135 



13) The applicability of NGFA Trade Rules to the contract, except as otherwise 

 expressly stated in the contract. This clause has the advantage of placing the 

 contract with the producer on a more "commercial" basis and may be 

 extremely helpful if a dispute arises. Importantly, if your contract includes 

 a clause incorporating the NGFA's Trade Rules, it is advisable to make copies 

 of the Trade Rules and Arbitration Rules available when the contract is 

 signed. Copies of a booklet containing the NGFA Trade Rules and Arbitra- 

 tion Rules are available at a nominal cost from the NGFA. 



Be advised that the NGFA's Trade Rules do not directly address truck 

 deliveries of grain except in Grain Trade Rule 12(b). There may be situations 

 where the buyer will want to include special provisions for truck deliveries in 

 the grain purchase contract 



14) The applicability of the NGFA's Arbitration System as the sole means for 

 resolving disputes that may arise under the contract. NGFA members have 

 the right to arbitrate cases with producers and other nonmembers if the 

 nonmember agrees to do so. Signing a contract that includes an arbitration 

 clause represents acceptance by the producer to use arbitration as the sole 

 remedy to resolve disputes that may arise under that contract If the producer 

 subsequently "balks" at arbitrating a dispute, a court may be more inclined to 

 refer the dispute to arbitration since the signed contract includes such a 

 clause. Most states have an arbitration statute that provides for judicial 

 enforcement of arbitration clauses that are incorporated into contracts. 



(Special Alert to Nonmembers of NGFA: Nonmembers of the NGFA should 

 beware of using such a reference to arbitration in their contracts because it 

 would provide little, if any, protection in dispute settlements. Under the 

 NGFA's Bylaws, nonmembers cannot bring arbitration cases to the NGFA 

 unless the other party to the dispute is an NGFA member. And in such cases, 

 NGFA has no power to compel the member to arbitrate such disputes with a 

 nonmember.) 



If a dispute arises and is arbitrated through the NGFA, the decision is final and 

 binding upon both parties; the decision generally cannot be appealed to a 

 court of law. If either party refuses to abide by the decision, the other party 

 simply can file for a "summary judgment" proceeding in court. In this 

 proceeding, the court enforces the arbitration decision against the noncom- 

 plying party by issuing an order directing it to abide by the arbitration 

 decision. 



15) A reference as to which state's laws apply to the contract for matters not 

 addressed by the NGFA's Trade Rules or Arbitration Rules. This is especially 

 important when the grain company purchases grain from producers in more 

 than one state. 



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