(a) Act means article 25 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York.

(b) Advisory Board means the advisory board established pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (9), section 294, (article 25) of the Agriculture and Markets Law, and sections of this order relating to the Apple Marketing Order Advisory Board (section 204.3 et. seq.)

(c) Apples means all apples that are produced in the defined production areas of New York State.

(d) Bushel means a unit of 36 to 44 pounds of apples sold for fresh market use in boxes, cartons, baskets or other containers. When applied to bulk apples for fresh sales, a bushel shall mean 40 pounds of apples.

(e) Commissioner means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets of the State of New York, or any officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture and Markets to whom authority may be delegated to act pursuant to section 17 of the Agriculture and Markets Law.

(f) Contributions means funds submitted by any person including processors, grower sales agents, storage operators or other handlers and shall be considered income subject to the same fiscal budget, audit, and disbursement controls as remitted grower assessments provided in 204.9 of this Part.

(g) Department means the Department of Agriculture and Markets of the State of New York.

(h) Eastern production area means that part of the State of New York east of the counties of St. Lawrence, Herkimer, Otsego, Chenango and Broome.

(i) Grower means any person who produces or causes to be produced apples as herein defined.

(j) Handler means any person engaged in the operation of packing, grading, selling, offering for sale or marketing apples who as owner, agent or otherwise ships or causes apples to be shipped.

(k) Marketing season means the period beginning July 1 of any year and extending through June 30 of the following year.

(l) Person means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, company, unincorporated association, agency or institution.

(m) Processing and process are synonymous terms and means the operations of receiving, grading packing, canning, freezing, dehydrating, preserving, grinding, crushing or in any other way preserving or changing the form of apples, as herein defined for marketing in any form other than for fresh consumption.

(n) Processor means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, company, or unincorporated association which is licensed to perform any of the functions of processing as herein defined.

(o) Program means New York State Apple Research and Development Program (Marketing Order).

(p) Research means any type of research to advance the image, desirability, marketability, production of quality of apples and the accumulation and dissemination of research data with respect thereto.

(q) Storage means any building, structure, or place where apples are stored in cold, refrigerated or controlled atmosphere storage.

(r) Storage operator means any person who or which operates a cold, refrigerated or controlled atmosphere storage in which apples are stored.

(s) Western production area means that part of the State of New York consisting of the counties of and west of and including St. Lawrence, Herkimer, Otsego, Chenango and Broome.