WASHINGTON, DC - Last week, USA Rice helped to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Warehouse Act, a piece of legislation that authorizes the critically important structure for protecting and assuring producers and their lenders of proper crop production storage.
The procedures required by the Act are administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency's Commodity Operation Division. This Division licenses warehouses for the storage of U.S. agricultural commodities such as corn, cotton, dry peas, lentils, peanuts, rice, sorghum, soybeans, and wheat and also conducts annual examinations of the warehouses to ensure they are meeting these federal standards.
USA Rice sponsored a reception in the House Committee on Agriculture's hearing room, also supported by: the American Peanut Shellers Association, the Cotton Growers Warehouse Association, the Cotton Warehouse Association of America, the National Cotton Council of America, the National Grain and Feed Association, and the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council.
Keith Glover, CEO of Producers Rice Mill based in Stuttgart, Arkansas said, "I operate a pretty significant number of warehouses that are licensed under the U.S. Warehouse Act and I'm pleased to know that our forefathers put together this smart way to protect farmers that needed a reputable, safe place to store their grain an entire century ago. The Act has obviously changed over time to account for innovations like electronic warehouse receipts but ultimately it's stood the test of time and remains relevant."
The Act was officially passed on August 11, 1916 but the celebration was held earlier in anticipation of Congress' August Recess.