The eligibility of any organization to represent commercial egg producers of any egg producing area of the United States to request the issuance of an order under section 2704 of this title, and to participate in the making of nominations under section 2707(b) of this title shall be certified by the Secretary. Certification shall be based, in addition to other available information, upon a factual report submitted by the organization which shall contain information deemed relevant and specified by the Secretary for the making of such determination, including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Geographic territory covered by the organization’s active membership.

(b) Nature and size of the organization’s active membership, proportion of total of such active membership accounted for by producers of commercial eggs, a chart showing the egg production by State in which the organization has members, and the volume of commercial eggs produced by the organization’s active membership in each such State,

(c) The extent to which the commercial egg producer membership of such organization is represented in setting the organization’s policies,

(d) Evidence of stability and permanency of the organization,

(e) Sources from which the organization’s operating funds are derived,

(f) Functions of the organization, and

(g) The organization’s ability and willingness to further the aims and objectives of this chapter: Provided, however, That the primary consideration in determining the eligibility of an organization shall be whether its commercial egg producer membership consists of a substantial number of egg producers who produce a substantial volume of commercial eggs. The Secretary shall certify any organization which he finds to be eligible under this section and his determination as to eligibility shall be final. Where more than one organization is certified in any geographic area, such organizations may caucus to determine the area’s nominations under section 2707(b) of this title.

Terms Used In 7 USC 2715

  • Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
  • egg producer: means the person owning laying hens engaged in the production of commercial eggs. See 7 USC 2702
  • eggs: means eggs from domesticated chickens which are sold for human consumption either in shell egg form or for further processing into egg products. See 7 USC 2702
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture or any other officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture to whom there has heretofore been delegated, or to whom there may hereafter be delegated, the authority to act in his stead. See 7 USC 2702
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
  • United States: means the forty-eight contiguous States of the United States of America and the District of Columbia. See 7 USC 2702
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