AGRICULTURE HAULING EXEMPTIONS

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by turboguy, Mar 8, 2018.

  1. turboguy

    turboguy Light Load Member

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    hey guys Im trying to get clarification on the HOS exemptions from those who are in the business here is the scenario

    I am a For Hire carrier hauling agriculture loads directly from the farmer's packing house

    The loads will be transported to distribution centers owned by 3rd parties within the 150 mile air radius


    so am I exempt from the HOS regulations all the time under this scenario or only during planting and harvesting periods, as determined by each State, to drivers transporting?


    the guidance the FMCSA provides is a little unclear
    https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmc...ervice/elds/81736/agr-exemption-factsheet.pdf
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2018
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  3. TallJoe

    TallJoe Road Train Member

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    Also, I kind of wonder, why produce haulers - the reefers - can't be exempted by that rule as well. Produce is nothing but agricultural commodity. A load of fresh apples seems as a pretty agricultural staff to me. There is time sensitivity factor involved as well. A load of harvested grain and a load of apples should be equal by my logic. I could use a few more paragraphs to compare a load of apples to a load of pigs as almost identical.... but I don't have time now.
     
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  4. turboguy

    turboguy Light Load Member

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    from what I read it would be as long as its being picked up directly from the farmer
     
  5. FLCRACKER

    FLCRACKER Medium Load Member

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    Had a lot to do with ,is it raw product or has it been processed. Processed could mean just puttin it in a box.
     
  6. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    After reading the regs ... No you are not exempt.

    The packing house is considered legally a processing center, not a source of a commodity.

    The regs require it to be from the source, not the processing center.

    If you hauled the farm commodities from the farm to the packing house, maybe if the state allows it but the regs seem to point to a wholesale, distribution or retail place for delivery from the source of re commodity.
     
  7. thelushlarry

    thelushlarry Road Train Member

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    Dang Joe you are supposed to compare apples to oranges not grain!
     
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  8. Accidental Trucker

    Accidental Trucker Road Train Member

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    It depends if "the farmer's packing house" is "the farm" or not.

    Yes, the exemption only applies during the state designated "planting and harvesting season". In Washington, that's February 1 to December 31, for example. But not January. In January you'd get way too tired with the exemption.
     
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  9. Justrucking2

    Justrucking2 Road Train Member

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    I had the same conversation with a buddy of mine that hauls cattle out of California. He is wondering the same thing. The way he is hearing it, as long as he is within that 150 mile radius he is off the ELD... The issue he is having is that the ELD he is using does not recognize the exemption. This entire industry is really screwed up with this crap. I told him to drop down to line 5 when coming in empty, he hauls cattle, heading to the house, personal conveyance.
     
  10. Paddlewagon

    Paddlewagon Light Load Member

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    I don't think anyone knows for sure to be completely honest. We haul feed for the cattle industry,and were told at an audit just last week by a FEDERAL DOT officer that we could operate under Ag exemption as long as we stay within 150 air miles and when we go past 150 THEN we need to log in and run our ELD's. This is finished feed from a mill. Me thinks I will just do what the bossman thinks is right and pay the piper when we get caught.........
     
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  11. ZVar

    ZVar Road Train Member

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    To make you feel better and to say the officer is correct...
    eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations

    (k) Agricultural operations. The provisions of this part shall not apply during planting and harvesting periods, as determined by each State, to drivers transporting
    ...
    (2) Farm supplies for agricultural purposes from a wholesale or retail distribution point of the farm supplies to a farm or other location where the farm supplies are intended to be used within a 150 air-mile radius from the distribution point; or
     
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