Frederick, Md.-Frederick police have notified the FBI and other federal agencies but don’t suspect terrorists in the theft of about 4,000 pounds of bagged fertilizer in the late afternoon of Feb. 28 from the Southern States Cooperative store here. “They’re absolutely interested, but I can’t tell you what the specific response was,” reported Sgt. Jason Keckler, who is in charge of the investigation. “We’re working on some leads now but don’t have a suspect identified. (But) we don’t have any reason to believe that terrorists are involved here.” Keckler also said that while a couple of areas are being investigated no motive is indicated at this point, adding that possibly because of the economy someone may have been interested in the money. The theft, discovered Saturday night or early Sunday, was originally reported as 6,000 pounds of 19-19-19 and 2,000 pounds of urea. But Keckler said it now appears the numbers were inflated a bit, adding that it’s “much less, probably in the likelihood of half that, and in less than a hundred bags.” Also on the list was ammonium sulfate, but no ammonium nitrate because Southern States doesn’t handle that. The fertilizer was packaged mostly in 50-pound bags with red and blue Southern States logos.
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ATF probes theft of truck with AN, ANFO
Sugar Creek, Mo.-Federal charges are still pending against an unidentified individual in connection with the theft of a truck that was parked at a construction site and contained several thousand pounds of ammonium nitrate and ANFO, according to the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Kansas City. “ATF’s interest is centered around the fact that ANFO was in the truck,” Mike Boxler, special agent in charge of the Kansas City field division, told Green Markets. Boxler said the suspect has been charged by the police department in Sugar Creek, located adjacent to Independence. Telephone calls to Sugar Creek police weren’t returned, but press reports said the man was being held on charges of vandalism. Boxler said his agents are still doing their investigations, and if federal charges are filed “we would be looking at theft of the blasting agent.” The truck was found in a field near U.S. 291 by a property owner who notified authorities and reportedly told investigators that he had no idea why whoever took it left it there. “We don’t know when they came in there or anything about it, because it happened during the night, and everyone was asleep,” he reported. “It’s hard to see anything back there until daylight.” Boxler didn’t know what was going on at the construction site, but confirmed that what was described as a box truck contained approximately 3,700 pounds of potentially explosive material.
Ammonia thief gets three years in prison
Paris, Ill.-Prosecutors say they don’t think given the circumstances that three years in prison is a stiff sentence for a 33-year-old Marshall man who pleaded guilty to stealing anhydrous ammonia from the FS fertilizer plant just outside of town. “It (the sentence) was something both sides agreed to, not something contested at the hearing,” Edgar County State’s Attorney Matt Sullivan told Green Markets. He said the sentence also takes into account the man’s previous history, which may keep him locked up for longer than three years. The man and another individual were arrested as two Edgar County deputies were checking the fertilizer plant where several anhydrous ammonia thefts had occurred. The case against the second person is still pending. “These thefts are less common now than five years ago,” Sullivan explained. “But they’re still not a rarity.” He said deputies routinely check the fertilizer businesses when they’re out on their rounds. In this case one of the two arresting deputies hadn’t visited FS and they made it a point to stop by, finding a set of tracks in the snow and a car with phony licenses plates. The deputies looked into the cab and the bed of the truck and saw several gasoline cans, plus hoses and plumbing fittings they knew from experience are commonly used by anhydrous thieves.
Liquid nitrogen tank leaks 7,000 gallons
Arcadia, Wisc.-An emergency crew expects warmer temperatures to help their efforts cleaning up nearly 7,000 gallons of 28 percent liquid nitrogen that leaked from a storage tank at Arcadia Cooperative Assn. here. According to state environmental and agriculture officials, the fertilizer flowed from a break in the tank and escaped through a crack in the concrete containment dike. “There’s three feet of frost on the ground and they can’t get a front loader to scoop it up,” spokeswoman Jane Larson reported. She said workers are resorting to putting down sand and scraping up what they can with a skid loader. But help is on the way, Larson added, with temperatures expected to get up into the 40s and 50s. The leak was discovered the morning of March 1 by an employee who heard a hissing sound while opening the doors to the indoor mix load pad. An Arcadia spokesman told Green Markets that an estimated 6,800 gallons escaped from the tank and spilled out onto the ground from the old concrete dike, which had a hole the size of a hose. Some 7,500 gallons was transferred from the tank while workers pumped up as much as they could from the puddles. He said the frost actually was keeping the liquid from soaking into the ground, lessening concerns about reaching into groundwater or a nearby creek. State investigators, however, plan to do follow-up soil tests to make sure all of the contamination is cleaned up. Arcadia said the fertilizer-soaked sand was being stockpiled and would eventually be land-spread. Arcadia Police and the Arcadia-Glencoe Fire Department also responded to the scene. Traffic was shut down in the area for a time, and students at Arcadia Elementary were told to stay indoors as a precaution.
