Friday, December 24, 2021
CapitalPress.com 3
Doerfl er Farms sold to Victor Point Farms
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SUBLIMITY, Ore. — As
longtime friends, neighbors
and fellow farmers, the Doer-
fl er and Rue families have
spent generations producing
high-quality grass seed in the
fertile Willamette Valley.
It only made sense then,
as siblings Kent, Kevin and
Amy Doerfl er were looking
forward to the next chapter
of their lives, that they would
turn to the Rues to carry on
the legacy.
On Dec. 16, Doerfl er
Farms was sold to Victor Point
Farms — operated by Joel
Rue and his sons Jesse, Lucas
and Ben. The sale includes all
machinery, seed contracts and
land leases. Financial terms
were not released.
“It’s going to be a gradual
transition,” Amy Doerfl er told
the Capital Press. “My broth-
ers and I will continue on as
consultants for several years
to ensure Victor Point Farms’
success.”
Joel Rue said the deal
allows them to grow and sus-
tain Victor Point Farms, keep-
ing it in the family for genera-
tions to come.
“We’ve recently put
together our own succes-
sion plan,” he said. “We were
maxing out our potential with
the acres we were farming
and the personnel we had. …
This provided an opportunity
for all three boys to stay on
the farm.”
Headquartered near Sub-
limity, Ore., Doerfl er Farms
is a large grass seed operation
that stretches about 40 miles
across Marion and Linn coun-
ties in a region nicknamed
“the grass seed capital of the
world.”
In 1973, when Bob Doer-
fl er took over his family’s
farm, he made the pivotal
transition from raising live-
stock to growing grass seed.
Over the next 30 years,
Bob Doerfl er grew the farm
tenfold. When he died in
2003, his children, Kent,
Kevin and Amy, worked
From left are Kent Doerfl er, Lucas Rue, Amy Doerfl er,
Joel Rue, Donna Rue, Ben Rue, Jesse Rue and Kevin Do-
erfl er. Victor Point Farms, owned by the Rue family, has
purchased Doerfl er Farms.
toward diversifying markets
and increasing effi ciency.
According to its website,
Doerfl er Farms now grows
several grass seed varieties,
which are shipped around the
globe, and wheat and cover
crops.
Amy Doerfl er said the
family has spent a long time
thinking about succession
planning. Though the siblings
Easterday family lawyer:
Maybe Tyson wronged us
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Former Washington cat-
tleman Cody Easterday,
awaiting sentencing for
defrauding Tyson Fresh
Meats, may have been a
victim of price-fi xing by
Tyson, a lawyer said in court
Wednesday, a claim rebuff ed
by a Tyson representative.
Attorney Timothy Con-
way, representing Cody’s
mother, Karen Easterday,
pointed to a lawsuit in Min-
nesota that alleges Tyson
and three other packers
depressed cattle prices.
The Easterdays sold cat-
tle from the family-owned
feedlot near Pasco to Tyson,
until the company discov-
ered Cody Easterday was
billing it for non-existent
cattle.
Nevertheless, if the anti-
trust allegations are proven,
the Easterdays could share
in a large settlement, Con-
way told U.S. Bankruptcy
Judge Whitman Holt in
Yakima.
Tyson attorney Al Smith
called Conway’s claim an
“irrelevant cheap shot.” He
said the Easterday family
was angling to dodge paying
$233 million in restitution to
Tyson.
“They are trying to com-
plicate things to avoid their
own liability here,” Smith
told the judge. “Your honor,
they are just trying to throw
sand into the works.”
Cody Easterday fi led for
bankruptcy last year shortly
before pleading guilty to
selling Tyson about 200,000
head of what federal pros-
ecutors called “ghost cat-
tle.” He is scheduled to be
sentenced for wire fraud in
January.
Meanwhile, the family’s
extensive farm and ranch
operations in the Colum-
bia Basin are being sold.
