State agriculture officials liquidating a renewable fuel company's assets to satisfy seed farmers owed $1.2 million say they'll come close to raising the full amount.

Safflower oil, meal, and seed at the shuttered Montola oilseed crushing plant in Culbertson has all been sold, said Brent Sarchet, commodity services business examiner for the state Agriculture Department.

"We're still moving quite a bit of inventory, but everything is pretty much under contract now," Sarchet said. "The department's plan is to cut a check this week to growers. I think we'll come darn close to getting them what they're owed."

Earlier, Agriculture Director Ron de Yong, said the state could probably recover 80 cents of every dollar owed to farmers in North Dakota and Montana who grew safflower seed on contract for Missoula-based Sustainable Systems, a renewable fuels company that turned the seed into high-quality culinary oil.

Though the farmers delivered the seed last fall, Sustainable Systems failed to pay them. The company's involvement in the plant has ceased, Sarchet said. Sustainable's parent company, New York-based GreenShift, is paying three workers at the shuttered plant to help the state load the liquidated assets.

GreenShift's latest filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicate the company plans to divest most or all of its interest in Montola by the end of June. A new owner has not been named.

Sustainable Systems had contracted for oilseed in 2008 at rates far greater than current values, according to GreenShift's annual report. The company negotiated with two banks but failed to receive enough financing to pay for seed and remain operational. Neither bank was able to finalize financing because of the strain in the commodity and financial markets, according to the report.

Sustainable Systems purchased the Montola plant in 2005 intending to work it into its biofuels plans. The seed crushing plant has been an economic pillar of Culbertson since 1956. Its high quality safflower oil was used in everything from gourmet Kettle Chips to cosmetics. The plant employed roughly 28 people.

In addition to farmers benefiting from Montola's materials liquidation, another three dozen farmers grew crops on contract, but didn't get paid because they didn't deliver their crop. Those farmers held back after it became clear Sustainable Systems wasn't honoring its contracts.

The sale of oil, seed and meal at Montola leaves any would-be buyer with no working inventory. Sustainable Systems CEO Paul T. Miller surrendered the company's commodities license earlier this year, so it was unable to contract for seed in 2009.

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