(a) A supplier, at the request of the debtor, may notify a lender of an agricultural production input security interest by providing a security interest notification statement to the lender in an envelope marked “IMPORTANT-LEGAL NOTICE.” Delivery of the notice must be made by certified mail or another verifiable method.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 43-31-103

  • Agricultural production input: means crop production inputs. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Debtor: means a farmer who is or has requested financial assistance from a lender through a supplier. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
  • Equal Credit Opportunity Act: Prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because an applicant receives income from a public assistance program. Source: OCC
  • Lender: means a person in the business of lending money identified in a security interest notification statement. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
  • Letter of commitment: means a binding, irrevocable and unconditional agreement by a lender to honor drafts or other demands for payment upon the supplier presenting invoices signed by the purchaser or other proof of delivery. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
  • Person: means an individual or an organization and includes a corporation, firm or association. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
  • Proceeds: means proceeds as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Supplier: means a person who furnishes agricultural production inputs. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
  • Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. Source: OCC
(b) The security interest notification statement shall contain the following information:

(1) The name and business address of the lender that is to receive notification;
(2) The name and address of the supplier claiming the security interest;
(3) A description and the date or anticipated date or dates of the transaction and the retail cost or anticipated costs of the agricultural production input;
(4) The name, residential address, and signature of the person to whom the agricultural production input was or is to be furnished;
(5) The name and residential address of the owner and a description of the real estate where the crops to which the security interest attaches are growing or are to be grown; and
(6) A statement that the security interest notification statement shall not be considered as an application for credit as defined in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, compiled in 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691-1691f.
(c)

(1) Within fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of a security interest notification statement, together with an authorization pursuant to § 45-10-105 signed by the person to whom the agricultural production input was or is to be furnished, a lender shall respond in writing to the supplier and to the person to whom the agricultural production input was or is to be furnished as follows:

(A)

(i) Whether the lender has extended credit to the person to whom supplies were or are to be furnished to enable that person to produce crops during the then current or the next upcoming production season, and the amount of unexpended credit, if any, available to that person; and
(ii) Whether the lender has extended credit to the person, which credit is secured by or may be secured by a security interest in the crops of the then current or the next upcoming production season, by an after-acquired property clause or otherwise, and the date such credit was executed or given;
(B) If the lender has extended credit to the person and there is unexpended credit available, upon authorization signed by that person, the lender shall make any advances on the unexpended credit payable jointly to that person and to the supplier, up to the amount stated in the authorization or the amount of unexpended credit, whichever is less;
(C) If the lender has extended credit to the person but there are no funds unexpended, or if no credit has been extended to the person, whether the lender is interested in issuing a letter of commitment upon receipt of a loan application and compliance with any conditions for the issuance of a letter of commitment; and
(D) Whether the lender has pending a credit application from the person to enable that person to produce crops during the then current or the next upcoming production season, and the amount applied for.
(2) If a lender does not respond to a security interest notification statement within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt, a supplier may deliver to the lender a second security interest notification statement, which shall state that it is a second notice. Within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the second notice, the lender shall respond in writing as stated in subdivision (c)(1).
(d) Notwithstanding §§ 47-9-204 and 47-9-324, if a lender does not timely respond to a second security interest notification statement, a perfected agricultural production input security interest corresponding to the security interest notification statement has priority over any security interest of the lender in the same crops or their proceeds; provided, that the supplier perfects such security interest within ten (10) days of its attachment.
(e)

(1) Any response provided by a lender shall be adequate if it provides information that is within the knowledge of the lender as of the date of the response. No subsequent statement shall be required from the lender for information that arises after the date of the response.
(2) The priority of a security interest in crops or their proceeds, of a lender who responds to a security interest notification statement or who is not required to respond, shall be governed solely by the Uniform Commercial Code, compiled in title 47, chapter 9, and not by this chapter.
(f) A security interest notification statement provided pursuant to subsection (c) shall be accompanied by a fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00); provided, that no fee shall be required for a second notification if the lender fails to respond to the first notification within the fifteen-day period.
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