Marketing Schemes

The Department of Agriculture may formulate schemes for the marking of agricultural products in Northern Ireland or a part thereof. This may be undertaken if the Department deems the scheme necessary to enhance the efficient production and marketing of the product.

The scheme is to be formulated by the Department when it is deemed necessary to serve any purposes of an order regulating the sale of that product under United Kingdom legislation. The Minister shall, when creating a scheme, consult with representatives or producers of agricultural products.

An order may be issued by the Minister approving a scheme as formulated with such modifications. Each scheme shall establish a board to administer the scheme for a prescribed period. Provisions exist for the appointment of board members, a chief executive, and other officers and employees.

Each scheme shall include provisions for the registration of producers who make an application. As soon as practicable after the scheme has been formulated, a list containing the names of persons whom the department has reason to believe are producers, and who are not exempt, shall be compiled.

Provisions are made for the registration of producers. Schemes shall stipulate that only registered producers or exempt individuals may engage in the sale of regulated products.

A scheme may encompass the following: requiring registered producers to sell the product in a quantity or description as determined by the board; determining the quantity of regulated products that may be sold by any producer; determining the description of the regulated product that may be sold by a producer; setting prices at or below which products may be sold.

Provisions are made for empowering the board to receive the whole or part of sums payable by purchasers of products from registered producers; provisions are made for the distribution of sums received from sellers in the manner prescribed by the scheme; the board, with the approval of the Department, may pay or allow a discount or similar abatement of the fixed price.

Producers may be prohibited from selling regulated products of a description or quantity other than through the agency of persons authorized by the board; individuals other than the board or those authorized by the board may be prohibited or regulated from acting as agents. Authorized officers may enter premises, inspect them, and apply marks to identify the product.

The scheme may specify that the sale of any product wholly or partly manufactured or derived from the regulated product shall be considered the sale of the regulated product if the transaction substantially involves the sale of livestock, a person shall be considered to have sold it if they sell the carcasses of livestock.

Persons who sell regulated products in contravention of the schemes may be guilty of an offence subject to summary conviction, with penalties including imprisonment for up to three months, a fine not exceeding level 2, or both, or on indictment, imprisonment for up to three months or an unlimited fine.

Schemes may provide for

• the empowerment of the board to purchase regulated products or commodities containing or derived from that product, as specified in the scheme;
• empowering the board to enter into agreements with buyers and their representatives regarding the price at which products are sold;
• empowering the board to purchase or rent anything required for the production, adaptation for sale, or sale of the regulated product;
• empowering the board, in conjunction with the board administering any other scheme, to agree on matters for joint action,
• enabling the board to encourage, promote, or conduct agricultural cooperation, research, or education.

The scheme may provide exemptions for regulations for schemes of producers or groups, classes, and descriptions of producers; exempting sales of specified classes or descriptions; provision for the reference of disputes to arbitrators. Penalties may be imposed for breaches of the scheme.

A scheme shall establish a fund to be administered and controlled by the board for the purpose of the scheme, including the receipt and disbursement of funds. It may provide for contributions to the fund by producers and exemptions for classes of producers or exemption from registration. It may also provide for the distribution of funds in the fund to producers, as well as provisions for investment accounts and the provision of accounts and information to the department.

The Minister may require a board administering a scheme to impose a special levy to ensure the equitable operation of the scheme among members and to cover any losses sustained by the board in trading under the scheme.

Schemes may grant powers to boards to lend or grant funds to other boards. Boards may also borrow money and make loans and grants.

A contract, the making or performance of which was not prohibited under a scheme at the time of its creation, shall not be void or unenforceable unless otherwise provided in the contract. Where performance is prohibited under the scheme, these provisions cease to apply to the contract after three months unless the contract is registered below. Where, in accordance with a scheme, a contract for the sale of regulated produce by a registered producer is made other than through the agency of the board.

Where, in accordance with a scheme, a contract for the sale of a regulated product by a registered producer other than through the agency of the board purports to give the board the right to receive all or part of the purchase price from the purchaser, the board may enforce this against the purchaser, even if it is not a party to the contract. A person is not liable to a penalty for contravening a scheme if they can prove that the contravention was necessary for the performance of a function that was enforceable at the time of the contravention.

The board, upon application by a party to the contract above, may register a contract within 14 days. A person aggrieved by the refusal to register the contract may appeal to the court. In the appeal, the relevant board and any party to the contract may participate, and the court may order the registration of the contract if it determines that the relevant provisions apply.

If the court does not direct the registration of a contract during the specified period, a party to the contract who entered into it in good faith without intending to evade the scheme may recover damages suffered due to the avoidance of the contract from a party certified by the court to have entered the contract in good faith without intending to evade the scheme. The relevant period is the period starting twelve months before the notice of the scheme’s formulation and ending six months after the scheme’s effective date.

The Department has the authority to issue directions to the boards concerning certain matters. It may empower the board to purchase a regulated product or products or commodities derived from that product, as specified in the scheme. It may determine the quantity of the regulated product that may be sold by any producer, the description of the regulated product sold, and the price at which, below or above which, and the terms on which the regulated product or any description or quantity thereof may be sold by the producer.

If the Department determines that the act or omission of the board results in limiting the use of the regulated product or any description thereof for a particular purpose, limiting the quantity of the regulated product used for a particular purpose, regulating the price at which the regulated product or any description or quantity thereof is sold, or limiting the class of persons to whom or through whose agency the regulated product is sold, and this is contrary to the public interest, the Minister may issue directions to the board as necessary to prevent such results or mitigate any harm to the public interest. Provisions exist for inspections of premises and the provision of returns.