Washington-The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) jumped into the national health care debate on March 19 with an 11th hour plea to members to call their Representatives to urge them to oppose HR 3590, the historic health care legislation that the House ultimately approved on March 21 with a vote of 219-212. “It is critical that all ARA members call their U.S. Representatives today and voice their strong opposition to the Senate-passed healthcare bill H.R. 3590,” ARA said in its alert. “Lawmakers must understand that the rising cost of healthcare is unsustainable in a struggling economy. Agricultural employers do not need reforms that add to the cost of doing business.” ARA cited a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study that said the bill could cost from $1.8 trillion to more than $2.5 trillion in the first ten years of full implementation. “This proposal fails to provide the fundamental healthcare solutions businesses and their employees desperately need,” ARA said. “Pushing through a flawed bill that dumps disproportionate costs on small businesses while providing unfair exemptions to labor unions is simply political pandering disguised as reform.” ARA’s appeal included a phone script for would-be callers. “Everyone keeps saying this is supposed to be a bill that helps businesses like mine,” the script said. “But this bill will actually end up raising our cost of doing business and will make my health insurance even more expensive. This would ultimately eliminate jobs and be the exact opposite of what healthcare reform legislation should accomplish.” ARA’s script urged callers to tell their congressmen that HR 3590 “fails businesses by imposing (1) a new health insurance tax that will increase our insurance costs; and (2) huge costs in the form of new taxes, compliance fees, and government regulation. Because of the politically motivated deals made to secure the support of big labor, the costs to pay for H.R. 3590 fall disproportionately on the already strained backs of America’s agricultural businesses and other small businesses located in rural communities.” Following the March 21 House vote, President Obama signed the bill into law on March 23. On March 25, the Senate voted 56-43 to approve some final fixes to the bill, which the House then confirmed with a final 220-207 vote.

Winnipeg-Pat Avery has joined OmniTRAX Canada Inc. as its vice president of energy and commodities, and will oversee operations at the Port of Churchill and the Churchill Marine Tank Farm in northern Manitoba. Avery’s duties there will include expanding the handling, movement, and storage of fuel, freight, and related services. He will also market the Port of Churchill and the tank farm to the northern territory of Nunavut and international markets. “We are pleased to have a person with Pat Avery’s knowledge, experience and expertise join our team,” said Gary Long, CEO of OmniTRAX. “He has already made significant contributions to our operations.” OmniTRAX Canada, an affiliate of OmniTRAX Inc. of Denver, Colo., has operated the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway since 1997. The Port is Canada’s only deep-water Arctic port. It serves more than 30 countries in the export of grain from the prairie provinces, and is a key trade link with Nunavut. In 2009, the Port handled one of the highest tonnages on record with 529,000 mt of wheat for the Canadian Wheat Board. In October 2007 the Port made fertilizer news when it received 10,000 mt of Russian ammonium nitrate brought in by Farmers of North America (FNA), a Saskatoon-based farmers’ cooperative (GM Oct. 22, 2007). A first for Manitoba, the 2007 fertilizer delivery was heralded by FNA and port officials as a game-changer for farmers in Western Canada. Avery comes to the Port with more than 15 years of experience in the energy and fuel business across North America, including jobs with ARCO and Santa Fe Pacific Pipeline. He also worked in the fertilizer, chemical, and grain business with JR Simplot for more than a decade, including a two-year stint at Simplot’s Brandon, Manitoba, facility. “I am pleased to join such a dynamic and forward thinking company as OmniTRAX,” Avery said. “This company is dedicated to growing and diversifying its business through the Port of Churchill and I look forward to assisting with those endeavors. This is an opportunity for growth and employment for the people of Northern Manitoba and Nunavut.” Avery said he’d like to see the port handle canola, flax, peas, and other specialty crops in addition to wheat. He also said he plans to pursue contacts in the fertilizer and mining sectors to expand fertilizer and mining-industry equipment shipments through the port.

Melbourne-BHP Billiton Canada Inc. said March 23 that it has completed the previously announced acquisition (GM Feb. 1, p. 1) of all the issued and outstanding common shares of Athabasca Potash Inc. for C$8.35 per common share, or C$341 million. The deal provides BHP with 100 percent control of the Burr project and various additional potash exploration properties in Saskatchewan. BHP says it now has access to more than 14,000 km2 of prospective exploration ground in the world-class Saskatchewan potash basin. BHP has filed an application with the Toronto Stock Exchange to delist the API common shares.

Neosho, Mo.-Seven miles of the Mississippi River were closed off and evacuations ordered at several surrounding businesses after a mechanical malfunction in an incinerator at the BASF plant caused the release of approximately 200 pounds of sulfur trioxide, according to investigators with the Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources (MDNR). MDNR spokesman Judd Slivka told Green Markets that fortunately there were no injuries and the sulfur trioxide, which drifted toward the river, didn’t mix with water and turn into sulfuric acid. He said that although given the small amount of the release there was no need to issue drinking water alerts, Hannibal and Louisiana, Mo., about 10 miles away, were notified of the incident. Slivka said the release, which occurred about 8 a.m., was probably caused by a malfunction in the incinerator stack. “The affected area was in a 500-yard radius around the plant and light winds out of the south/southwest pushed the release toward the river,” Slivka reported. He said the river closure, ordered by Coast Guard as a precautionary measure, lasted about two hours. The plant is located between Hannibal and Palmyra, about 115 miles north of St. Louis. Sulfur trioxide, a significant pollutant that is the primary agent in acid rain, is produced as a precursor to sulfuric acid.

Shawboro, N.C.-Both the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Currituck County sheriff’s detectives are continuing their investigations of two brothers living in a Shawboro rental house where authorities have found bomb-making materials, including nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and sulfuric acid. Currituck County Sheriff Susan Johnson reported that her narcotics unit served a search warrant on March 11, after which narcotics detectives discovered an indoor marijuana manufacturing operation. Detectives also discovered bomb-making materials in the residence after the owner became suspicious when he called on the occupants about keeping a pet dog that was not allowed in the home. Sheriff Johnson said her office then called in the State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI. Timothy Brian Robinson, 32, was taken into custody. His brother, Daniel Allen Robinson, 34, was arrested in Chesapeake, Va., and faces two counts of possession of weapons of mass destruction, including a bottle with a fuse attached and several chemicals and poisonous plants that could be used for bomb-making. Sheriff Johnson said at a news conference that the FBI has not yet filed federal charges against the brothers. She also emphasized that the arrests emphasize the “importance of knowing your neighbors.” Daniel Robinson is being held in a Chesapeake jail without bond. Timothy Robinson is in the Currituck County Detention Center under a $60,000 bond.

Edmonton, Alberta-More than 200 items, including potassium nitrate, an ingredient in explosives, were seized in an Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) raid on the Trickle Creek farm of Wiebo Ludwig. Ludwig has served jail time for 1990 natural gas pipeline bombings and was arrested and later released last January in connection with numerous bombings of sour-gas installations, according to court documents obtained by CBC News. There was no response by either phone or email from RCMP in British Columbia to the news report, which stated that a search at the farm, near Hythe, Alberta, 550 km northwest of Edmonton, was carried out in January. RCMP officers reportedly found a long list of items, including chemistry textbooks, weapons, and office supplies, along with the chemical. The search reportedly was part of an investigation into six bombings that took place between October 2008 and July 2009 at EnCana’s natural gas pipelines.