Agrium Advanced Technologies’ new ESN® coating facility in New Madrid, Mo., has started commercial operations, completing the construction ahead of schedule and under budget, and has shipped its first sale from the facility. Agrium touts ESN as the leading environmentally safe source of nitrogen, increasing grower production value while protecting from nitrogen losses.

The New Madrid facility began its start-up in mid-February and six weeks were spent commissioning the plant and ensuring it was producing product that met company standards. “We have worked extremely hard to ensure we were able to get the plant to the high quality standards that ESN is known for,” said Rod Oglesby, director of operations for Agrium Advanced Technologies. “We were able to make a few critical adjustments to make the process more consistent, which will result in the best product for growers.”

The first commercial sale shipped from the facility March 26, with two truckloads going to two different local Crop Production Services locations. “We are very excited to have strong relationships with a number of distribution customers in the key agricultural markets in the area the New Madrid facility will service,” said Andrew Mittag, president, Agrium Advanced Technologies. “The strong value proposition ESN provides growers through increased production and convenience will help to continue the rapid growth of ESN. This will allow us to take advantage of the New Madrid facility’s ability to double its production, which it was designed to do.”

Groundbreaking for the New Madrid coating facility was in June 2009 (GM May 25, 2009). It has an annual production capacity of 120,000 st, and has been designed so that capacity can be quickly doubled in the future (GM May 25, 2009). The incremental capacity will bring total Agrium ESN® production capacity to 360,000 st at three separate locations. Agrium also produces ESN at Calgary, Alberta, and Sylacauga, Ala.

Agrium says the unique ESN technology provides a flexible, micro-thin polymer coating that encapsulates a nitrogen granule, which protects the nitrogen from loss mechanisms and releases the nutrient based on temperature and soil moisture, when the crops need it most.

Agrium Advanced Technologies, a manufacturer and marketer of slow- and controlled-release fertilizers and micronutrients in the agriculture, professional turf and ornamental, consumer lawn and garden, and specialty agriculture markets, is a unit of Agrium Inc.

Bunge Ltd. reported an 85 percent increase in fertilizer earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the first quarter ending March 31, 2010, though they were still in the loss column, at $40 million versus the year-ago negative $262 million. First-quarter fertilizer gross profit was a positive $61 million on sales of $699 million, versus the year-ago gross loss of $193 million on sales, which were also $699 million.

Fertilizer sales volumes during the first quarter were up 12 percent, to 2.3 million mt from the year-ago 2.06 million mt. Chief Financial Officer Jacqualyn Fouse told analysts that overall volume growth was good, though it was concentrated in the nutrient business, which is being sold to Vale (GM Feb. 1, p. 1) in the second quarter. “Retail saw lower volumes and market share during this quarter as we maintained pricing and farmers slowed their purchases in the second half of the quarter.”

Bunge said average fertilizer inventory costs are now below market prices. Results included $4 million of restructuring charges in the retail business in Brazil, and $23 million lower depreciation in nutrients due to the classification of these assets as held for sale.

Bunge said 2010 is a transition year for the company’s fertilizer sector as it works through the separation of its nutrient production business, which is being sold from its remaining retail business. The sale is expected to garner $3.5 billion in after-tax proceeds. The company expects to take $1.5 billion of the proceeds to pay down debt.

Bunge expects its retail fertilizer business to improve in the second half as the pace of farmer purchases picks up closer to planting, but says it will still be below expectations.

Company-wide, Bunge reported net income of $80 million ($.31 per share) on sales of $10.34 billion, up from the year-ago loss of $176 million ($1.76 per share) on sales of $9.2 billion. Citing the outlook for fertilizer and possible margin pressure from oilseed processing, the company is revising its 2010 outlook down to $5.30-$5.80 per share from the $5.75-$6.25 given in February. This excludes the gain on the sale of the company’s fertilizer nutrient business, expected in the second quarter.

Compass Minerals reported that its specialty fertilizer sales volumes were up 176 percent during the first quarter ending March 31, 2010, to 102,000 st versus the year-ago 37,000 st. Sales were up 37 percent, to $52.5 million from $38.2 million in 1Q 09. However, operating income was off 37 percent, to $17 million from $26.8 million. This was primarily due to a drop in the average price per ton to $514/st from the year-ago $1,020/st.

