Camp Cooley / In / out ?

[Avalon]

I'm not a customer but have always been a fan of the way the Birkels helped various organizations including Junior Scholorship programs. I just recieved this today from Camp Cooley.

To our Business Partners, Customers & Friends:

On Sunday, November 8th, 2009 Camp Cooley Ltd and its subsidiaries filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 11 is the reorganization chapter of the Bankruptcy Code.

The filing was the result of unrelated losses by the parent company Birkel Investment Holdings in various real estate ventures where Camp Cooley Ltd and its assets were vulnerable to those lenders. Because of those unrelated business losses, the primary Camp Cooley lenders were unwilling or unable to work with Camp Cooley and me on a reasonable repayment plan of the company's loans. Therefore, I had no choice but had to file in order to protect Camp Cooley Ltd's assets. This filing protects the ranch, the cattle, the breeding program, the employees, the customers and the vendors.

I intend to reorganize and restructure Camp Cooley's finances through the bankruptcy process. Camp Cooley Ltd is not insolvent and is profitable. Chapter 11 will allow Camp Cooley to continue to do business much as usual. Vendors, customers, and employees are protected under Chapter 11, and all creditors will be paid in full as part of this bankruptcy process.

This process does not change the schedule for our sale, which will be held November 20-21, 2009. The Sale will take place, as planned. We will sell all of the cattle offered in our catalog (which is available on our website). All consignor cattle sold through this sale will be paid for by Camp Cooley immediately after the sale. We will also ask the court to allow us to ay all the outstanding previous consignment payables so that all of our customers will be paid in full by the end of the year.

Camp Cooley and I ask for your cooperation and your understanding. We will remain successful, profitable company and we fully intend to remain one of the premier beef cattle genetics and breeding companies in this country. I look forward to seeing each of you at the sale. If you have any questions in the meantime, please give me a call; if you cannot reach me, please ask for Rick Warneke.




Klaus Birkel

 

[kerley]

I received the same e-mail today. I dont see how any of us could go wrong with Camp Cooley, as long as we get the proper paper work from them.
Tom.

 

[TexasBred]

I can't say anything but positives about the CCR cattle operation. Never a minutes trouble and they stand behind what they sell.

 

[novatech]

I am glad to know they are still in business. I thought they liquidated a while back.
I'm with TB. I have never heard anything but good said about them.

 

[Ryan]

We use Camp Cooley Genetics (formerly Ultimate Genetics) to get our bulls collected. They've always been very good to work with. They take great care of the bulls, and seems like everything is real easy-going there; but at the same time you can tell they know what they are doing.

Actually, going to pick up on of our bulls there on Friday.

Ryan

 

[ga. prime]

Ever since they had that issue with the MCF and the wildabeast things have really gone down hill for them. I figure that cost them their reputation.

Thanks for the inside info!

 

[TexasBred]

Ever since they had that issue with the MCF and the wildabeast things have really gone down hill for them. I figure that cost them their reputation.

I don't think it hurt there reputation at all as they still have a world of cooperators in their program and people buying their genetics. I'm sure it cost them many millions of dollars when they sold most of their cattle after the wildebeast thing....Sounds a lot like some of the Donald Trump bankruptices.

 

[Ryan]

For what its worth,
I've also heard that Mr. Birkel had a firm deal in place for someone to purchase the ranch, then the buyer backed out at the last minute. Apparently that hurt some things, as well.

Ryan

 

[Avalon]

Even though I appreciate the the things they have done over the years to further the cattle industry in research and education etc... I still couldnt swallow this one thing last night. As they go into bankruptcy, who will pay for their losses. None other than the American Taxpayer (You and I)

 

[Busterz]

Even though I appreciate the the things they have done over the years to further the cattle industry in research and education etc... I still couldnt swallow this one thing last night. As they go into bankruptcy, who will pay for their losses. None other than the American Taxpayer (You and I)

What? How do you figure that?

Their creditors are going to take it in the shorts (and thats bad enough) but I don't see how it gets passed on to the government.

 

[TexasBred]

Even though I appreciate the the things they have done over the years to further the cattle industry in research and education etc... I still couldnt swallow this one thing last night. As they go into bankruptcy, who will pay for their losses. None other than the American Taxpayer (You and I)

Avalon..please note that it is Chapter 11, which is reorganization. It's not a chapter 7 "screw you" deal. The only people that are even exposed to a loss would be the unsecured creditors and they will probably get most of what's due them as well.

