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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2018)
8 CapitalPress.com September 21, 2018 Subscribe to our weekly dairy or livestock email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Dairy Judge: Trustee will take over management of troubled dairies By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press A bankruptcy judge in California will appoint a trustee to operate Lost Valley Farm, Oregon’s second-larg- est dairy, after finding owner Greg te Velde is “unwilling, or unable to comply with his duties as a fiduciary.” The ruling, handed down Sept. 12, states te Velde has continued his long-standing pattern of drug use and gam- bling while owing creditors $160 million — including $68 million to Rabobank, a E.J. Harris/EO Media Group File Netherlands-based agricultur- al lender. The Lost Valley Dairy outside Boardman, Ore., is one of three In addition to Lost Valley dairies owned by Greg te Velde that will be managed by a trustee. Farm near Boardman, Ore., te Velde will lose control of away $2,000 to $7,000 per ample, after declaring bank- his two dairies in California month, according to court ruptcy, te Velde borrowed $205,000 from Pasco Farms — GJ te Velde Ranch in Tip- documents. ton, and Pacific Rim Dairy in Te Velde has blamed his without court approval. Be- Corcoran — with a combined financial problems not on his tween May 8 and June 2, te total of 53,382 cattle. lifestyle, but rather on mar- Velde was authorized to per- When reached Friday, te ket forces outside his control, sonally withdraw $10,000, Velde said he had no com- such as low milk prices and but instead took $38,420, ment on the ruling. construction cost overruns explaining he was “unac- The U.S. Department of at Lost Valley. But creditors customed to personal bank Justice asked Judge Frederick in court papers say they be- accounts, took the cash he Clement to appoint a trust- lieve that “darker forces have needed, and authorized his ee for all three of te Velde’s caused his insolvency, or if bookkeeper to pay his per- dairies, citing his alleged drug not the cause, preclude te Vel- sonal bills from the dairy ac- use, gambling and lack of fi- de from effectively resolving counts.” nancial transparency. Since his debt problems.” Lost Valley Farm opened filing for bankruptcy, te Velde Te Velde also does not in April 2017 after receiving has continued to use metham- abide by the orders of the a wastewater management phetamine two or three times bankruptcy court, Clement permit from the Oregon De- per week, and has gambled stated in his ruling. For ex- partment of Environmental Students who have won the state level Career and Leadership Development Events will go on to compete at the national level this fall. Quality and Department of Agriculture, which jointly manage the state’s confined animal feeding operation, or CAFO, program. Almost immediately, the dairy began racking up per- mit violations, including 32 infractions related to waste storage between June 28, 2017 and May 9, 2018. The state attempted to revoke the permit in June, though a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge ruled in August that Lost Valley Farm could stay in operation while te Vel- de and regulators worked out an agreement to get the dairy back in compliance. Lost Valley is within the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area, established by DEQ in 1990 for elevated levels of groundwater nitrates. A spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Agriculture said regulators continue to inspect the facility routinely, and have conducted 11 in- spections since June 1. Meanwhile, te Velde also filed for Chapter 11 bank- ruptcy protection in April af- ter Rabobank sought to sell the Lost Valley herd to repay debts. Lost Valley has 10,500 dry and milking cows, along with 4,000 replacement heif- ers. The dairy is permitted for up to 30,000 animals. Gretchen Hansten, Jerome FFA, will be representing Idaho FFA as its national officer candidate. Good luck, Gretchen! Idaho FFA Competing at CME cheese price direction in question By LEE MIELKE For the Capital Press M id-September cheese prices were down again. CME Cheddar blocks closed Fri- day at $1.6050 per pound, down 5 3/4-cents on the week and a half-cent below a year ago. The barrels fin- ished at $1.42, down 8 cents on the week and 3 cents be- low a year ago. Monday’s cheese was un- changed, as traders anticipat- ed Tuesday morning’s GDT and Wednesday’s August Milk Production report. The blocks were up a penny Tues- day, to $1.6150, but the bar- rels rolled 1 1/4-cents lower, to $1.4075, lowest since July 30, 2018, and a whopping 20 3/4-cents below the blocks. FC