tag, label, 
or otherwise, unless the grain in such container was officially 
inspected on the basis of an official sample taken while the grain 
was being loaded into or was in such container and the grain w^as 
found to qualify for such designation or mark; 
"(6) knowingly make any false representation that any grain 
has been officially inspected, or officially inspected and found to 
be of a particular kind, class, quality, condition, or quantity, or 
that particular facts have been established with respect to grain 
by official inspection under this Act; 
"(7) improperly influence, or attempt to improperly influence, 
any official inspection personnel or any officer or employee of the 
Department of Agriculture with respect to the performance of his 
duties under this Act; 
" (8) forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or inter-
fere with any official inspection personnel or any officer or 
employee of the Department of Agriculture in, or on account of, 
the performance of his duties under this Act; 
"(9) falsely represent that he is licensed or authorized to per-
form an official inspection function under this Act; 
"(10) use any false or misleading means in connection with the 
making or filing of an application for official inspection; or 
"(11) violate any provision of section 5, 6, 8, 11, or 12 of this 
Act. 
"(b) No person licensed or authorized to perform any function under 
this Act shall— 
"(1) commit any offense prohibited by subsection (a); 
"(2) knowingly perform improperly any official sampling or 
other official inspection function under this Act; 
"(3) knowingly execute or issue any false or incorrect official 
certificate or other official form; or 
" (4) accept money or other consideration, directly or indirectly, 
for any neglect or improper performance of duty. 
"(c) An offense shall be deemed to have been committed knowingly 
under this Act if it resulted from gross negligence or was committed 
Avith knowledge of the pertinent facts. 
a PENALTIES 
"SEC. 14. (a) Any person who commits any offense prohibited by 
section 13 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, on conviction 
thereof, be subject to imprisonment for not more than six months, a 
fine of not more than $3,000 or both such imprisonment and fine; but 
if such offense is committed after one conviction of such person under 
this section has become final, such person shall be subject to imprison-
768 
PUBLIC LAW 90-487-AUG. 15, 1968 
[82 
STAT. 
ment for not more than one year, or a fine of not more than $5,000, or 
both such imprisonment and fine. 
"(b) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring the Secre-
tary to report minor violations of this Act for criminal prosecution 
whenever he believes that the public interest will be adequately served 
by a suitable written notice or warning. 
li RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACTS OF OTHERS 
"SEC, 15. When construing and enforcing the provisions of this Act, 
the act, omission, or failure of any official, agent, or other person acting 
for or employed by any association, partnership, or corporation within 
the scope of his employment or office shall, in every case, also be 
deemed the act, omission, or failure of such association, partnership, 
or corporation as well as that of the person. 
ii^ 
GENERAL AUTHORITIES 
80 Stat. 384-
"SEC. 16. The Secretary is authorized to conduct such investigations, 
hold such hearings, require such reports from any official inspection 
agency or any person, and prescribe such rules and regulations as he 
deems necessary to effectuate the purposes or provisions of this Act. 
Whether any certificate, other form, representation, designation, or 
other description is false, incorrect, or misleading within the meaning 
of this Act shall be determined by tests made in accordance with such 
procedures as the Secretary may adopt to effectuate the objectives of 
this Act, if the relevant facts are determinable by such tests. Proceed-
ings under section 9 or 10 of this Act for refusal to renew, or for 
suspension or revocation of, a license, or for refusal of official inspec-
tion service not required by section 5 of this Act, shall not, unless 
requested by the respondent, be subject to the administrative procedure 
provisions in sections 554, 556, and 557 of title 5, United States Code. 
Subpena power. 
Witnesses, court 
order requiring at-
tendance and tes-
timony. 
Fees and mile-
age costs. 
"ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS 
"SEC. 17. (a) For the purposes of this Act, the Secretary shall at all 
reasonable times have access to, for the purpose of examination, and 
the right to copy any documentary evidence of any person with respect 
to whom such authority is exercised; and the Secretary shall have 
power to, require by subpena the attendance and testimony of witnesses 
and the production of all such documentary evidence relating to any 
matter under investigation, and may administer oaths and affirmations, 
examine witnesses, and receive evidence. 
"(b) Such attendance of witnesses, and the production of such 
documentary evidence, may be required from any place in the United 
States, at any designated place of hearing. In case of disobedience to a 
subpena the Secretary may invoke the aid of any court designated in 
paragraph (h) of this section in requiring the attendance and testi-
mony of witnesses and the production of documentary evidence. 
"(c) Any such court within the jurisdiction of which such inquiry 
is carried on may, in case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpena 
issued to any person, issue an order requiring such person to appear 
before the Secretary or to produce documentary evidence if so ordered, 
or to give evidence touching the matter in question; and any failure to 
obey such order of the court may be punished by such court EIS a 
contempt thereof. 
"(d) Witnesses summoned before the Secretary shall be paid the 
same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the courts of the 
Refusal to 
testify, prohibi-
82 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 90-487-AUG. 15, 1968 
769 
United States, and witnesses from whom depositions are taken and the 
persons taking the same shall severally be entitled to the same fees as 
are paid for like services in the courts of the United States. 
"(e) Any person who shall neglect or refuse to attend and testify, or 
to answer any lawful inquiry, or to produce documentary evidence, if 
in his power to do so, in obedience to the subpena or lawful requirement 
of the Secretary, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction 
thereof be subject to the penalties set forth in section 14 of this Act. 
