Agricultural exemptions thread.

• The exemption applies to transporting the designated agricultural commodities DURING HARVEST PERIODS as defined by the states. Each state has different periods. Many of them are "year-around" though.
• The "150 miles" refers to "air miles" which are also translated to 172 "land" miles. This is confusing, yes. But you probably will be best to think of it as land miles in a truck.
• Yes you may have goofed, but if so then it was non-intentional. It sounds like you may have thought that the 150 miles was "on both ends." Like two circles - one at the farm and another at the delivery.
• The 150 air / 172 land miles can be thought of like drawing a circle around the point of pickup that day on an invisible map in your head. (heh, or a real map in your hands)
• The point of origin is defined as a farm, barn, silo, or designated warehouse/DC for that commodity. For instance, I live in "hay country" here. So the point of origin could be the actual farmer's field where they load the bails onto your flatbed. Or it could be a big barn 20 miles away from the field where they store the hay from the various fields.
• Either way, the 150 air/172 land mile invisible circle begins AND ENDS and the point of origin.
• If you are inside of that circle, you do not need to be logging traditional HOS.
• Once you leave that invisible radius you need to start logging HOS (as you normally would for any other load) UNTIL YOU COME BACK into that radius.
• IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE THE RADIUS MORE THAN 8 TIMES IN a 30-DAY period, you may keep logging those HOS hours on paper, and not an ELD.
• This exemption was originally INTENDED for drivers who leave and come back to the same radius regularly during harvest times. It was set up to relieve the drivers from being "under the gun" inside of the 14/11-hour windows while hauling fresh, perishable commodities direct from the source of growth during harvest periods.
  
  Those who ALWAYS haul a designated AG product inside of the 150 air-mile radius, and those who are driving a defined FMV (a vehicle owned and operated by the farm itself to transport its commodities, not-for-hire) do NOT require ELD's or HOS logging at all.

FMCSA source link: ELD Hours of Service (HOS) and Agriculture Exemptions

 

The milk haulers in my area are using the exemption, going and coming. The transport drivers, who pick their loads up on the yard are using the exemption. Local drivers go to the farms and bring the loads back to the yard. I question this time after time, but got beat down each time. Was told by a DOT trooper that it was legal.

 

Key points:

The exemption is valid within 150 airmiles, and an air mile is a nautical mile, or about 1.2 statute miles. That is, 172 statue miles, as the crow flies. Forget about road miles. Radius apps or Google Earth can help find the radius limit.

The exemption is valid on your way to the pickup (if empty).

The exemption is valid only during the official state designated "harvest and planting season". In Idaho, for example, that's 12 months per year, in Washington it's 11 months, with January being the exception. I guess cows don't give milk in January in Washington?

When inside the radius, put yourself off duty on the ELD, and log out of your ELD. Make a note when crossing out of the 150 mile "safe zone" that the unlogged miles were HOS exempt under agricultural commodity status.

Only raw agricultural commodities are exempt. I.e. raw milk is exempt, pasteurized milk in gallon jugs is not.

Multiple pickups are allowed, but the 150 mile radius starts at the first pickup.

All time, going to the pickup location, waiting, loading, load securement, and driving to the 150 mile limit are all HOS exempt, and should be logged off duty.

Unless you are a qualified farm vehicle (owned by the farm and operated by a farm employee), the final portion (delivering to the farm) is NOT exempt. However, when picking up from a distributor and delivering to a farm (say, seed potatoes), the first 150 miles ARE exempt. Again, a Farm Vehicle would be exempt at both ends, at the pickup because of Map-21, and on the delivery because of Farm Vehicle status.