9-316.Lien upon crops.

Beyond the seizure remedy in Section 9-301, Section 9-316 gives every landlord a distinct property right: a lien upon the crops grown or growing on the demised premises. That lien secures the rent itself, whether payable in money, in specific articles or products of the premises, or in labor, and it also secures the tenant's faithful performance of the lease terms more broadly. The lien lasts for six months after the lease term expires -- the same six-month duration Section 9-313 sets for the right to distrain, though Section 9-313's period can also begin at an earlier termination of the tenancy -- and it can be enforced through distraint under this Part.

That lien does not always bind a purchaser of the crops. A good-faith purchaser takes the crops free of the landlord's lien, unless the landlord sent the purchaser written notice of the lien by registered or certified mail within the six months before the purchase. That notice must include the names and addresses of both landlord and tenant and must clearly identify the leased property, so the purchaser can connect the crops to a specific lease and a specific lien.

The section also gives the landlord a tool to control who the tenant sells to in the first place: the landlord may require the tenant to disclose, before selling any crops grown on the premises, the identity of the intended buyer. Once the landlord has imposed that requirement, the tenant may not sell to anyone who was not disclosed to the landlord as a potential buyer. Section 9-316.1 attaches criminal penalties to a tenant's violation of that disclosure duty.

Finally, the statute settles a priority question that matters when other creditors also claim an interest in the same crops: a lien arising under this section outranks any agricultural lien and any security interest arising under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. That priority makes the landlord's crop lien a strong claim relative to other financing arrangements a tenant-farmer might have in place.