"(f) No person shall be excused from attending and testifying or 
from producing documentary evidence before the Secretary, or in t"n!' 
obedience to the subpena of the Secretary, or in any cause or proceed-
ing, criminal or otherwise, based upon or growing out of any alleged 
violation of this Act, or of any amendments thereto, on the ground or 
for the reason that the testimony or evidence, documentary or other-
wise, required of him may tend to incriminate him or subject him to a 
penalty or forfeiture; but no individual shall be prosecuted or sub-
jected to any penalty or forfeiture for or on account of any transaction, 
matter, or thin^ concerning which he is compelled, after having 
claimed his privilege against self-incrimination, to testify or produce 
evidence, documentary or otherwise, except that any individual so 
testifying shall not be exempt from prosecution and punishment for 
perjury committed in so testifying. 
"(g) Any officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture who 
information, un-
shall make public any information obtained under this Act by the p^enl'ity'!*^'^ osure. 
Department of Agriculture, without its authority, unless directed by 
the court, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction 
thereof be subject to the penalties set forth in section 14 of this Act. 
" (h) The United States district courts, the District Court of Guam, 
the District Court of the Virgin Islands, the highest court of Ameri-
can Samoa, and the United States courts of the other territories and 
possessions of the United States shall have jurisdiction in cases arising 
under this Act. 
" R E L A T I O N TO STATE A N D LOCAL L A W S ; SEPARABILITY OF PROVISIONS 
"SEC. 18. (a) No State or subdivision thereof may require the in-
spection or description in accordance with any standards of kind, class, 
quality, condition, or other characteristics of grain as a condition of 
shipment, or sale, of such grain in interstate or foreign commerce, or 
require any license for, or impose any other restrictions upon, the per-
formance of any official inspection function under this Act by official 
inspection personnel. Otherwise nothing in this Act shall invalidate 
any law or other provision of any State or subdivision thereof in the 
absence of a conflict with this Act. 
"(b) If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any 
person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of 
the Act and of the application of such provision to other persons and 
circumstances shall not be affected thereby. 
a APPROPRIATIONS 
"SEC. 19. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act to the extent 
that financing is not obtained from the fees and sale of samples as 
provided for in section 7 of this Act." 
770 
PUBLIC LAW 90-488-AUG. 15, 1968 
[82 STAT. 
EFFECTIVE DATE 
SEC. 2. This Act shall become effective one hundred and eighty days 
after enactment hereof, except that the repeal of the mandatory inspec-
tion provisions with respect to grain shipped or delivered for shipment 
in interstate commerce shall become effective thirty days after enact-
ment hereof and the provisions of sections 6(a) and 13(a) (5) of the 
Ante, pp. 763, 
United States Grain Standards Act, as amended by this Act shall 
then become effective with respect to such grain. 
Approved August 15, 1968. 
767 
Public Law 90-488 
August 15, 1968 
AN ACT 
^^' ^^^"^^ 
To amend the Consolidated Farmers Home Administration Act of 11)61, as 
amended, to provide for loans for enterprises to supplement farm income and 
for farm conversion to recreation, remove the annual ceiling on insured loans, 
increase the amount of unsold insured loans that may be made out of the fund, 
raise the aggregate annual limits on grants, establish a flexible loan intei-est 
rate, and for other purjjoses. 
\ 
Be It enacted hy the Senate and Ilouae of Reprenentatives 
of the 
Consolidated 
> United States of America In ('Ongress asnemhled^ That the Consoli-
Ad!^nistra°i^n 
dated Farmers Home Administration Act of 1961, as amended, is fur-
Act o
f 1961, 
ther amended as follows: 
^"75"stL^t"307. 
"^^^^ ^^^^ sentence of section 808 is amended to read as follows: 
7 use 1923. 
"Loans may be made or insured under this subtitle for (1) acquiring, 
enlarging, or improving farms, including farm buildings, land and 
/ 
water development, use and conservation, (2) recreational uses and 
f 
facilities, (8) enterprises needed to supplement farm income, (4) refi-
nancing existing indebtedness, and (5) loan closing costs." 
7 use 1924. ^ 
gEc. 2, Sectiou 804 is amended by inserting " ( a ) " after "subtitle", 
i 1 
and by changing the period at the end of the section to a comma and 
' 
adding the following: "not including recreational uses and facilities, 
\ 
and (b) without regard to the requirements of sections 802 (2) and 
7 use 1922. 
^3)^ tQ individual farmowners or tenants to finance outdoor recrea-
tional enterprises or to convert to recreational uses their farming or 
\ 
lunching operations, including those heretofore financed under this 
^
. title." 
79 Stat. 931. 
gcc. 3. Sectiou 806(a) (2) is amended by changing "$50,000,000" to 
7 use 1926. 
-$100,000,000". 
SEC. 4. The last sentence of section 306(a) (8) is amended by chang-
ing "1968" to "1971". 
SEC. 5. Section 806(a) (6) is amended by changing "$5,000,000" to 
J "$15,000,000". 
I 
SEC. 6. Section 808 is amended by striking the word "I^ans" from 
1 the beginning of the first sentence and inserting in lieu thereof "Until 
I October 1, ip71, loans" and by striking the comma after the word 
"Secretary" and the phrase "aggregating not more than $450,000,000 
in any one year,". 
7 use 1928.