Russ Dapsauski

Russ Dapsauski, program manager, told producers that although Wheatland has not yet been declared a failure, he has already begun thinking about asset recovery, and he encouraged growers to do the same.
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Dapsauski told growers not to worry that the fund won't be able to pay them.The fastest Dapsauski has ever seen the fund pay growers was in the Allison Mills case in Filer last year.
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"We found that we have a lien law that really does protect producers," Dapsauski said."We found that in the Allison case because we had this arrow in our quiver it gave us the lion's share of the assets when the grain was sold."

He encouraged producers to file the forms and pay the $5 filing fee.Even though Wheatland has not yet filed bankruptcy, he said he expects that it will.That's because the state will try to recover whatever is paid out of the Commodity Indemnity Fund from assets owned by the company.

"Once the Commodity Indemnity Fund pay out, the fund will become a secured creditor," he told growers.

It's to everyone's advantage to put the fund in that position, he said.

"You're all paying into it, as soon as we get the money back in and reach the cap, you don't have to pay in," Dapsauski said.
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Dapsauski warned growers that just having a contract may not mean they have a valid claim.State law states that in the case of no-price established or price-later contracts, contracts that are not renewed after six months are not eligible for payment from the Commodity Indemnity Fund.

Growers with new-crop contracts or old-crop contracts that were not delivered may also run into trouble if a bankruptcy court determines those contracts are assets of Wheatland and must be delivered.Delivering grain to a warehouse without a state license makes a grower ineligible for payment out of the Commodity Indemnity Fund.

In answer to questions of how Wheatland could be in this position when all state-licensed warehouses are audited, Dapsauski could only say that Wheatland was audited in November 2003 and on that day, Wheatland had enough credit to pay its obligations.On April 1, Wheatland lost its line of credit and from that point was unable to pay growers.

He added that state officials are in the process of rewriting the bonded-warehouse law to look at the ratio of grain liabilities to grain assets which would give a better picture of a warehouse's financial position.

"We learn something from every one of these failures," Dapsauski said.

Russ Dapsauski, who oversees the state's warehouse control program, wants a state warehouse license to give a producer the same assurance that the FDIC seal on a bank door gives him as a bank customer.In an analogy he has used when speaking to a banker's association, he says that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seal tells him that the bank has been examined, it's following regulations and if it fails, his funds are protected.

"We would like producers to have that same assurance," Dapsauski said.
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Dapsauski, program manager, added that growers who are slow to be paid should contact the Agriculture Department.Even though a license holder can get a clean bill of health, situations can change between inspections.

"If producers aren't getting paid, we need to get right back in there," he said

An evolving business climate is part of what is driving the changes to the state's inspection program.

"The business world is changing every day," Dapsauski said.

Russ Dapsauski, Program Manager

(208) 332-8612

rdapsaus@idahoag.us

Russ Dapsauski, IDAHOPresidentRdapsaus@agri.state.id.usPhone: 208-332-8612Fax: 208-334-2170
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Russ Dapsauski, Idaho
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Russ Dapsauski, Idaho
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Russ Dapsauski, Idaho
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Russ Dapsauski, Idaho