FARGO, N.D. -- Two farmers who were owed tens of thousands of dollars by the Dairy Dozen L.L.P., doing business as Five Star Dairy of Milnor, N.D., recently received full payments in satisfaction of earlier court judgments.
Agweek on Oct. 19 wrote about Dan Mund and Ray Martinson, both of Milnor, who were two of several farmers who weren't paid for feed they sold from their 2008 corn crop to feed cows at the 1,600-cow dairy. Mund had advertised in farm papers that he was selling a corn planter he no longer could afford because the unpaid funds from the dairy. Five Star is managed by Prairie Ridge Management Co. of Veblen, S.D.
Trent Mahler of Rutland, N.D., is attorney for both Mund and Martinson in separate but related cases to achieve full payment on 2008 contracts. Both farmers had received about two-thirds of their payments, but not on the promised schedules.
On Nov. 30, the two farmers were been paid in full in accordance with separate court judgements, Mahler says.
Sargent County (N.D._ District Court on April 23 had ordered $89,278.22 be paid to Mund and, on July 10, had ordered $36,000 for Martinson.
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Mund received three partial payments as late as Sept. 1, but payments had stopped.
Because of funds being confiscated from milk checks at the processor, Mund's final payment was $81,000. Martinson also had received some partial payments, but his final payment was about $33,000.
Additionally, Mahler confirmed that the Carver County, Minn., sheriff had collected a percentage fee beyond the judgments -- $4,576.41 for Mund's case and about $1,892 for the Martinson case.
Mund says dairy officials had talked about settling with the two men, but they were "dragging their feet and wanted us to release judgment before they'd send the funds."
Taking the money
Mahler had the judgments transferred to Carver County. He obtained a writ of execution, which directed the Carver County sheriff to collect money "wherever he can find it" and "the best place was the company that purchases their milk -- Bongards' Creameries," Mahler says, referring to a cooperative with plants in Bongards, Minn., and Perham, Minn.
When Five Star made a recent milk delivery to the creamery, the co-op was required to issue the check to the sheriff, who in turn issued the check to a trust managed by Mahler, who in turn hand-delivered checks to the farmers.
"When I saw that check, I was happy I got it," Mund says. "I guess the justice system worked in this case, but it takes time. It's sad it had to come to this."
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Mund says he'll try to go back and be a good neighbor.
"They asked if I minded if they would run a manure (transport) pipe along the road on my field," Mund says. "I said yes. I'm done fighting, done being mad."
Other farmers owed money from 2008 crops contacted by Agweek say they have received partial, but not full payment, but still hope to be paid in full.