SQM continues to break records
Santiago-Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) reported net income of $501.4 million ($1.91 per ADR) on sales of $1.774 billion for the year ending Dec. 31, 2008, versus 2007’s $180.0 million ($.68 per ADR) and $1.187 billion, respectively. The company cited higher specialty nutrient prices and increased volumes for iodine and derivatives. Actual specialty nutrient volumes were off; however, annual revenues for the unit were up, at $978.9 million from 2007’s $580.8 million. Potassium nitrate and blended fertilizers made up the bulk of the revenues at $829.4 million, up from the year-ago $513.4 million. SQM reported fourth-quarter net income of $120.3 million ($.46 per ADR) on sales of $397.9 million, up from the year-ago $44.6 million ($.17 per ADR) and $306.2 million, respectively. Specialty nutrient sales were $191.4 million, up from the year-ago $143.7 million. Potassium nitrate/blended fertilizers contributed $160.2 million during the fourth quarter, versus the year-ago $124.4 million. SQM said that despite the global economic downturn, the fundamentals of its specialty nutrient business ?Çô tight supply conditions and an expected recovery in demand ?Çô remain solid. SQM expects demand and sales volumes to recover in the second half of 2009, up significantly from the first half. It expects stable specialty nutrient prices in 2009 versus average prices in 2008.
Compass, K+S rumors spur stock activity
Overland Park, Kan.-Shares of Compass Minerals were up 7.55 percent on Monday, March 2, amid rumors that German fertilizer giant K+S Group, also known as Kali und Salz, was readying a bid for Compass. Both companies are in the salt and fertilizer business. The acquisition would give K+S a stronger position in North America, though it already has a fertilizer presence with K+S North America. Neither Compass Minerals nor K+S were reported to have confirmed the deal, which was reported by overseas wire services. Compass Minerals is a producer of minerals, including salt, sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer, and magnesium chloride.
Canada grants Libya MFN status
Ottawa-Canada has extended Most-Favored-Nation status to Libya. While the current tariff on Libya is 35 percent, the average MFN tariff is 5.5 percent. The most immediate impact on the fertilizer industry should be for urea to Eastern Canada from Libya. Yara International ASA has the marketing rights to that product. The change of status was reported in the Canada Gazette Feb. 18. The government sought industry input last summer and said it received no opposition. Those expressing support included the Canadian Fertilizer Institute and the Government of Alberta, as well as major Canadian federal agencies.
Organic producer makes major cuts
Boston-Converted Organics Inc. is cutting expenses and has renegotiated financing so that it can complete essential components at its Woodbridge, N.J., plant. The company said 20 percent of its employees have been laid off, with the exception of operations personnel at plants in New Jersey and California. All remaining administrative and salaried personnel have had salary cuts ?Çô in some cases by 50 percent. Travel will be curtailed, and all expenditures will be focused exclusively on producing and selling product in the immediate future. The company recently shipped its first tons from the N.J. plant. The company cuts lead to speculation it may have to put on hold plans, announced last August, to build its third plant in near Johnston, R.I. The company reported a net loss of $3 million on revenues of $428,516 for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2008, compared to a year-ago loss of $913,126 and no reported revenues. Nine-month losses were $11.6 million on revenues of $1.2 million, compared to the year-ago $3 million in losses and no revenues reported.
