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Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. “Production agriculture, environmental necessities and raw economics are coming together like never before. Companies on the cutting edge of these efforts, like Bion, can change the entire way farming and natural resources management have been done throughout our history.” Dan Glickman (2002) Bion’s technology platform:
OVERVIEW Bion applies modern cleantech principles to agribusiness to create a unique and extraordinary opportunity in the multi-trillion dollar livestock, food processing and biofuels industries. Bion’s technology platform virtually eliminates the air and water pollution associated with livestock waste and simultaneously recovers significantly more renewable energy from the waste biomass than other technologies that seek to exploit this energy source. The impact of livestock factory farms has been identified as one of the greatest environmental threats facing the world today; in the U.S., environmental problems associated with livestock waste have severely restricted the industry’s economics and growth opportunities. Bion has provided effective waste treatment services to the livestock industry for 18 years as its technology has evolved to meet changing standards and requirements. The company recently announced the upcoming installation of its next-generation system on a commercial dairy in Pennsylvania in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The system will reduce nitrogen and ammonia emissions from the dairy as part of a first-of-its-kind nutrient credit trading program through the PA Department of Environmental Protection. Bion’s patented and proven technology offers the only comprehensive solution to the environmental impacts of concentrated livestock waste, producing opportunity in several agribusiness sectors. Bion’s technology platform creates a profitable business opportunity to provide waste treatment services and systems and/or renewable energy production capability to existing livestock operations – of which there are many. Early candidates for these solutions include individual facilities that face impending regulatory action, those that wish to expand or relocate, and operations located in regions that suffer severe and immediate environmental issues, such as the San Joaquin Valley or the Chesapeake Bay, where financial incentives are available that encourage voluntary nutrient reductions from agricultural sources. Bion’s business model is focused on the company’s unique ability to permit and develop large scale state-of-the-art livestock operations that are integrated with synergistic agribusiness operations in economically advantageous locations where they could not otherwise be permitted. U.S. livestock herds are currently positioned as a result of historical decisions based in many cases on environmental expediency: remote and under-populated locations and areas with lax environmental oversight. Abundant resources, particularly water and the availability of cheap energy (allowing cattle and corn to be inexpensively transported over long distances) made those decisions economically feasible in the past. Today however, increased energy and transportation costs, scarcer resources and stricter environmental enforcement have added a tremendous financial burden to the livestock production, processing and distribution chain. Bion’s ability to site large scale environmentally-sustainable livestock herds in strategic locations minimizes many of the inefficiencies that are inherent in the industry’s current structure, allowing for tremendous economic advantages in livestock production/processing and biofuels production. Integrated Projects will balance livestock and biofuel production, meat/milk processing and other synergistic operations in a cooperative entity that will utilize renewable energy produced from the livestock waste biomass. In Bion’s closed-loop livestock/ethanol model, a corn ethanol plant serves as a feed mill for the livestock herd, providing its distiller grain co-product to supplement the herd’s ration. The ethanol plant is an onsite consumer (at burner-tip values) of the renewable energy generated from the herd. Integration with Bion’s technology platform significantly increases the efficiency of corn ethanol production, improving the generally-accepted net energy balance of 1.4 to 1 to approximately 5 to 1 (based on the Argonne National Laboratories GREET model assessment of a similar integrated, closed-loop project). Ethanol was reaffirmed as an ongoing part of America’s fuel supply by the Energy Bill passed in December 2007. Beyond Bion’s ability to address the livestock industry’s regulatory issues and improve its economics, is a growing and powerful trend in the marketplace: increasing consumer demand for environmental responsibility in the manufacture of the products they purchase. Wal-Mart, with its ground-breaking environmental sustainability initiative, is a reflection of that shift. Bion’s technology and its integrated agribusiness model can deliver dairy or beef products to the marketplace that do not just look Green as a result of biodegradable packaging or a minor reduction in carbon footprint. They will be produced in the most environmentally sustainable facilities in the world that address both air and water pollution issues, as well as carbon footprint, from the production cycle all the way through processing and distribution. Scale, integration and strategic geographical location, coupled with environmental sustainability, unlock resource and operational efficiencies that reduce risks and produce significant competitive advantages over traditionally located and operated facilities. Bion has commenced the development process for its initial Integrated Project, a beef cattle finishing facility balanced with a highly-efficient ethanol plant, in upstate New York, within 400 miles of nearly 50 million consumers. Several other potential projects are now under review. OPPORTUNITIES Bion’s technology platform unlocks several opportunities for the Company:
