Note 1 - Organization, Nature of Business, Going Concern and Management's Plans:

9 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Disclosure Text Block [Abstract]

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Text Block]

1. ORGANIZATION, NATURE OF BUSINESS, GOING CONCERN AND MANAGEMENT’S PLANS:

Organization and nature of business:

Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. (“Bion” or “We” or the "Company") was incorporated in 1987 in the State of Colorado and has developed and continues to develop patented and proprietary technology and business models that provide comprehensive environmental solutions to a significant source of pollution in United States agriculture, large scale livestock facilities known as Confined Animal Feeding Operations ("CAFO's"). Bion's technologies (and applications related thereto) produce substantial reductions of nutrient releases (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) to both water and air (including ammonia, which is subsequently re-deposited to the ground) from livestock waste streams based upon our operations and research to date (and third party peer review thereof). Because Bion's technologies (and related applications) reduce the harmful releases and emissions from a CAFO on which it is utilized, the CAFO can potentially increase its herd concentration (thereby utilizing less land per animal) while lowering or maintaining its level of nutrient releases and atmospheric emissions. Bion provides comprehensive and cost-effective treatment of livestock waste onsite, while it is still concentrated and before it contaminates air, soil, groundwater aquifers and/or downstream waters.

From 2003 through early 2008, the Company primarily focused on completing re-development of its technology platform and business model. As such, during that period Bion elected not to pursue near-term business opportunities such as retrofitting existing CAFO's with waste management solutions, because management believed such efforts would have diverted scarce management and financial resources and negatively impacted Bion’s ability to complete: 1) re-development of technologies for environmentally sound treatment of CAFO waste streams and 2) development of an integrated technology platform in support of large-scale sustainable Integrated Projects (defined below) including renewable energy production. During the current fiscal year the Company has increased its research and development activities with focus on creating variations on its technology platform that create additional flexibility, increase recovery of nutrient by-products and to review potential “ad-ons” and applications for use in different regulatory environments.

Bion is now actively pursuing business opportunities in three broad areas 1) installation of Bion systems to retrofit and environmentally remediate existing CAFO’s to reduce nutrient (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) releases, gaseous emissions (ammonia, greenhouse gases, volatile organic compounds, etc.), and pathogens, hormones and other compounds in order to clean the air and water in the surrounding areas (as described below) to ensure compliance with existing (and future) regulations and to permit herd expansion; 2) development of Integrated Projects opportunities within the United States and internationally; and 3) licensing and/or joint venturing of Bion’s technology and applications outside North America. The opportunities described at 1) and 2) above (and at greater length below) each require substantial political (federal, state and local) efforts on the part of the Company and a substantial part of Bion’s efforts are focused on such political matters.

Management believes that Bion's technology platform (including utilization of various third party technologies to supplement the Company’s proprietary technologies) allows the integration of large-scale CAFO's and their end-product users, renewable energy production from the CAFO waste stream, on site utilization of the renewable energy generated and biofuel/ethanol production in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner while reducing the aggregate capital expense and operating costs for the entire integrated complex ("Integrated Projects" or "Projects"). In the context of Integrated Projects, Bion's waste treatment process, in addition to mitigating polluting releases, enables generation of renewable energy from cellulosic portions of the CAFO waste stream, which renewable energy can be utilized by integrated facilities including ethanol plants, CAFO end-product processors (including cheese, ice cream and/or bottling plants in the case of dairy CAFO’s and/or slaughter and/or processing facilities in the context of beef CAFO’s) and/or other users as a fossil fuel replacement. The nutrients (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) can be harvested from the solids and liquid streams recovered from the livestock waste stream and can be utilized as either high value fertilizer and/or the basis for high protein animal feed and the nutrient rich effluent can potentially be utilized in integrated hydroponic agriculture and/or field applied as fertilizer. Bion believes that its Integrated Projects will produce high quality, traceable animal protein at a lower cost than current industry practices while also maintaining a far lower net environmental footprint per unit of protein produced due to water recycling (possible due to the removal of nutrients, etc. from the water by Bion’s technology applications), production of renewable energy from the waste stream (reducing the use of fossil fuels), and multiple levels of economies of scale, co-location and integration savings in transportation and other logistics. Some projects may involve only partial integration which will limit the benefits described herein.

Bion is presently involved in the very early development and pre-development activities related to its initial Integrated Project(s) in Pennsylvania. The Company is also involved in pre-development evaluations and discussions regarding opportunities for Integrated Projects in the Northeast, Midwest, and the North Central United States (dairy and/or beef). While all such discussions are still in preliminary stages, multiple meetings and discussions are ongoing with local and state level Pennsylvania officials related to the development of a Bion Integrated Project involving a major international livestock entity with existing operations in Pennsylvania. Additionally, the Company is involved in early stage discussions regarding development of Integrated Projects to meet specific needs of certain international markets (and regarding licensing our technology for use in overseas locations).

Additionally, Bion has commenced discussions that may lead to installation of Bion systems on existing and/or new dairies, beef facilities and swine farms in the Midwest and/or North Central states. The most advanced discussions currently involve an initiative by Bion in Wisconsin.