The proceeds have yet to be
George Plaven/Capital Press File
Cody Easterday
divided among Tyson, other
creditors and the Easterday
family.
Conway said the bank-
ruptcy attorneys work-
ing on an allocation plan
should look into allegations
in the antitrust lawsuit in
Minnesota.
The suit, led by R-CALF
and the National Farmers
Union, alleges Tyson, JBS,
Cargill and National Beef
conspired to lower cattle
prices beginning in 2015.
U.S. District Judge John
Tunheim ruled in September
that the plaintiff s have pre-
sented enough evidence for
the case to proceed.
The evidence includes
testimony from two anony-
mous meat-packing insiders
identifi ed in court papers as
“Jason F.” and “Matt T.”
Conway said Cody East-
erday may have been doubly
victimized because the con-
spiracy also allegedly low-
ered prices for cattle sold
through the Chicago Mer-
cantile Exchange.
Federal prosecutors said
Easterday sold Tyson the
non-existent cattle to cover
his losses trading in cattle
futures contracts listed on
the exchange.
Separate from defrauding
Tyson, Easterday has been
charged with fi ling false
reports to the exchange to
further his speculation.
Richard Pachulski, the
lead attorney working on
allocating the proceeds from
selling the Easterday prop-
erty, said Tyson’s claims
against Easterday have been
investigated.
“We’re kind of done
going through rabbit holes
in trying to fi gure out claims
because the Easterdays
don’t like that Tyson is actu-
ally getting paid after being
defrauded,” he said.
Conway said the claims
in the antitrust lawsuit were
signifi cant. “Terming it a
‘rabbit hole’ is rather aston-
ishing,” he said.
The exchange came
during a monthly confer-
ence on the status of the
bankruptcy case. There was
no motion for Holt to rule
on.
In a written status report,
bankruptcy attorneys said
Karen Easterday was refus-
ing to help appraise the fam-
ily’s remaining real estate,
including 1,000 acres of
“lakeside property in Idaho.”
Conway denied Karen
Easterday was refusing
to cooperate. In a writ-
ten response, he said the
land in Idaho was “unim-
proved ranch land, not resort
property.”
The Easterdays will sell
their one-sixth interest in a
hangar at the Tri-Cities Air-
port in Pasco for $270,000 to
Omaha LLC. Holt approved
the sale Wednesday.
have children, most have
moved away and are pursuing
careers outside farming.
“It takes a united team
to run this place,” she said.
“So we looked outside of the
family.”
The family explored sev-
eral options, though none of
them seemed quite right, Amy
Doerfl er said. They wanted
to keep the business locally
owned and make sure new
owners would take care of the
landowners and employees.
“We didn’t want to see
an outside buyer come in,”
Doerfl er said.
At the same time, Doer-
fl er said they wanted to start
the transition now, while they
are still young enough to help
set up their successors for
success.
“We don’t want to wait
until something happens to
one of us and then we’re in
a panic to fi nd a buyer,” she
said.
Conversations between the
families began just before this
year’s harvest, Joel Rue said.
He credited Amy Doerfl er for
pushing the deal to fruition.
“We went into this as
friends and neighbors, not as
competitors,” Joel Rue said.
Victor Point Farms, head-
quartered in Silverton, Ore.,
also traces its roots back gen-
erations to 1910, when Knute
Rue established the farm spe-
cializing in growing logan-
berries, hops and livestock.
Today, Joel and his sons
Jesse, Lucas and Ben run the
farm, predominately growing
grass seed. The three brothers
also have young children who
have taken an interest in farm-
ing and are part of the succes-
sion plan.
As part of the sale, Doer-
fl er Farms employees will
be retained by Victor Point
Farms. The Doerfl ers will
maintain ownership of all
other properties they own,
and for the time being will
maintain ownership of Doer-
fl er Tractor Sales, a tillage
equipment dealership based
in nearby Aumsville, Ore.
