Arden Hills, Minn.-Winfield Solutions LLC, a unit of Land O’Lakes Inc., has announced that it has acquired selected assets comprising the agronomic inputs business of Estes Inc. (now Estes Supply, LLC) of Los Colinas, Texas. Estes, a family-owned company founded in 1957, is a limited liability company that functions primarily as a wholesale distributor of agricultural, range and pasture, and specialty crop protection products. It serves customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Colorado. Winfield said this expansion will enable it to grow primarily in Oklahoma and Texas, while deepening its ag and professional crop protection products businesses and continuing to build the AgriSolutions and Croplan Genetics brands. “This is an exciting step for both Winfield Solutions and Estes,” said Rod Schroeder, Winfield Solutions executive vice president and COO, Crop Protection Products. “We’re very pleased to be expanding in the marketplace where Estes has operated so successfully for many years. Estes’ employees bring expertise and a deep understanding of the products and the marketplace to Winfield Solutions, and we look forward to a very promising future together.”

Washington-The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has waived a limitation on selling fuel that is more than 10 percent ethanol for model year 2007 and newer cars and light trucks. The waiver applies to fuel that contains up to 15 percent ethanol – known as E15 – and only to model year 2007 and newer cars and light trucks. “This will have an effect on the corn volumes and also then on the fertilizer use in the years to come,” said Yara International ASA President and CEO Jørgen Ole Haslestad, speaking to analysts last week. “We do not believe that we will see an immediate effect to this. But on a long-term basis this will have a quite considerable effect on corn consumption going to bioethanol.” EPA said this represents the first of a number of actions that are needed from federal, state, and industry towards commercialization of E15 gasoline blends. A decision on the use of E15 in model years 2001 to 2006 vehicles will be made after EPA receives the results of additional DOE testing, which is expected to be completed in November. However, no waiver is being granted this year for E15 use in model year 2000 and older cars and light trucks – or in any motorcycles, heavy-duty vehicles, or non-road engines – because currently there is not testing data to support such a waiver. Since 1979, up to 10 percent ethanol or E10 has been used for all conventional cars and light trucks, and non-road vehicles.

Jeffersonville, Ind.-American Commercial Lines Inc. (ACL) on Oct. 18 announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Platinum Equity in a transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $777 million. ACL’s board of directors, acting on the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors, approved the agreement and has recommended the approval of the transaction to ACL’s stockholders. Under the terms of the agreement, ACL stockholders, other than GVI Holdings Inc. and certain of its affiliates (GVI), will receive $33.00 in cash for each share of ACL common stock they hold. GVI will receive $31.25 in cash for each share of ACL common stock it holds if the transaction closes before Dec. 31, 2010, and $33.00 per share thereafter. GVI has entered into a voting agreement to support the transaction. ACL may solicit acquisition proposals from third parties for a period of 40 calendar days continuing through Nov. 27, 2010. It is not anticipated that any developments will be disclosed with regard to this process unless ACL’s board makes a decision with respect to a potential superior proposal. ACL said there are no guarantees that this process will result in a superior proposal. ACL is an integrated marine transportation and service company operating in the United States Jones Act trades, with approximately $850 million in revenues and approximately 2,570 employees as of Dec. 31, 2009. Platinum is a global firm specializing in the merger, acquisition, and operation of companies that provide services and solutions to customers in a broad range of business markets. Since its founding in 1995 Platinum has completed over 100 acquisitions, with more than $27.5 billion in aggregate annual revenue at the time of acquisition.

Atlanta-The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed adding two more hazardous waste sites in the Southeast to the National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund list. The first site is Horton Iron and Metal at Wilmington, N.C., which was involved in manufacturing fertilizer and metal salvage. The other site is Armstrong World Industries, which produced ceiling tile in Macon, Ga.

