Understanding the Basics of Producer Protections for Buyer Default

On Friday, April 26, 2024, from 12 noon–1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), presented the next webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law educational series:

“Understanding the Basics of Producer Protections for Buyer Default.”

In the sale of agricultural commodities, a buyer’s failure to pay can significantly affect the producer’s ability to pay their own debts and fund future production. However, multiple statutory devices exist to ensure that producers receive payment for their commodities. This webinar provides an overview of various legal mechanisms through which a producer may be paid when a buyer defaults—including grain dealers’ indemnification statutes, the statutory trust provisions of the Packers and Stockyards Act and the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, and milk dealer bonds—and discuss issues that arise from the processes.

00:01 - Introduction with Jackie Schweichler
02:46 - Understanding the Basics of Producer Protections for Buyer Default with Audry Thompson
03:00 - Default legal remedies for nonpayment
05:00 - State & Federal Statutory Remedies for Commodity Buyer Default
06:04 - Bonding & Indemnity Funds
07:57 - Grain Dealers
15:34 - Milk Dealers
22:43 - Trust Statutes (Federal)
23:08 - Packers & Stockyards Act
41:18 - Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA)
49:15 - Review
49:49 - Pending Litigation on New Livestock Dealer Trust