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CapitalPress.com
Friday, July 9, 2021
Apple growers worry about crop damage from heat
PUBLIC NOTICE BY WASHINGTON STATE PORK PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION AND
THE NATIONAL PORK BOARD
The election of pork producer delegate candidates for the 2022 National Pork Producers
(Pork Act) Delegate Body will take place at 1:00 p.m., Friday, July 16, 2021 in conjunction
with a Board of Directors meeting of Washington State Pork Producer Association, in
Room 1 of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers building, 109 East 1st Street,
Ritzville, Washington, 99169. All Washington State pork producers are invited to attend.
Any producer, age 18 or older, who is a resident of the state and has paid all assessments
due may be considered as a delegate candidate and/or participate in the election. All
eligible producers are encouraged to bring with them a sales receipt proving that hogs
were sold in their name and the checkoff deducted. For more information, contact
Washington State Pork Producers Association, 2001 VanTine Road, Garfield, Washington,
telephone 509/397-2694.
S252599-1
LEGAL
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
In re
Chapter 11
EASTERDAY RANCHES, INC., et al.
Lead Case No. 21-00141-11
Jointly Administered
Debtors. 1
NOTICE OF SALE OF PROPERTY BY AUCTION,
SALE OBJECTION DEADLINE, AND SALE HEARING
NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF EASTERDAY RANCHES, INC. (“RANCHES”); EASTERDAY FARMS (“FARMS”); CODY EASTERDAY
AND DEBBY EASTERDAY, HUSBAND AND WIFE, KAREN EASTERDAY, IN HER INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND AS THE PERSONAL
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF GALE EASTERDAY 2 (COLLECTIVELY, THE “EASTERDAYS”).
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE OF THE FOLLOWING MATTERS THAT MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS:
On February 1, 2021, and February 8, 2021, respectively, Ranches and Farms (together, the “Debtors”), commenced chapter 11 bankruptcy cases (the
“Bankruptcy Cases”) in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington (the “Bankruptcy Court”).
The Debtors operate commercial farms and ranches that utilize multiple farms, feedlots, ranches, and other facilities that are commonly referred to as
Nine Canyon Farm, Goose Gap Farm, River Farm, Cox Farm, Farm Manager House, and Storage Complex (the “Property”). The Property is owned in part
by the Debtors (the “Debtor Property”) and in part by the Easterdays (the “Easterday Property”).
To maximize the value of the Property, the Debtors and the Easterdays determined that the Property should be marketed for sale together. Accordingly,
on March 26, 2021, the Debtors filed two motions with the Bankruptcy Court: (i) a motion to approve a cooperation agreement (the “Cooperation Agreement”)
between the Debtors and the Easterdays (together, the “Sellers”) and (ii) a motion (x) establishing a process to sell the Property and (y) to approve the sale of
the Property at the conclusion of such process (the “Sale Motion”).
On April 28, 2021, the Bankruptcy Court entered an order (the “Cooperation Agreement Order”) approving the Cooperation Agreement between
and among the Debtors and the Easterdays. On April 29, 2021, the Bankruptcy Court entered the Bidding Procedures Order which, among other things, (i)
approved procedures for submitting offers and bidding at an auction for the Property (“Bidding Procedures”), (ii) approved procedures for the assumption and
assignment of certain executory contracts and unexpired leases, (iii) scheduled a hearing on the sale, and (iv) granted related relief.
On May 19, 2021, the Sellers, entered into a purchase and sale agreement (the “Stalking Horse APA”) with Farmland Reserve, Inc. (“FRI” or the
“Stalking Horse Bidder”), pursuant to which, and subject to higher and better offers in accordance with the Bidding Procedures:
(i) the Debtors shall acquire the Easterday Property, upon which transfer all of the Easterday Property shall constitute
property of the Debtors’ bankruptcy estates in the Bankruptcy Cases and for which the Easterdays shall receive, subject to the approval
of the Bankruptcy Court, an allocable interest in the Net Sale Proceeds, as such term is defined in the Cooperation Agreement;
(ii) the Debtors shall sell, assign, transfer, convey and deliver to FRI, and FRI shall acquire and accept from Debtors, free
and clear of all Claims, Rights, and Encumbrances (as defined in the proposed Sale Order attached to the Stalking Horse APA), all of
the Debtors’ rights, title and interest in and to the Property; and
(iii) FRI shall pay $188,000,000 plus any transfer taxes or the like “Purchase Price” for the Property ((i) through (iii), the
“Sale”).
