Washington-The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) on April 14 asked members to complete a survey about federal security requirements and voluntary security initiatives. ARA said the survey was an effort to measure industry practices with regard to programs such as the Chemical Facility Antiterrorism Standards (CFATS), and will help the Chemical Sector Coordinating Council, of which ARA is a member, better represent the chemical industry in its dialogue with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The survey consists of roughly 27 questions, covering issues ranging from security vulnerability assessments to cyber security. Survey responses are due by May 7, and individuals can complete it only once. ARA said only aggregated survey results will be shared with DHS under its partnership program with industry, and no identifiable company submissions will be collected. For more information, contact Richard Gupton, ARA’s vice president of legislative policy & counsel, at 202-457-0825 or richard@aradc.org.

Ankeny, Iowa-Albaugh Inc., a privately-held manufacturer of off-patent crop protection products headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa, filed an antidumping petition on March 31 with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against imports from China of the herbicide glyphosate. Albaugh said it was filing its petition in response to the trade practices of Chinese glyphosate manufacturers “who have dramatically and irrationally increased their glyphosate production capacity over the course of the last three years, which has destabilized glyphosate markets in the U.S. and around the world.” Albaugh, which has a $400 million glyphosate manufacturing facility in St. Joseph, Mo., said the trade practices of Chinese manufacturers has led to unprecedented volatility in the pricing of glyphosate, affecting both U.S. manufacturers and farmers. China increased prices of glyphosate by more than 400 percent in response to skyrocketing demand in 2007, Albaugh charged, and by 2009 had developed glyphosate production capacity that is 150 percent of total global demand for the product. “In response to this massive overproduction, global glyphosate prices collapsed beginning in 2008 and continuing throughout 2009,”Albaugh said. “Chinese producers continued to flood the U.S. market with inventory and drove prices to levels well below their own cost of production, simply to dump excess inventory. Prices have fallen by as much as 75 percent since mid-2008 and are now well below cost of production cost for even the most efficient producers.” Albaugh said that the collapse of the glyphosate market has forced it to cut its production at St. Joseph and make “substantial layoffs of its workforce” in mid-2009 for the first time in the company’s history. “It is not in the interest of U.S. farmers to allow the Chinese to corner the glyphosate market,” said Dennis Albaugh, chairman and owner of Albaugh. “Similar conditions have led to the relocation of the fertilizer industry largely offshore. American agriculture cannot afford the loss of U.S.-based production of another key agricultural input.” The ITC has begun a preliminary investigation into Albaugh’s complaint. Albaugh said the petition process is expected to take about a year to complete.

Port Ewen, N.Y.-Dyno Nobel is phasing out production at its explosives initiation systems plant here over a 12-month period. The plant serves quarry, construction, and mining industries. Citing diminishing customer demand and falling cost competitiveness, the company said the decision was first communicated to employees in September 2009. The phase-out will mean some 50 people will be laid off. The site will continue as a distribution, sales, and service support center, employing 14. The company noted that the manufacturing footprint of the site has been on the decline for several years, and that some 200 employees were laid off in 2003. Customers will continue to be supplied by other Dyno Nobel plants, including Simsbury, Conn.

St. Paul-CHS Inc. is once again among the 100 largest U.S. companies as ranked in the well-known Fortune 500 list, coming in at number 91 for 2010. The list will appear in the magazine’s May 2 issue. Rankings were based on fiscal 2009 revenues for the companies considered. CHS revenues for fiscal 2009 (Sept. 1, 2008 through Aug. 31, 2009) were $25.7 billion. Based on fiscal 2008 revenues of $32.2 billion – an all-time mark driven by record commodity prices – CHS was ranked number 72 on the 2009 Fortune 500 list. CHS is the only cooperative in the top 100, which is led by Wal-Mart stores with revenues of $408 billion.

Toronto-Allana Potash Corp. reports that it has begun the Phase I drilling program on its Ethiopian Potash Project in the Danakhil Depression. The program comprises between 2,500 and 3,000 meters of drilling and is expected to be completed in approximately three months. In addition, camp construction is approaching completion near the village of Hamadela, and plans to expand the camp to accommodate additional personnel have been initiated. The camp will accommodate approximately 35 people and provide a base of operations for all upcoming Allana activities.

Sidney, Ohio-State fire marshal investigators have ruled as arson an April 1 storage barn fire that destroyed several thousand gallons of liquid fertilizer and caused an estimated $500,000 in damage. Shane Cartmill, spokesman for the marshal’s office, reported that investigators found evidence indicating the fire was intentionally set, but wouldn’t provide any details because the investigation, which also includes the Shelby County sheriff’s office and the fire department, is ongoing. He said what is called a Blue Ribbon Arson Reward of up to $5,000 has been posted for anyone with information about the person or persons responsible. The division can be contacted at 1-800-589-2728. Investigators are also encouraging other owners of barns, farm equipment, and agricultural chemicals in the surrounding counties to closely monitor their property and report anything out of the ordinary to the local police department or sheriff’s office.

Sugar Land, Texas-CVR Energy Inc. said April 6 that its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Coffeyville Resources LLC and Coffeyville Finance Inc., have completed an offering of $275 million aggregate principal amount of first lien senior secured notes due 2015 and $225 million aggregate principal amount of second lien senior secured notes due 2017. The proceeds will be used to repay $453.3 million of term loan indebtedness outstanding under a first priority credit facility and related fees and expenses, with the balance to be used for general corporate purposes.

Baltimore-State fisheries crews believe fertilizer runoff is a factor – but not the only one – for the deaths of 500 or more fish, including rainbow trout, the day after they were stocked in a 12-acre man-made pond at Lake Waterford. Some 720 trout were placed in the lake March 22. “While fertilizer is a likely factor, we cannot quantify how much of a factor it would have been,” Maryland Environmental Department spokesman Jay Apperson told Green Markets. “Any source of nutrients in the watershed would be suspect. Lake Waterford is an example of an urban water body where factors like stormwater runoff, especially runoff with lawn fertilizers and sewage spills, and wildlife, such as geese and ducks, make for too much nitrogen and phosphorus. The situation illustrates the need to control stormwater runoff.” Water sampling showed oxygen levels below normal at one part per million at the surface and zero parts per million underwater.