Effective Dec. 3, 2007, Patrick “Pat” Avery was named president and chief operating officer of Intrepid Mining LLC and all of its affiliated companies. Prior to joining Intrepid Mining, he served in various capacities for J.R. Simplot Co., a privately-held food and agribusiness company, for over ten years. Most recently, he managed all aspects of Simplot’s AgriBusiness fertilizer and chemical business. As senior vice president of mining and manufacturing for Simplot, he was responsible for production, optimization, capital and project management, lean manufacturing, and Six Sigma efforts. In such capacity, he was responsible for ten facilities, a $600 million operating budget with 5 million tons of fertilizer.
Avery holds a B.A. in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Colorado, an M.S. in Engineering from Loyola, and an MBA from Pepperdine University.
Doug Wonnacott joins Viterra as senior vice president, Agri-products, effective Dec. 17, 2007. He will be based in Regina, Sask., and replaces Doug Weinbender, who retired earlier this year.
Since 2006, Doug was vice president and director of crop nutrients for Agriliance LLC, in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. He was instrumental in the turnaround of Agriliance’s fertilizer distribution business and most recently supported the divestment of its crop nutrients business to CHS Inc. He joined Agriliance in 2003 as vice president of supply and was responsible for the supply chain management of fertilizer, agricultural chemicals, and business services for fertilizer facilities, manufacturing sites, and Canadian retail sites.
Doug began his career in the chemical industry in 1981 as a market analyst. He completed an MBA in Marketing and International Business at the Richard Ivey School of Business Administration at the University of Western Ontario.
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc., doing business as Viterra, is Canada’s leading agri-business, with extensive operations and distribution capabilities across Western Canada, and with operations in the United States and Japan.
The Agricultural Retailers Association announced on Dec. 13 that Glen Brandt, founder of Brandt Consolidated Inc. in Springfield, Ill., is this year’s recipient of the ARA Lifetime Achievement Award. “It is my honor to recognize the great contributions to the industry by Glen Brandt,” said Jack Eberspacher, ARA president and CEO. “Glen started his family business in 1953 and has led it into the 21st century to become a global enterprise, run by his son Rick, whose brands are sold coast-to-coast and on six continents. He has dedicated his life’s work to serving our nation’s growers by pursuing state-of-the-art products, application methods and technologies. Glen is without a doubt one of the very best, and a leader among leaders.” Brandt Consolidated offers many agricultural products, including liquid and dry fertilizers, anhydrous ammonia, crop protection chemicals, micronutrients, seed, propane and feed. In addition, it provides service-oriented products such as GPS receivers, yield monitors, the HighQ Decision Support System, custom application, soil sampling, and the soybean CystStopper Program.
Philanthropist and fertilizer industry veteran Charles Franklin Burroughs Jr., 94, passed away Dec. 7. He retired as president of the Royster Co. in 1980, after over 40 years with the company. He was a 1936 graduate of Princeton University and an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He is survived by three children, five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Contributions can be made to the Norfolk Academy, 1585 Wesleyan Drive, Norfolk, Va. 23502, or the Eastern Virginia Medical School P.O. Box 5, Norfolk, Va. 23501.