Bion has identified three primary market opportunities to develop Integrated Projects:
Greenfield Integrated Projects represent a paradigm shift – not only in the economics and methodology of livestock and biofuel production – but in economic development opportunities for rural America, as well. Bion’s Projects provide a rare opportunity for rural locations to secure new non-transferable, industrial quality jobs. A Project’s job base includes positions such as materials handlers, equipment operators, mechanics and maintenance, veterinarians and nutritionists, chemists, administrative staff. Projects also produce wide-ranging indirect economic impacts through spending and increased activity among up- and downstream suppliers, vendors, and service providers and the local agricultural community. Integrated Projects will provide a substantial economic benefit to nearby communities and Bion anticipates its Projects will enjoy public support consistent with existing economic development activities. Bion will evaluate the various communities within the general area in which it seeks to locate in order to determine which of them will meet the requirements of various state and federal economic development assistance programs, such as New Market Tax Credits and New York Empire Zone Credits. INITIAL INTEGRATED PROJECT: UPSTATE NEW YORK Bion intends to commence development of its first greenfield Integrated Project during the first half of 2008 by optioning sites and beginning the permitting process. The St. Lawrence County (SLC) Board of Legislators recently voted 12 to 2 in favor of moving forward with a review of Bion’s Project, consisting of approximately 90,000 head of beef cattle balanced with a 42 million gallon per year ethanol plant, subject to meeting all state and local environmental requirements. The Company is evaluating several sites in SLC and is in discussions with representatives of various state and local agencies concerning local and regional agriculture inputs, transportation and other infrastructure issues, and economic assistance. Bion estimates the cost of the SLC Project, including livestock facilities, environmental treatment and renewable energy platform, and ethanol facility, at $200 to $220 million. Bion anticipates that Project CAPEX requirements will be funded through a combination of equity, senior and subordinated debt, including Industrial Revenue Bonds and Solid Waste Treatment Bonds, as well as grants, credits and other incentives, such as federal New Market Tax Credits and New York Empire Zone Credits. BUSINESS MODEL/STRATEGY Because Integrated Projects encompass livestock production, renewable energy, end product processing, and in many cases biofuel production, Bion’s operating model is a combination of utility and landlord. In most cases, Bion will own the livestock facility and act as a utility, supplying waste treatment services and renewable energy to the Project partners (including the livestock herd and ethanol plant), on long-term contracts. Depending on the specific Project, Bion may or may not have an ownership interest in the livestock and/or biofuel Project participants. Bion’s technology platform enables the generation of significant cash flow from the livestock herd, much of it not attainable in smaller or stand alone operations:
Potential and/or future revenue sources include:
Bion has cultivated relationships in the Midwest with the intent to develop Projects by introducing new livestock herds to existing ethanol plants. There are more than 130 ethanol plants currently operating in the U.S., with many more in construction. In most of these locations, distiller grain production has surpassed the local livestock herds’ ability to consume it. Ethanol plants in these locations, if they are not already doing so, are faced with the prospect of further increased costs from having to dry and ship their distiller grains. Bion intends to pursue these and other opportunities to integrate livestock with existing ethanol production. Bion is in discussions with several large food processing operations in the dairy and beef sectors regarding potential Integrated Projects. Increases in transportation fuel costs, regional droughts and other issues have exposed weaknesses due to the geographical placement of today’s livestock industry – these inefficiencies are severely impacting profit margins in the processing industry. Bion’s goal is to secure partners and sites within the next 12 to 18 months for an additional five to eight Projects in various states throughout the U.S. KREIDER DAIRY – CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED Bion recently executed a memorandum of understanding to install a system