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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2017)
Join us throughout the month of October as we focus on breast cancer awareness, education and prevention FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017 VOLUME 90, NUMBER 40 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 Financial collapse ABOVE: Payette, Idaho, farmer Bruce Cruickshank stands in front of bins owned by Farmers Grain, a Nyssa, Ore., grain brokerage that recently declared bankruptcy, in this Sept. 21 photo. Cruickshank and dozens of other farmers and ag-related businesses in southwestern Idaho and Eastern Oregon are owed a combined millions of dollars by the company. Producers owed millions after Farmers Grain fi les Chapter 7 bankruptcy By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press N YSSA, Ore. — The collapse of the Farmers Grain brokerage was as sudden as it was shock- ing to many farmers in Eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho who sold their corn and wheat to the company. The business, which bought, processed and sold grain, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 18 and had sought to reorganize and re- main in business. But in August it was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning its assets will be sold in an attempt to pay back creditors, which in- clude dozens of farms in the area. According to court documents, Farmers Grain, which opened in January 2013 and is headquartered in Nyssa, Ore., has $14 million in assets but as much as $23.8 million in lia- bilities. That means some farmers and other ag-re- lated businesses won’t be paid the full amount they are owed by Farmers Grain, which had gross revenues of $31.2 million in 2016 and $30.6 million in 2015. The company’s fi nancial struggles came as startling news to many of its creditors, includ- ing Payette, Idaho, farmer Bruce Cruick- shank, who found out about them only after Photos by Sean Ellis/Capital Press Corn is harvested for grain Sept. 28 in a fi eld near Nyssa, Ore. The fi nancial collapse of Farmers Grain, a Nyssa grain brokerage, means that much of the tens of thousands of acres of corn the company contracted with growers in the region for this year doesn’t have a home. Turn to COLLAPSE, Page 12 Upcoming canola study frames negotiations on crop’s future Oregon State University study examines impacts of crop in Willamette Valley By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press A highly anticipated study on the im- pacts of canola production in Oregon’s Willamette Valley will soon be released after three years of research. The report from Oregon State Uni- versity is expected to frame negotia- tions over canola’s future in the valley, where most cultivation of the crop is banned until 2019. Controversy over canola in the re- gion erupted in 2013, when the Oregon Department of Agriculture broke with longstanding precedent and decided to allow 2,500 acres of the crop to be grown along the valley’s edges. Specialty seed producers opposed the rule change, fearing that canola will INSIDE W INTER S ERVICE & S UPPLIES disrupt production of related brassica crops grown for seed. Farmers who want to grow canola, on the other hand, see it as a valuable rotation crop that can be sold on the commodity market — offering fl exibil- ity compared to most seed crops, which are grown under contract. Turn to CANOLA, Page 12 Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Canola is harvested in Oregon’s Willa- mette Valley in this Capital Press fi le photo. An upcoming report on canola production in the region is expected to frame negotiations over the crop’s future and ability to coexist with related brassica species. Uneven impacts seen in Oregon spotted frog settlement October 6, 2017 Habitat improvement in some areas causes degradation in others By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Winter Service & Supplies special section A legal settlement intended to up- grade conditions for the Oregon spot- ted frog is having uneven impacts on the threatened species’ habitat, ac- cording to federal biologists. The agreement was struck last year to resolve a lawsuit between environmental groups, irrigation districts and the federal government over the operation of several dams in the region. While conditions for the spotted frog improved in portions of the ba- sin during certain seasons, they were degraded in other locations and times under the deal, according to a recent “biological opinion” from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We call this the push-down, pop- up system,” said Bridget Moran, fi eld supervisor of the agency’s offi ce in Bend, Ore. Turn to FROG, Page 12 Our Rebin Program can turn your old trailer into a new trailer! We will remove all working mechanical parts, and replace the bin with a new Stainless Steel STC Bin on your existing running gear. All parts deemed reusable are reinstalled on the new bin. All of this at the fraction of the cost of a new trailer! WWW.STCTRAILERS.COM 494 W. Hwy 39 Blackfoot, ID 83321 208-785-1364 40-3/108 EVER WONDERED WHAT TO DO WITH THAT OLD, WORN OUT COMMODITY TRAILER?