North Dakota Roving Grain Buyer Bond

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Bond Penalty: $50,000 to $1,500,000 by license class and volume

As of July, 2019, licensing and regulation of roving grain buyers was transferred to the Department of Agriculture (Advisory). All grain elevators, facility-based grain buyers and roving grain buyers must be licensed and offer appropriate financial assurance against insolvency. A North Dakota roving grain buyer's bond is required from two classes of grain intermediary:

  • Facility-Based Grain Buyer - A grain buyer who operates a facility licensed under the United States Warehouse Act.
  • Roving Grain Buyer - A grain buyer who does not operate a facility where grain is received. A roving grain buyer purchases, solicits, merchandises, or takes possession of grain in North Dakota. (Also includes a "broker", i.e., a person that receives compensation for assisting in the sale of grain, yet never taking title or possession of the same.)

Per the Departments presentation on permitting of grain intermediaries, the grain buyer's bond must be continuous in form and must be filed before a license is granted. The surety bond protects holders of outstanding receipts and sellers of grain, and covers costs incurred by the Commissioner of Agriculture in the administration of an intermediary's insolvency. The Commissioner fixes the bond penalty by Rule but and may require an increase in the amount according to his discretion. Only one bond may be given for any line of elevators, mills, warehouses, etc., or for any series of facilities operated by a facility-based grain buyer. Likewise only one bond can be filed for a roving grain buyer. The current formulas for determining the initial grain buyer and roving grain buyer's bond are as follows:

  • Facility-based grain buyer bond - determined by volume of grain purchased by a licensee annually in North Dakota. The rate is currently $.50 per bushel for volume up to and including 100,000 bushels + $.20/bushel for each bushel exceeding 100,000 bushels up to and including 1,000,000 bushels + $.05/bushel for each bushel exceeding 1,000,000 bushels. The minimum bond threshold is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) and maximum two million dollars $2,000,000 unless otherwise ordered by the Commissioner.
  • Roving grain buyer surety bond - determined by the projected annual grain purchase volume of $.50 per bushel for first 500,000 bushels + $.20/bushel when volume exceeds 500,000. The minimum bond threshold is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) and maximum two million dollars $2,000,000 unless otherwise ordered by the Commissioner.

The Commission or Agriculture is reviewing surety bond requirements and has proposed thresholds based on the dollar value of grain purchases, three year rolling averages calculated at renewal and a grain buyer bond calculation based on fifteen percent (15%) rounded to the nearest $10,000. Visit the Commissioner's page for updates. The following links are will offer guidance on trade and compliance.

Grain Inspection Forms
Grain Inspection Laws
Grain Inspection Policy
USDA Grain Program
USDA PACA Bond

North Dakota surety bond leader, Surety One, Inc., offers knowledge and experience in bond underwriting within the agricultural space. We offer both surety and fidelity bonds needed by grain operators, warehousers and broker/intermediaries in every state where they are required. Questions about a North Dakota roving grain buyer's bond? Call us at (800) 373-2804, email us at Underwriting@SuretyOne.com or click here for live chat.

Surety bond application review and quoting are free of charge. There is no obligation to purchase.

What We Need From You

Additional Attachments

  • Business Financial Statement (If bond is over $50,000)