at the Kreider Dairy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to reduce ammonia emissions and nitrogen in the effluent. Bion undertook this project due in large part to Pennsylvania’s nutrient credit trading program, which was established to provide cost-effective reductions of the excess flow of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) into the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Bion has worked extensively with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection over the past year to establish a nutrient credit calculation/verification methodology that is appropriate to Bion’s proven technology and recognizes its ‘multi-media’ (both water and atmospheric) approach to nutrient reductions. Pennsylvania’s nutrient credit trading program allows for voluntary credit trading between a ‘non-point source’ (such as a dairy or other agricultural sources) and a ‘point source’ polluter, such as a municipal waste water treatment plant or a housing development. For example, Bion can reduce the nutrients from an existing dairy (below its baseline discharge levels) much more cost-effectively than a municipal wastewater treatment plant can reduce nutrients to meet its baseline. The municipal facility can purchase credits from Bion to offset its nutrient discharges, rather than spending significantly more money to make the plant upgrades necessary to achieve its own reductions. Bion anticipates that all or a significant part of the capital and operating costs to install Bion’s system on the dairy will be funded out of the credit transaction proceeds. CORE TECHNOLOGY Bion’s core technology is its patented Nutrient Management System, a complex biological system resulting from 18 years of research & development, testing, commercial deployment, and further adaptation to evolving standards and opportunities. The platform reduces nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) by up to 75%, ammonia up to 99% and other air emissions including hydrogen sulfide, VOC’s, and greenhouse gases by more than 80%, depending on the constituent gas. The platform’s performance data was demonstrated on a commercial dairy in Texas; the data was verified by a third-party review team of scientists and engineers including representatives of several regulatory agencies (full peer-reviewed report: www.biontech.com). Nutrient reduction levels that meet surface water discharge requirements can be achieved by more intensive Bion processing and use of a constructed wetland. Bion holds eight patents and has multiple pending patents on its technology and business model. Bion’s proven platform is the only technology that provides a comprehensive waste management solution to the excess nutrients and air emissions associated with concentrated livestock. RENEWABLE ENERGY Bion’s technology reclaims renewable energy from the livestock ‘waste’ stream. A large scale livestock facility produces vast quantities of manure. A Bion livestock facility is a high-volume source of consistent high-quality cellulosic biomass that contains a substantial amount of energy. The Bion system extracts cellulosic solids from the waste stream that are processed into a combustible solid fuel and used to provide thermal energy for ethanol production customarily supplied by purchased natural gas. However, the platform is modular and can accommodate new technologies (as developed) that may produce greater energy recovery and/or higher valued fuels. Bion anticipates incorporating near-term technology developments in biomass-to-liquids (BTL) processes that will produce even greater value through conversion to transportation fuel. Bion’s technology platform produces about 27,000 BTU’s per day from a beef cow. The platform generates between 80,000 and 85,000 BTU’s of energy per day from a dairy cow due to differences in mass and dietary characteristics. This output is net of the energy used to provide the system’s own thermal requirements and does not include energy produced from the inclusion of animal bedding (or other substrate material). It also does not factor in the benefits of utilizing waste heat from the ethanol process; nor does it include the energy that can be produced from the fat and proteins contained in the soluble stream co-product from the ethanol process. Renewable energy produced from the beef cattle anticipated at the SLC Project is expected to replace the use of approximately 945,000 MCF of natural gas annually. Bion expects that renewable energy subsidies, credits and other incentives, consistent with those available for farm-based RE technologies such as anaerobic digestion, as well as wind, solar, and other alternative energy technologies, will be available for Bion’s process. TECHNOLOGY DIFFERENTIATION Bion’s technology platform is NOT an anaerobic digester (AD). Although AD’s have received attention recently, according to the EPA they do not provide significant reductions in nutrients and actually increase ammonia emissions and water soluble nitrogen. As such, AD’s do not support permitting concentrated, large scale livestock herds that are required to develop Bion’s Integrated Projects. From a ‘biomass to energy’ perspective, AD’s produce only about one third of the renewable energy produced by the Bion platform per animal. AD also provides more limited reductions of odors, other air emissions and greenhouse gases than Bion’s system. MANAGEMENT Bion has assembled an exceptional in-house and consulting management team (see individual biographies below) that provides expertise and experience in all disciplines required to execute the Company’s business plan, including:
