Agricultural Exemption

If you're basing in California. You all need the off duty you can get. LOL

 

I’ve been wrong before, heck I’m twice divorced. So wrong at least twice. But I’m pretty sure you’re only exempt with the 150 as long as you stay within the 150. If you load at point A and consignee is outside of 150, pretty sure you have to log everything.

 

Nope. You don’t start logging until 150 air miles from origination, doesn’t matter where it’s going or where your company is based out of.

 

From Agriculture Exemption Diagrams | FMCSA

 

Is the lettuce being picked up in the field or at a cooler? Big difference. In your example it is most likely being picked up at the cooler, so the exemption does not apply.

Note my added emphasis:

PART 395—HOURS OF SERVICE OF DRIVERS
§395.1 Scope of rules in this part.

(k) Agricultural operations. The provisions of this part shall not apply during planting and harvesting periods, as determined by each State, to drivers transporting

(1) Agricultural commodities from the source of the agricultural commodities to a location within a 150 air-mile radius from the source;​

Hauling the lettuce from the field to the cooler would be exempt, but it's moot because the carrier is probably only intrastate anyhow.

Also note that in Post #8, @Accidental Trucker mentioned "unprocessed," so, again, your example wouldn't be exempt.

 

Nope, it does apply to the cooler as well. At least it does here in the states.

49 CFR § 395.1(k) provides exceptions from the HOS rules, during planting and harvesting periods as determined by the State, for the transportation of agricultural commodities (including livestock, bees, horses, fish used for food, and other commodities that meet the definition of “agricultural commodity” under § 395.2) within a 150 air-mile radius from the source of the commodities.

A facility that prepares agricultural products for shipping is considered a legitimate source for the exemption. I've used the ag exemption dozens of times in the last couple of years, and have had my logs audited during inspections with those exemptions showing. Not once has it ever been questioned. I asked a DOT officer how it worked the first time I tried it. He said you can use the exemption on your way to the shipper when empty, and after you leave the shipper loaded as long as you're within the 150 mile radius. I've used it on frozen blueberries processed at a cold storage facility as well, and it's legal there too. All of my reefer loads with ag products are picked up at cold storage facilites, from apples, pears, berries, you name it.

Now if I could just get that exemption on my beer loads.

 

Here’s 31 pages of what is and is not exempt. Page 21 says that packaging an exempt commodity does not change the exempt status.

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Administrative_Ruling_119.pdf

 

Certainly different than from up where I’m from !

 

Well then... nevermind.

 

We run fresh pack potatoes, and bulk potatoes from Idaho to the Mid west. That is nearly all we haul going east bound... Dozens of loads every week. Everything done inside 150 air miles from FIRST loading point is Ag. Exempt. I use this exemption all the time, and never been hassled about it by DOT. They sometimes ask "Whats this?" And point at all the PC movement in my logs. At which time I direct them to the annotation of said PC movements that reads "Ag. Exempt - 395.1 (k)" as I say "Fresh Pack potatoes."

My company has had several long discussions with the head of the DOT in our state to make sure we know EXACTLY what is and isnt legal when it comes to the Ag. Exemption and/or PC.