All posts by jlarareo@bloomberg.net

Ontario Announces Funding for New Fertilizer Technologies

Canada, News Briefs

The Ontario government announced that it is investing up to C$2 million over two years in the Fertilizer Accelerating Solutions & Technology Challenge. The provincial government said the funding will support made-in-Ontario solutions to increase the availability of fertilizer options, alternatives, and technology to Ontario farmers.

“We have heard from farmers that action must be taken to increase the domestic supply of fertilizer options. Our government has listened and is introducing an initiative that will generate made-in Ontario alternatives to help farmers secure the inputs they need to succeed, and to support innovative, technology-based solutions to grow the agri-food sector,” said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. “Ensuring that farmers have the tools and products they need to grow good food is vital to the sustainability of Ontario’s food security and keeping the province as a world leader in food production.”

The government described the challenge as “a competitive opportunity for agri-businesses and organizations that will focus on investing in projects, such as new solutions like biofertilizers, that can help reduce dependency on imported products.” The challenge will be administered by Bioenterprise Canada, a national non-profit business that engages Ontario-based companies in funding opportunities to bring new and innovative products to market.

“The environmental impact of reducing, targeting, or finding alternatives for traditional fertilizer inputs is not just a discussion for Ontario,” said Dave Smardon, CEO of Bioenterprise Canada. “We will be leading the charge on new, sustainable practices that will bolster our position in a global market, and move us that much closer to Canada’s ultimate sustainability goals.”

Details and project guidelines are available at Ontario.ca and on the Bioenterprise website at https://bioenterprise.ca/. Applications for eligible applicants will be accepted from Oct. 5 to Nov. 2, 2022.

The Ontario Agri-Business Association (OABA) commended the program, and called it a “novel approach” to building resiliency and driving innovation in Ontario’s agri-food sector.

“OABA’s crop input suppliers have a long history of bringing Ontario’s farmers the newest and proven technologies and innovations to increase both crop yield and quality,” said Russel Hurst, OABA Executive Director. “The pandemic has brought to light the need to re-focus on strengthening our domestic agri-food supply chains and the program will be an important initiative to allow agri-businesses in Ontario to accelerate new commercial product innovations that have real impacts through the supply chain and especially at the farm level.”

Richardson Launches Nitrogen Stabilizer in Canada

Canada, News Briefs, Nitrogen

Canadian agribusiness Richardson Pioneer, Winnipeg, Man., announced on Oct. 5 that it is launching its first proprietary crop inputs product, a nitrogen stabilizer under the name CirrusX™.

“As Canada’s leading ag retailer, we are proud to launch CirrusX™ nitrogen stabilizer,” said Russ Reich, Vice President of Crop Inputs at Richardson International. “Nitrogen stabilizers are important products that support crop yield and farm profitability and we are pleased to offer our customers a product that reinforces our commitment to quality and stewardship.”

CirrusX™ is a liquid formulation urease inhibitor that can be blended with UAN or used to treat urea. Richardson said the product is proven to control loss from ammonia volatilization, making nitrogen fertilizer more efficient. The company said CirrusX™ is now available at Richardson Pioneer locations across Western Canada.

“When nitrogen fertilizer is applied efficiently, less loss occurs to the atmosphere,” said Steve Biggar, Assistant Vice President of Fertilizer and Energy Products at Richardson International. “We strongly believe our customers are sustainable and among world leaders when it comes to fertilizer best practices.”  

The use of nitrogen stabilizers forms part of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship approach to support higher crop yields, the company said. Last year, Richardson Pioneer partnered with growers on 43.8% of all 4R-consistent acres reported in Western Canada, which the company said is the most of any retailer.

NEW Ag Services to Offer Meristem Products

News Briefs, Specialty

Meristem Crop Performance Group LLC, Columbus, Ohio, and NEW Ag Services LLC, Hortonville, Wisc., on Oct. 17 announced a new dealership agreement under which NEW Ag will offer Meristem’s crop inputs product line to growers in north-central and northeastern Wisconsin.

“NEW Ag has had incredible growth in recent years because Steve Feldkamp and his team focus on providing local answers for improving ROI for farmer-customers,” said Mitch Eviston, Meristem Founder and CEO. “We’re excited to be able to come alongside with more innovative technology useful to that mission. We’re also eager to learn from his field experience as we add more new products in the days ahead.”

NEW Ag is a full-service retail supplier providing seed, dry and liquid fertilizer, premium and generic crop protection products, custom application, crop scouting, soil sampling, and nutrient management plans. In addition to its Hortonville location, the company recently opened a new 8,500-ton dry fertilizer plant at its agronomy center in Black Creek, Wisc.