SUMMARY Bion’s technology platform is proven, markets have been identified, the team has been built and industry, regulatory and political relationships are in place. The technology and the business model are ready for commercial deployment. Bion has identified an initial Integrated Project in upstate New York where extensive pre-development work has been accomplished, and is moving forward with a high-profile environmental project in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Bion is a 12(g) reporting company and has traded publicly since 1992, currently on the OTC BB: BNET. The company’s shares are thinly-traded and its market capitalization is under $20 million (<$30 million fully diluted). Based on the Company’s capital structure and the magnitude of the Integrated Projects, Bion anticipates that successful completion of any one Integrated Project could result in a return on investment of several multiples – see ‘Risk factors’ below. For additional information: www.biontech.com This Executive Summary contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements regarding Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. (the "Company"), which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs including, but not limited to, statements concerning the Company's operations, performance, financial condition, business strategies, and other information and that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results of operations, most of which are beyond the Company's control, could differ materially. For this purpose, any statements contained in this Executive Summary that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "estimate," "continue" or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Risk factors that could cause or contribute to such difference include, but are not limited to, limited operating history; uncertain nature of environmental regulation and operations; risks of development of first of their kind Integrated Projects; need for additional financing; competition; dependence on management; and other factors. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim any obligation, to publicly release the results of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements. Potential investors should carefully review the Company’s SEC Form 10-SB (Amendment 4), the Company’s 10-KSB (year end June 30, 2007) and other SEC filings at www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar?bion.
TEAM BIOGRAPHIES Mark A. Smith has been President, General Counsel, interim Chief Financial Officer and a director of Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. since late March 2003. Since that time, he has also served as sole director, President and General Counsel of Bion's wholly-owned subsidiaries including Bion Dairy Corporation. Since 1992 Mr. Smith has served Bion in various senior positions including director, Chairman and President. Mr. Smith received a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, Colorado (1980) and a BS from Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts (1971). Mr. Smith has engaged in the private practice of law in Colorado since 1980. In addition, Mr. Smith has been active in running private family companies, Stonehenge Corporation (until 1994) and LoTayLingKyur, Inc. (1994-2002). Until returning to Bion during March 2003, Mr. Smith had been in retirement with focus on charitable work and spiritual retreat. Dominic Bassani served as the General Manager of Bion Dairy from April 2003 through September 2006. He now serves Bion (and its subsidiaries) as a consultant (through Bright Capital, Ltd. ("Brightcap")) on a full-time basis with focus on strategic planning and special projects. He has been an investor in and consultant to Bion since December 1999. He is an independent investor and since 1990 has owned and operated Brightcap, a management consulting company that provides management services to early stage technology companies. Mr. Bassani was a founding investor in 1993 in Initial Acquisition Corp. that subsequently merged in 1995 with Hollis Eden Corp. (HEPH), a biotech company specializing in immune response drugs. From early 1998 until June 1999 he was a consultant to Internet Commerce Corp. (ICCA), a leader in business-to-business transactions using the Internet. He is presently an investor in numerous private and public companies primarily in technology related businesses. From 1980 until 1986, Mr. Bassani focused primarily on providing management reorganization services to manufacturing companies and in particular to generic pharmaceutical manufacturers and their financial sponsors. Salvatore J. Zizza recently rejoined Bion and Dairy during 2005 on a consulting basis and assumed the positions of Chairman and Director of Bion Dairy Corporation on January 1, 2006. Mr. Zizza served as a Director of Bion from December 1999 through February 2003. Mr. Zizza has agreed to join Bion's Board of Directors and serve as Bion's Chairman once Bion has commenced Exchange Act reporting with Securities and Exchange Commission and has secured adequate director and officer liability insurance coverage. Mr. Zizza is a