The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Grain Indemnity Fund Board today announced that three claims that appear to be eligible for payment have been received due to the bankruptcy of ethanol producer VeraSun Energy last fall.  The claims are awaiting final approval and are expected to be paid shortly.  The three claims are from farmers who received payment more than 20 days before VeraSun declared bankruptcy on October 31, 2008. VeraSun is prevented by the bankruptcy court from reissuing checks and paying for grain delivered more than 20 days before the declaration of bankruptcy.  Due to bankruptcy court decision preventing payment of these claims, VeraSun’s grain dealer’s license will not be affected.  The company has continued to pay for the grain it has purchased since it declared bankruptcy. The total of the approved claims to be paid from Iowa’s Grain Depositors and Sellers Indemnity Fund is $25,325.85. In addition, the Indemnity Fund Board has also denied three claims due to the grain transaction being more than 6 months prior to the bankruptcy filing and as a result are not eligible to be paid under the law creating the indemnity fund.  The affected producers have filed an appeal with the Indemnity Fund Board seeking to overturn their decision. The Board has also denied a claim for grain that had been on credit-sale contract, which are not covered by the fund. The Grain Indemnity Fund was created by assessing one quarter of a cent per bushel of grain handled by warehouse operators and grain dealers.  In addition, annual indemnity participation fees were collected from grain dealers license holders.  These fees were ended on July 1, 1988, when the fund reached the $6,000,000 maximum balance allowed by law. The annual indemnity participation fees are still assessed once to each new license holder when they apply for a license. The indemnity fund balance as of December 31, 2008 is $8,155,946 due to interest accruals and new licensee assessments. Since its inception in 1986, the Grain Warehouse Bureau has handled 27 grain receiverships and the indemnity fund has paid out $13,308,158 in claims; made $8,626,176 in recoveries, including repayments from bureau receiverships; and incurred a net loss on claims of $4,681,982. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey issued the following statement regarding today’s announcement: “The Grain Indemnity Fund is a self insurance fund for farmers.  It is important that this fund be available to pay when grain dealers fail to pay for grain.  These claims occurred due some unique circumstances related to VeraSun bankruptcy court rulings.  VeraSun will continue to retain its grain dealers license as long as it continues to pay for its grain purchases and complies with the Grain Warehouse Bureau’s rules, as it has for the last three months.”