December 8, 2017
CapitalPress.com
15
Partners rely on banker to open new organic dairy
By DIANNA TROYER
For the Capital Press
RAFT RIVER, Idaho —
To finance a new multi-mil-
lion-dollar organic dairy,
three partners in southeastern
Idaho turned to their banker
to make it happen.
One of the partners, Ray
Robinson, a member of the
cooperative High Desert
Milk in Burley, sought out a
lender with extensive expe-
rience in the dairy industry,
Jon Maughan, who works for
Rabo AgriFinance.
“I’d worked with Jon
years ago when he was with
Northwest Farm Credit Ser-
vices,” says Robinson, who
milks 20,000 cows daily. “I
knew if we put up the col-
lateral he could put together
the right financial package
for us.”
Robinson was impressed
with Maughan’s communica-
tion skills.
“He kept us informed of
where we had to be financial-
ly as we moved along,” said
Robinson. “Whatever bank-
er you pick, there should be
honesty, so there are no sur-
prises for either the lender or
borrower.”
Maughan emphasized that
a banker has to understand an
industry and structure a com-
pany’s loans accordingly.
“With startups especially,
it’s imperative and challeng-
ing to design a proper loan
structure until the opera-
tion gets on its feet,” said
Maughan.
“It’s our first greenfield
project and the largest or-
ganic dairy we’ve been in-
volved with,” said Maughan.
“It’s been a pleasure to be
part of it.”
The new business, Nature
Ridge Organic Dairy in Raft
River, has 2,450 Holstein/
Jersey cows and 30 full-time
employees. About 111,000
pounds of milk is produced
daily for Glanbia Foods’
cheese production.
Maughan said the suc-
cess of the three partners’
previous businesses played
a role in financing the new
venture.
Besides Robinson, oth-
er partners are Reed Gib-
Nature Ridge Organic Dairy in the Raft River Valley relied on its banker to start the new business.
Photos by Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press
Kevin Schroeder, one of three partners who started the dairy, buys
organic grain and hay in southeastern Idaho.
RIGHT: A cow is milked in about six minutes while riding a rotating
carousel with 60 stalls.
by, who owns pig farms
including one that supplies
porcine heart valves to med-
ical companies, and Kevin
Schroeder, who specializes
in disposal and recycling of
agricultural waste products.
Schroeder said, “Reed
found some ground that had
been out of production for
decades, making it ideal to
develop as an organic dairy
for a niche market.”
Schroeder is optimistic
about the state-of-the-art
dairy’s future.
“We milked our first heif-
er in December 2016 and
are heading soon into our
second lactation,” he said
while watching heifers being
milked on a rotating carousel
with 60 stalls.
A cow is milked in about
six minutes as the carousel
slowly rotates.
“Some don’t want to get
off when they’re done be-
cause they like it so much.
It’s an efficient way to milk,”
said Schroeder.
Watching the carousel is
the most popular stop on field
trips.
“We’ve taken a lot of stu-
dents on a tour,” he says. “We
want them to understand how
their food is produced.”
‘A will and probate can accomplish
the same goals as a trust and cost less’
ESTATE from Page 14
Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press
John “Bert” Stevenson and his wife, Elaine, relied on Don
Chisholm in Burley for estate planning.
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EXPANSION, AND A WILLINGNESS TO
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estate tax exemption.
“Before the estate plan-
ning documents are draft-
ed, the clients, the clients’
attorney, and the clients’
accountant should meet to
discuss the value of the as-
sets, the federal estate and
gift implications, and the
general plan for distribution
of the estate on the deaths
of the first and second
spouse.”
Most importantly, a will
or trust should be under-
standable, he says.
“I’ve had frustrated peo-
ple come in with an un-
necessarily complex trust
several hundred pages long
that they can’t understand,”
he says. “Many times, a will
and probate can accomplish
the same goals as a trust and
cost less.”
Another important issue
is to pick “a personal repre-
sentative of the estate who
will faithfully and compe-
tently handle your financial
issues the way you intend-
ed.”
Chisholm also sees gaps
in estate planning when cli-
ents print off forms from
the internet and fill them
out.
“They often don’t realize
they may have overlooked
some issues,” he says.
Stevenson says federal
politicians have often advo-
cated abolishing the tax paid
by someone who inherits
money.
“It never seems to happen,
though,” he says. “The right
estate plan for your situation
can protect heirs from those
taxes.”