On September 27, 2008, the Company executed an agreement with Kreider Farms (and its affiliated entities) (collectively "Kreider") to design, construct and operate (through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Bion Services Group, Inc. (“Bion Services”) and Bion PA-1 LLC (“PA-1”) a Bion system to treat the waste of 1,200 milking dairy cows (milkers, dry cows and heifers) at the Kreider Dairy, located in Manheim, Pennsylvania. In addition, the agreement (as amended and supplemented) provides for a second phase which will treat the wastes from the rest of Kreider’s herd and includes renewable energy production from the cellulosic solid wastes from the Phase 1 system (referred to as “Kreider 1”) together with the waste stream from Kreider’s poultry facilities for use at the facilities and/or for market sales. The Kreider projects are owned and operated by Bion through subsidiaries, in which Kreider has the option to purchase a noncontrolling interest. To complete these projects, substantial capital (equity and/or debt) has been and will continue to be expended. Additional funds will be required for continuing operations of Kreider 1 until sufficient revenues can be generated, of which there is no assurance. Upon successful construction and operation of these systems, the Company anticipates that it will earn revenue primarily from the sale of nutrient reduction (and/or other) environmental credits related to Kreider 1 and the Kreider Phase 2 poultry waste treatment system (not yet constructed), and secondarily through sales of renewable energy generated by the Kreider Phase 2 system. To date the market for long-term nutrient reduction credits in Pennsylvania has been very slow to develop and the Company’s activities have been negatively affected by the lack of such development.

The Company’s subsidiary PA-1 financed Kreider 1 through a $7.8 million loan (“Pennvest Loan”) from Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (“Pennvest”) secured by Kreider 1 (and its revenue streams, if any) plus advances from the Company. Initial construction-related activities of Kreider 1 commenced in October 2010 and construction was completed and a period of system “operation shakedown’ commenced in May 2011. Kreider 1 reached full, stabilized operation by the end of the 2012 fiscal year. During 2011 the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“PADEP”) re-certified the nutrient credits for this project. The economics (potential revenues and profitability) of Kreider 1 are based largely on the long-term sale of nutrient reduction credits (nitrogen and/or phosphorus) to meet the requirements of the Chesapeake Bay environmental clean-up. The PADEP issued final permits for Kreider 1 (including the credit verification plan) on August 1, 2012 on which date the Company deemed that Kreider 1 was “placed in service’. As a result, PA-1 has commenced generating nutrient reduction credits for potential sale while continuing to utilize the system to test improvements and add-ons. Operating results at Kreider 1 have documented the efficacy of Bion’s nutrient reduction technology and vetted potential “add-ons’ and modifications for use in future installations. During August 2012 the Company provided Pennvest (and the PADEP) with data demonstrating that Kreider 1 met the “technology guarantee’ standards which were incorporated in the Pennvest financing documents and, as a result, the Pennvest Loan is now solely an obligation of PA-1. To date liquidity in the Pennsylvania nutrient credit market has been slow to develop significant breadth and depth and limited liquidity has negatively impacted Bion’s business plans and has resulted in challenges to monetizing the nutrient reduction credits created by PA-1’s existing Kreider 1 project and Bion’s other proposed projects. These difficulties have prevented PA-1 from generating any material revenues from the Kreider 1 project to date (operating expenses have been funded by loans from Bion) and raise significant questions as to when PA-1 will be able to generate such revenues from the Kreider 1 system. PA-1 has commenced negotiations with Pennvest related to forbearance, re-structuring and other matters related to the Kreider 1 project and its obligations pursuant to the Pennvest Loan. In the context of such negotiations, PA-1 elected not to make interest payments to Pennvest on the Pennvest Loan since January 2013. Additionally the Company has not made any principal payments, which were to begin in fiscal 2013. As a result, Pennvest has the right to declare that the Pennvest Loan is in default and, therefore, the Company has classified the Pennvest Loan as a current liability as of March 31, 2014. It is not possible at this date to predict the outcome of these negotiations but the Company believes that there is a reasonable likelihood that an interim, short-term agreement will be reached that will allow PA-1 and Pennvest a period of time to evaluate developments in the Pennsylvania nutrient reduction market and possible long-term resolutions. Subject to the results of the negotiations with Pennvest and pending development of a more robust market for nutrient reductions in Pennsylvania, Bion anticipates that it will be necessary to evaluate various options with regard to Kreider 1 over the next 150 days.

Development work and technology evaluation, including amended credit certification and negotiations with potential joint venture partners, continues related to the details of the second phase of the Kreider project. Assuming there are positive developments related to the market for nutrient reduction in Pennsylvania, the Company intends to pursue development, design and construction of the Kreider 2 poultry waste/renewable energy project with a goal of achieving operational status during 2014. However, as discussed above, this project faces challenges related to the current limits of the existing nutrient reduction market and funding of technology-based, verifiable agricultural nutrient reductions. 