Also on May 19, 2021, the Debtors supplemented the Sale Motion with their motion to designate FRI as the Stalking Horse Bidder, approve the bid
protections in the Stalking Horse APA, and supplement the relief requested by the Debtors in the Sale Motion to include authorization for the Debtors to
acquire all rights, title and interest in and to the Easterday Property for the purpose of including the Easterday Property in the Sale, pursuant to the Stalking
Horse APA (“Supplemental Bidding Procedures Motion”).
On May 28, 2021, the Bankruptcy Court entered an order granting the Supplemental Bidding Procedures Motion, pursuant to which the Bankruptcy
Court (i) approved the Stalking Horse APA as the Stalking Horse Bid and FRI as the Stalking Horse Bidder, (ii) authorized the Debtors to enter into and
perform under the Stalking Horse APA, subject to higher or otherwise better offers by other qualified bidders, and (iii) approved the Debtors’ request to
supplement the relief requested by the Debtors in the Sale Motion to include authorization for the Debtors to acquire all rights, title and interest in and to the
Easterday Property for the purpose of consummating the Sale with the Stalking Horse Bidder, subject to higher or otherwise better offers by other qualified
bidders at an auction (the “Auction”) to be held on June 14, 2021, commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) (“Supplemental Bidding Procedures Order”).
THE BANKRUPTCY COURT HAS CURRENTLY SET JUNE 30, 2021 AT 4:00 P.M. (PACIFIC TIME) AS THE DEADLINE FOR ALL
OBJECTIONS TO THE SALE (THE “SALE OBJECTION DEADLINE”).
All objections to the Sale and related relief must: (a) be in writing; (b) be signed by counsel or attested to by the objecting party; (c) conform to the
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and the Local Rules of the Bankruptcy Court (“Local Rules”); (d) be filed with the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court, 402
E. Yakima Avenue, Yakima, WA 98901 by no later than the Sale Objection Deadline; and (e) be served in accordance with the Local Rules so as to be received
on or before the Objection Deadline by the following: (i) counsel to the Debtors: (a) Bush Kornfeld LLP, 601 Union Suite, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98101,
Attention: Armand J. Kornfeld (jkornfeld@bskd.com) and Thomas A. Buford (tbuford@bskd.com); and (b) Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones, LLP, 10100 Santa
Monica Boulevard, 13th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067, Attention: Richard M. Pachulski (rpachulski@pszjlaw.com), Ira D. Kharasch (ikharasch@pszjlaw.
com), Jeffrey W. Dulberg (jdulberg@pszjlaw.com) and Jason H. Rosell (jrosell@pszjlaw.com); (ii) the Office of the United States Trustee for the Eastern
District of Washington, 920 W Riverside Ave, Suite 593, Spokane, WA 99201, Attn: Gary W. Dyer (Gary.W.Dyer@usdoj.gov); (iii) counsel to the Stalking
Horse Bidder, Stoel Rives LLP, 600 University Street, Suite 3600, Seattle, WA 98101, Attention: Oren B. Haker (oren.haker@stoel.com) and Ellen E. Ostrow
(ellen.ostrow@stoel.com); and (iv) those parties who have filed notices of appearance and/or requested service of all motions and pleadings in these Chapter
11 Cases prior to the date of service thereof.
THE SALE SHALL BE FREE AND CLEAR OF ALL LIENS, CLAIMS, ENCUMBRANCES OR OTHER INTERESTS UNDER
SECTION 363 OF THE BANKRUPTCY CODE. THE ASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN OF THE SELLERS’ CONTRACTS AND LEASES MAY
BE APPROVED AND AUTHORIZED BY THE BANKRUPTCY COURT ABSENT A TIMELY OBJECTION BY ANY PERSON OR ENTITY
CLAIMING AN INTEREST OR RIGHT IN SUCH CONTRACT OR LEASE. THE FAILURE OF ANY PERSON OR ENTITY TO FILE
AND SERVE AN OBJECTION ON OR BEFORE THE SALE OBJECTION DEADLINE MAY BE DEEMED CONSENT TO ANY SALE OR
ASSIGNMENT APPROVED BY THE BANKRUPTCY COURT AND MAY BE A BAR TO THE ASSERTION OF ANY LIENS, CLAIMS,
RIGHTS, ENCUMBRANCES OR OTHER INTERESTS IN THE PROPERTY SOLD, ASSIGNED OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED TO THE
STALKING HORSE BIDDER OR THE SUCCESSFUL BIDDER(S), AND MAY BE A BAR TO ANY RECOVERY AGAINST THE STALKING
HORSE BIDDER OR OTHER SUCCESSFUL BIDDER(S).
