Grain Indemnity Fund assessment to cease Sept. 1

DES MOINES — The Grain Indemnity Fund Board voted Thursday to cease the assessment on grain sold to Iowa-licensed grain dealers and the participation fees for Iowa licensed grain dealers and warehouse operators as part of the Iowa Grain Depositors and Sellers Indemnity Fund (Grain Indemnity Fund) effective Sept. 1.

The assessment was reinstated Sept. 1, 2023, after the Fund fell below the statutory threshold of $3 million due to grain facility failures in 2021 and 2022.

Under existing law, the assessment must remain in effect for at least a full year and must also remain active until the Board votes to suspend the collection of fees or the Fund reaches a balance of $8 million.

That second-year of collections started Sept. 1, 2024, and will continue through Aug. 31, 2025.

The balance of the Grain Indemnity Fund, as of April 16, is $10,173,347.80. This total exceeds the $8 million dollar threshold and does not include the final two quarters of collections, which will cover cash sales of grain made in March, April and May and June, July and August.

Created by the Iowa Legislature in 1986 during the Farm Crisis to provide financial protection to farmers, the Grain Indemnity Fund covers farmers with grain on deposit in Iowa-licensed warehouses and grain sold on a cash basis to state-licensed grain dealers.

In the case of a failure of a state-licensed grain warehouse or grain dealer, the Fund will pay farmers 90% of a loss on grain up to a maximum of $300,000 per claimant.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Grain Warehouse Bureau regulates and examines the financial solvency of grain dealers and grain warehouse operators to protect Iowa farmers.

The Grain Warehouse Bureau is responsible for administering the Iowa Grain Depositors and Sellers Indemnity Fund. Members of the Iowa Grain Depositors and Sellers Indemnity Fund are appointed by the Governor and are subject to confirmation by the Iowa Senate.

More information can be found at iowaagriculture.gov/grain-warehouse-bureau/assessment.