Pursell Agri-Tech LLC, Sylacauga, Ala., and the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), Muscle Shoals, Ala., recently celebrated recognition by the joint EPA-USDA partnership during a donation check presentation ceremony in Muscle Shoals.
Pursell, recipient of the Next Gen Fertilizer Challenge Moonshot Award, donated the $17,500 monetary prize to IFDC as a thank you for its support, collaboration, and leadership in introducing solutions that improve global agriculture and ultimately contribute to IFDC’s mission of achieving zero hunger through efficient food systems and technology.
“Very few people in the fertilizer industry know that approximately 70 percent of all fertilizer technologies in the world were developed in Muscle Shoals, Ala., by IFDC and its predecessor, the National Fertilizer Development Center (NFDC),” said Pursell Agri-Tech Chairman Taylor Pursell. “We are humbled to receive the Next Gen Fertilizer Innovation Challenge award of the Joint EPA-USDA Partnership and want to acknowledge, with this donation, our great appreciation for all that IFDC has done for the fertilizer industry and the world’s farmers.”
The Pursell technology selected for the award addresses the global need for Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE) and improved soil health. The coating technology allows controlled-release fertilizer manufacturing plants to fortify urea with a core designed to be formulated specifically to a region based on the soil, crop, nutrient needs, soil health, and human health needs.
Pursell and Huntsman Corp., The Woodlands Texas, recently won the 2021 Polyurethane Innovation Award from The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC). The award-winning technology, which is the result of a long-term collaboration between Huntsman’s Polyurethanes business and Pursell Agri-Tech, is PurActive™ – a polyurethane-based, controlled-release fertilizer coating made using Huntsman’s RIMLINE® polyurethane system.