director of The Gabelli Equity Trust, The Gabelli Asset Fund, The Gabelli Growth Fund and The Gabelli Convertible Securities Fund and other funds in the Gabelli Fund family. Mr. Zizza is presently Chairman of Hallmark Electrical Supplies Corp, a distributor of electrical products, Bethlehem Advanced Metals which designs and manufactures high-temperature furnaces for sale and for its own use in the processing of specialty carbon, graphite and ceramic materials for semiconductor and aerospace applications, and Chairman of Metropolitan Paper Recycling, the largest independent recycler in New York. From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Zizza was self employed providing consulting services as well as his board of director duties as described below. He served as Chairman of the Board, President and Treasurer from 1992 through 1997 of Hollis Eden Pharmaceuticals (HEPH) (f/k/a IAC) and has served as a Director since 1998. Mr. Zizza served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Lehigh Group, Inc. (f/k/a The LVI Group Inc.) ("LHG") beginning in 1991, and was President and Chief Financial Officer of The Lehigh Group, Inc. from 1985 to 1991. LHG, a New York Stock Exchange listed company, was engaged, through its subsidiary, in the distribution of electrical products, and from 1985 until 1991 was one of the largest interior construction and asbestos abatement firms in the United States. Mr. Zizza was Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer of NICO, Inc., an interior construction firm, from 1978 until its acquisition in 1985 by LHG. Jere Northrop, PhD is the founder of Bion and developed its technology. He has served as the Company's Senior Technology Director since 1999 and has been a Board of Directors member since April 9, 1992. Dr. Northrop is a founder of Bion Technologies, Inc. and was its President from October 1989 to July 23, 1999. Dr. Northrop has a BS degree in biology from Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts (1964), a PhD in biophysics from Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, (1969), and has done post doctoral work at the University of California at Davis, Davis, California and The Center for Theoretical Biology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York. He also has conducted twenty-five years of experimental research on both individual and complex systems of microorganisms. Since 2003, Dr. Northrop has served as a director of As It Is, Inc., a private company of which he is a cofounder. Prior to founding Bion, he had ten years experience in the management of operations and process control at a large municipal advanced wastewater treatment plant in Amherst, New York (1979-1989). James W. Morris, PhD has served as Chief Technology Officer of Bion Technologies, Inc. since February 2002 and is co-inventor of portions of the Bion Process. Prior to joining Bion, Dr. Morris provided the Company with technical assistance and technical advice for over two years as a consultant. Dr. Morris is a licensed professional engineer in Maine and Vermont with more than 30 years of engineering experience. Over a twelve-year period he performed research and taught graduate and undergraduate engineering as a member of the faculties of Cornell University, the University of Manitoba and the University of Vermont. He earned his BSCE and MSCE at Tennessee Technological University and a Ph.D. in Environmental Quality/Agricultural Engineering from Cornell University. Dr. Morris’ consulting work included eight years acting as the Senior Technical Consultant for a large environmental consulting firm and the formation of James W. Morris & Associates, Inc. that allowed him to serve clients ranging from small commercial establishments, to municipalities and corporations, as well as a sub consultant to several larger engineering firms. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Water Environment Federation, Institute of Food Technologists, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Agricultural Engineering Society, Aquacultural Engineering Society and American Water Works Association, Tau Beta Phi (Engineering honor society), Chi Epsilon (Civil Engineering honor society) and is a member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society of North America. George W. Bloom has been with Bion Technologies, Inc. since December 2000 and has served as Chief Operating Officer since January 15, 2002. Mr. Bloom is responsible at Bion for oversight of the planning, design and construction of waste treatment systems and solids processing facilities. He has his BS in Environmental Science from Cornell University. From 1986 through December 2000, Mr. Bloom was employed by Woodard & Curran, Inc., an environmental engineering and science-consulting firm, where he held the position of Chief Engineer of the Municipal Business Center at the time of his departure. Mr. Bloom is a registered professional engineer with over twenty years of environmental engineering and consulting experience specializing in the planning, design, construction and operation of waste treatment facilities. Jeremy Rowland joined Bion Dairy on September 18, 2006 as its Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Rowland has agreed to serve as Chief Operating Officer of Bion once Bion has commenced reporting with the Securities & Exchange Commission and has secured adequate director