All posts by jlarareo@bloomberg.net

NPHarvest Raises $2.2 M for Wastewater Tech

Finland, News, News Briefs

Finland’s NPHarvest plans to build the first commercially ready machine to collect and recycle nutrients from wastewater after raising $2.2 million in a pre-seed funding round, according to Bloomberg, citing a company statement. The funding round led by Nordic Foodtech VC consists of a €1.3 million equity investment and a €0.9 million grant from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment.

NPHarvest said it has developed wastewater treatment equipment that can separate and collect all excess nutrients from concentrated wastewater. Those nutrients can be recycled and sold back to the fertilizer industry. NPHarvest said its hardware can collect up to 90% of nutrients from wastewater, producing ammonia salt as the end product.

Austria, the Netherlands Certify Ostara Organic

Austria, News, News Briefs, The Netherlands

Ostara Europe (UK) Ltd. reported on April 17 that the company’s fertilizer is now registered for use in certified organic farming in both Austria and the Netherlands.

“This certification signifies our deep commitment to globally foster sustainable, efficient, and environmentally friendly farming practices,” said Monty Bayer, Ostara CEO. “Crystal Green Pearl perfectly aligns with EU organic standards, marking a significant step forward in the journey towards increasingly sustainable agriculture.”

Crystal Green Pearl is a granular fertilizer with an analysis of 5% Nitrogen (N), 28% Phosphorus Pentoxide (P2O5), and 10% Magnesium/16% Magnesium Oxide (MgO). The product is produced with Ostara’s nutrient recovery solutions that recover nutrients from wastewater and prevent excess water-soluble nutrients from entering global water systems.

“Conventional phosphate fertilizers are inefficient, a finite resource, and can be harmful to the environment,” added Bayer. “With Crystal Green Pearl, we’re closing the phosphorus loop by taking the nutrients from wastewater and producing a high-efficiency fertilizer that meets the needs of both organic and conventional growers while protecting the environment.” 

St. Louis-based Ostara said the product is the only sustainable crop nutrition source that is entirely free from animal byproducts and aligned with the standards of modern organic agriculture. It said it is minimally water-soluble, although it is 100% soluble in weak organic acids naturally exuded from plants. It said this maximizes nutrient availability and eliminates the environmental issues often associated with conventional, water-soluble fertilizers.

Agriflex Inks MOU with Lithium Australia

Australia, News, News Briefs, Phosphate Rock, Phosphoric Acid

Phosphate rock producer Centrex Ltd., Adelaide, South Australia, on April 16 reported that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Agriflex Pty Ltd., has entered into a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Lithium Australia Ltd. The MOU represents a potential pathway to the battery market via the supply of phosphoric acid from Agriflex to Lithium Australia for the purposes of producing LFP or LMFP.  

“We are excited to enter into this MOU with Lithium Australia, an Australian company that has developed significant know-how and expertise in the rapidly growing LFP battery market space,” said Robert Mencel, Centrex CEO and Managing Director. “As China currently dominates the global battery supply chain, concerns about supply security have led to increasing investment being driven towards more reliable jurisdictions, such as Australia.”

Mencel said the Australian Government’s recent decision to include phosphorous on its Strategic Minerals List also underscores the emerging opportunity for a domestic LFP battery operation. “With Australia’s significant lithium production base and the emerging global trend towards adopting LFP battery technology, the opportunity to establish an LFP battery operation in Australia is substantial,” he said.

The MOU, which has a 24-month term, envisions the construction of a demonstration plant for LFP or LMFP by Lithium Australia, potentially to be located in Queensland. The plant will have an estimated capacity of 250 mt/y of LFP or LMFP, which would require 200-300 mt/y of phosphoric acid.

If the demo plant is successful and the cathode powders are pre-qualified, Lithium Australia will seek to construct a commercial plant with an estimated capacity of approximately 25,000 mt/y LFP or LMFP, which would require 20,000-25,000 mt/y of phosphoric acid. Potential subsequent expansions to commercial plant capacity will be made in line with market requirements. 

Both Agriflex and Lithium Australia will provide support to the MOU and will seek to progress towards a conditional binding offtake agreement for phosphate offtake. Lithium Australia will provide technical input and testing of phosphate samples from Agriflex in respect to their suitability for producing LFP and LMFP. Agriflex will conduct a study to produce phosphoric acid in Queensland and will provide Lithium Australia with phosphate product specifications.

GROWMARK, Intelinair Launch Ag Data App

News, News Briefs

GROWMARK Inc., Bloomington, Ill., announced on April 16 that it has partnered with Intelinair, an ag data analytics company based in Indianapolis, Ind., on a new digital agronomy application to equip farmers with data to improve agronomic outcomes throughout the growing season.

GROWMARK said the myFS Agronomy application creates synergies with the myFS Solution Center and provides data-driven agronomic insights to implement solutions for diagnosing problems in the field; utilizes field data to assist with making growing decisions; allows users to closely monitor news, weather, and markets; and equips FS crop advisors to better engage with their farmer customers.

“The new myFS Agronomy app delivers a digital experience focusing on data-driven analytics, enhanced communication, and agronomic intelligence into the hands of our FS members and their customers,” said Brendan Bachman, GROWMARK’s Director of FS Agronomy. “This digital experience aims to increase our farmers’ bottom line by streamlining the decision-making process for better outcomes while enabling FS to make proactive agronomy decisions and stay connected with our farmer owners.”

The myFS Agronomy platform is available on iOS, iPadOS, Android, Android tablet, and can also be accessed through the web.

“With in-season agronomic insights and the new Analyze capability, farmers can get help monitoring their entire fields for issues during the season and then evaluate what changes can be made for the following crop season,” said Intelinair President and CEO Tim Hassinger. “The addition of the postseason analytics suite this year provides valuable information for data-driven decision-making throughout the entire year.”

Major Farm Groups Seek to Protect 2,4-D Imports

China, India, News, News Briefs

Six of the nation’s major commodity groups on April 18 sent a letter to the US International Trade Commission encouraging it to vote negative in advancing a petition by Corteva Agribusiness to place antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of the herbicide 2,4-D shipped from India and China.

The letter, signed by leaders from the American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Barley Growers Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Sorghum Producers, and the US Durum Growers Association, expressed concerns that the petition could hinder imports and cause herbicide shortages.

“The imports covered by this case are the large majority of sources of supply other than Corteva, which is the only US supplier,” the letter said. “To put it simply, America’s farmers cannot rely upon a sole domestic supplier of 2,4-D to meet nearly all the market’s needs, and imports are needed to meet the majority of market needs.”

The letter said duties on 2,4-D imports from the two countries would intensify what is already a difficult period for many growers as key input costs continue to increase. The groups noted that the USDA is projecting record high farm production cash expenses for 2024. At the same time, crop values are declining. USDA projects total cash receipts for crops in 2024 will be 11.7% lower than 2022.

The ITC is scheduled to vote on its preliminary determination in the case on May 17, 2024.