The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
(Cite as: 6 V.S.A. § 2881)
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§ 2881. Conditions and amount; failure to file
(a) Except as provided in section 2882 of this title, no handler shall purchase milk from a Vermont producer or milk cooperative, either
directly or through a marketing service owned by one or more cooperatives, and the
Secretary shall not issue a handler’s license, unless the handler furnishes the Secretary
a good and sufficient surety bond, executed by a surety company duly authorized to
transact business in this State in an amount equal to 50 percent for all species other
than cattle, and 100 percent for cattle, of the maximum amount due all milk producers
in the State who sold milk to the handler for a 41-day period during the previous
12 months. The Secretary may accept, in lieu of such bond, a guaranteed irrevocable
letter of credit. The bonds shall be taken for the benefit of Vermont milk producers
and milk cooperatives in this State. At any time in the Secretary’s discretion, the
Secretary may require the handler to file detailed statements of the business transacted
by them in this State and at any time may require them to give such additional bonds
as he or she deems necessary. If the handler refuses or neglects to file the detailed
statements or to give bonds required by the Secretary, the Secretary may suspend the
license of the handler until he or she complies with the Secretary’s orders. The Secretary
shall report to the Attorney General the name of any handler doing business in this
State without a license, or after suspension of its license by the Secretary, and
the Attorney General shall bring injunction proceedings against the handler. Renewals
of bonds specified in this section shall be furnished the Secretary 60 days before
the effective date of the bond. If the handler fails to file the bonds as required,
the Secretary shall publish the name of the handler in four newspapers of general
circulation in the State for a period of three consecutive days and notify, by registered
mail, producers supplying the handler.
(b) A milk cooperative that sells milk from a Vermont producer either directly or through
a marketing service owned by one or more cooperatives shall file a monthly detailed
report that states where the milk from each bulk tank unit served is sold and shall
specify the volume of milk that is sold by Vermont cooperative members and independent
producers who market their milk through a milk cooperative either directly or through
a marketing service owned by one or more cooperatives. (Added 1965, No. 175, § 19; amended 1981, No. 198 (Adj. Sess.), § 13, eff. April 22, 1982; 1993, No. 109 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2009, No. 48, § 6, eff. May 28, 2009; 2011, No. 39, § 6, eff. May 19, 2011; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 122, eff. July 1, 2022.)