Second Helena plant in N.M. focus
Sante Fe-Helena Chemical Co., which inspectors say has had unauthorized discharges of dry and liquid fertilizers and an herbicide, has submitted a first-phase cleanup plan for groundwater contamination at its Lake Arthur warehousing facility, according to the New Mexico Environment Dept. Helena sells and stores agricultural chemicals at the property, along with crop seeds, including corn, cotton, and alfalfa. No chemicals are manufactured at the facility. Helena also operates a fertilizer warehouse in Mesquite, N.M., that has been tangling for some time with the state over environmental issues. “The plan ensures Helena investigates and cleans up groundwater pollution to protect local residents and the environment,” said Environmental Protection Division Director Jim Norton. Norton told Green Markets the groundwater pollution is one of a string of violations against the company. “They don’t have a very good track record,” he remarked. “They’ve had a number of notices of violation over the past few years, including failure to have a permit for operations, groundwater pollution and a third for air pollution issues.” He said one of those involved failure to keep pollution from escaping from the factory by keeping the warehouse doors closed. NMED required the company to submit the Stage 1 Abatement Plan proposal in November. The company installed 13 soil borings and six wells to monitor groundwater at the facility. Water samples from those wells detected contamination of nitrate, chloride, sulfate, fluoride, and total dissolved solids contamination in groundwater above state groundwater standards. The depth to ground water across the site ranges from approximately 20 to 25 feet below ground surface. The plan proposes the installation of monitoring wells and the collection of additional soil and groundwater samples to define the extent of soil and groundwater contamination. After the initial investigation is completed, Helena must submit a Stage 2 cleanup proposal to NMED. Helena is required to issue a public notice for the Stage 2 cleanup within 30 days of submitting the proposal to NMED. The public will have an opportunity to comment on the Stage 2 cleanup proposal and request a hearing or meeting. Written public comment will be sought by NMED within 60 days of determining that the cleanup proposal is administratively complete.
Farm groups, lawmakers react to Obama proposal
Washington-President Barack Obama in late February released a budget proposal that would phase out direct payments to farmers with more than $500,000 in annual revenue, and establish a $250,000 cap on farm subsidy payments. The administration claims the cuts would save $9.8 billion over 10 years. “Roughly a third of farmers receive direct payments, which they receive regardless of whether they are producing anything or not,” said a senior administration official. “We would propose that for farms with revenue above $500,000 a year that we phase out those direct payments over time.” The proposal drew fire from farm groups almost immediately, who argue that it is poorly timed and aimed at growers who account for three-fourths of farm production. Roughly 126,000 U.S. farms have sales over $500,000 a year, according to the USDA. The Obama proposal faces an uphill fight in Congress as well, which last year enacted a five-year farm bill that rejected a proposed $250,000 payment cap but did ban crop subsidies to producers with more than $500,000 in income from non-farm sources. “We just passed a fiscally responsible farm bill that made cuts to farm programs, so now is not the time to reopen it,” said Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and one of the chief architects of the 2008 farm bill. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said he was willing to review the Obama plan, but suggested that the subsidy cap should be based on a producer’s adjusted gross income instead of on annual revenue, arguing that farmers could have high revenues but still face exorbitant input costs. The Agricultural Retailers Association also voiced concerns about the proposal when asked by Green Markets. “After a bill was thoroughly debated in the last congress, we don’t think its good policy to go back and start changing things already, particularly in this economic environment,” said Richard Gupton, ARA’s Vice President of Legislative Policy and Counsel. In addition to questions about the timing of the proposal, Gupton said subsidy reform should be considered in the context of a new farm bill, and noted that grower groups will have understandable concerns because it could impact small farmers even though it is intended for larger operations. “They’re trying to make cuts out of the farm programs to pay for other things, and there are already reforms made and cuts made last time around during the farm bill debate,” he said. Gupton also expressed doubts about the proposal’s chances in Congress in the form that the Obama administration has suggested. “But you’ve got a lot of new members who may not have a great appreciation for agriculture and don’t represent rural areas,” he cautioned. “So there’s a new effort to educate on what agriculture contributes to the economy. We have our work cut out for us to make sure there are not wholesale changes.”