Current through Bulletin 2024-06, March 15, 2024
(1)
(a) A
Stockyard owner, market agency, or dealer shall employ only competent,
licensed, and bonded weighpersons of good character and known integrity to
operate scales for weighing livestock to purchase or sell.
(b) The department shall remove any
weighperson found to be operating scales incorrectly, carelessly, in violation
of instructions, or in a manner as to favor or injure any group or agency
through incorrect weighing or incorrect weight recording from weighing
duties.
(2)
(a) The primary responsibility of a
weighperson is to determine and accurately record the weight of a livestock
draft without prejudice or favor to any person or agency and without regard for
livestock ownership, price condition, fill, shrink, or other
considerations.
(b) A weighperson
may not permit the representations or attitudes of any persons or agencies to
influence their judgment or action in performing their duties.
(3)
(a) A weighperson may not leave any unused or
partially executed scale tickets without a printed weight value exposed or
accessible to unauthorized personnel.
(b) Each weighperson shall keep tickets under
lock when the weighperson is not at their duty station.
(4) Accurate weighing and correct weight
recording require that a weighperson not permit the operations to be hurried to
the extent that inaccurate weights or incorrect weight records may
result.
(5) A weighperson shall:
(a) weigh each draft of livestock accurately
by indicating or recording the nearest minimum weight value; and
(b) perform any manual operations connected
with balancing, weighing, and recording with the care necessary to prevent
damage to the accurately machined and adjusted part of weigh-beams, poses, and
printing devices.
(6)
(a) A weighperson shall permit livestock
owners, buyers, or others having a legitimate interest in a livestock draft to
observe the balancing, weighing, and recording procedures, and a weighperson
may not deny them that right or withhold from them any information pertaining
to the weight of that draft.
(b)
Owners, buyers, or others shall check the scale's zero balance or reweigh a
livestock draft when requested by the parties.
(7) A weighperson's responsibilities for
balancing the empty scale shall include:
(a)
balancing the empty scale each day before weighing begins and maintaining the
scale in correct balance while weighing operations continue;
(b) verifying the zero balance at intervals
of not more than 15 drafts or 15 minutes, whichever is first; and
(c) verifying the zero balance of the scale
when:
(i) the weighperson resumes weighing
duties after an absence from the scale; and
(ii) when the weighperson weighs a load
exceeding half the scale capacity or 10,000 pounds, whichever is less, and the
following load is fewer than 1,000 pounds;
(d) recording the time at which the
weighperson balances the empty scale or verifies its zero balance and shall
record it on scale tickets or other permanent records; and
(e) filing balance tickets with other scale
tickets issued on that date.
(8) When a load exceeding half of the scale
capacity has been weighed, followed by a load of fewer than 1,000 pounds,
verification shall occur before weighing a load of fewer than 1,000
pounds.
(9)
(a) Before balancing the empty scale, the
weighperson shall close or verify that the scale gates are closed and that a
person or animal is not on the scale platform or in contact with the stock
rack, gates, or platform.
(b) If
the weighperson balances the scale with persons on the scale platform, the
weighperson shall verify the zero balance when there is a change in
persons.
(c) When the scale is
properly balanced and ready for weighing, the weighperson shall show an
appropriate signal.
(10)
Before weighing a draft of livestock, the weighperson shall verify that the
entire draft is on the scale platform with the gates closed and that any person
or animal off the scale is not in contact with the platform, gates, or stock
rack.
(11)
(a) Any person selling livestock sold by
weight through a satellite video livestock market shall sell the livestock
based on the weight of the livestock on the day of delivery.
(b) A weighperson shall weigh livestock sold
by weight on scales that the Division of Weights and Measures has tested and
inspected in the manner prescribed by law.