§ 780.708 - A country elevator is located near and serves farmers.

§ 780.708 A country elevator is located near and serves farmers.

Country elevators, as commonly recognized, are typically located along railroads in small towns or rural areas near grain farmers, and have facilities especially designed for receiving bulk grain by wagon or truck from farms, elevating it to storage bins, and direct loading of the grain in its natural state into railroad boxcars. The principal function of such elevators is to provide a point of initial concentration for grain grown in their local area and to handle, store for limited periods, and load out such grain for movement in carload lots by rail from the producing area to its ultimate destination. They also perform a transport function in facilitating the even and orderly movement of grain over the interstate network of railroads from the producing areas to terminal elevators, markets, mills, processors, consumers, and to seaboard ports for export. The country elevator is typically the farmer's market for his grain or the point at which his grain is delivered to carriers for transportation to market. The elevator may purchase the grain from the farmer or store and handle it for him, and it may also store and handle substantial quantities of grain owned by or pledged to the Government under a price-support program. Country elevators customarily receive, weigh, test, grade, clean, mix, dry, fumigate, store, and load out grain in its natural state, and provide certain incidental services and supplies to farmers in the locality. The foregoing attributes of country elevators have been recognized by the courts. See, for example, Mitchell v. Sampson Const. Co. (D. Kan.) 14 WH Cases 269; Tobin v. Flour Mills, 185 F. 2d 596; Holt v. Barnesville Elevator Co., 145 F. 2d 250; Remington v. Shaw (W.D. Mich.), 2 WH Cases 262.