Washington-Corn planted acreage in 2007 is expected to increase 8.7 million acres in to 87 million acres, according to Keith Collins, USDA chief economist at the annual Agricultural Outlook Conference in Washington on March 1. This is up slightly from USDA’s last assessment Feb. 14. Collins said the planting would be the highest in more than 60 years (since 1946). Soybean acreage is expected to be down 5 million acres to 70.5 million, the lowest since 1997. Wheat acres are expected to be up 2.7 million acres to 60 million. In addition to soybeans, much of the expanded acreage is expected to come from upland cotton, other feedgrains and long grain rice. Upland cotton plantings are expected to be the lowest since 1990. For the current year, Collins expects corn used for ethanol will reach 2.15 bushels in 2007 and increase 50 percent to 3.2 billion bushels in 2007/2008.

Regina, Sask.-Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc. has announced its purchase of the key assets of Gates Fertilizer Ltd., including leases on two retail outlets located in Nipawin and Carrot River, Sask. “We are excited at the prospect of strengthening our presence in northeast Saskatchewan,” said Doug Weinbender, SaskPool vice-resident, agri-products. “The increase in capacity allows us to provide an even greater level of service to our valued customers, by offering enhanced solutions to support their growing farm business needs.” Both locations will be fully operational, effective immediately, and will offer a wide range of products including fertilizer, seed, and crop protection packages. Local customers will also enjoy the added benefit of increased access to NH3.

Santiago-Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) reported a 24.5 percent increase in net income for the year ending Dec. 31, 2006, to US$141.3 million on sales of $1.04 billion versus 2005’s $113.5 million and $906.0 million, respectively. Volumes to three major customers were off but this was partially offset by higher prices. Hectares were down in Brazil due partly to a higher Real and in Spain due to drought. A delay in a vessel affected volume totals to Japan. Specialty fertilizer revenues in 2006 were $502.8 million versus 2005’s $496.5 million. SQM reported fourth quarter net income of $29.7 million on sales of $267.0 million, up from the year-ago $26.8 million and $216.8 million, respectively. Of this, specialty fertilizer revenues were $124.6 million, up from the year-ago $115.9 million.

Regina-Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc. reported net earnings of $7.9 million on sales of $448.2 million for the second quarter ending Jan. 31, 2007, compared to the year-ago $2.9 million and $367.7 million, respectively. Excluding one-time items, SaskPool generated net earnings from continuing operations of $8.7 million, up from a year-ago loss of $2 million. Fertilizer sales were off 14.1 percent during the quarter at $71.7 million from the year-ago $83.4 million. Total Agri-Product sales were down 9.7 percent to $80.1 million from $88.7 million. Six month SaskPool earnings were $2.8 million on sales of $789.5 million versus a year-ago loss of $4.7 million and sales of $641.7 million. Six month fert sales were off 13.6 percent to $105 million from $121.5 million. Total Agri sales were off 9.9 percent to $129 million from $143.2 million.

Salinas, Calif.-Rescuers from a nearby fire station said an unidentified employee at Associated Tagline Ag Services here was lucky to escape uninjured Feb. 20 after being trapped up to his chest in granular fertilizer in a 25-foot hopper. No one at the farm input location would talk about the incident or identify the person involved. But Ron Stefani, division chief with the North County Fire District of Monterey County described the situation as a 20-foot pile of urea that caved-in on the victim. “He was lucky the rest of it didn’t come down on him,” reported Stefani whose crew worked cautiously to lower a rope harness from above and even notified the railroad to keep trains from coming by and shaking things up “Any movement by us or any other vibration could have caused more fertilizer to fall at least 25 feet on to the victim who was pinned in what appeared to be a chute used for loading trucks,” he told Green Markets. Associated Manager Alberto Ortiz said the worker “was back to work that afternoon.” Stefani said it was reported that the man whom he could identify only as a 61-year-old Hispanic was in the hopper to get a shovel lodged at the bottom of the chute and was joined by another employee who assisted with the rescue. “The shovel was never retrieved to our knowledge,” he added.