Under the new agreement, NEW Ag will now offer Meristem’s product portfolio, including seed treatments under the brand RACEREADY™ and HOPPER THROTTLE™, REVLINE™ plant growth regulators, TRUTRACK™ drift control, AQUADRAFT™ water conditioners and surfactants, UPSHIFT™ starter fertilizers and HOMESTRETCH™ nitrogen stabilizers, micronutrients, and foliar nutritionals. Meristem also brings a line of biologicals to the market, including EXCAVATOR™ powered by MICROBILIZE™, a new product designed to break down tough crop residue.

“Teaming up with Meristem is another way we can achieve our mission in redefining value for our growers with every product and process” said Feldkamp, Co-Founder and Co-Owner of NEW Ag Services. “We use our own farming operation to better understand and test products, so we have actual skin in the game. We like to ground truth every product we represent. From some early data, we have seen that Meristem’s product portfolio will benefit our growers immensely from a quality and ROI standpoint.”

Keras Completes Extended Mining Campaign

London, News Briefs, Phosphate, Specialty

London-based organic phosphate producer Keras Resources plc announced on Oct. 20 that it has successfully completed its extended mining campaign at its Diamond Creek mine in Utah. It said a total of 3,000 tons of phosphate ore, 500 tons more than targeted, was mined and crushed and will now be loaded and hauled to the Spanish Fork processing facility before the end of its mining season, which formally ends Oct. 31, 2022.

Keras said that in addition to the material already stockpiled, this crushed ore will be milled during the winter months to produce 10-mesh and 50-mesh products for the US fertilizer market. The 10-mesh product will be sold to an existing offtake client and the 50-mesh will either be packaged and sold directly to customers or fed into the mill in Spanish Fork to produce 100-mesh and 350-mesh products.

Lida Resources Advances Reverse Takeover of Continental Potash

News Briefs, Potash, Vancouver

Lida Resources Inc., Vancouver, B.C., a publicly traded mineral exploration company, on Oct. 14 announced that it has completed an initial submission to the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) in respect of its previously announced proposed reverse takeover transaction with Continental Potash Corp. (GM July 8, p. 28).

The proposed transaction, subject to the approval of the CSE, is intended to constitute a fundamental change of the company under CSE policies. Following completion of the transaction, the business of the resulting entity will be the business of Continental Potash.

According to Lida, Continental Potash holds an option to acquire up to a 100% interest in certain rights, title, and interests (subject to certain royalties) in the Disley Prospect Area, located 50 kilometers northwest of Regina, Sask., and 215 kilometers southeast of Saskatoon, Sask.

Bulgaria’s Neochim Restarts Some Production

Ammonium Nitrate, Natural Gas, News Briefs

Bulgarian fertilizer producer Neochim AD began the process of resuming production in Dimitrovgrad in southern Bulgaria as of Oct. 18, after a shutdown in early August for planned annual maintenance was then extended due to high natural gas prices,

The restart in Dimitrovgrad in southern Bulgaria is being carried out in two stages, according to a company filing on Oct. 15, with the restart of the nitric acid and ammonium nitrate units in the first phase.

However, the nitric acid production restart was stopped again on Oct. 18 due to a “technical malfunction,” according to an Oct. 19 filing by Neochim.  The company said it expects to resolve the issue in the shortest possible time.

The Bulgarian producer confirmed it will restart production of ammonia and ammonium bicarbonate within a month, as planned. According to Green Markets database, Neochim has capacity to produce 0.45 million mt/y of ammonia and 0.63 million mt/y of ammonium nitrate at Dimitrovgrad.

Agropolychim, Bulgarian biggest fertilizer producer, resumed full capacity production in August after the completion of another stage of an investment program that updated several of its production facilities at production site near the northeastern town of Devnya and helped it reduce natural gas consumption (GM Sept. 2, p. 29).

Agropolychim in 2019 switched from ammonia production to imported ammonia after the commissioning of an ammonia import terminal, which it said made the company almost completely independent of natural gas prices.

Grupa Azoty Offers Price Reductions on N Fertilizers

News Briefs, Nitrogen, Poland

Polish fertilizer and chemicals producer Grupa Azoty SA and subsidiary Grupa Azoty Puławy have offered their customers much lower prices for nitrogen fertilizers, Grupa Azoty said on Oct. 18.

The move follows Azoty restarting production at its nitrogen fertilizer, caprolactam, and polyamide 6 units in Tarnów on Oct. 12, and Puławy increasing capacity utilization and starting up the Agro Segment’s process units used to make nitrogen fertilizers in response to a change in market conditions (GM Oct. 14, p. 28).

