Vanderloos Farms placed into receivership as RBC seeks repayment

Vanderloos Farms Ltd., a Creston, British Columbia dairy operation, was placed into receivership on May 14, 2026, on application by Royal Bank of Canada, which was owed approximately $6.38 million as of April 1, 2026, plus continuing interest and costs.

Vanderloos operates a mid-sized dairy farm near Creston and was incorporated on December 13, 2021. Stephen Vanderloos is its sole director. The farm’s principal assets include approximately 504 acres containing crops, barns, a primary residence and three rental properties, along with approximately 300 dairy cows and calves, milk-production quota, corn, alfalfa and barley crops, vehicles and farming equipment. The business was being operated by Vanderloos with two full-time and two part-time employees when KPMG began its review. A company asset schedule based on unaudited September 30, 2025 financial statements recorded total net book assets of approximately $9.34 million, including $3.82 million of property, plant and equipment and $3.03 million of milk quota.

RBC made demand on November 6, 2024, but the debt remained unpaid. Vanderloos had been seeking replacement financing, although matrimonial proceedings involving Vanderloos and his spouse delayed a settlement and, in turn, the refinancing effort. RBC retained KPMG as financial adviser in January 2026, but KPMG said it could not complete its financial assessment because it received limited information. Before the receivership order was made, KPMG retained T&L Cattle Ltd. as dairy-farm consultant, attended the property with the consultant on May 12 and contacted the BC Milk Marketing Board to assess the process for realizing on the company’s quota. The receiver reported that Vanderloos cooperated in good faith and that the cattle were healthy and the operations met the standards of a reasonably prudent British Columbia dairy farmer.

KPMG initially took possession and control only of the milk quota, leaving Vanderloos in possession of the remaining assets and allowing farming operations to continue under a monitoring agreement. The receiver said the company had enough liquidity to operate through the 13-week forecast period ending September 4, 2026. Secured claims listed by KPMG totalled approximately $6.64 million, comprising RBC’s approximately $6.38 million claim, $218,800 owed to John Deere Financial Inc. and $45,000 owed to CWB National Leasing Inc. The receiver also listed approximately $520,669 of unsecured claims, including approximately $226,055 owed to Canada Revenue Agency and $150,000 owed to Richards Buell Sutton LLP.

KPMG considered selling the farm as a going concern but concluded that its remote location would make a going-concern process difficult and lengthy. Its preferred realization strategy begins with selling the transferable milk quota through the BC Milk Marketing Board’s monthly quota exchange, subject to Vanderloos obtaining refinancing and RBC being satisfied its security is not being eroded. Of the farm’s 182.09 kilograms per day of continuous daily quota, 165.41 kilograms per day was eligible for sale in July 2026. At the June exchange price of $40,700 per daily kilogram, KPMG estimated the quota could generate approximately $6.7 million, an amount expected to repay RBC in full but potentially insufficient to satisfy all creditors. Once quota placed on the exchange is sold and transferred, the farm must stop selling the corresponding milk.

The receiver may then sell some or all of the cattle. T&L advised that dairy-cow demand in Alberta and British Columbia was low and that a properly marketed auction of a herd this size would require two to three months. It recommended exploring private sales to United States buyers, where demand remained strong. On June 24, Justice Loo amended and restated the receivership order, authorizing KPMG to sell the milk quota and cattle at times and prices it considers appropriate without returning for transaction-specific court approval. The order also confirmed that KPMG is not required to take possession or operational control of environmentally sensitive property, livestock, milk inventory or the dairy operation solely by exercising its receivership powers.

KPMG is the receiver. Counsel includes Dentons for RBC and Gowling WLG for the receiver.