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CapitalPress.com
September 21, 2018
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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