and officer liability insurance coverage. Mr. Rowland earned his MS in Environmental Science in 1987 and his BS in Forest Ecology in 1985 from Southern Illinois University, School of Agriculture Science. Prior to joining Bion, he worked for URS Corporation, a major national engineering/consulting firm, for 16 years where he developed and lead URS's efforts in the renewable energy marketplace. Mr. Rowland has eighteen years experience in multi-disciplinary energy and environmental project development and management throughout the U.S. and overseas. Mr. Rowland's areas of expertise include renewable energy project development, distributed generation (mostly combined heat/power), large-scale power plant developments, and strategic energy management. Jeff Kapell joined the management team of Bion Environmental Technology on a full-time basis as Vice President for Project Development and Renewables during April 2006. He originally became a consultant to Bion and Bion Dairy in December 2003. Commencing in mid-2005, Mr. Kapell provided consulting services to Bion and Bion Dairy as Principal of Kapell Consulting. Mr. Kapell is a graduate of Lehigh University. Previously, Mr. Kapell was Associate Principal at SJH & Company, a strategic management-consulting group serving the global agri-food industry. Mr. Kapell served SJH & Company from 2000 to 2005. While at SJH, he developed and led the firm's practice area in "renewables" and has become recognized throughout the industry as a sector expert at the intersection of agriculture and renewable energy. Mr. Kapell has also been a cranberry grower for the past thirty years and has served on the Board of Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., as president of The Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association, and is currently Chairman of the Board of the Cranberry Institute, the industry's international trade association. Mr. Kapell is an engineer by training, having performed systems analysis for several firms prior to launching his farming and consulting ventures. David Mager became a consultant on a full time basis to Bion and Bion Dairy in June 2003 and serves as Bion Dairy's Vice President for Public Policy. He is a scientist, inventor and consultant whose specialty is helping companies serve a "dual bottom line" of being profitable while being environmentally and socially responsible. Mr. Mager has a BS in biology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (1975). Prior to joining Bion, Mr. Mager was employed for over 20 years providing environmental consulting to companies such as Amoco, General Electric, General Motors, Coca Cola, IBM, Unilever, Aveda, Tommy Boy Records, Rhino Records, Eileen Fisher, Stonyfield Farm Yogurt, Kozy Shack, Gaiam and ABC Home. He has focused on helping his clients continuously improve their environmental footprints. Since 2001, he has been a principal of Meadowbrook Lane Capital, LLC, an investment bank, through which he provides his services to Bion and Bion Dairy. Michael J. McCloskey, who became a consultant to Bion and Dairy during 2005 with respect to its Integrated Projects, Dairy Park initiative and the entire dairy business, obtained his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1976 from the University of Mexico, Mexico City and completed a specialty in dairy production medicine from the University of California, Davis, which he attended from 1978-80. He is the co-owner/manager of Fair Oaks Dairy Farm, a 15,000 head dairy farm in Fair Oaks, Indiana and is actively involved in the ownership and management of dairies in other states. In 1992, Dr. McCloskey formed a milk marketing business called Quality Milk Sales. As the co-owner/manager of Quality Milk Sales, he is responsible for marketing the milk produced by the dairy farmer members of Select Milk Producers and Continental Dairy Products, who jointly produce in excess of 4 billion pounds of milk per year. These cooperatives stretch through New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Dr. McCloskey was instrumental in the formation of the Southwest Agency, an agency that controls the marketing and transportation of virtually all milk marketed in Texas and New Mexico. The success of the Southwest Agency is now being viewed as the model for achieving price stability without government intervention in other regions of the country. Dr. McCloskey successfully brought together a joint venture between Glanbia Foods, Select Milk Producers, and Dairy Farmers of America to establish Southwest Cheese Company (‘SWC’). Dr. McCloskey serves on the board of National Milk Producers Federation and participates in the Federal Order Policy and Dairy Export Policy committees. Dr. McCloskey has had the opportunity to be in a leadership position in every aspect of the dairy industry: from individual cow production to processing, from marketing to federal order reform, and from regional political issues to national issues and international trade. Timothy C. den Dulk, who became a consultant to Bion and Dairy during 2005 with respect to its Integrated Projects, Dairy Park initiative and the entire dairy business, owns and manages dairy farms in California, New Mexico, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana that milk approximately 30,000 cows. He also raises dairy heifers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota which, when combined