Latest news with #CompeerFinancial
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids farmers markets win grant funding for improvements
Several St. Cloud-area farmers markets received funding boosts from new grant awards. Both the St. Cloud Area Farmers Market and Sauk Rapids Market received funding, as well as the nearby Popple Creek Farmers Market and Paynesville Farmers Market. More: New Cold Spring store shares 'glimmers' of positivity with joyful gifts and art Sun Prairie, Wisconsin-based Compeer Financial announced its Fund for Rural America awards Wednesday, which included $28,000 for farmers markets in Minnesota. Both the Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud markets received $1,000 each and both plan to use it for promotional materials like signage around town, Karen Schieler, Compeer Financial's manager of corporate giving, said. The St. Cloud market will also put funding toward vendor tracking and reimbursement software and more service information at their booth, including information about EBT and market tokens. Nearby Paynesville also gained $1,000 to be put toward banners, a community catalog and radio ads, Schieler said, as well as safety equipment like cones and blockades. Popple Creek in Mayhew Lake Township in Benton County received $500 to help run its farmers market for the first time this year. The market will be held at the Popple Creek Wedding & Events venue, with one scheduled per month from June through October. Compeer Financial, a member-owned farm credit cooperative, created the Fund for Rural America in 2018 to support initiatives like rural development, agriculture education and community enrichment. More: St. Cloud home to ethnic grocery stores from around the world It also has a large focus on supporting local food systems, Schieler said, which is a major motivator behind the grant funding for farmers markets. "A farmers market has become so much more than a place just to feel good, it's a gathering place where people can get together and visit and really just build that sense of community," she said. "It's a multifaceted approach where we're helping our clients and helping agriculture." Many other Minnesota farmers markets also received funding, including those in Mankato, Eagan, Duluth and Winona. Compeer Financial's Fund for Rural America also awarded grants to markets in Illinois and Wisconsin for a total of $86,697 across all three states. Many farmers markets can also help address food deserts and address important community needs, Schieler said, especially in more rural places like Popple Creek or near Paynesville. "Farmers markets are kind of trendy right now, but it's so important to support our local farmers and have that sense of community," she said. "And how cool is that to go to a farmers market and talk to the person who grew the food that you're about to eat?" The farmers market season is fast approaching. The St. Cloud Area Farmers Market will return for its opening day May 3 and is scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. The Sauk Rapids Farmers Market will open May 15 and take place 3 to 6 p.m. on Thursdays. Teagan King covers business and development for the St. Cloud Times. She can be reached at teking@ This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids farmers markets get funds ahead of May opening
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawsuit: 110,000 pigs in ‘imminent danger' due to billion-dollar check-kiting scheme
A lender to an Iowa ag company accused of operating a billion-dollar check-kiting scheme says 110,000 piglets are at risk of starvation. (Photo by) An Iowa ag company accused of operating a billion-dollar check-kiting scheme is being sued by a lender that says 110,000 piglets are at risk of starvation. Compeer Financial of Minnesota is suing Sunterra Farms Iowa Inc., Sunwold Farms Inc., and Lariagra Farms South Inc. in U.S. District Court. Compeer alleges that the three defendants operate extensive swine operations in Iowa and South Dakota, and have granted Compeer, their lender, exclusive security over their collective assets. Compeer is asking the court to appoint a receiver to take control of the defendants' assets so that Compeer can protect its collateral by continuing to provide for the feeding and care of 110,000 head of swine. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The defendant companies are allegedly operated by the Price family of South Dakota, including Ray, Art and Glen Price, who own and manage 110,000 head of swine in 54 barns located in and around Yankton County, South Dakota. The swine — which are in various stages of growth and are owned by either Sunterra or Lariagra — are among 500,000 hogs managed by Sunterra. Compeer claims in the lawsuit that because of what it calls 'the long-running fraud' perpetrated by the defendant companies, they cannot be trusted to operate their businesses and protect their assets, including the 110,000 head of swine in Yankton County. According to the lawsuit, the three defendant companies have engaged in check kiting — a fraudulent practice in which a company draws checks from one bank account for deposit in another bank account that it controls, when neither account has sufficient funds to cover the checks. The process takes advantage of the delays in processing checks between banks, allowing one account or another to continually show credits for funds that have yet to be collected. Compeer's lawsuit claims that earlier this year, the defendant companies were issuing each other numerous checks, in nearly identical amounts, on a daily basis — with some checks ranging from $800,000 to $990,000, an amount just below the threshold that would trigger scrutiny from regulators. The transactions had the effect of creating phony positive account balances that caused Compeer to pay the companies interest, the lawsuit claims. Compeer alleges that on Feb. 12, 2025, the day after it asked Ray Price, the CEO of the defendant companies, about the transactions, it received a batch of checks totaling $9 million drawn one of the defendants' Canadian bank accounts for deposit into the defendants' account with Compeer. Later that day, the lawsuit claims, Ray Price admitted that the checks were intended only to prevent the Compeer account from being overdrawn, and acknowledged that if Compeer attempted to deposit the $9 million it would trigger a corresponding overdraft in the Canadian account. According to the lawsuit, Price admitted that what the companies were doing was 'wrong.' About 24 hours later, the lawsuit claims, Price spoke to Compeer personnel and said the Canadian account was overdrawn