Winnipeg-Agricore United reports that preliminary results for the first quarter 2007 ending Jan. 31, 2007 are expected to be significantly higher than the year-ago quarter. AU expects first quarter EBITDA to be over $8 million about $11 million above the year-ago figure. AU said favorable weather and positive fertilizer dynamics should boost results from the Crop Production Services segment by $2 million or 13.5 percent. AU-wide, the company said on a trailing twelve month basis ending Jan. 31, estimated EBITDA is $152 million, up 21 percent, over the year-ago period.

Bakersfield, Calif.-BioEnergy Solutions plans to start this summer to demonstrate how dairy manure can be turned into large-scale methane and fertilizer production, according to officials with the startup waste-to-energy company. BioEnergy is getting ready to capture 500,000 cubic feet a day or up to three billion cubic feet a year of renewable natural gas from the decomposing wastes of 3,000 cows. At the same time officials are talking with organic fertilizer companies about using the liquids that remain with their products. In the meantime, reported Doug Williams, BioEnergy’s chief technical officer, solids screened out in advance for compost and bedding and the left-over liquids will be recycled back to the dairy farmer. Williams said the first undertaking will be at Vintage Dairy in Fresno County where cow manure will be flushed into covered lagoons spread over 7 ½ acres and containing up to 40 million gallons. Williams said the lagoons will be turned into giant digesters to decompose manure under high-density polytarps to trap and collect the methane in a piping system and scrub it for delivery to Pacific Gas & Electric. PG&E will use the renewable energy to generate electricity for as many as 50,000 California homes. Vintage owner David Albers who is also BioEnergy founder and chairman said the project will show how an otherwise growing problem can be turned into a new revenue source for farmers.

Helsinki-Kemira Oyj has sold its 50 percent shareholding in Kemira Arab Potash Co. Ltd. (Kemapco) to Arab Potash Co. Ltd (APC). Kemira said in accordance with its strategy, it has now divested all the water soluble fertilizer businesses remaining after spinning off Kemira GrowHow Oyj from the Group in 2004. The divestment does not have any significant impact on Kemira’s result. Kemapco is located in Aqaba, Jordan, and is producing potassium nitrate and dicalcium phosphate. Founded in 1999 as a joint venture between Kemira Danmark A/S, APC, and the Danish Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), Kemapco currently employs 225 persons. Kemira continues to market potassium nitrate from the factory during a one-year transition period.

St. Louis-Agrotain, a nitrogen stabilizer, has won the reader’s choice award for No-Till Farmer Magazine’s Product of the Year in the fertility category for the second consecutive year. “This award reflects the need for Stabilized Nitrogen Technology products,” said John Hassell, Agrotain research and agronomic development manager. “With increasing nitrogen costs, the Agrotain technology is a viable alternative to just accepting nitrogen losses to the environment.” The Agrotain technology is now being marketed in over 55 countries.

Ames, Iowa-Poultry manure is an effective – and, if applied properly, environmentally friendly – fertilizer, according to studies going on since 1998 at Iowa State University. Evaluating both impact on crop production and surface and groundwater quality, ISU researchers compared nitrogen treatments during the spring of 150 and 300 pounds per acre poultry manure and 150 pounds per acre UAN on nine one-acre field plots. Control plots where no nitrogen was applied were included. Poultry manure applied at the 150 pound per acre rate resulted in lower nitrate and phosphate concentrations in subsurface drainage water, compared with equivalent application rates of commercial nitrogen, reported Ramesh Kanwar, chair of the ISU agricultural and biosystems engineering department and lead researcher on this project. “Nine years of data shows corn yields are the highest on the plots receiving 300 pounds of nitrogen from poultry manure,” Kanwar said. “Yet the 150 pound nitrogen rate of poultry manure produces the second highest yields, and compares favorably to yields on plots that received commercial fertilizer.” Kanwar said the research also shows that when poultry manure is applied at a higher rate than needed to meet a corn crop’s nitrogen needs, such as the application of poultry manure at the 300 pound rate, the impact on water quality is greater.