PAGE A14 • MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM • Wednesday,May 8, 2019
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BIZWORLD
By Ron Walter For Moose Jaw Express
Colorado company livestock waste treatment can save billions on clean-up Down in Denver, Colorado, a company treating livestock wastes plans to cash in on the environmental concerns created by livestock poo. The poop and liquid wastes from livestock in the United States have been calculated at 100 times the volume of wastes from humans in that country. The country has eight million dairy cows, 80 million beef cattle, 62 million hogs and hundreds of million of poultry – lots of poop there. The nutrients from livestock operations, particularly from intensive population feedlots, dairy farms, hog farms and poultry production, tend to find their way into run-off, polluting streams, lakes and other water bodies. The nitrogen and phosphorous wastes spur algae bloom, even creating dead spots in lakes where lack of oxygen prevents organisms from living. Most of the human waste has been treated to remove the harmful wastes although some municipalities still discharge partially treated or untreated waste into water bodies. The clean water industry in the United States has grown into a $100 billion annual industry, with much of the money being spent to clean water bodies already polluted by livestock wastes.
Bion Environmental Technologies has developed three generations of a treatment process to eliminate the livestock wastes from so-called factory farms and feeding operations where wastes from large herds are left to run off on the surface. Using a combination of biological, mechanical and thermal processes Bion transforms the wastes into energy, organic fertilizer, animal feed and water recycled for livestock use. The treatment removes 95 per cent of nitrogen, cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent and eliminates ammonia pollutants. The company claims the process is cost-effective especially when compared with billions spent every year on clean up of water bodies. The Chesapeake Bay clean-up on the East Coast has a $900 million annual bill. Lancaster Pennsylvania Krieder Farms dairy farm has had a licensed Bion treatment process since 2013. The stumbling blocks for Bion appear to be getting an agency or industry to pay for installation of the treatment facilities. Permits are still being processed for approval of the organic fertilizer on cultivated land. Along the path to develop and approve the process, Bion has lost $123 million, burning through $2 million
last year. The company has no revenues; its projects all in pilot program stage. Debt includes an $8.1 million debenture and a $9.1 million low interest loan. Commercialization of the Bion process awaits further implementation of United States Department of Agriculture policies on livestock wastes and individual state policies. Waiting for government action can be frustrating at any time, more so in the current U.S. climate where low priority is placed on protection of the environment. At a recent price of 77 cents US a share, Bion is valued at $22 million. The low share price makes raising much cash for development by sale of new shares difficult. Being listed on the less regulated over-the-counter market means many investors and most analysts won’t even consider these shares. While it is an interesting story with huge potential Bion stock is a gamble with odds worse than a slot machine. Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
Appreciation Day honors hard-working educators Larissa Kurz
May 8 has been announced as Early Childhood Education Appreciation Day, to pair with May being Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Month, staff at the Southwest Daycare & Early Learning Centre are glad for the nod to their hard work. Assistant director Natasha Dafoe always appreciates being acknowledged, as the work she does with the kids at the centre is important to both them and herself. Southwest Daycare has programs running for kids at all ages, from 18 months to 12 years old; they run a music program on Tuesdays and work all kind of social programming into their daily routine at the centre. Programming like that is very pertinent to children’s growth, said Dafoe. “It keeps them interested and then they have different things to look forward to. So it’s definitely important for their growth, for sure,” said Dafoe.
A few members of the Southwest Daycare & Learning Centre’s staff (L-R): Sandy Buhler, Asiah Johnson, Victoria Pinfold, Alicia Hill, Tamara Morgan, Natasha Dafoe, and Anne-Marie Prangnell. Dafoe got into this field because she wanted to work with children, and she truly enjoys her job and the work she does at the centre. “I love children and I always have. I have children myself and I’ve always loved
to be with them,” she said. “It would be weird to not have children in my life everyday. It’s very rewarding.” The board is taking the staff out to supper to celebrate their hard work, and Dafoe is grateful to be part of the team at South-
west Daycare. “We have some really great educators in our center. They love working with the kids and they feel like it’s very rewarding, we all do. We like just being able to be with them every day and teach them and see them grow and learn,” said Dafoe. “[The staff here,] we’re a team; I think we all have our little different roles and just, every single day, [the kids] are teaching us, we’re teaching them.” And while Dafoe is always glad to be recognized and see the government providing funding children’s development programs, she hopes to see even more recognition in the future. “We definitely appreciate when they do recognize and give us more funding. However, we could always use more, because in the early years [group] and stuff like that, you don’t always get enough recognition,” said Dafoe.
Change to big game draw in effect this year Larissa Kurz
Saskatchewan’s big game draw is open for applications beginning May 1 until May 25, and hunters are encouraged to submit their applications early to avoid complications. The draw pool system was amended in 2018, expanding from four to six priority pools — Legacy pool, Super A pool, A pool, B pool, C pool, and D pool, listed in order of priority. This year, the D pool will contain first-time applicants and applicants drawn in 2018, in order to reduce applicants in the Super A pool each year. The Legacy and Super A pool continue to house applicants who have applied and not been drawn for several consecutive years. A Hunter, Angler and Trapper License (HAL) system account is required to apply for any draws and is also where hunters are asked to
submit their applications alongside their $6 fee. Successfully drawn hunters can purchase their tags beginning Aug. 1. The process of application has not changed and results for elk, moose, and mule deer will be made available in mid-June through the HAL system; results for the pronghorn draw will be available in mid-July. Hunters are responsible for checking for their results; there isn’t a notification system currently in place. More information about the draws and the applications can be found on the government website, or by calling 1 (888) 773-8450 for assistance with an application. Information about hunting in Saskatchewan can found by calling 1 (800) 567-4424.
Elk in field: (supplied)