Citizens' BION Forum

Abstract:

The St. Lawrence County Farm Bureau opposes public money for Bion, feeling that the money would be better spent on existing farms and agricultural infrastructure in the County.

Full Text:

CANTON - St. Lawrence County Farm Bureau has come out against state or local governments using public funds to finance or help Bion¹s plans to build a $200 million 84,000 beef cow and ethanol plant, arguing if agencies want to help agriculture, they should help locally owned farms.

Bion has proposed building an eighty four thousand feeder operation, and an ethanol plant in St. Lawrence County. St. Lawrence County Farm Bureau¹s Board has followed the proposed project with interest,² according to Jon Greenwood, St. Lawrence County Farm Bureau spokesman. ³After meeting with representatives of Bion, the board voted to oppose: the use of public funds to finance or facilitate the project. We feel that if the state or local governmental entities want to invest in agriculture they should do so by investing in local farms or Ag businesses whose owners live here and have a vested interest in St. Lawrence County. Great Lakes Cheese is already in the process of expanding and will require more milk. Local expanding dairy farms will provide more jobs and growth opportunities for local business.² Farm Bureau, which is made up of local agriculture owners, cited the following concerns:.

* Does it make sense environmentally or financially to ship corn thousands of miles to make ethanol to feed steers also trucked thousands of miles?

* Does it make sense to separate and dry the manure solids then burn them and to treat the remaining manure to basically blow off most of the nitrogen portion of the nutrient value? Nitrogen is a valuable nutrient for plant growth and if you don¹t have organic N you must purchase N which is made from petroleum, and mostly produced overseas.

* The vacant land that keeps being referred to is in most cases not unused or available. Vacant farm land is an assessment term and has no relation to actual use. There are active farms that have almost half the farm classified as vacant farm land.

* Would it not make more sense to locate this operation in the southern Midwest close to the corn and steers, and then put a methane digester in to make the ethanol, and then recycle the manure back on the land to make use of the valuable nutrients rather than just wasting them. The finished product can be shipped at far less cost than shipping corn and steers. It would also take far less energy to heat the manure and the barn floors.

This project has been referred to one that is vertically integrated to control costs, and risk. Yet there is no control over corn, shipping, steers, or market. There is real competition for corn, and Bion will pay a premium because they have to ship it and cannot take it directly from the field. They will be at the mercy of the Seaway, the shipping season and ships. They will compete with existing Midwest feedlots for feeder cattle, and then have to truck them in. Most New York bull calves do not become feeders. They fill other markets.

Bion also states they do not intend to break even for up to five years and therefore need subsidies. Their lack of funds is already evident as they have asked for and accepted assistance to do basic studies. Bion should be embarrassed to ask for five hundred or even twenty thousand dollars, after all this is a company that is proposing a two hundred plus million dollar project and who is paying its officers and personnel up to three hundred thousand a year. Their website claims they have used no public money which is obviously false.

If we are to look at this from a jobs perspective, the projection is for
188 direct jobs for the whole operation including the beef herd, ethanol plant, trucking, etc.. By contrast a Northern New York dairy typically employs one person for every 50 cows, so nine to ten one thousand cow dairies would provide the same number of direct jobs not to mention the spin off jobs at local feed mills, truckers, and milk plants.

For more information contact Jon Greenwood at 386-3231.