Rabobank foreclosed three Vebra farms in Michigan

UTRECHT – Giant dairy operation Vreba Melkvee in the Netherlands is not affected by the woes of its sister operation Vreba-Hoff. The USA group, which controlled a group of corporate project entities, lost control of three farms in Michigan to its financial backer Rabo Agrifinance. Rabobank views Vreba in the USA as a different client. The Michigan farms have a long history of difficulties with regulatory agencies over environmental compliance issues, which the firm recently said were impossible to meet even after it installed expensive equipment. Many of Vreba-Hoff’s other projects ran into separate foreclosure issues with investors saying they were losing millions due to delays and overpricing of dairy turnkey operations set up for newly arriving Dutch and European dairymen. Vreba-Hoff blames poor commodity prices and the economic downturn for its woes.