Country elevators, as commonly recognized, are typically located
along railroads in small towns or rural areas near grain farmers, and
have facilities especially designed for receiving bulk grain by wagon or
truck from farms, elevating it to storage bins, and direct loading of
the grain in its natural state into railroad boxcars. The principal
function of such elevators is to provide a point of initial
concentration for grain grown in their local area and to handle, store
for limited periods, and load out such grain for movement in carload
lots by rail from the producing area to its ultimate destination. They
also perform a transport function in facilitating the even and orderly
movement of grain over the interstate network of railroads from the
producing areas to terminal elevators, markets, mills, processors,
consumers, and to seaboard ports for export. The country elevator is
typically the farmer's market for his grain or the point at which his
grain is delivered to carriers for transportation to market. The
elevator may purchase the grain from the farmer or store and handle it
for him, and it may also store and handle substantial quantities of
grain owned by or pledged to the Government under a price-support
program. Country elevators customarily receive, weigh, test, grade,
clean, mix, dry, fumigate, store, and load out grain in its natural
state, and provide certain incidental services and supplies to farmers
in the locality. The foregoing attributes of country elevators have been
recognized by the courts. See, for example, Mitchell v. Sampson Const.
Co. (D. Kan.) 14 WH Cases 269; Tobin v. Flour Mills, 185 F. 2d 596; Holt
v. Barnesville Elevator Co., 145 F. 2d 250; Remington v. Shaw (W.D.
Mich.), 2 WH Cases 262.