by roughly $21 million, adding that he needed Compeer to immediately 'send the money back' to the Canadian bank to cover the overdraft. Compeer refused. In late February, the lawsuit alleges, Compeer learned the Canadian bank had rejected 65 checks totaling $59.9 million previously credited by Compeer to the defendants' accounts. As a result, the defendants' $21 million positive cash balance at Compeer was instantly wiped out and replaced with a $36 million debt owed by the defendants to Compeer. In its lawsuit, Compeer alleges that before the check-kiting scheme collapsed, it involved 'billions of dollars' in fraudulent transactions. Court records show that on March 17, 2025, the Canadian bank asked that a receiver be appointed to look after the defendants' assets. However, the listed assets in that case didn't include the 110,000 head of swine in Yankton County, or the 370,000 head owned by third parties and managed by Sunterra. In court filings, Compeer says that over the past several weeks, it has provided funds necessary for the care and feeding of the Yankton County pigs, but says it is no longer willing to do so 'while the parties who perpetrated this fraudulent scheme' remain in control of Sunterra, Sunwold and Lariagra. 'These swine are in imminent danger of starvation if feed is not promptly purchased and delivered to barns housing the pigs,' the lawsuit states, adding that workers hired to provide for the animals' care may soon walk off the job given the Price family's inability to make payroll. If court appoints a receiver, Compeer states in its court filings, it will advance the money necessary to protect its collateral and prevent the animals' starvation. The Price family has not yet responded to the lawsuit and Sunserra declined comment. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for fraud and unjust enrichment. The lawsuit was initially filed in South Dakota state court before being transferred to federal court. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Associated Press
18-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Growers Edge, Compeer Financial, and Evergreen Bank Group Partner to Deliver Rapid Input Financing Offering
Growers Edge, a technology firm that provides modern financial products and data-driven tools for agricultural retailers, manufacturers and lenders, today announced a new partnership with Evergreen Bank Group and Compeer Financial. Faced with low profit margins and high interest rates, agricultural retailers and manufacturers have embraced in-house input financing programs to increase wallet share and better serve their grower customers. In-house input financing helps retailers and manufacturers retain sales opportunities and valuable data, unlike other lines of credit (like local operating loans), which can be used elsewhere. Together, Compeer Financial, Evergreen Bank Group and Growers Edge provide funding liquidity and a partner branded SaaS platform that simplifies the application, credit decisioning, and loan management process. By empowering agricultural retailers and manufacturers to provide growers with instant financing decisions at competitive rates, the partnership helps growers manage risk and defer payment on new, innovative crop inputs. 'Given the current state of the ag economy, input financing is a powerful sales tool,' said Andy Flores, Business Development Director at Growers Edge. 'Our customer agronomists report that financing conversations are often initiated by growers. They're willing to try new inputs, but they need their retailer partners to help mitigate the risk.' Aligned in their missions of supporting rural communities, Compeer Financial, Evergreen Bank Group and Growers Edge will also partner in the development of other financial products and new digital tools that help growers maximize output, achieve peace of mind and secure their economic futures. 'This partnership brings financing options to farmers when and where they need it,' said Kelly Miller, Director of AgTech at Compeer Financial. 'Growers Edge and Evergreen Bank Group understand the importance of making it easier for clients to do business in their local communities and Compeer Financial is proud to provide a cutting-edge option to do just that.' The landmark partnership follows a series of major achievements for Growers Edge. In addition to serving four of the top ten largest retailers in the country with the Crop Plan Warranty, Growers Edge has partnered with organizations like Nutrien, PepsiCo, Mondelez and Helena Agri-Enterprises to boost sustainable agriculture practices. In 2024, Growers Edge acquired AQUAOSO Technologies, which offers its services under the Agcor brand and provides mapping, data, and analytics software for agricultural lenders, and expanded its farmland valuation tool to cover more than 144 million acres of land across nine states. Earlier this year, Growers Edge announced it protected over 1 million acres of American farmland from downside risk through its crop plan warranty program. To request an input financing platform demo from Growers Edge and request a term sheet, go demo at Growers Edge. About Growers Edge Growers Edge provides modern financial products and data-driven tools that help forward-thinking agriculture retailers, manufacturers, and lenders reduce their growers' risks and costs when adopting newer innovative solutions and practices. The company's crop plan warranties and input financing solutions are trusted by dozens of retailers and manufacturers to assist hundreds of growers affordably purchase their products and guarantee yields on over one million acres of cropland. About Compeer Financial Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural communities. The $33.1 billion organization provides loans, leases, risk management and other financial services throughout 144 counties in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Based in the Upper Midwest, Compeer Financial exists to champion the hopes and dreams of rural America, while providing personalized service and expertise to clients and the agriculture industry. About Evergreen Bank Group Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Oak Brook, IL, Evergreen Bank Group is a leading tech-savvy community bank serving the greater Chicago area and beyond. In addition to its retail and commercial banking services, Evergreen is a national leader in niche lending markets, including collector car, powersports, and manufactured housing loans. With a focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences through innovative digital platforms, Evergreen is redefining community banking for the modern era.
