The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has established requirements for warehouse operators seeking to license emergency and temporary storage space for commodities that AMS determines to be storable.

Under the requirements, warehouse operators must request and obtain approval to license emergency or temporary storage space before using it. The space must be operated in conjunction with the operator’s U.S. Warehouse Act licensed warehouse and must remain subject to the applicable security, net worth, financial assurance and insurance requirements.

Storage Licensing Requirements

Operators must provide access to emergency or temporary storage space for examination. Separate inventory records must be maintained for each commodity stored in the additional space, and those commodities must be accounted for in the operator’s daily position report.

Operators also must provide written notification within 30 days after all commodities have been removed from the emergency or temporary storage space.

Emergency Storage

Emergency storage requires additional justification and authorization. An operator seeking emergency storage must provide written justification that a need exists for the current crop year in the local area. The request must identify the exact location, commodity and quantity of storage being requested.

AMS must authorize the emergency storage before it can be used.

For wheat, corn, grain sorghum and other feed grains placed in emergency storage, the commodities must be moved into the operator’s USWA-licensed warehouse by March 31 following the initial licensing. AMS may establish other deadlines for additional commodities.

Temporary Storage Standards

Temporary storage is subject to specific physical requirements. The storage area must use asphalt, concrete or another base material approved by AMS. It also must have rigid, self-supporting sidewalls, adequate aeration and an acceptable covering or tarp as determined by AMS.

Commodities held in temporary storage must be returned to the operator’s USWA-licensed warehouse according to commodity-specific deadlines. Rice and soybeans must be moved by March 31 of the following crop year. Wheat, corn, grain sorghum and other feed grains must be moved by July 1 of the following crop year. AMS may establish different deadlines for other commodities.

An operator that plans to reuse licensed temporary storage for another crop year must provide written notification before reusing the space.

Requirements After Storage Deadlines

The requirements also address company-owned commodities that remain in emergency or temporary storage after the applicable deadline. The quantity must be removed from the operator’s daily position report.

It cannot be used to cover the storage or warehouse-receipted obligations of the warehouse and cannot be included in a USWA warehouse examination.

Licensing emergency or temporary storage does not relieve the warehouse operator of its obligations under the USWA. The operator remains responsible for the quantity and quality of commodities stored in the approved space throughout the authorized period to the same extent as commodities held in licensed warehouse space.

During that period, commodities in approved emergency and temporary storage are considered part of the operator’s commingled inventory.

CCC Storage and Handling Rates

The emergency and temporary storage requirements are separate from AMS’s policy governing storage and handling rates paid by the Commodity Credit Corporation. Under that policy, which took effect with the April 1, 2023, contract year, CCC accepts the storage and handling rates listed on an approved warehouse operator’s public tariff or statement of charges assessed to commercial customers for grain, rice and oilseeds forfeited to CCC through USDA’s Marketing Assistance Loan Program.

When a public tariff or statement of charges is not available, CCC pays storage rates consistent with the rates stated on the warehouse receipt. Handling rates in that situation are capped at 12 cents per bushel for both receiving and loadout charges.

CCC retains the authority to negotiate special storage agreements with approved warehouse operators and to make policy changes for future contract years.

Sources: 

United States Department of Agriculture, "WA-402 LICENSING AGREEMENT FOR GRAIN and RICE WAREHOUSE OPERATORS"

United States Department of Agriculture, "USDA Announces Storage and Handling Rate Policy Changes under the Uniform Grain and Rice Storage Agreement"

United States Department of Agriculture, United States Warehouse Act Fee Table