Check a contract between a farmer and a buyer, processor or contract-farming company before signing: price and how it is set, quality grades and who decides them, volume commitments, rejection and deductions, input credit, payment timing, exclusivity, and what happens after a bad harvest. Use when asked to check this buyer contract, should I sign this contract farming agreement, what does this clause mean for me, the buyer rejected my crop, or is this offtake deal fair. Produces a plain-language summary, a clause-by-clause risk table, questions to ask, changes to request, and a worked example
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SKILL.md
name: farm-buyer-contract-checkdescription: "Check a contract between a farmer and a buyer, processor or contract-farming company before signing: price and how it is set, quality grades and who decides them, volume commitments, rejection and deductions, input credit, payment timing, exclusivity, and what happens after a bad harvest. Use when asked to check this buyer contract, should I sign this contract farming agreement, what does this clause mean for me, the buyer rejected my crop, or is this offtake deal fair. Produces a plain-language summary, a clause-by-clause risk table, questions to ask, changes to request, and a worked example of what the farmer is paid in a good and a bad season. Not legal advice."version: 1.0.0
Farm Buyer Contract Check
Contracts between farmers and buyers are usually written by the buyer. The risk rarely sits in the headline price. It sits in who grades the crop, what is deducted, when payment arrives and what the farmer owes after a failed harvest. This skill reads the contract from the grower's side and shows what it means in money. It is not legal advice; for a contract of any size, a lawyer or a farmers' organisation should read it too.
What This Skill Produces
A plain-language summary of what each side has promised
A clause-by-clause table: what it says, what it means for the farmer, risk level
A worked example of the net payment in a good season and a poor one
Questions to ask the buyer and specific changes to request
A walk-away list: the terms that should stop the farmer signing as written
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
The contract text, or the key terms as the farmer understands them
Crop or product, area or volume, season covered
The farmer's expected yield, cost of production and the current open-market price
Any inputs, credit or services the buyer provides, and their price
Who else buys this crop locally
The country, so that mandatory protections can be flagged for checking
Framework: Ten Places the Risk Hides
Price. Fixed, formula or "market price on the day". Who publishes the reference price, and on which date?
Quality and grading. Written grade standards, who grades, where, and whether the farmer can be present or appeal.
Rejection. What happens to rejected produce, who pays transport back, and whether the farmer may sell it elsewhere.
Volume. Must the farmer deliver a minimum? Must the buyer take everything? A one-sided obligation is a warning sign.
Deductions. Inputs, interest, transport, levies, moisture, weight loss. Ask for every deduction to be listed with a rate.
Payment timing. Days after delivery, method, and the remedy for late payment.
Input credit. Price of supplied inputs against the market price, interest, and what is owed if the crop fails.
Exclusivity and side-selling. Penalties for selling elsewhere, and whether they apply to surplus.
Bad season. Drought, flood, disease: is the farmer excused, or still in debt?
Disputes and exit. Who decides, where, at whose cost, and how either side can end the contract.
Output Format
Contract check: [crop], [buyer], [season]
In one paragraph: [what the farmer must do, what the buyer must do, where the main risk lies]
Clause
What it says
What it means for you
Risk
Price
Low / Medium / High
What you would be paid
Good season
Poor season
Delivered volume
Gross at contract price
Deductions (listed)
Net paid
Against selling on the open market
Ask the buyer: [numbered questions]
Ask for these changes: [numbered, with suggested wording]
Do not sign as written if: [walk-away terms]
Assumptions and gaps
[Terms assumed because the clause was missing or unclear]
[The figure that would most change the worked example]
This is a reading aid, not legal advice. Have a lawyer or your farmers' organisation review it before signing.
Quality Checks
All ten risk areas are addressed, or marked "not in the contract"
The worked example uses the farmer's own yield and cost figures
Silent clauses are flagged as risks, not ignored
Each requested change has wording the farmer can propose
No statement about national law is made without telling the farmer to verify it
Anti-Patterns
Do not judge the contract on the headline price alone.
Do not assume missing terms favour the farmer.
Do not state what the law requires in a given country without marking it for verification.
Do not advise side-selling in breach of a signed contract.
Do not soften a walk-away finding.
Example Trigger Phrases
"A company wants me to grow chillies on contract. Is this agreement fair?"
"What does 'price determined at factory gate after grading' mean for me?"
"They supply seed on credit. What do I owe if the crop fails?"
"The buyer rejected a third of my delivery. What does the contract let me do?"