Terms & Conditions

Georgia Grown Membership Agreement

Terms and Conditions

Definitions

• (1) GEORGIA GROWN members or registrants--Persons who apply and are granted limited use of the mark by the department for assistance in the promotion and implementation of the GEORGIA GROWN program.
• (2) Commissioner--Commissioner of Agriculture, Georgia Department of Agriculture.
• (3) Department--The Georgia Department of Agriculture.
• (4) Equine species--A horse, pony, mule or donkey that was foaled in Georgia or has resided in Georgia for at least one year.
• (5) Food--Agricultural products produced or processed in Georgia for human consumption.
• (6) GEORGIA GROWN and Design mark--The GEORGIA GROWN and Design mark is a certification mark that is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Georgia Secretary of State's office by the department.

• (7) Horticulture products--Nursery, floral and greenhouse plants or plant products produced in Georgia from seeds, rootings, cuttings, tissue cultures, seedlings or other propagation materials. Non-Georgia plants being produced for such a period during which they are transplanted or increased in plant size and volume of container. Georgia and non-Georgia produced plant-based horticulture products processed in Georgia.
• (8) Livestock feed, feed supplements and pet food--Agricultural products produced or processed in Georgia for animal consumption.
• (9) Natural fibers--Fibers which have been produced from Georgia crops or shorn from Georgia livestock, and which are used in textiles, apparel, and other goods. The term "natural fibers" also includes leather made from the hides of animals and reptiles.
• (10) Natural woods--Forestry products produced from Georgia hardwood and softwood timber and may include, but not be limited to, furniture, home furnishings, building construction materials, pulp and paper.
• (11) Other Products--
  • (A) Any product produced in Georgia which is not a Georgia agricultural product, as defined in paragraph (19) of this section, but is:
    • (i) produced, manufactured, constructed or created within the state; or
    • (ii) is processed within the state such that it has been altered by a mechanical or physical value-added procedure in Georgia to change or add to its physical characteristics; and
    • (iii) such product enhances the GEORGIA GROWN program;
  • (B) Products described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph which are produced in Georgia, but processed outside of Georgia do not meet GEORGIA GROWN program requirements, unless facilities for processing are not reasonably available in Georgia.
  • (C) For purposes of this subchapter, the department shall have sole discretion to determine whether a product qualifies as being an "other product" or processed other product and enhances the GEORGIA GROWN program.
• (12) Person--An individual, firm, partnership, corporation, governmental entity, or association of individuals.
• (13) Processed food product--Non-Georgia agricultural food product which has undergone a value-added procedure in Georgia to change or add to its physical characteristics, including, but not limited to, cooking, baking, heating, drying, mixing, grinding, churning, separating, extracting, cutting, fermenting, distilling, eviscerating, preserving, or dehydrating. For purposes of this subchapter, the department shall have the sole discretion to determine whether a product qualifies as being a processed food product.
• (14) Processed natural fiber or natural wood product--Non-Georgia raw, natural fiber or natural wood which has undergone mechanical or physical changes in Georgia resulting in a finished, distinct product. For purposes of this subchapter, the department shall have the sole discretion to determine whether a product qualifies as being a processed natural fiber and wood product.
• (15) Produced in Georgia--An agricultural product is produced in Georgia if:
  • (A) the agricultural product is grown, raised, nurtured, sown, or cultivated within the state; or
  • (B) the agricultural product has been altered by a mechanical or physical value-added procedure in Georgia to change or add to its physical characteristics.
  • (C) Products produced in Georgia, but processed out of Georgia do not meet GEORGIA GROWN program requirements, unless facilities for processing are not reasonably available in Georgia.
• (16) Producer--Any person who:
  • (A) produces agricultural product(s) grown, raised, nurtured, sown, or cultivated in the State of Georgia;
  • (B) produces Georgia processed agricultural product(s); or
  • (C) produces Georgia product(s) that is/are not processed outside of Georgia, unless facilities for process
  ing are not reasonably available in Georgia.
• (17) Georgia processed agricultural product--Non-Georgia agricultural product, excluding processed food product and processed natural wood and natural fiber product, which has undergone a value added procedure in Georgia that changes or adds to its physical characteristics. For purposes of this subchapter, the department shall have the sole discretion to determine whether a product qualifies as being a Georgia processed agricultural product.
• (18) Georgia agricultural product--An agricultural, apicultural horticultural, silvicultural, viticultural, or vegetable product, either in its natural or processed state, that has been produced, processed, or otherwise had value added to the product in this state, including:
  • (A) equine species;
  • (B) feed for use by livestock or poultry;
  • (C) fish or other aquatic species;
  • (D) livestock, a livestock product, or a livestock by-product;
  • (E) planting seed;
  • (F) poultry, a poultry product, or a poultry by-product; or
  • (G) wildlife processed for food or by-products.