The limited development of the nutrient reduction market in Pennsylvania has led Bion to redeploy some of its limited resources from its efforts in Pennsylvania to its initiatives in the Great Lakes and Midwest states with current efforts being most advanced in Wisconsin which passed legislation (signed by its governor on April 23, 2014) that provides a policy and regulatory framework to reduce nutrient compliance costs through a collaborative effort by public and private sectors. The Company is actively involved in discussions with various stakeholders in Wisconsin including state and local government officials and agencies, wastewater authorities and agricultural industry entities.

A significant portion of Bion’s activities concern efforts with private and public stakeholders (at local and state level) in Pennsylvania (and other Chesapeake Bay states) and in Wisconsin and at the federal level (the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) (and other executive departments) and Congress) to establish appropriate public policies which will create regulations and funding mechanisms that foster installation of the low cost environmental solutions that Bion (and others) can provide through clean-up of agricultural waste streams.

Going concern and management’s plans:

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. The Company has not generated significant revenues and has incurred net losses (including significant non-cash expenses) of approximately $8,250,000 and $6,465,000 during the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and a net loss (including significant non-cash expenses) of approximately $3,014,000 for the nine months ended March 31, 2014. At March 31, 2014, the Company has a working capital deficit and a stockholders’ deficit of approximately $11,671,000 and $5,099,000, respectively. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability or classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern. The following paragraphs describe management’s plans with regard to these conditions.

The Company continues to explore sources of additional financing to satisfy its current operating requirements as it is not currently generating any significant revenues.

During the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, the Company received total proceeds of $1,330,499 and $1,259,250, (including $200,000 of subscriptions receivable), respectively, from the sale of its equity securities. Proceeds during the 2013 and 2012 fiscal years have been lower than in earlier years and accordingly has negatively impacted the Company’s business development efforts.

During the nine months ended March 31, 2014, the Company sold 400,000 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock at $1.25 per share for proceeds of $500,000. During the nine months ended March 31, 2014, the Company also sold 559,200 share of the Company’s restricted common stock at $0.75 per share for gross proceeds of $419,400, net proceeds of $412,575. In addition, the Company issued 266,667 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock resulting from the terms in the subscription agreements related to the sale of the 400,000 shares, that required additional shares be issued if the Company sold stock at a price lower than $1.25 per share.

The Company also issued 20,000 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock upon receipt of its subscription receivable of $25,000.

During the nine months ended March 31, 2014 the Company entered into promissory note agreements with two affiliates of the Company whereby the affiliates have agreed to lend up to $75,000 each for working capital needs. As of March 31, 2014, the Company has borrowed $135,000 under these notes.

During fiscal years 2013 and 2012 and through the nine months ended March 31, 2014, the Company experienced greater difficulty in raising equity funding than in the prior years, particularly during the latter part of fiscal 2013 and through March 31, 2014. As a result, the Company faced, and continues to face, significant cash flow management challenges due to working capital constraints. To partially mitigate these working capital constraints, the Company’s core senior management and several key employees and consultants have been deferring (and continue to defer) all or part of their cash compensation and/or are accepting compensation in the form of securities of the Company (Notes 5 and 7) and members of the Company’s senior management have made loans to the Company (Note 4). Additionally, the Company has made reductions in its personnel during the nine months ended March 31, 2014. The constraint on available resources has had, and continues to have, negative effects on the pace and scope of the Company’s efforts to develop its business. The Company has had to delay payment of trade obligations and has had to economize in many ways that have potentially negative consequences. The Company’s accounts payable have increased materially in fiscal year 2013 and through the nine months ended March 31, 2014. If the Company does not have greater success in its efforts to raise needed funds during fiscal 2014 (and subsequent periods), management will need to consider deeper cuts (including additional personnel cuts) and curtailment of operations (including possibly Kreider 1 operations).

The Company will need to obtain additional capital to fund its operations and technology development, to satisfy existing creditors, to develop Integrated Projects and CAFO waste remediation systems (including the Kreider 2 facility) and to continue to operate the Kreider 1 facility. The Company anticipates that it will seek to raise from $2,500,000 to $50,000,000 or more (debt and equity) during the next twelve months. However, as discussed above, there is no assurance, especially in light of the difficulties the Company has experienced in recent periods and the extremely unsettled capital markets that presently exist (especially for small companies), that the Company will be able to obtain the funds that it needs to stay in business, complete its technology development or to successfully develop its business and projects.

There is no realistic likelihood that funds required during the next twelve months or in the periods immediately thereafter for the Company’s basic operations and/or proposed projects will be generated from operations. Therefore, the Company will need to raise sufficient funds from external sources such as debt or equity financings or other potential sources. The lack of sufficient additional capital resulting from the inability to generate cash flow from operations and/or to raise capital from external sources would force the Company to substantially curtail or cease operations and would, therefore, have a material adverse effect on its business. Further, there can be no assurance that any such required funds, if available, will be available on attractive terms or that they will not have a significantly dilutive effect on the Company's existing shareholders. All of these factors have been exacerbated by the extremely unsettled credit and capital markets presently existing for small companies like Bion.