Dairy Park, LLC - a subsidiary of Bion Environmental Technologies - has entered into an agreement with investors Dr. Michael McCloskey and Timothy den Dulk to develop, own and operate a number of large dairy facilities in the US.
Bion anticipates that two to four complexes, ranging in size from 10,000 to 50,000 animals, will be developed by the joint venture over the next three years. The complexes will be turnkey, state-of-the-art facilities and will be made available to dairy producers under terms of a 10-year, triple-net lease.
Bion will provide its technology for waste management, secure financing for the facilities, develop the financial lease terms and provide independent management. The primary responsibilities of the McCloskey/den Dulk partnership will be site selection and development, lease terms and recruitment of tenants, and management of the facilities.
David Mitchell, chairman and CEO of Bion, said: "The complexes envisioned by Bion and the McCloskey/den Dulk partnership represent a significant shift in the economics of dairy farming and milk production. The availability of a turnkey facility will enable dairy farmers to concentrate their capital resources on herd development instead of land and equipment, marketing and waste management expenses.
Additionally, because the environmental issues normally associated with large dairies are solved by the Bion Nutrient Management System, the complexes can be located to maximize profitability and distance to market."
Dr. McCloskey obtained a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1976 from the University of Mexico, Mexico City and completed a speciality in dairy production medicine at the University of California, Davis. Since that time he has served in leadership positions in every aspect of the dairy industry - from individual production to the development of dairy policy at the regional and national levels.
Regarding the concept of large dairy complexes, Dr. McCloskey said: "The Bion technology will allow us to position these facilities very competitively, from the standpoint of both marketing and feed."
Dr. McCloskey and den Dulk are co-owners of Quality Milk Sales, responsible for marketing the milk produced by dairy farmers members in Central and North America. As a group, these members produce in excess of 4 billion pounds of milk per year.
Founded in 1989, Bion provides waste management solutions to agriculture, focusing on livestock waste from confined animal feeding operations, such as large dairies.