Neb. Admin. Code tit. 19 — Administrative Division

Chapter 2 Farm Mediation Regulations

Neb. Admin. Code tit. 19, ch. 2 Farm Mediation Regulations {#sec-19-nac-2 omnilex-key=us-ne-regs-official--title-19--19 NAC 2}

001 Statement of Purpose . The purpose of these regulations is to aid in administering the Farm Mediation Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§2-4801 to 2-4815.

002 Administration . The Farm Mediation Act and these regulations shall be administered by the Department of Agriculture, located in the State Office Building, Fourth Floor, 301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska. The mailing address is: P.O. Box 94947, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-4947. The telephone number is: (402) 471-3348.

003 Definitions . In addition to the terms listed below, the definition of terms found in the Farm Mediation Act shall apply to such terms when found in these regulations.

003.01 ACT shall mean the Farm Mediation Act.

003.02 ADMINISTRATOR shall mean the Department of Agriculture.

003.03 PARTY or PARTIES shall mean all eligible mediation participants as set forth in §2-4808 of the Act.

004 Mediation

004.01 A request for mediation shall be submitted in writing on a form provided by the administrator. The request form shall be signed by the party requesting mediation and shall include the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the parties who are being requested to mediate. The request may be made by any party.

004.02 Notice of the request for mediation shall be sent to all parties listed on the request and shall include a consent to mediate. The party requesting mediation shall be notified of the other parties' intention to participate in mediation.

004.03 No written agreement set forth in §2-4811 of the Act shall become final until all parties have had the opportunity to have the agreement reviewed unless all of the parties waive, in writing, the review period.

004.04 Each party participating in mediation shall be charged the hourly rate set by the contract established between the administrator and the farm mediation service per hour for the actual time spent in mediation meetings. In cases of extreme financial hardship, such fee may be waived in whole or in part. The fee shall be collected by the farm mediation service as set forth in §2-4806 of the Act.

004.05 Any party to mediation may request a substitution of the mediator. The request shall be made, in writing, to the administrator and shall specify the reason for the request. The administrator may order a substitution if it determines that a conflict of interest exists or that there are reasonable grounds to believe that a mediator cannot act fairly and impartially in the matter. The substitution shall be issued in writing and delivered to all parties participating in mediation.

004.06 All mediation meetings shall be confidential with only the mediator, the parties consenting to mediate, and their representatives or advisors present. Other persons may be present at such a meeting only upon the express consent of all participating parties. All persons present at the mediation meeting shall sign a statement agreeing to abide by the confidentiality requirements.

005 Mediators .

005.01 The administrator shall require at least 30 hours of training on the mediation process and mediation skills. Upon approval by the administrator, past experience or training may be substituted for all or part of this requirement. Additional update training shall be required.

005.02 The administrator shall retain the authority to review the qualifications and performance of any mediator.

005.03 No mediator acting under this act shall:

005.03A Provide legal or financial advice to the parties in mediation; except that a mediator may refer a party to alternative sources of professional consultation or assistance. A mediator may not solicit or accept any payment or thing of value, either directly or indirectly, in return for making a referral; or

005.03B Disclose any information or records obtained in connection with the mediation except upon written agreement with the parties.

005.04 At the mediation meeting the mediator shall explain to the parties the process and goals of mediation, the rules of conduct for all persons at the mediation meeting, and that the mediator is neutral in the proceeding. The mediator shall inform the parties of any perceived or potential conflict of interest or bias he or she may have.

006 Status of Contractors . Persons under contract to provide services set forth in §2-4804 of the Act are not state agencies for any purpose by virtue of such contract, and their employees or subcontractors shall not be considered employees of the state for any such purpose.

007 Annotation . Neb. Rev. Stat. §§2-4801 to 2-4815.

History

• Effective 2017-04-26

Chapter 3 The Nebraska Honey Standards Regulations

Neb. Admin. Code tit. 19, ch. 3 The Nebraska Honey Standards Regulations {#sec-19-nac-3 omnilex-key=us-ne-regs-official--title-19--19 NAC 3}

001 Scope . This Standard applies to all honeys produced by honey bees and covers all styles of honey presentations which are processed and ultimately intended for direct consumption and to all honeys packed, processed or intended for sale in bulk containers as honey, which may be repacked for retail sale, or for sale or use as an ingredient in other foods.

002 Definitions .

002.01 Honey is the natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in the honey comb to ripen and mature.

002.01A Blossom Honey or Nectar Honey is the honey which comes from nectars of plants.

002.01B Honeydew Honey is the honey which comes mainly from excretions of plant sucking insects (Hemiptera) on the living parts of plants or secretions of living parts of plants.

003 Description . Honey consists essentially of different sugars, predominantly fructose and glucose as well as other substances such as organic acids, enzymes and solid particles derived from honey collection. The color of honey varies from nearly colorless to dark brown. The consistency can be fluid, viscous or partly to entirely crystallized. The flavor and aroma vary, but are derived from the plant origin.

004 Essential Composition and Quality Factors .

004.01 Honey sold as such shall not have added to it any food ingredient, including food additives, nor shall any other additions be made other than honey. Honey shall not have any objectionable matter, flavor, aroma, or taint absorbed from foreign matter during its processing and storage. The honey shall not have begun to ferment or effervesce. No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic or organic matter.

004.02 Honey shall not be heated or processed to such an extent that its essential composition is changed and/or its quality is impaired.

004.03 Chemical or biochemical treatments shall not be used to influence honey crystallization.

004.04 Moisture Content. No water may be added to honey in the course of extraction or packing for sale or resale as honey. Honey shall not have a moisture content exceeding 23%.

004.05 Sugars Content.

004.05A Fructose And Glucose Content (Sum Of Both).

004.05A(1) Honey not listed below - not less than 60 g/100g.

004.05A(2) Honeydew honey, blends of honeydew honey with blossom honey - not less than 45 g/100g.

004.05B Sucrose Content.

004.05B(1) Honey not listed below - not more than 5 g/100g.

004.05B(2) Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Citrus spp., False Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia), French Honeysuckle (Hedysarum), Menzie Banksia (Banksia menziesii), Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Leatherwood (Eucryphia lucida), Eucryphia milligani - not more than 10 g/100g.

004.05B(3) Lavender (Lavandula spp), Borage (Borago officinalis) - not more than 15 g/100g.

004.06 Water Insoluble Solids Content.

004.06A Honeys other than pressed honey - not more than 0.1 g/100g.

004.06B Pressed honey - not more than 0.5 g/100g.

005 Annotation . Neb. Rev. Stat. §81-2,181 (LB 114 of 2011).

History

• Effective 2011-12-22

Chapter 4 Practice and Procedure Regulations

Neb. Admin. Code tit. 19, ch. 4 Practice and Procedure Regulations {#sec-19-nac-4 omnilex-key=us-ne-regs-official--title-19--19 NAC 4}

001 For any proceeding before the agency to which the Administrative Procedures Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §84-901 et seq. is made applicable by statute, the following Model Rules of Agency Procedure promulgated as Title 53 NAC by the Nebraska Attorney General, are incorporated by reference except as specifically indicated.

001.01 53 NAC Chapter 1 - Negotiated Rulemaking.

001.02 53 NAC Chapter 2 - Petition for Rulemaking.

001.03 53 NAC Chapter 3 - Procedures Governing Declaratory Orders.

001.04 53 NAC Chapter 4 - Rules of Procedure for Hearings in Contested Cases Before an Agency.

002 Annotation Neb. Rev. Stat. §§84-901 through 84-920

History

• Effective 2022-09-12