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The
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development administers licenses to businesses
that transport, auction, deal, and/or maintain collection points/buying
stations for cattle, calves, horses, ponies, mules, swine, sheep, and goats.
New! Applications for these tasks are
submitted and paid for online through the Michigan Business One Stop portal.
A. NAME OF PERMIT OR APPROVAL:
Livestock Dealer License (Form AH-047).
B. STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
Licensing Livestock Dealers, 1937 PA 284, as amended.
C. APPLICABLE REGULATION:
Regulation
119 Prevention and Spread of Livestock Diseases
Regulation
138 Records Required of Livestock Dealers
Regulation
144 Claims Against Livestock Auctions
D. SUMMARY OF PERMIT/APPROVAL PROCESS:
1.
Applicability (activities that require the permit)
A livestock dealer license is required to do any of the following:
- Operate a Livestock Auction
Market. A Livestock Auction Market is any livestock congregation point
where livestock are accepted on consignment and the auction method is used
in the marketing of the animals. Please note that a public auction of farm
goods by a farmer is not included in this definition.
- Operate a Collection Point.
A Collection Point is a place where livestock are congregated for future
movement to market or to be purchased by the owner or agent of the
facility for movement for direct slaughter. A collection point does not
involve the auction of animals.
- Operate a Buying Station. A
Buying Station is any stockyard or concentration point, other than a
public stockyard, at which livestock is brought and sold or assembled for
shipment to a packing plant or a public stockyard, or graded or weighed
for the purpose of establishing a basis for sale or reshipment.
- Operate a Horse Auction. A
Horse Auction is a livestock market where only horses, ponies, donkeys, or
mules are offered for consignment.
- Operating as an Agent. An
Agent is any person, firm, association, co-partnership or corporation
buying, receiving, selling, exchanging, transporting, negotiating or
soliciting sale, resale, exchange, transportation or transfer of any
animals for on behalf of someone.
- Operate as a Dealer or
Broker. A Dealer or Broker is any person, co-partnership, association, or
corporation engaged in the business of buying, receiving, selling,
exchanging, transporting, negotiating, or soliciting sale, resale,
exchange, transportation or transfer of any such animals. Please note
that this includes livestock trucking businesses.
You do not need a license if you are:
- Transporting animals by
railroad or airline.
- Operating a dispersal sale
due to permanently discontinuing the business of farming, dairying,
breeding, or feeding animals.
- Selling animals which have
been raised on your premise.
- a butcher, packer, or
processor to whom animals are delivered for slaughter or that part of the
business of a farmer which consists of buying or receiving animals for
feeding, grazing, and feeding purposes and the sale or disposal of such
animals after feeding or grazing of not less than 21 days.
- Operating a terminal
livestock market under the United States Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
- Occasionally holding
consignment sales such as breed, 4-H, FFA sales.
2.
Pre-Application Requirements
- Applicants must contact the
United States Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Packers and Stockyards
Administration at (515) 323-2579 to arrange bonding. The Michigan
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development requires all auction markets to be bonded. For
new markets, bonding must be a minimum of $25,000. For subsequent years,
bonding is based on the average gross weekly sales for the previous year (Bonding
Formula). In accordance with state law, MDARD must be listed as the
Trustee or Beneficiary for the bond. A copy of your bond MUST be submitted
to the department with the application.
- Be in compliance with the
standards required for Licensing
Livestock Dealers, 1937 PA 284, as amended and the associated
regulations (Regulation
119 Prevention and Spread of Livestock Diseases, Regulation 138 Records Required of Livestock Dealers, Regulation
144 Claims Against Livestock Auctions). If you operate an auction market,
collection point, or buying station, your facility will need to pass an
inspection. This inspection will occur after a completed application is
received by the department.
3.
Application Submission Requirements
The application must be completed in its entirety to include:
- Business name, address, and
phone number.
- Business mailing address (if
different from the business address).
- Type of ownership (i.e.
corporation, sole ownership, partnership, LLC, etc).
- Name and address of the
corporation or the owner (if not a corporation).
- Federal Tax ID for the
business.
- The type of license desired
(i.e. Livestock Auction, Collection Point/Buying Station, Horse Auction, Dealer/Broker/Agent).
- Payment (Please indicate the
payment amount and method (i.e. check or money order) on the application.)
- Signature, printed name,
title of person signing (i.e owner, president,
etc), and date signed.
- Make of truck/trailer, VIN
number, and license plate number and state for all trucks and trailers
used to transport livestock (If transporting livestock under the livestock
dealer license).
- Name and address for the
Agent (For applicant's applying to be an agent for a business only).
- Name of bonding company,
bond number, and bond amount (For livestock and horse auctions only). You
must submit a copy of the bond with the application.
4.
Procedures and Time-Frame for Obtaining Permit or Approval
- Familiarize yourself with
the laws and regulations governing Livestock Dealers (See Operational Requirements).
- Arrange bonding from Packers
and Stockyards. Remember, if you will be operating an auction market, a
copy of your bonding must be submitted to the department.
- Fill out the application. Be
sure to fill out all fields. If a section is not applicable, please put a
line through that section. Please note that a trucker falls under Class
IV.
- Submit the completed
application, proof of bonding (you only need to submit proof of bonding if
you will be operating a livestock auction), and a check or money order for
the license fee(s) payable to State of Michigan to: Michigan Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development, Animal Industry Division, PO Box 30776, Lansing, MI
48909-8276.
- If you are applying for a
Class IV license, a license will be issued once a completed application is
received and processed by the department. However, if you are operating a
Class I, Class II, or Class III license, a Michigan Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) employee will contact you to verify that your facility
is ready for inspection once a completed application (and bonding, if
applicable) has been received and processed. If the facility is ready for
inspection, a MDARD inspector, typically a Field Veterinarian,
will then contact you to set-up and conduct a pre-licensing inspection of
the facility.
- Upon completion of the
pre-licensing inspection, the inspection report is sent to the Lansing office for a
manager's review. Once the facility has passed inspection and managerial
review, a Livestock Dealer License will be issued and mailed. Please note
that if there are problems found either by the inspector or the manager,
you will be given suggestions for improvement as well as a re-inspection
date.
- After receiving the license,
you may then operate as a Livestock Dealer.
Typically it takes 4-8 weeks from the time an application is submitted to
receive a registration
5.
Operational Requirements
License continuity requires Compliance with:
6.
Fees
- $400 for a Class I
(Livestock Auction)
- $250 for a Class II
(Collection Point or Buying Station)
- $150 for a Class III (Horse
Auction)
- $50 for a Class IV (Dealer
(includes livestock trucking companies), Broker, Agent)
A Livestock Dealer License expires on September 30th of each year.
7.
Appeal Process
When the department denies a license, the department must give a written
notice to the applicant, either by certified or registered mail, for a hearing.
On the day of the hearing, the applicant may present evidence to show why the
applicant should be granted a license, and the director shall give a decision.
The licensee may appeal the decision made by the director by contacting the
circuit court in the county where the applicant resides within 10 days of the
hearing. Licensing Livestock
Dealers 1937 PA 284, as amended, Section 4
8.
Public Input Opportunities
- Licensing status questions
and licensing process complaints should be directed to the Central
Licensing Unit of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, 517-241-6666.
- Compliance information or
licensing enforcement complaints should be directed to the Livestock
Dealer Enforcement Program, Animal Industry Division, 517-335-7188.
E. Contact Information:
Contact
Us
Creation/Revision Date:
October
2010
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