The units had been temporarily shut down since Aug. 23 due to the record high natural gas prices (GM Aug. 26, p.1).

“The prices of nitrogen fertilizers significantly below the Pln4,000 per mt (approximately $818 at current exchange rates) mark are what the market expects, allowing the continuation of economically viable agricultural production,” Azoty said in a statement. “This is also the level of prices that the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has repeatedly referred to when persuading farmers to hold off on their purchases.”

The group believes “right now” is the best time to buy, as “conditions on the gas market may change overnight,” prompting another decision to halt or cut fertilizer production.

“As our fertilizers are now the cheapest to be found in the European Union, it is worth stocking up in advance – at least partly – on the volumes of nitrogen and NPK fertilizers needed for spring application,” said Tomasz Hryniewicz, Grupa Azoty Vice President of the Management Board and President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty Puławy.

Indian Urea Plant Reported Up

News Briefs, Urea

Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd.’s (HURL) Barauni urea plant started production on Oct. 18 after a major renovation, according to India Blooms News Service, citing a statement by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Capacity is put at 1.27 million mt/y.

In 2019, India announced plans to revive five urea plants, each with a capacity of 1.27 million mt/y for a total capacity of 6.35 million mt/y (GM June 21, 2019). According to the latest report, the Gorakhpur urea plant was commissioned in December 2021 and the Sindri plant is likely up shortly. The Ramagundam plant is also up, with the Talcher revival expected to be the last of the five to return to production.

Three Killed at RCF Plant

India, News Briefs

Three workers were killed and three injured on Oct. 19 due to an air conditioner compressor blast at a Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizer Ltd. (RCF) plant at Alibag, according to the Press Trust of India, citing local police officials. The incident reportedly occurred as a new AC unit was being installed, according to a RCF spokesperson.

OCP Inaugurates Fertilizer Blending Plant in Nigeria

News Briefs, Nigeria, NPK

OCP Africa SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morocco’s OCP Group SA, officially inaugurated a new NPK fertilizer blending plant in Nigeria on Oct. 18, Nigeria’s Punch newspaper reported on Oct. 14. Construction began in 2021 (GM March 5, 2021).

The $13.4 million facility in Kaduna in northwestern Nigeria started production on Feb. 16 and has an estimated 120 mt/h capacity and a 25,000 mt storage unit, according to the report. The USAID-funded West Africa Trade and Investment Hub awarded a $1.4 million investment grant to OCP Africa for the project. The balance of the investment has come from OCP.

The Kaduna plant is one of three fertilizer blending plants OCP Africa is establishing in Nigeria. The second is being built in Ogun State in the southwest, and the third in Sokoto in northwestern Nigeria. All together, the three plants will have a total production capacity of 500,000 mt/y of fertilizers, according to an earlier report by OCP (GM March 5, 2021).

The Ogun facility is targeted to start operations in January 2023 and the Sokoto plant in May 2023, according to the Punch report, citing OCP Nigeria Country Manager/Deputy Managing Director Caleb Usoh. The total cost of the three blending facilities was estimated at $43 million.

According to Usoh, the new blending plants will result in increased competition, improved product quality, and a reduction in the unit cost of fertilizer to the farmer. He said the plants were founded on a ‘Toll Blending Business Model,’ with provisions for manufacturing of both soil and crop-specific fertilizers.

As previously reported, OCP Africa is also developing a $1.3 billion industrial platform to produce ammonia and fertilizers in the country’s southern Atlantic Coast state of Akwa Ibom. The complex will utilize Nigerian gas and Moroccan phosphate.

Punch cited Usoh as saying the project will be established over the next four years and will “deepen the use of standard fertilizers” by Nigerian farmers. Earlier announcements by OCP suggested the new industrial complex will be producing from 2025 (GM April 9, 2021).

OCP and NISA inked a Shareholders’ Agreement on March 2, 2021, for the creation of a 50:50 joint venture company to oversee the development of the industrial platform (GM March 5, 2021), with the Moroccan government officially green-lighting OCP to take the stake early the following month (GM April 9, 2021).

OCP has put production capacity under the first phase of development at 750,000 mt/y of ammonia and 1 million mt/y of DAP and NPK fertilizers.  Ammonia production capacity in the second phase of development is targeted to reach 1.5 million mt/y, with 70% of the output to be allocated for export to Morocco. The balance will be used to produce fertilizers at the complex for supply to Nigeria’s domestic market.