Farm Invoice Template: Produce and Livestock Sales

Quick answer: A farm invoice template is a bill for agricultural products such as produce, eggs, meat, hay or livestock. It lists the buyer, delivery date, each product with its unit (pounds, cases, bushels, head), quantity and price, any delivery charge, sales tax only on taxable items, the total and payment terms, plus a PACA trust statement for fresh produce sold wholesale.

Farm sales come in every shape: a weekly restaurant order, a pallet of squash to a grocer, a steer sold by hanging weight, 200 bales of hay picked up off the field. A good farm invoice handles all of them with the same clear structure. This guide covers what to include, units and pricing, tax exemptions for agriculture, federal rules for produce and livestock, and a worked wholesale example.

What is a farm invoice?

A farm invoice is a document a farm or ranch sends a buyer to record a sale and request payment. It is used for wholesale and account customers (restaurants, grocers, distributors, food hubs, schools, other farms) rather than walk-up retail, where a receipt is normal.

It often travels with other paperwork:

• A delivery note or packing slip signed at drop-off, confirming quantities.
• A bill of sale for livestock, equipment or other ownership transfers.
• A purchase order from larger buyers like grocers and institutions.
• An exemption or resale certificate from buyers who resell your products.

What to include on a farm invoice

Field	Example
Farm name and contact	Hollow Oak Farm, address, phone, email
Buyer and ship-to	Restaurant or store name, billing and delivery address
Invoice number and dates	HOF-2026-311, invoice date, delivery date, due date
Buyer PO number	If the buyer uses them
Product lines	Product, variety or grade, unit, quantity, unit price
Weights	Net weight, or live/hanging weight for livestock
Delivery and other charges	Delivery fee, crate or pallet deposit
Sales tax	Only on taxable items, with rate shown
Payment terms	Net 14, net 30, or as agreed
Required statements	PACA trust language on produce invoices if you want trust protection

Units and pricing: retail vs wholesale

Farms usually keep two price lists: retail for the farm stand and market, and wholesale for accounts buying in volume. Wholesale prices are lower per unit but come with predictable volume. A price list template makes it easy to send buyers current prices each week.

Product type	Common invoice units
Vegetables and fruit	Pound, case, flat, bushel, half-bushel, each
Eggs	Dozen, 15-dozen case, 30-dozen case
Hay and straw	Small square bale, round bale, ton
Livestock	Head, live weight (cwt), hanging weight (lb)
Meat (USDA-inspected cuts)	Pound, package, box
Grain	Bushel, ton, hundredweight

For whole and half animals sold for custom processing, many farms bill a deposit at booking, then a final invoice based on hanging weight once the processor reports it. Show the hanging weight, price per pound and the deposit applied.

Sales tax and agricultural exemptions

Sales tax touches farms in two directions, and they are easy to confuse.

When you sell

Most states exempt unprepared food for human consumption, or tax it at a reduced rate, and many exempt livestock and feed sales. Sales to restaurants and stores for resale are generally exempt when the buyer gives you a resale certificate. But items like cut flowers, nursery plants, firewood, crafts and prepared foods may be taxable. If you have a mix, tax each line separately. Our guides to sales tax on invoices and sales tax by state show how to present it.

When you buy

Many states exempt farm inputs such as seed, feed, fertilizer and some machinery when bought for agricultural production. You claim this by giving suppliers an agricultural exemption certificate or a state-issued number. That is covered in our article on the sales tax exemption certificate.

This is general information, not tax advice. Each state sets its own rules, so confirm with your state department of revenue.

Federal rules for produce and livestock invoices

PACA trust language for fresh produce

The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA), administered by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, gives unpaid sellers of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables a statutory trust over the buyer's produce-related assets. A common way to preserve trust rights is to print the statutory wording on the invoice, together with payment terms that stay within the time limits USDA allows (generally 30 days or less unless agreed in writing before the sale). The standard statement reads:

The perishable agricultural commodities listed on this invoice are sold subject to the statutory trust authorized by section 5(c) of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499e(c)). The seller of these commodities retains a trust claim over these commodities, all inventories of food or other products derived from these commodities, and any receivables or proceeds from the sale of these commodities until full payment is received.

Check the current requirements on the USDA AMS PACA page, and talk to a lawyer if you sell large volumes on credit.

Prompt payment for livestock

The Packers and Stockyards Act generally requires packers, market agencies and dealers buying livestock to pay by the close of the next business day after purchase and transfer of possession, unless the seller agrees otherwise in writing. Many states also require brand inspection or health papers for certain animal sales.

Example wholesale farm invoice

A weekly delivery to a restaurant, which is buying for resale (prepared meals), so produce is exempt with a resale certificate on file. Prices are illustrative.