with his dairy cows, total to a herd size of almost 60,000 cows. Mr. den Dulk farms row crops on approximately 20,000 acres in the above-mentioned states and grapes, walnuts, peaches and almonds in California. These numbers and geographical diversification give Mr. den Dulk a unique national presence in the U.S. dairy and farming industry. Mr. den Dulk is owner and participates in the management of: a) Quality Milk Sales, Inc., New Mexico, which accounts for 350 loads of milk per day, $600,000,000 yearly sales and employs 45 people (including plant employees); b) Pioneer Dairy Laboratory, Inc., New Mexico, Texas; c) Pecos Dairy Investment Group, L.L.C. (Reverse osmosis and Ultra-filtration technology); d) Siesta Foods, Mexico; e) 1st National Bank, Artesia, New Mexico (Ownership of 35%) & f) Farm Journal, LTD; (Minority partner- Publication of Farm Journal magazine). In addition, Mr. den Dulk was a) an Incorporator and Director (1994- 1998) of Select Milk Producers, Inc. which is currently managed and operated by Mr. den Dulk’s business, Quality Milk Sales) and b) President (1998-present), Incorporator, and Director, Continental Dairy Products, Inc., an Ohio marketing cooperative formed in 1998 (a rapidly growing cooperative with members in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan). Tydd Rohrbough, Chairman and CEO of Cornhusker Energy Lexington Holdings LLC, has served as a consultant to Bion and Dairy since 2004 focusing on matters related to its Integrated Projects and Dairy Park initiative with emphasis on integration of ethanol facilities. Rohrbough provided the seed capital, secured the complete financing structure and led the development and construction of the $81 million greenfield ethanol facility in Lexington Nebraska which went operational in 2006. Rohrbough is the managing member of ECMS, which provides independent project consulting, management and development services to the Renewable Energy markets. Rohrbough is also President of Dark Horse Inc and Dark Horse LLC, which are special purpose companies that invest in patent or patent pending technologies. Jon Northrop has served as our Secretary and a Director since March of 2003. Since September 2001 he has been self employed as a consultant with a practice focused on business buyer advocacy. Mr. Northrop is one of our founders and served as our Chief Executive Officer and a Director from our inception in September 1989 until August 2001. Mr. Northrop has a bachelor's degree in Physics from Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts (1965), an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (1969), and spent several years conducting post graduate research in low energy particle physics at Case Institute of Technology, Cleveland, Ohio. Jon Northrop is the brother of Jere Northrop. Before founding Bion Technologies, Inc., Mr. Northrop served in a wide variety of managerial and executive positions. He was most recently the Executive Director of Davis, Graham & Stubbs, one of Denver's largest law firms, from 1981 to 1989. Prior to his law firm experience, Mr. Northrop worked at Samsonite Corporation's Luggage Division in Denver, Colorado, for over 12 years. His experience was in all aspects of manufacturing, systems design and implementation, and planning and finance, ending with three years as the Division's Vice President, Finance. Richard Berman has a business career that spans over 35 years of venture capital, management and merger & acquisitions experience. Since 1982, Richard Berman has mainly been active as an investor, advisor, manager, director, and financier to over 100 public and private companies, with emphasis on biotech, internet, and other technology sectors. In the last five years, Mr. Berman has served as a director and/or officer of approximately a dozen public and private companies. He is currently CEO of Nexmed, a small public biotech company; Chairman of National Investment Managers, a public company in pension administration and investment management; and Chairman of Candidate Resources, a private company delivering human resources services over the web, and Chairman of Fortress Technology Systems . Mr. Berman is a director of seven public companies: Dyadic International, Inc., Broadcaster, Inc., Internet Commerce Corporation, MediaBay, Inc., NexMed, Inc., National Investment Managers, and Advaxis, Inc. From 1998-2000, Mr. Berman was employed by Internet Commerce Corporation as Chairman and CEO. From 1975-1982 Mr. Berman served Banker Trust Company, New York with a final position of Senior Vice President where he was Head of Mergers & Acquisitions and Leverage Buyout Departments. Mr. Berman is active in real estate and venture capital investing. He is a past Director of the Stern School of Business of NYU where he obtained his BS (1964) and MBA (1973). He also has US and foreign law degrees from Boston College (1969) and The Hague Academy of International Law, respectively.
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Documents on this website contain forward-looking statements based on management's current reasonable business expectations. All documents on this website speak as of their date and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements they may contain.
Copyright © 2008 Bion Environmental Technology, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Last Modified: Monday, June 16th, 2008 6:52pm