The Trust Notice Method of Preserving Trust Rights

If a seller or grower is not licensed, the non-licensed seller and grower can still preserve its trust rights, but it cannot use the invoice method of trust protection. Instead, sellers and growers, who are not licensed, must send a separate trust notice with the necessary information to the buyer or agent within 30 days of when payment is due. See copy of the form of a Notice of Intent to Preserve Trust Benefits.

Trust notices must be sent on time; and there must be proof of delivery to the buyer or agent.

The sending deadlines are tied to the time when payment is due. On a sale, payment is due ten (10) days after receipt of the produce. However, if there is a prior written agreement extending the time for payment, a seller has 40 days to give the notice (10-day payment term + 30 more days to give the trust notice).

If there is a prior written payment agreement extending the payment term, for example, to 21 days, the notice must be given within 51 days of delivery.

The maximum time for payment is 30 days from receipt of the produce. This increases the time for giving the trust notice up to 60 days. However, if payment terms are beyond 30 days from receipt of the produce, all trust protection is lost.

Assuring proof that the buyer or agent received the trust notice means sending the trust notice by methods that verify receipt, such as email, FAX, overnight mail, or registered mail.