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR OF THE SELLERS OR A CONTRACT OR LEASE COUNTERPARTY TO ANY OF THE SELLERS, YOUR
RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE SALE OF THE PROPERTY TO THE STALKING HORSE BIDDER OR OTHER SUCCESSFUL
BIDDER(S). You should review the documents related to the Sale and discuss them with your attorney. If you do not have an attorney, you may wish to
consult one. Sale documents, including the Stalking Horse APA, Sale Motion, Bidding Procedures Order, Supplemental Bidding Procedures Order, and
proposed sale order, can be obtained through the Bankruptcy Court or by requesting copies from the Debtors’ bankruptcy counsel by email to Jason Rosell
(email: jrosell@pszjlaw.com). If you do not want the Bankruptcy Court to approve the Sale, you must file an objection with the Bankruptcy Court by
the Sale Objection Deadline as set forth above.
A hearing to confirm the results of the Auction and approve the sale of the Property (the “Sale Hearing”) will be held before the Honorable Whitman
Holt, United States Bankruptcy Judge, on July 14, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. (PT), or at such other time as the Bankruptcy Court permits, in the United States
Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington, 402 E. Yakima Avenue, Second Floor Courtroom, Yakima, WA 98901. Parties may appear at the
Sale Hearing by telephone. To make a telephonic appearance, parties must call 877-402-9757; code 7036041. The Debtors may adjourn or reschedule the
Sale Hearing one or more times with prior notice filed on the docket in the Bankruptcy Cases or without prior notice by making an announcement at the Sale
Hearing.
Dates set forth in this notice are subject to change, and further notice of such changes may not be provided except through announcements in open court
and/or the filing of notices in the Bankruptcy Cases. Interested persons or entities are encouraged to monitor the electronic court docket for further updates.
1
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The Debtors along with their case numbers are as follows: Easterday Ranches, Inc. (21-00141) and Easterday Farms, a Washington general
partnership (21-00176).
The administration of the Estate of Gale Easterday is currently pending in Franklin County Superior Court, Case No. 21-450004-11.
S247844-1
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press File
Trees are logged in an Oregon forest with a feller-bunch-
er. The demand for logs is expected to remain healthy
despite a recent decline in lumber prices.
Log demand strong
despite lumber
fluctuations
Lumber prices have
slipped from the strato-
spheric highs seen earlier
this year but the demand for
Northwest logs is expected
to remain healthy, experts
say.
After consistently hover-
ing above $1,500 per thou-
sand board-feet earlier this
year, the price of lumber is
now down to about $1,000
per thousand board-feet and
falling.
For context, the price has
usually ranged from about
$300 to $400 per thousand
board-feet over the past
decade, said Brooks Men-
dell, president and CEO of
the Forisk timber industry
consulting firm.
While the price could
drop to $500-$600 per thou-
sand board-feet, the indus-
try’s fundamentals remain
solid because the U.S. hous-
ing inventory is low, he said.
“It’s primarily a function
of sawmills catching up to
demand,” with prices fall-
ing as supplies rise, Men-
dell said. “People have been
running extra shifts and the
demand has continued to be
strong for lumber.”
If the demand for new
housing — and the remod-
eling and repair market —
remain strong, then lumber
can continue to fetch decent
prices, he said.
The price surge seen ear-
lier this year was the result of
a “pinch” in lumber produc-
tion as sawmills struggled to
increase their output, partly
due to coronavirus restric-
tions and labor shortages,
Mendell said.
“It took them longer to
catch up than expected,” he
said. “The price got out of
whack.”
However, the labor short-
ages that have hindered lum-
ber production may also
constrain housing construc-
tion, acting as a headwind
for lumber demand, Mendell
said. “If you don’t have the
bodies, the labor, you can’t
build the homes.”
If the repair and remod-
eling market softens after
growing robustly during
the pandemic, that may also
inhibit some of the demand
for lumber, he said. “It’s pos-
sible we could have eaten
some of the do-it-yourself
projects out of the future and
gotten them done already.”
Fluctuations in the lumber
market don’t neatly correlate
with changes in log prices,
which are influenced by sup-
plies available to sawmills,
Mendell said.
“It’s a local market for
logs and a national market
for lumber,” he said.
Recent
record-setting
lumber prices haven’t caused
a similar upswing in log
prices, said Gordon Culbert-
son, international develop-
ment director with the For-
est2Market consulting firm.
“The two can be very dis-
connected,” he said.
Over the past year, log
prices rose from roughly
$700 per thousand board-
feet to $900 after the Sep-
tember 2020 wildfires but
have since declined to about
$750 due to an abundance of
salvage timber, he said.
“It’s a race to get it har-
vested and milled before it
becomes unusable,” Culbert-
son said. Board-feet are cal-
culated differently for timber
and lumber, so 1,000 board-
feet of timber can generate
2,000 board-feet of lumber
or more.
