Winrock Grass Farm Inc., started in 1955 by Winthrop Rockefeller, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Arkansas' first commercial turfgrass farm specializes in growing and marketing what was then a new variety of zoysia for lawn use.
Frank L. Whitbeck and his son, Frank B. Whitbeck, purchased the business in 1979 from the estate of Rockefeller, who had served as governor for two terms, and formed Winrock Grass Farm Inc. The elder Whitbeck died in May 2002, and his son is now the sole shareholder and director of the company.
In a prepared statement issued Friday, Frank B. Whitbeck attributed the grass farm's financial difficulties to increased fuel and transportation prices, an inability to pass along those costs, softness in the golf course construction industry and increased pressure on agricultural producers by their commercial lenders.
An "impending foreclosure action brought by Metropolitan National Bank" is mentioned in the filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas as the reason for seeking protection while the company reorganizes.
Since 1966, the grass farm's operations have been located on Arkansas 10 in far western Pulaski County. Because of Little Rock's recent growth in that direction, independent valuations of the real property "show assets far in excess of existing liabilities," Whitbeck said in his statement.
"Winrock Grass Farm Inc. believes that an attractive refinancing package for continuing operation of its business will be completed in the next 30 to 60 days."
According to the bankruptcy filing, the business owes "$1 million to $10 million" to a total of 56 creditors, and unsecured creditors are not expected to receive any payments as a result of the Chapter 11 reorganization.
The farm's largest unsecured creditor, with $3.9 million in claims, is Little Rock-based Signature Life Insurance Co., which Frank B. Whitbeck established in 1982.
Bank of Little Rock, with more than $450,000 in claims, and Capital Bank, with $110,000 in claims, are listed as Winrock Grass Farm's second- and thirdlargest unsecured creditors.
Four small Whitbeck companies - FBW, LC; Firethorne, LLC; Belle Meade, LLC; and The Gardens, LLC - also filed this week for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
FBW, Belle Meade and The Gardens all have secured debt with Metropolitan National Bank. Capital Bank is a secured lender to Belle Meade and The Gardens, and Bank of Little Rock is a secured creditor of Firethorne.
Firethorne, Belle Meade and The Gardens have no unsecured creditors.
Creditors meetings in all five of the bankruptcies are scheduled for Oct. 28.
Frank L. Whitbeck moved to Little Rock in 1942 from Oklahoma, and in 1955 he established his own company, Pioneer Western Life Insurance Co., later known as American Foundation Life Insurance.
In 1968 Whitbeck ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, and in 1979 he sold American Foundation Life.
Looking for investment opportunities, Whitbeck and his son purchased Winrock Grass Farm, which is best known for its "Meyer Z-52 Zoysiagrass." Since the early 1980s, the farm has sold the grass to golf courses across the Midwest, many of them high-profile, including some on the PGA Tour. The company has clients in 31 states and several foreign countries, according to Whitbeck's statement.
In Little Rock, Winrock Grass has been installed at Riverfront Park, Episcopal Collegiate School and the Central High School Commemorative Garden Park.
Since Winrock Grass Farm was founded in 1955, many other Arkansas turfgrass farms have been established.
John Boyd, a turf specialist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, estimated that 50 to 60 sod farms now operate statewide.
"When row-crop prices are bad I get all kinds of inquiries about starting a sod farm," Boyd said, from farmers looking for a higher value crop.
But price wars and marketing difficulties plague the turfgrass industry, he said, and "there's no federal price support" for sod.
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock)