Compared to what our new "gov't" has already saddled the taxpayers with in 2009 this wouldn't be a drop in the ocean.

 

[whitecow]

I agree with TexasBred, the taxpayers will not be affected by this and, as I understand it, nor will anyone (even creditors) in the livestock industry. The creditors to Mr. Birkel's other businesses (building luxury condos) will feel the pain, if any.

 

[Brandonm22]

.please note that it is Chapter 11, which is reorganization. It's not a chapter 7 "screw you" deal. The only people that are even exposed to a loss would be the unsecured creditors and they will probably get most of what's due them as well.

Exactly, the big thing Chapter 11 does is make the creditors stop tacking on late fees, penalties, and pumping up interest rates. IF they come out of this well, all the creditors SHOULD get what they actually loaned.....eventually. They just lose a lot of the fees, penalties, legal, and garbage penalties they tack on to a delinquent balance.

 

[TexasBred]

For what its worth,
I've also heard that Mr. Birkel had a firm deal in place for someone to purchase the ranch, then the buyer backed out at the last minute. Apparently that hurt some things, as well.

Ryan

The embryologist that we use in GA also does embryo work for Three Trees Ranch and he said that Stan Thomas was the buyer in question. He said Stan who is in the real estate business backed out due to the imminent bankruptcy as he did not want to deal with it. He did buy most of their herd though which is surprising because of the MCF issue.

MCF is no longer an issue and hasn't been for over a year. Much of the herd was sold off in a special sale last year but I understand there were a couple thousand recipient cows that were already beginning to calf a the time with replacements.

 

[alacattleman]

For what its worth,
I've also heard that Mr. Birkel had a firm deal in place for someone to purchase the ranch, then the buyer backed out at the last minute. Apparently that hurt some things, as well.

Ryan

The embryologist that we use in GA also does embryo work for Three Trees Ranch and he said that Stan Thomas was the buyer in question. He said Stan who is in the real estate business backed out due to the imminent bankruptcy as he did not want to deal with it. He did buy most of their herd though which is surprising because of the MCF issue.

MCF is no longer an issue and hasn't been for over a year. Much of the herd was sold off in a special sale last year but I understand there were a couple thousand recipient cows that were already beginning to calf a the time with replacements.

as long as the tinman liveth it'll be a issue

 

[TexasBred]

huh??? You lost me Bammy.

 

[whitecow]

Stan Thomas bought most of the high IMF Angus and Brangus cows. As TB said, Camp Cooley retained a large number of pregnant recipients and almost all of the Brangus and Charolais ET calves. They have a lot of young animals on the ranch now.

 

[TexasBred]

The CEO of XTO Oil and Gas was the "big buyer" at one of the sales....he got the best of the best. Don't remember his name but his money was flying.

 

[Angus In Texas]

There has definitely been a lot of turmoil at Camp Cooley. But they have been around or quite a while..... A lot of the big guys have dispersals only to be back full steam ahead a few years later. A lot of times they liquidate their herd while they are of prime value and through the extensive use of ET, are able to retain the top end genetics and rebuild a very high quality herd in a fairly short time frame. It's all about the bottom line..... buy low sell high mentality.

Sometimes, no matter how much you trust these big ranches, they do things that outsiders see as being fishy, but there are, more times than not, very respectable reasons for their actions. I think most anyone with any business savvy, if they have the money to gamble, would do the same.

 

[plbcattle]

fool me once shame on you, fool me two or three times, shame on me. They had a couple dispersals then there last one was a complete and total dispersal. Now there having a production sale, are you kidding me. That is a slap in the face to anyone who goes. Either you held cattle back in the first couple dispersals or these are cattle that were PO'd and werent good cattle to begin with. How can you buy something from someone who tells you there going out of business 3 times and then still back in. Were they saying the old genetics werent cutting it and now were on to these new genetics. What gives. I cant understand why anyone would ever go back to any ranch after multiple complete dispersals. There either pawning you crap on the front end or back end. IF you held cattle back enough to have another sale the following year, that is not a business that I want to be involved with, tell you one thing but then do another.