With fire restrictions
looming, reduced timber har-
vest could cause log prices to
rise again later this summer,
he said. “When mills aren’t
getting logs, it doesn’t take
long before the inventory is
used up.”
Apart from accounting
for fire risk, many sawmills
are still eager to build up
their log stocks for autumn
and winter because lumber
prices remain above the cost
of production, said Hakan
Ekstrom, principal of the
Wood Resources Interna-
tional consulting firm.
“Even if prices have come
down, lumber prices by his-
torical standards are high,”
he said. “They came down
from an extraordinarily high
level we haven’t seen before.
There’s still a ways to go
before they become hesitant
to run.”
Sawmills will likely
remain profitable for the
next couple years and the
demand for wood products
can generally be expected
to strengthen over the next
decade or more, with some
ups and downs, Ekstrom
said.
Many homes in the U.S.
were built immediately after
World War II and have seen
better days, he said. “A lot
of those will need to be
replaced with new houses or
renovations, and that can’t
be done in just a few years.”
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
07/12/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2014 RAM 1500 CW
VIN = 1C6RR7KT6ES240959
Amount due on lien $1455.00
Reputed owner(s)
CONNIE & EUGENE GRAHAM
ONPOINT COMMUNITY CREDIT
UNION
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
07/12/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2013 HONDA ACCORD 4DR
VIN = 1HGCR3F84DA025082
Amount due on lien $3635.00
Reputed owner(s)
HEATHER L BECKNER
DIGITAL FED CR UN
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
07/19/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2016 MERZ GLC 300 LL
VIN = WDC0G4KB3GF017278
Amount due on lien $1555.00
Reputed owner(s) LORI ELLEN &
TIMOTHY ALVIN BAUGUS
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
07/12/2021. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2017 JEEP PATRIOT UT
VIN = 1C4NJPBA7HD200900
Amount due on lien $1455.00
Reputed owner(s)
JOHN & MICHELLE BACH
EXETER FINANCE LLC
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
S251103-1
LEGAL
expensive and time-con-
suming, so Limon, like
many growers, has focused
his efforts on protecting
the highest-value apple
varieties.
Because apples are
small, Limon said it’s too
early to know the per-
centage of damage, but
he expects he’ll be able to
assess the scope more accu-
rately in a few weeks.
“I think we’ll have quite
a bit of damage no matter
what,” he said.
Charles Lyall, a long-
time grower in Mattawa,
Wash., said he’s also con-
cerned about sunburn, espe-
cially in early-harvest apple
varieties.
But, like Limon, he said
it’s too early to make mar-
ket or volume predictions.
“It’s a pretty big ques-
tion mark right now,” he
said. “You know in your
gut it probably won’t be
good, but you just don’t
know yet.”
Lyall said he thinks the
heat damage has “taken its
toll” emotionally on apple
growers, who have already
faced many challenges
over the past year.
S251105-1
The result was sun-
burned fruit.
Despite growers’ use of
sunburn protection includ-
ing netting, canopies, evap-
orative cooling, misting and
spraying, many growers say
their apples are showing
sunburn browning, reduc-
ing marketability.
“The apples are sunburn-
ing big-time,” said Jesus
Limon, a cherry and apple
grower with orchards near
Orondo and Quincy, Wash.
Limon said he’s been
spraying his apples with
a protective coating to
limit sunburn, but the
spray doesn’t seem to be
very effective in such high
temperatures.
Protective measures are
S251104-1
Apple growers and
researchers across the North-
west say they’re concerned
about fruit damage caused
by the record-breaking heat
wave that struck in late June.
With several weeks to go
before the harvest of some
varieties begins, however, it’s
too early to predict the scope
of the damage.
Washington growers espe-
cially are worried. The apple
is the state’s highest-value
crop. In 2020, according to
USDA, the apple crop was
worth $1.95 billion.
“This temperature event
was unprecedented with both
the intensity and how early it
occurred,” said Lee Kalcsits,
assistant professor of tree
fruit physiology at Washing-
ton State University.
In scorching 100-plus-de-
gree weather over the past
week, Kalcsits has visited
orchards, assessing fruit
quality and heat impacts.
During the heat wave,
Kalcsits said, based on infra-
red thermometer readings,
fruit surface temperatures
exceeded 140 degrees Fahr-
enheit in the afternoon when
no sunburn protective sprays
were used, and 113 to 119
degrees Fahrenheit when
protective sprays were used.
“This does seem extreme
but is correct,” said Kalcsits,
of the extraordinarily high
fruit temperatures.
S251837-1
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