Invoice HOF-2026-311 | Hollow Oak Farm, Viroqua, WI | Invoice date: October 27, 2026 | Delivered: October 27, 2026 | Due: November 10, 2026 (net 14)
Bill to: Driftless Table Restaurant | PO: DT-1042

Product	Unit	Qty	Unit price	Amount
Butternut squash, grade A	lb	60	$1.20	$72.00
Carrots, rainbow, bunched	bunch	24	$2.50	$60.00
Salad mix	lb	15	$8.00	$120.00
Kale, lacinato	case (24 bunches)	1	$42.00	$42.00
Eggs, pasture-raised, large	15-dozen case	2	$67.50	$135.00
Apples, Honeycrisp	half-bushel	3	$28.00	$84.00
Delivery fee	flat	1	$15.00	$15.00
Subtotal				$528.00
Sales tax (exempt: resale certificate on file)				$0.00
Total due				$528.00

Footer: the PACA trust statement above, payment methods (ACH or check), and the note "Returned crates credited at $2.00 each." Whether a delivery fee is taxable depends on your state; see sales tax on shipping.

How to invoice farm buyers step by step

1. Set up each account with billing details, delivery address, terms and any resale or exemption certificate.
2. Send weekly availability and prices. Confirm orders in writing.
3. Weigh and count at packing and record it on the delivery note.
4. Get a signature at delivery, noting shortages or rejected items.
5. Invoice the same day from the signed note using the free invoice generator, with numbers from the invoice number generator.
6. Track due dates. Restaurants can drift; send a statement monthly. Our guide to invoices vs statements explains the difference.

Selling to institutions, food hubs and schools

Larger buyers bring volume but also paperwork. Schools, hospitals, universities and food hubs typically ask for some combination of:

• Vendor registration, a W-9 and proof of liability insurance.
• Food safety documentation, such as a farm food safety plan or third-party audit, depending on the buyer and the crop. The FDA Produce Safety Rule applies to many produce farms above certain sales thresholds.
• Purchase orders for each delivery, with your invoice quoting the PO number exactly.
• Net 30 payment terms, sometimes longer, paid by ACH.
• Product specifications: grade, size, pack, and sometimes origin labeling such as farm name and state for farm to school programs.

Because institutional terms can run long, think about cash flow before you commit a large share of your harvest to one buyer, and check how their terms interact with PACA trust timing for fresh produce.

Livestock and freezer meat invoice example

Freezer beef and pork sold by the half or whole is usually billed in two steps. Here is an illustrative half-beef sale on hanging weight:

Line	Calculation	Amount
Deposit at booking	Flat	$300.00
Half beef, hanging weight	312 lb x $4.75	$1,482.00
Less deposit		-$300.00
Balance due to farm		$1,182.00

Processing, cutting and wrapping are often paid by the buyer directly to the processor, which keeps the farm's invoice limited to the animal itself. Say clearly on the invoice and in your order terms who pays the processor, and whether the price is on live weight, hanging weight or packaged weight, since each gives a very different number. Whether meat must be processed at a USDA-inspected or custom-exempt facility depends on how it is sold; check USDA FSIS and your state's rules.

Common farm invoicing mistakes

• Invoicing the ordered quantity instead of the delivered quantity.
• Charging sales tax on exempt food, or missing tax on flowers and plants.
• Letting terms stretch past 30 days on produce, which can weaken PACA trust protection.
• No unit on the line. "Squash, 60" could be pounds or each.
• Forgetting crate and pallet deposits.
• Using a receipt for an account customer who needs a numbered invoice for their books.

Payment terms and methods that suit farms

Farm cash flow is seasonal, so payment terms matter as much as prices. Common setups:

Buyer	Typical terms	Payment method
Restaurants	Net 7 to net 14, or cash on delivery for new accounts	Check, ACH, card
Grocers and co-ops	Net 14 to net 30	ACH, check
Distributors and food hubs	Net 21 to net 30	ACH
Schools and institutions	Net 30 or longer	ACH
CSA members	Upfront or installments before the season	Card, ACH, check
Livestock buyers	On pickup or by next business day for dealers	Check, wire, ACH

For new restaurant accounts, start with cash on delivery until they have a payment history, then move to net terms. Send a monthly statement to every account customer listing open invoices, and pause deliveries to accounts that go past your terms. It is much easier to stop a weekly delivery than to collect a season's worth of unpaid invoices in November.

Start invoicing your farm sales

A farm invoice template that shows units, weights, delivery details, the right tax treatment and PACA wording keeps wholesale buyers paying on time. If you sell at markets online too, the order form template helps collect preorders. Create your farm invoice with our free invoice generator: no sign-up, the PDF is made in your browser, and you can download it and send it to your buyer after each delivery.