“Compass Minerals delivered strong sales this quarter through salt pricing growth and better-than-expected demand for our sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer,” said Angelo Brisimitzakis, Compass president and CEO. “Our salt segment maintained robust margins, demonstrating the reliable earning power of our salt applications even when, in quarters like this one, mild winter weather depresses demand for our highway, consumer and professional deicing products. Average sales prices for our sulfate of potash were well above prices when we last sold more than 100,000 tons in the second quarter of 2008, which has led to attractive profitability for our specialty fertilizer segment.

“Winter weather variability is inherent to our deicing business and we know that, over the long term, weather tends to return to normal,” continued Dr. Brisimitzakis. “The highway deicing cycle has begun again, so we are now turning our attention to the 2010-2011 winter. We believe that the price and volume volatility that has characterized the potash industry for the past two years has substantially subsided. We expect our sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer prices to remain stable and attractive though the upcoming growing seasons and we believe that more normal sales volumes will become sustainable in 2010.”

Compass expects second-quarter fertilizer volumes to be about double year-ago levels, with full-year volumes to be more than 300,000 st. It views normal sales at 100,000 st per quarter, or 400,000 st/y. The company noted that in previous years it was able to sell 100,000 per quarter at prices in the $300-$400/st range. It said prices now appear to have set a floor and are over $500/st. “We expect to be able to grow this business at even better margins than we expected when we first initiated Phase I of our SOP capacity expansion projects back in 2007,” said Brisimitzakis. He also said the company is having success at implementing the $30/st SOP price increase it implemented April 1.

Brisimitzakis said the company is uncertain as to when it will receive permits for its SOP expansion at the Great Salt Lake. “It could be imminent or several years off.” The project would add up to 70,000 acres of pond to the current 40,000 acres. The proposed pond could produce up to 400,000 st/y of SOP. It would take some four years to get the first SOP once the permit was granted ?Çô one to build the pond, and three for the evaporation process.

Brisimitzakis also said that in 2010 Compass stopped buying potash from vendors for making SOP. He said the company started 2010 with 200,000 st of SOP in inventory and expects to produce 300,000 st in 2010 and 350,000 st in 2011.

Company-wide, Compass saw a 4 percent decline in net earnings, to $58.9 million ($1.77 per diluted share) from the year-ago $61.6 million. Total sales were up 16 percent, to $357.6 million from the year-ago $309.1 million.

Salt operating earnings were $85.6 million on sales of $302.5 million, up from the year-ago $77.4 million on sales of $268.8 million. Total salt volumes were up at 4.48 million st from 1Q 09’s 4.36 million st, while the average salt price was $67.45/st, up from the year-ago $61.66/st.

Seattle University is changing from using solid organic fertilizer to a mixture of synthetic and compost tea fertilizers to provide healthier athletic fields. The move coincides with the institution’s joining the Division 1 ranks. “We are shifting away from solid organic fertilizer in order to improve field maintenance while continuing to retain sustainability with a partial organic approach,” Michael Kerns, assistant vice president for the facilities, told Green Markets.

“Utilizing a strong mix of solid organic fertilizer created a buildup of organic material on the top two-inch layer, preventing water from draining into the sand drain system,” said Kerns. “We are changing the turf while changing to synthetic fertilizer with compost tea, eliminating this.” Kerns said that in addition to the major drainage problems, the playing fields were in bad condition. Grounds officials agree with the change because they want to provide the highest quality playing fields possible.

Along with the announcement from the athletic department that the 2009-2010 school year would be the first full year of Division I sports competition, multiple consulting firms were called in to assess whether synthetic fertilizer was a superior choice to organics. Janice Murphy, integrated pest management coordinator, told the local press that pressures from the Division I change and requests from the various coaching staffs, in addition to consultants’ recommendations, resulted in the change. One of the grounds gardeners, Joshua Green, said synthetic fertilizer is the norm and “using something outside of that norm just doesn’t seem to be acceptable.” Grounds and Landscape Manager Shannon Britton remarked, “It’s a valid concern, because the athletic department wants to play at a higher level and have their field look like it’s at that higher level.”

Britton, Murphy, and Green, along with other grounds personnel, worked with consultants to perform soil tests and irrigation research on the fields’ turf grass to reassess the proper amount of synthetic fertilizer to use during each season. Seattle University plans to restore and resurface two fields at an estimated cost of between $300,000 to $500,000 to return satisfactory drainage capability to the athletic fields.