Bushel, a leader in digital payments and workflow solutions for agriculture, has introduced the Bushel Lien Protection Program, a new way for grain buyers to issue settlement payments and eliminate paper checks.
The program fits into Fargo, North Dakota-based Bushel’s broader effort to simplify money movement across agriculture, including settlement payments, lines of credit and other financial workflows connecting farmers, grain buyers, ag retailers and lenders.
Paper checks still play a significant role in grain settlements. According to Bushel’s State of the Farm research, 80% of grain settlement checks are still distributed by paper check, with lien requirements being one of the key reasons digital payments can stall. When a farmer has a lien attached to grain proceeds, grain buyers often fall back on two-party checks, mailed documents, manual lien searches, stop payments, Positive Pay processes or time-consuming coordination between farmers and lienholders.
“Giving producers a more efficient payment experience matters to us,” said Seth Stephens, general manager at United Ag in Texas. “Bushel’s Lien Protection Program helps us keep payments moving while Bushel handles the lien review and payment distribution process. It saves time for our team, reduces fraud risk, lowers the risk of missing a lien on a grain purchase and gives producers a smoother way to get paid.”
Farmers feel it, too. Rural mail delays can hold up check delivery. Farmers also spend time driving for signatures or waiting on paper processes instead of using the electronic payment options they already prefer. Bushel’s State of the Farm Report also shows farmers are ready for a better lien payment process: 72.2% of farmers dissatisfied with the current manual process say they would likely use a digital alternative to collect signatures and release funds.
Bushel’s Lien Protection Program gives grain buyers an easier way to issue settlement payments. Agribusinesses can pay an escrow account from their accounting system using existing ACH workflows. Once funds arrive, Bushel conducts the lien review, coordinates with lienholders when needed, documents agreements electronically and distributes funds to the appropriate parties. The Lien Protection Program includes indemnification for the agribusiness against a missed lien, reducing business risk and exposure while improving settlement-payment efficiency.
“Liens have been one of the hardest parts of moving grain payments into a paperless workflow,” said Nathan Joraanstad, fintech product manager at Bushel. “Grain buyers want to protect their business, and farmers want a better way to get paid. Bushel’s Lien Protection Program helps both sides by reducing paper, cutting manual work and increasing the speed of payment.”
Bushel research shows paying by two-party check costs approximately $20 per payment. Bushel’s Lien Protection Program is expected to cost less than half that amount, on average, while helping reduce risk from delayed checks, check washing exposure, stolen checks and other check fraud.
A step toward the checkless elevator
By participating in Bushel’s Lien Protection Program, grain buyers can move closer to a checkless payment workflow. The program helps agribusinesses:
- Reduce paper check volume.
- Eliminate manual lien searches for enrolled farmers.
- Lower the cost of lien-encumbered payments.
- Reduce mail theft and forgery exposure.
- Avoid unnecessary stop payments and check reissues.
- Support ACH payments for lien-encumbered grain.
- Protect the business with lien search indemnification.
- Give farmers a more consistent digital payment experience.
The Bushel Network currently connects more than 3,500 grain and ag retail facilities and powers more than 50% of grain origination in the United States.
Bushel’s approach brings more of agriculture’s financial workflows into one connected experience. From settlement payments and lien-encumbered transactions to lines of credit and account-based money movement, Bushel helps agribusinesses and farmers move money with less friction, fewer paper processes and greater visibility.
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