Hay panel encourages growers to be cautious
Updated: Saturday, March 27, 2010 9:18 AM
Growers were told they should take precautions to protect themselves by a panel of experts at the Idaho Hay and Forage Association conference in Burley last week.
Jay Kiiha, attorney with Boise-based Capitol Law Group, recommended that growers should first check the Secretary of State's Web site to search for liens against someone they might do business with.
As soon as they make a deal and have a contract, they should file a security interest with the Secretary of State's office. Forms can be found online. That filing will help protect a grower's ability to collect on a debt.
As stated on the Secretary of State's Web site: A secured party is a person or organization that is owed money and has an agreement with the debtor that they can claim personal property if the money is not paid -- they have a security interest in the personal property.
Growers also need to mark their hay in case they need to retrieve it, Kiiha said.
They should also retain the actual weight slips for proof of how much was delivered. If they don't have those weight slips, a buyer might only produce a portion of them, he said.
"Weight is a very important thing a lot of people aren't paying attention to," said Mike Larson, of Buhl. "Where is it being weighed? In order for it to be binding, it has to be at certified scales."
In addition, growers were advised to have a pre-season meeting with the brokers and buyers to discuss business arrangements and how payment will me made.
Pre-payment is down substantially this year, Larson said, so he sat down with some of his buyers and worked out a monthly payment schedule.
Glenn Meyer, of Filer, advised growers planting silage corn and to consider their options in managing that feed. Growers are limited as to how they can move it and where they sell it and wet feed costs more to ship than dry hay.
Because wet feed and silage that isn't bagged are commingled on a dairy, growers would also have problems identifying their feed if they wanted to repossess it for nonpayment.
"Hold onto possession until you have your money, no matter how you do it," he said.