The grain indemnity fund assessment is set to cease this fall. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced that the Grain Indemnity Fund Board voted to cease the assessment on grain sold to Iowa-licensed grain dealers as well as the participation fees for Iowa licensed grain dealers and warehouse operators as part of the Iowa Grain Depositors and Sellers Indemnity Fund (Grain Indemnity Fund). This change will go into effect on September 1, 2025.

The assessment had been reinstated in 2023, after the Fund fell below the statutory threshold of $3 million due to grain facility failures in 2021 and 2022. Under existing law, the assessment must remain in effect for at least a full year and must also remain active until the Board votes to suspend the collection of fees or the Fund reaches a balance of $8 million. Following collections, the balance reached over $10 million in April. 

The fund was initially created by the state legislature during the Farm Crisis in 1986. The aim was to provide financial protection by covering farmers with grain on deposit in Iowa-licensed warehouses and grain sold on a cash basis to state-licensed grain dealers. In the case of a failure of a state-licensed grain warehouse or grain dealer, the Fund will pay farmers 90 percent of a loss on grain up to a maximum of $300,000 per claimant.