Application for Registration to Use the GEORGIA GROWN and Design Mark

• (1) No person shall use, employ, adopt, or utilize the GEORGIA GROWN and Design mark, unless prior application for registration or licensing has been made to the department and permission to make such use, employment, adoption, or utilization has been granted.
• (2) Unless permission is otherwise granted by the department, the GEORGIA GROWN and Design mark may only be used by registrants and licensees to certify and promote the following Georgia agricultural products:
  • (A) Agricultural products produced in Georgia;
  • (B) Agricultural food products processed in Georgia, regardless of origin, and unprocessed agricultural food products grown in Georgia. A food service company, excluding restaurants, is not eligible for membership unless it processes a packaged product for resale, in which case, the mark may only be used to promote the specific program-eligible products. Food service companies may not use the mark in any general fashion to promote the business or its services;
  • (C) wine which is produced or processed in Georgia, and means any alcoholic beverage containing not more than 21 percent alcohol by volume made from fruits, berries, or grapes either by natural fermentation or by natural fermentation with brandy added. The term includes, but is not limited to, all sparkling wines, champagnes, combinations of such beverages, vermouths, special natural wines, rectified wines, and like products.
  • (D) Georgia-grown nursery, floral, and forestry products;
  • (E) Leather, textile, or apparel products approved by the commissioner as being:
    • (i) composed of 50% or greater natural fibers derived from crops or livestock grown or raised within the State of Georgia, the identity of the fibers having been preserved throughout processing so as to be verifiable by satisfactory documentation as having originated in Georgia; or
    • (ii) composed of 50% or greater natural fibers, regardless of where grown or raised, which have been processed into leather, textile, or apparel products within the State of Georgia in a manner which substantially changes their form, and, if composed of natural fibers derived from crops or livestock grown or raised outside the State of Georgia, the natural fibers must be of a type commercially produced within the State of Georgia;
  • (F) horticulture product(s);
  • (G) meat(s). In order to be certified as "GEORGIA GROWN", meat(s), applicants must meet the following criteria:
    • (i) Beef. Must be from cattle that have been born, raised, fed, slaughtered and/or fabricated in Georgia.
    • (ii) Lamb and goat. Must be from sheep or goats that have been born, raised, fed, slaughtered and/or fabricated in Georgia.
    • (iii) Pork. Must be from domesticated swine that have been born, raised, fed, slaughtered and/or fabricated in Georgia.
    • (iv) Poultry. Must be from poultry that have been born, raised, slaughtered and/or fabricated in Georgia.
    • (v) Exotics. Must be from exotic animals that have been born, raised, fed, slaughtered and/or fabricated in Georgia.
    • (vi) For purposes of this paragraph, "fabricated" shall be defined as the process of taking a carcass and cutting the carcass into wholesale or retail cuts of meat.
  • (H) livestock or poultry feed(s), feed supplement(s) and pet food(s);
  • (I) fish, shellfish, or other aquatic species in their raw form or processed form;
  • (J) natural fiber(s);
  • (K) natural wood(s);
  • (L) processed food product(s);
  • (M) processed natural fiber and natural wood product(s);
  • (N) wildlife processed for food or by-products;
  • (O) equine species;
  • (P) Georgia processed agricultural product(s); and
  • (Q) Georgia restaurants as provided for in 40-29-1-.08 of this title (relating to GEORGIA GROWN Restaurant Program).
• (3) Applications submitted under this section shall be made in writing on a form prescribed by the department or by applying online at www.GEORGIAGROWN.com. Application forms may be obtained by contacting the Department, Marketing and Promotion Division at 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Suite 324, Atlanta GA 30334, phone 404-656-3680.
• (4) Written Applications shall be submitted to the GEORGIA GROWN Program, Department, 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Suite 324, Atlanta GA 30334.
• (5) Upon receipt of the registration fee, the department shall provide confirmation of registration and the department shall also provide copies of the mark, suitable for reproduction.
• (6) Other than the use of the mark, no registrant or licensee shall use any statement of affiliation or endorsement by the State of Georgia or the Department in the selling, advertising, marketing, packaging, or other commercial handling of GEORGIA GROWN products or operating GEORGIA GROWN restaurants.
• (7) Members or registrants shall indemnify and hold harmless the Commissioner, the State of Georgia, and the department for any claims, losses, or damages arising out of or in connection with that person's advertising, marketing, packaging, manufacture, or other commercial handling of GEORGIA GROWN products or the operation of restaurants.
• (8) Any permission under the certificate of registration granted to a registrant to use the mark shall be nonexclusive and nontransferable for the products listed in the application.
• (9) Registrants shall do nothing inconsistent with the ownership of the mark in the department, and all use of the mark by any registrant shall inure to the benefit of and be on behalf of the department. Further the registrants shall not have any right, title, or interest in the mark, other than the right to use the mark in accordance with the certificate of registration. Registrants must agree not to attack the title of the department to the mark, or attack the validity of the certificate of registration or the permission granted by the department.
• (10) The nature and quality of the goods sold by registrants in connection with the mark shall conform to any standards which may be set from time to time by the department. Registrants shall cooperate with the commissioner by permitting reasonable inspection of the registrant's operation and supplying the commissioner with specimens of use of the mark upon request. Registrants shall not use the mark on goods sold or marketed as products from another country or state, or as products from a city or region outside of Georgia, unless prior written authorization is received from the department.
• (11) Members or registrants shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations and obtain all appropriate governmental approval pertaining to the selling, advertising, marketing, packaging, manufacturing, or other commercial handling of the products or operation of restaurants covered by the certification of registration.
• (12) Registrants shall use the mark only in the form and manner, and with appropriate legends, as prescribed from time to time by the Commissioner.
• (13) The department shall have the sole right and discretion to bring infringement or unfair competition proceedings involving the GEORGIA GROWN and Design mark.
• (14) The department may consider in its evaluation of an applicant or registrant any information regarding an applicant or member that could impair the department's efforts to promote the development of markets for Georgia agriculture and other products.
• (15) The consideration of information as provided in subsection (14) of this section may include consideration of any information that may not enhance the integrity and positive image of the program, including, but not limited to, a review of consumer safety inspection records and criminal information, as allowed by applicable laws and regulations.