The families behind Doer-
fl er Farms and Victor Point
Farms share the same values,
goals and principles, Amy
Doerfl er said, which made the
sale a natural fi t.
“Both of our organiza-
tions are very involved in the
community, and really care
about the landowners and the
employees,” she said. “It’s
about taking care of people
and the community.”
Oregon adopts ‘Climate Protection
Program’ to limit fuel-related emissions
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
SALEM — Oregon’s
Environmental
Quality
Commission, or EQC, a gov-
ernor-appointed panel, voted
3-to-1 on Dec. 1 to approve
the “Climate Protection Pro-
gram,” a sweeping plan
aimed at cutting greenhouse
gas emissions by regulating
fuel-related pollution.
The move is controver-
sial and sparked more than
7,600 comments from Ore-
gonians during the public
comment period, according
to Department of Environ-
mental Quality staff .
Climate activists say the
new rules are long over-
due and may not be exten-
sive enough. Critics say the
program has the potential to
signifi cantly increase fuel
prices, impacting all Ore-
gonians and disproportion-
ately hurting sectors that rely
on transportation, including
agriculture.
The plan, which will be
phased in starting Jan. 1,
2022, will require fuel suppli-
ers in Oregon to reduce green-
house gas emissions from the
products they sell 50% by
2035 and 90% by 2050.
DEQ will issue free com-
pliance credits to fuel sup-
pliers covering each metric
ton of carbon dioxide emit-
ted from burning the fuel they
sell.
The allowable emission
cap will become smaller
each year, forcing suppli-
ers to substitute “cleaner”
options for fossil fuels, raise
prices to lessen demand or
purchase alternative credits.
The plan was developed
by DEQ after Republican
walkouts in 2019 and 2020
killed eff orts to pass econ-
omy-wide “cap and trade”
legislation.
After the walkouts, Gov.
Kate Brown outfl anked
Republicans with a far-reach-
ing use of her executive pow-
ers to achieve the same gen-
eral goals. March of 2020,
she signed an executive order
directing agencies to craft a
plan to regulate emissions.
A year and nine months
later, commissioners voted to
approve the new rules.
“I’m proud that today,
Oregon is taking the historic
step to put tools in place to
dramatically reduce green-
house gas emissions,”
Brown said in a statement.
END OF YEAR
HUGE AUCTIONS !
OVER 6,600 ITEMS FOR SALE!
CLOSING ON
DEC 29 TH
Gary Galt
Spanish Fork, UT
CLOSING ON
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Carlos Ensz
Bruneau, ID
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Jo Ann Cooper
Renter Center
Nampa, ID
Twin Falls, ID
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BS Compost LLC
Knudson Land & Livestock
Carpenter, WY
Buffalo, WY
CLOSING ON
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John Hansen
Buffalo, WY
CLOSING ON
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John Hansen
Buffalo, WY
CLOSING ON
DEC 30 TH
Trade Show Help Needed
We are seeking temporary employees for the Northwest Ag Show January 12-14, 2022 at
the Oregon State Fairgrounds & Expo in Salem.
The job duties include and are not limited to: greeting people at the door as they enter and exit,
handing out swag bags and general vendor assistance.
Fieldgrove Ranch
Farnsworth Services Co Inc
Buffalo, WY
Newcastle, WY
CLOSING ON
DEC 30 TH
CLOSING ON
DEC 30 TH
Dates and times are:
Tuesday, Jan. 11: orientation and training, times vary
Wednesday, Jan. 12: 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Vermilyea Farms
Anzalone Drilling And Pumps
Douglas, WY
Newcastle, UT
Thursday, Jan. 13: 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
TWO DAYS! - DECEMBER 29 TH & 30 TH
$100 completion bonus for those who work all shifts.
S274218-1
Friday, Jan. 14: 8:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
Go here to apply: https://www.applicantpro.com/openings/eomediagroup/jobs/2139921-429357
Got Equipment to Sell?
(800) 937-3558 | www.bigiron.com
S274096-1
