Camp Cooley Sells

[TheBullLady]

The ranch was offered for sale for over a year when they decided to auction it off. The problem with a facility like that is.. there is a LOT of inventory on the market, even large and over-improved properties. They are selling for pennies on the dollar, because of the economy and the banks being so tight fisted in lending. No one wants to put that kind of cash into something that isn't fairly liquid, which we know that won't be. The owner had to sell... I'm guessing his lender(s) are the ones that initiated the auction. Auctions sometimes will bring good $$$, depending on who goes, and if there is more than one person that is interested. At some point it can and will become a "pissing contest".

I have to agree with some of the other posters.. it's a wonderful investment for the future. There are fewer and fewer large ranches in Texas every year, and they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Families die off, and the heirs don't want anything to do with the land, just the $$ they can get from the sale. If they can make the operation pay for itself, they'll make a fortune selling it off in smaller chunks at some point in time.

I think what took that place over the edge was the big fiasco with the Wildebeasts and that virus. That reduced his breeding stocks (cattle) value substantially, and made a lot of potential buyers vanish.

 

[TexasBred]

Bull Lady that sort of gave it a black eye in the short run by it's my understanding that the owner had major financial problems in his other business ventures (construction in San Antonio) and that sort of sucked this operation into the drink. As a stand alone operation CCR was said to be very profitable.

 

[Isomade]

Bull Lady that sort of gave it a black eye in the short run by it's my understanding that the owner had major financial problems in his other business ventures (construction in San Antonio) and that sort of sucked this operation into the drink. As a stand alone operation CCR was said to be very profitable.

Camp Cooley Ranch loses assets in bankruptcy ruling


By MATTHEW WATKINS
[email protected]

A Franklin ranch and cattle genetics company will have its assets turned over to its creditors after losing bankruptcy proceedings in federal court this week.

Camp Cooley Ranch announced the loss in a letter to customers dated Tuesday.

"It is with a saddened heart that I notify you that all Camp Cooley cattle and genetic materials are now the property of the Lone Star Production Credit Association," said Klaus Birkel, owner of the ranch, in the letter. "They will announce a dispersal sale for November."

A woman who answered the phone at the ranch Wednesday said no one was available to comment.

The ranch has faced difficult times for more than two years.

The 40-employee company was the subject of a U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation in 2008 after one of its cows was confirmed to be infected with malignant catarrhal fever, a contagious disease that is fatal for cattle.

The cow was infected by a wildebeest from an exotic herd on the ranch, USDA officials said at the time. The company had to halt two cattle sales and eventually was forced to sell its entire registered herd of 3,000 cows.

In 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy. Birkel told business associates then that the filing was caused by unrelated losses of its parent company, Birkel Investment Holdings.

In court filings, Camp Cooley's creditors argued that the company didn't have a sufficient plan to return to sustainability or repay its debts.

The ranch argued, however, that it had returned to profitability and had a bright future.

"We here at Camp Cooley Ranch have spent the last two years, since the fiasco with the wildebeest, rebuilding our credibility, our reputation, our profitability and our herd," Birkel said in his letter. "I have to thank, from the bottom of my heart, my employees, my loyal customers and my suppliers who have stood by me and believed in our program."

 

[1982vett]

Bull Lady that sort of gave it a black eye in the short run by it's my understanding that the owner had major financial problems in his other business ventures (construction in San Antonio) and that sort of sucked this operation into the drink. As a stand alone operation CCR was said to be very profitable.

Camp Cooley Ranch loses assets in bankruptcy ruling


By MATTHEW WATKINS
[email protected]

A Franklin ranch and cattle genetics company will have its assets turned over to its creditors after losing bankruptcy proceedings in federal court this week.

Camp Cooley Ranch announced the loss in a letter to customers dated Tuesday.

"It is with a saddened heart that I notify you that all Camp Cooley cattle and genetic materials are now the property of the Lone Star Production Credit Association," said Klaus Birkel, owner of the ranch, in the letter. "They will announce a dispersal sale for November."

A woman who answered the phone at the ranch Wednesday said no one was available to comment.

The ranch has faced difficult times for more than two years.

The 40-employee company was the subject of a U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation in 2008 after one of its cows was confirmed to be infected with malignant catarrhal fever, a contagious disease that is fatal for cattle.

The cow was infected by a wildebeest from an exotic herd on the ranch, USDA officials said at the time. The company had to halt two cattle sales and eventually was forced to sell its entire registered herd of 3,000 cows.

In 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy. Birkel told business associates then that the filing was caused by unrelated losses of its parent company, Birkel Investment Holdings.

In court filings, Camp Cooley's creditors argued that the company didn't have a sufficient plan to return to sustainability or repay its debts.

The ranch argued, however, that it had returned to profitability and had a bright future.

"We here at Camp Cooley Ranch have spent the last two years, since the fiasco with the wildebeest, rebuilding our credibility, our reputation, our profitability and our herd," Birkel said in his letter. "I have to thank, from the bottom of my heart, my employees, my loyal customers and my suppliers who have stood by me and believed in our program."

That's what happens when you use OPM........other peoples money......