§ 55601 Processor Payment Deadlines

• •Farmers must be paid for their products when they deliver them, as agreed in their contract.
• •If the contract doesn’t say when to pay, the processor has 30 days to pay after getting the product.
• •The payment must follow the way it’s written in the contract.

A farmer delivers a truckload of tomatoes to a factory that makes tomato sauce.

If the contract says the factory will pay the farmer right when the tomatoes are delivered, then the factory must pay immediately. If the contract doesn’t say when, the factory has 30 days to pay the farmer after getting the tomatoes.