Assessments shall be payable by the cotton grower in one (1) installment, as provided below:

1. (1)

   1. (A) The payment shall be paid by the payment date established by the appropriate invoice.
   2. (B) The payment shall be an amount equal to the cotton grower’s cotton acreage multiplied by the per-acre assessment fee or such amount as is established by the appropriate invoice.

   3. (C) All cotton growers shall:

      1. (i) Make such payments payable to “Arkansas State Plant Board”; and (ii)(a) Deliver the payment to the State Plant Board, or its designated agent, no later than the payment date established by the invoice of each year in which such assessments are payable.

         1. (b) (b) Cotton growers who fail to make the payment by the payment date established by the invoice shall be subject to a penalty of up to three dollars ($3.00) per acre for unpaid acreage, based on planted cotton acreage;

2. (2)

   1. (A) An assessment will be paid by one (1) person.

   2. (B)

      1. (i) That person, the producer (the person responsible for planning, managing, and/or performing the cultural practices associated with producing the crop), or their respective attorney-in-fact, shall execute the applicable reports prescribed by these rules.
      2. (ii) All billing information must be provided, by producers, to county United State Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency offices as the producer’s certified planted acreage report.
      3. (iii) The producer is responsible for ensuring that information delivered to the board is correct.
      4. (iv) The producer is held ultimately responsible for payment of the assessment and will be subject to appropriate penalties and late fees if assessments are not received.
      5. (v) Grower’s Compliance Certificates, described below, shall not be issued until the entire assessment, and any applicable penalty, is paid as required; and
3. (3) In the event a cotton grower fails to pay assessments and/or penalties as required under these rules, pursuant to Arkansas Code § 2-16-617(c) and (d)(2), the board may file a lien with the appropriate county office and the Secretary of State on the cotton, subject to such assessments and penalties, and on the cotton grower’s subsequent cotton crops until all such amounts are paid in full.