Stone said in its Sept. 12 Early Morning Update that “favorable milk produc- tion weather in the West and forecasts for that to contin- ue may be creeping into the market’s mind as we wait for additional fundamental data.” Friday’s edition added: “U.S. milk production in July was only up 0.4 percent, which initially looked friend- ly to prices, but behind the scenes fat and protein com- ponents in the milk have been growing significantly over the past few years. Higher com- ponents mean we have higher Dairy Markets Lee Mielke cheese yields, which com- bined with more processing capacity has kept the cheese markets in check.” Cheese demand in the Central region is generally positive, according to Dairy Market News. “Fresher cheese stocks, namely Col- by and Cheddar, are moving well. Italian style cheese- makers are also pointing to a continued steadiness, with some expected hiccups from the impending hurricane in the East affecting orders from that region.” Food service demand is seeing an uptick as schools reopened in the Midwest but cheese producers are not expecting orders to remain as steady following market drops as buyers may hold off and wait for further declines. Milk availability was mixed last week with most spot pric- es at a premium. Western cheesemakers report that retail orders are strong and with most schools back in session, some food service accounts are pulling more cheese. Discounted milk is not as readily available, but there’s no trouble getting the milk needed. Cheese inven- tories, while heavy, are not burdensome. Alesha Kisher, Rigby FFA, has been named one of four national finalists in Outdoor Recreation Entrepreneurship Proficiency. The overall winner will be announced onstage at the National Convention and Expo. National FFA Convention & Expo By Savannah Stroebel 2018-2019 Idaho FFA State Reporter The National FFA Convention and Expo is right around the corner, and the Idaho FFA Association is proud of its members who will be representing the Gem State at the national level. With a membership of 5,108, Idaho will again have five delegates proudly representing the state. Idaho FFA is sending members who won at the state level to compete in all 25 national Career and Leadership Development Events. Fifty-one members from the Idaho FFA Association will be receiving the prestigious American FFA Degree. Of National FFA’s 653,359 members, only 1 percent receive this honor. This degree is designed to honor FFA members who demonstrate the highest levels of leadership and make significant accomplishments within their Supervised Agricultural Experience. Two students from Idaho have been named National Finalists in their proficiency areas: Carson Urrutia, Vallivue FFA, with his Agriculture Mechanics Repair and Maintenance Placement Proficiency; Alesha Kisher, Rigby FFA, with her Outdoor Recreation Entrepreneurship Placement Proficiency. Both Urrutia and Kisher will find out on stage whether they have won the National Proficiency Award in their area. Idaho FFA also has 5 gold, 6 silver, 9 bronze in various proficiency areas as well as 4 competitors in the Agriscience Fair. Two chapters in Idaho have been named Models of Excellence at the National Level. The American Falls and Rigby FFA Chapters are 2 of the 10 chapters chosen in the country that exhibit qualities in growing leaders, building communities, and strengthening agriculture. Both chapters are the only two that have been named Models of Excellence Finalists from the entire Western Region. The Idaho Chapters that received three stars are: American Falls, Bonners Ferry, and Rigby. The Idaho Chapters that received two stars are: Cambridge, Homedale, Kimberly, Kuna, Meridian, Nampa, and Vallivue. Kaitlin Muniz, Meridian FFA, and Sophia Raasch, Troy FFA, were both selected as members of the National FFA Chorus. Britton Bolgen, American Falls FFA, will compete in the National FFA Talent Competition playing the piano blindfolded. Idaho FFA would also like to congratulate Larry Church of Fruitland, for receiving one of the 19 National VIP Citation for making significant contributions to the National FFA Organization. Dr. Kattlyn Wolf, University of Idaho, and Idaho District 28 Sen. Jim Guthrie will both be receiving their Honorary American FFA Degrees for helping advance the FFA and agricultural education nationally. In addition, the Idaho FFA Association is sending Gretchen Hansten, Jerome FFA, as their national officer candidate. Hansten served as the Idaho FFA state president from 2016 to 2017. The Idaho FFA Association wishes all of its members the very best as they compete at the National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis on the 24th-27th of October. 38-3/HOU
