U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack on Aug. 28 announced that the department is awarding another $35 million through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) to seven projects in seven states, with ammonium sulfate producer AdvanSix among the list of new recipients.
The FPEP is funded by the Commodity Credit Corp. and provides grants to independent business owners to help them modernize equipment, adopt new technologies, build production plants, and more.
“The Biden-Harris Administration continues to make innovative investments that bolster rural communities and support farmers, ranchers and small business owners,” Vilsack said at the annual Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. “The investments announced today will increase domestic fertilizer production and strengthen our supply chain, while creating good-paying jobs to benefit all Americans.”
USDA said AdvanSix will get an almost $12 million grant to expand its operational capacity in Virginia by 195,000 st/y, allowing the company to increase its fertilizer supply to 36,000 producers from the current 31,400 on the East Coast and in the Midwest.
Dramm Corp. in Wisconsin is another new recipient, which will use a $776,000 grant to increase production capacity and expand their network for liquid fertilizer made from fish offal collected from commercial and sport fishermen.
USDA is also making awards to facilities in California, Iowa, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee. This installment of FPEP grants is just the latest, with the USDA to date having invested $286.6 million in 64 projects across 32 states through FPEP. The most recent included an award of $83 million in May to 17 projects in 12 states (GM May 31, p. 1).
USDA said the projects funded by FPEP have created 768 new jobs in communities across the country and will increase domestic fertilizer production by over 5.6 million tons.