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 such as cattle, horses, hogs, wheat, barley, hay, etc.  Failure of the buyer to register with our office makes the buyer liable for payment of the security interest.  Buyers who register will be deemed to be registered only as to those portions on the master list for which they registered.  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 the buyer must complete the Farm Bill Registration form.  Montana does not charge a fee for a buyer to register.  Once registered, the buyer will receive the monthly Farm Bill Master List.  The fees for the Farm Bill Master List are as follows:

The Farm Bill Master List runs on the 15^th of every month unless the 15^th is on a weekend or holiday and then the list is run the previous business day.  The Farm Bill Master List is distributed to registered buyers no later than the 20^th of each month. 

Registered buyers must refer to the Farm Bill Master List before purchasing farm products to determine if a security interests exists.  If a security interests exists against the specific farm product being sold then the buyer is responsible for writing the check in the seller's name and the 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.