Beulah, N.D.-Dakota Gasification Company recently made its final payment to the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a revenue-sharing agreement that ran through 2009. Dakota Gas paid an estimated $9.25 million to the DOE for 2009 as part of an asset purchase agreement signed in 1998. The $2.1 million payment made on Sept. 20 was the final installment for 2009. The company said the U.S. government has now recovered more than $1.2 billion of its $1.5 billion investment through revenue sharing, foregone production tax credits of approximately $754 million, and the initial purchase price of $85 million for the Great Plains Synfuels Plant by Basin Electric, the parent company of Dakota Gas. Basin spokesman Daryl Hill said the company has paid $390.9 million to the federal government since 1988. The company made an estimated final payment of $7.2 million in January. In addition to synthetic natural gas, the Great Plains Synfuels Plant in Beulah also produces anhydrous ammonia and ammonium sulfate fertilizer.

St. Louis-More than 60 representatives from more than 20 national food and agricultural organizations on Oct. 12 agreed to incorporate a U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) to focus on working together to enhance U.S. consumer trust in modern food production that ensures the abundance of affordable, safe food. “Today represents a start toward a unified voice for U.S. agriculture,” said Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association and chair of the USFRA Steering Committee. “While the results of today’s organizational meeting represent the culmination of six months of planning, it is only the beginning of a process designed to create a coordinated effort by and on behalf of U.S. farmers and ranchers. Several participants have stepped forward to officially join the Alliance. Others need to return to their boards to determine whether they will join.” USFRA plans to incorporate this month. Organizations have been asked to respond about affiliation no later than Nov. 1. After that date, a board of directors will be established and will elect an executive committee. Members of the USFRA Board, its executive committee, and its affiliated organizations will be announced formally in mid-November.

Sharon Township, Ohio-A state representative who is closely watching efforts by the township to prevent installation of a 12,000-gallon anhydrous ammonia tank has introduced a bill that would keep local officials better informed about these matters. State Rep. William Batchelder has met with the town board once already, and plans another visit later this month to provide an update on legislation that would require an applicant for an anhydrous tank to submit written notice to the trustees, the county sheriff or police chief, and the fire chief of the township where the storage facility is to be located. Under Batchelder’s bill, the director of the state department of agriculture would retain authority over design and construction of the tank, but would not be able to approve any tank located in a densely populated area. The tank also would have to conform to U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidelines governing the storage of anhydrous ammonia. Batchelder was on hand in June when more than 250 residents attended a community meeting to express their concerns about the tank. At that time he said, “I don’t think these statutes have been touched in many years.” He is expected to make a second visit on Oct. 26 to discuss his proposed legislation (HB583), which has seven co-sponsors.

Plymouth, Minn.-The Mosaic Co.’s board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share on the company’s common stock. The dividend will be paid Nov. 18, 2010, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on Nov. 4, 2010.

New York-Fitch Ratings, which had a “CCC” Rating Watch Negative on FertiNitro Finance Inc. prior to that company’s nationalization by Venezuela (GM Oct. 18, p. 1), says FertiNitro is now a subsidiary of Pequiven, and that FertiNitro has conveyed to Fitch that Pequiven intends to support its debt obligations. Fitch believes that it is premature to determine whether FertiNitro’s rating will be linked to Pequiven, as details of its support remain unclear. Pequiven’s debt is not rated by Fitch. FertiNitro indicated that there will be a commission to determine how the nationalization process will unfold to support FertiNitro’s obligations. The commission is expected to include representatives from Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA, rated “B+” with a Stable Outlook). Based upon Fitch’s experience, it said the government of Venezuela has not prevented payment of debt obligations of strategically important nationalized companies. In these instances, the nationalized companies were initially under the management of PDVSA, and some were divested post-nationalization into other government-owned companies that were not part of PDVSA’s core business. Fitch notes that FertiNitro has consistently honored its debt obligations to date, including its most recent payment due Oct. 1, 2010, just prior to nationalization. FertiNitro’s next loan payment is due April 1, 2011. Fitch said it will closely monitor to see how the change in control will impact the company’s operations and its ability to continue timely payment of its debt. Fitch believes the nationalization has not triggered an immediate debt acceleration. Fitch believes no breach of obligations has occurred for 150 days so long as funds are being deposited in the offshore accounts in accordance with the common security agreement and the borrower is meeting senior debt obligations when due. Fitch seeks to confirm these conclusions with FertiNitro. However, it said after this period, the status of debt obligations is unclear.