The North American Bison Co-op, which has been plagued by financial problems in recent years, will soon show its creditors how it plans to repay its debts.
The co-op, which includes bison producers from Canada and the United States, filed for bankruptcy protection last November, a move that earned it time to restructure its finances and operations.
Chief executive officer Dieter Pape said the bison co-op will submit its restructuring plans by March 1 and plans to exit bankruptcy protection in April.
“We are on track,” Pape said.
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“We will be submitting our reorganization plan based on the timetable that we’ve established.”
The co-op owns a slaughter facility in New Rockford, North Dakota, which has continued to slaughter bison this winter and recently hit a new record of 76 head of bison in one day, Pape said.
The co-op owes more than $22 million US in deferred payments to its members. Its total debts, including those deferred payments, were $24.5 million last fall while its assets were $8.5 million.
Four western Canadian bison farms are among the creditors holding the 20 largest unsecured claims against the co-op. The deferred payments began to accumulate during the past five years.
The intent remains to catch up on those deferred payments, Pape said, although it likely will take years for full settlements.
“Obviously it’s going to take more than a year or two, but our intent is to absolutely reimburse the producers.”
Since BSE was discovered in Canada in May, 2003, Canadian members have not been able to send their animals to the New Rockford plant for slaughter. Many have opted to hold onto their slaughter animals until the border reopens or sell to other slaughter plants.
“We look forward to the border reopening and we hope that it does, in fact, open March 7,” Pape said.
