A North Dakota man plans to buy what was once Agridime, a Texas-based meat company that was allegedly operating as a Ponzi scheme under the previous owners.
After the US Securities and Exchange Commission determined the company was functioning as a Ponzi scheme in December, the company’s assets were frozen and then put under the oversight of a government-appointed receiver. The Receiver reorganized the company somewhat, but the company continued slaughtering livestock and selling beef, chicken and pork.
The company now operates under a new name, American Grazed Beef.
If Wylie Bice of Killdeer, North Dakota is successful in buying the company, it will continue as American Grazed Beef. He is not looking for outside investors.
Bice, a rancher and former owner of an oilfield trucking company, is also a former investor in Agridime. Bice and his son own a cow-calf and yearling operation about 20 miles northwest of Killdeer.
Randy Quarne, Bice’s former business partner in the oil field trucking business, will be a partner in American Grazed Beef. They sold the trucking business in 2012 and Quarne, originally from North Dakota, moved to Texas at that time. He remains in the Lonestar state, which is ideal for him to oversee American Grazed Beef.
Bice had bought shares in Agridime that went unsettled when assets were frozen.
“I was a pretty sizeable investor [in Agridime],” he said. “It’s one of the reasons I’m buying it. I’m so upside down in this thing.”
When it was revealed that the company was allegedly a Ponzi scheme and the assets were frozen, some investors did not get their investments back.
Quarne had not invested in Agridime.
Bice said he could probably start a new beef company “cheaper” but said “they have an excellent program.”
Agridime bought feeder cattle and also fed cattle that were under contract (on retained ownership), buying the cattle at the point of slaughter. Agridime bought cattle from many North Dakota and South Dakota operators.
Wylie Bice and his son ranch on the Little Missouri River, utilizing some BLM and US Forest Service allotments. Bice family | Courtesy photoimage-9
Wylie Bice plans to buy American Grazed Beef (formerly Agridime) if he can strike a deal with the receiver. He plans to rely heavily on North Dakota and South Dakota cattle. Bice family | Courtesy photoimage-10
American Grazed Beef, under Bice’s management will do the same. “We are going to own about half and then we are going to buy the other half as fat cattle,” he said. The purchased cattle will come from feedlots they are already in business with. Ideally, they would buy most or all of the cattle at the point of slaughter, he said, but it’s difficult to be sure they can reliably source the quality of finished cattle they want year-round.
At its peak, Agridime was marketing about 10 loads of cattle per week. Bice said he hopes to do about half of that.
“We want a good reputation, we want to be specialized,” he said. “If you want to keep the quality, you have to have a good idea where the cattle are coming from.”
Bice said they plan to purchase a significant number of cattle from the Dakotas. They will buy all natural Angus and Angus-cross cattle.
He said that in addition to buying steers, they will buy heifers out of the Dakotas and feed them at one particular lot.
Currently the cattle are fed in Kansas, shipped to a facility in Texas to be slaughtered and then the carcasses are shipped back to a cold storage facility in Kansas and Arizona. The company owns a storefront in Arizona and also Kansas, but they don’t sell a significant amount of the company’s meat.
Bice and Quarne both said that the meat is high quality and is currently marketed through restaurants, door to door sales and through internet sales. Bice said they will expand all of these avenues through aggressive marketing.
He hopes to gain restaurant clientele in the Fort Worth, Texas area. They are also considering a storefront in Fort Worth. Some restaurants in Dallas are currently serving their meat.
Both men said they are not necessarily concerned about the “big four” packers undercutting them on price because they are selling a niche, high quality product.
“The big packers don’t affect us, they are moving volume. We are selling quality,” he said.
Bice also hopes to eventually tap into overseas markets.
Both men said the company will retain many of the current employees, which will help make the transition smooth. “This thing kind of runs itself,” said Bice.
Consumers and restauranteurs are looking for good beef and are happy to find a source, he said. “A lot of people never stopped buying meat from us. They are busy, they don’t watch the news, they just want a good steak or good hamburger.”
Quarne said the Agridime owners have not been involved since he and Bice have shown interest. They have dealt with the government- appointed receiver.
The North Dakota securities department ordered a Killdeer, North Dakota man, Taylor Bang, to cease and desist from selling Agridime securities in December of 2023 until the contracts and/or securities become registered with the North Dakota securities department.
In May of 2023, this same agency had issued Agridime a cease and desist order instructing Joshua Link and Agridime LLC to cease and desist from selling unregistered securities, acting as an unregistered broker-dealer, issuer-dealer or agent, and engaging in fraudulent practices in connection with the offer and sale of securities. Bang’s name was not mentioned in the May cease and desist order from North Dakota.
Bice said Bang may work for him under the new company. “He’s a hell of a salesman. He has such a good reputation,” he said.
Bice hopes he can recover some of what he lost in Agridime. He is also hoping he can be successful enough to return a portion of what other investors lost. His goal is to eventually return 80 percent of what people invested.
In addition to beef, the company also sells free range chicken and pork.
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Publish date : 2024-08-02 10:05:00
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