Group with Ties to Mormon Church Outbids Bill Gates’ Group for Easterday Land

An investment company with ties to the Mormon church has the high bid for land that belonged to the now bankrupt Easterday Farms and Easterday Ranches.

A company called Farmland Reserve submitted a bid of $209 million dollars for more than 33,000 acres of land in Benton County, Washington. The second highest bid came from a group linked to Microsoft founder Bill Gates. A judge has to make a determination before the sale can be finalized.

Earlier this year 49-year-old Cody Easterday pleaded guilty in a so-called ghost cattle scheme. He was accused of charging Tyson Foods for the costs of buying and feeding as many as 200,000 cattle that simply did not exist.

Related on Drovers:

Tyson Sues Cattle Feeder Over 'Fraudulent Scheme'

AB Livestock Buys Feedlot Entangled In Tyson Lawsuit

Tyson Alleges Easterday Conducted A “Fire Sale”

CFTC Files Charges Against Easterday

Easterday Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Tyson

Ghost-Cattle Scheme Spawns Another Lawsuit
 

 

Latest News

Quantifying the Value of Good Management
Quantifying the Value of Good Management

Historically low current US cowherd inventories and limited evidence of heifer retention indicates the robust markets we currently enjoy should be sustained for at least the next couple of years.

Properly Prepared Beef Remains Safe; Meat Institute Calls For Guidance to Protect Workers at Beef Facilities
Properly Prepared Beef Remains Safe; Meat Institute Calls For Guidance to Protect Workers at Beef Facilities

The Meat Institute said properly prepared beef remains safe to eat and called for USDA and the CDC to provide worker safety guidance specific to beef processors to ensure workers are protected from infection.

 A Message to the Ag Industry about H5N1
A Message to the Ag Industry about H5N1

The livestock industry needs a comprehensive, cohesive plan to address the virus. Producers, their employees and veterinarians need clear answers and support from U.S. agricultural leadership, moving forward.

USDA Now Requiring Mandatory Testing and Reporting of HPAI in Dairy Cattle as New Data Suggests Virus Outbreak is More Widespread
USDA Now Requiring Mandatory Testing and Reporting of HPAI in Dairy Cattle as New Data Suggests Virus Outbreak is More Widespread

USDA is now ordering all dairy cattle must be tested prior to interstate travel as a way to help stop the spread of HPAI H5N1. This comes a day after FDA confirmed virus genetic material was found in retail milk samples.

Lessons Learned After Disaster
Lessons Learned After Disaster

Recently we were reminded of the devasting impacts of Mother Nature during the wildfires that destroyed parts of Oklahoma and Texas. There is a lot to learn from such events so we can be better prepared in the future.

Mistrial Declared in Arizona Rancher’s Murder Trial
Mistrial Declared in Arizona Rancher’s Murder Trial

A lone juror stood between rancher George Kelly and innocent. “It is what it is, and it will be what it will be. Let me go home, okay?”