The Federal Food Security Act provides buyers of farm products, commission merchants, and selling agents the opportunity to register with the Secretary of State's Office for a listing of security interests in specific farm products. A “farm product” is an agricultural commodity such as wheat, corn, soybeans, or a species of livestock such as cattle, hogs, sheep, horses, or poultry used or produced in farming operations, or a product of such crop or livestock in its unmanufactured state (such as ginned cotton, wool-clip, maple syrup, milk, and eggs), that is in the possession of a person engaged in farming operations. Failure of a buyer to register with the Secretary of State’s Office makes the buyer liable for payment of the security interest. Buyers are only registered for those portions on the master list for which they register. A registered buyer will receive clear title protection when purchasing farm products for the products in which they registered.
To register with the Secretary of State's office for the Farm Bill Master List, complete the online registration form available through the SOS Enterprise Subscription Service or by completing the Farm Bill Online Subscription Service to receive the Master List online. Montana does not charge a buyer a fee to register to receive the Master List. Once registered, the buyer will receive daily updates to the online Farm Bill Master List.
The fees for the Master List are as follows:
Online: $20.00 per month
Registered buyers must refer to the Farm Bill Master List prior to purchasing farm products to determine if a security interests exists. If a security interest exists against the specific farm product being sold, the buyer is responsible for issuing a check in the seller's name and lender who holds the security interest.
Lenders must use the Effective Financing Statement form that complies with the requirements under the Federal Food Security Act when filing “farm product” related lien notices with the Secretary of State’s Office if they want their lien to appear on the Farm Bill Master List.