Fresno, Calif. — Fertilizer business owner Kenneth Noel Nelson Jr. will be sentenced Nov. 5 after pleading guilty to four counts of mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud organic farmers and other customers. According to the United States attorney’s office here, Nelson Jr., 59, of Bakersfield, faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine on each mail fraud count, and up to three years of supervised release. Nelson admitted that from 2003 to January 2009 he defrauded farmers and distributors through his company, Port Organic Products Ltd., and affiliated businesses by manufacturing and selling fertilizers with synthetic materials such as aqueous ammonia, ammonium sulfate, and urea not permitted in organic fertilizers or organic agriculture, and submitted false applications and documentation to have his fertilizers listed as organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the Organic Materials Review Institute. According to U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner, “Consumers pay a premium for organic products, and they should not be misled by companies that seek to profit by falsely categorizing their products as organic. We will continue to work with USDA investigators and with the FBI in examining production and labeling practices in the organic fertilizer industry.”
All posts by webster@kennedyinfo.com
Wilbur-Ellis, PCS Sales expand relationship
Portland — Wilbur-Ellis Co., a marketer and distributor of value-added animal feed ingredients in North America and Asia-Pacific, reports that in recent months it has expanded relationships with key suppliers and its portfolio offerings for its Feed Asia business. This includes PCS Sales, a unit of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and a producer of monocalcium phosphate, which has expanded its relationship with Wilbur-Ellis beyond Indonesia to include distribution in Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. PCS makes the product at its Marseilles, Ill., facility. Wilbur-Ellis established the Feed Asia unit in June 2010 to combine its Feed Division’s sourcing and marketing expertise with the resources and broad footprint of its Connell Brothers Division in Asia-Pacific. Feed Asia currently has distribution locations in Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Agencies preparing EIS for Agrium mine
Several federal agencies have recorded in the Federal Register their intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Agrium Inc.’s newest proposed open pit mine operation in Southeast Idaho’s phosphate-rich Caribou County. The U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management’s Pocatello Field Office, and the U.S. Forest Service’s Caribou-Targhee National Forest will jointly prepare an EIS to determine and analyze the effects of a proposed phosphate mine and reclamation plan on federal mineral leases held by Nu-West Mining Inc., doing business as Agrium Conda Phosphate Operations.
Agrium’s proposed mine plan includes two different mining areas separated by the historic, now inactive, Maybe Canyon Mine, parts of which are undergoing investigation and remediation through the Comprehensive, Environmental Response, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund, process.
The Husky 1-North Dry Ridge Phosphate Mine Project area is about 19 miles northeast of Soda Springs. It is anticipated that mining of the North Dry Ridge deposit will occur for about 2½ years, followed by about 11 years of mining operations on the Husky 1 deposit.
The proposed Husky 1-North Dry Ridge Mine Project would include an open pit phosphate mine, including stockpiles, temporary and permanent overburden storage areas, storm water retention ponds, and mine pit backfill areas; haul roads; equipment staging areas; and re-routing an existing national forest system road.
Agrium proposes building new facilities associated with its mining operations, including fuel storage area and dust suppression wells with water fill stands. Existing offices and shops at the nearby Dry Valley Mine also would be used.
The EIS will analyze a proposed disturbance of about 1,052 acres on private and national forest system lands – about 646 acres on three existing leases, 397 acres on requested lease modifications and special use authorizations, and about nine acres off lease on private lands.
Three existing leases contain 3,027 acres. To maximize phosphate mineral recovery, Agrium has proposed lease modifications or enlargements to both the Husky 1 and North Dry Ridge leases, totaling 470 acres. Agrium also has requested off-lease special use authorizations covering 395 additional acres to accommodate access roads, storm water retention facilities, and staging areas.
Within the disturbance area on national forest system lands, about 65 acres are in the Dry Ridge inventoried roadless area. The proposed action is consistent with the exemptions for phosphate mining within the general forest, rangeland, and grassland theme of the 2008 Idaho Roadless Rule.
The proposed mining sequence is to mine the North Dry Ridge and Husky 1 consecutively, but with some transitional overlap. Mining will begin in the North Dry Ridge area and then progress to the Husky 1 as production at North Dry Ridge slows.
The EIS will address potential impacts to water quality from dissolved metals, including selenium. Agrium has proposed to implement practices designed to reduce, eliminate, or mitigate these impacts. Suitable soil or other growth media would be salvaged from disturbed areas for use in reclamation.
Concurrent mine reclamation would include backfilling pits as mining progresses, grading slopes, capping overburden disposal areas and pit backfills, re-establishing drainages, spreading seeds, stabilizing surfaces, promoting re-vegetation, and testing and treatment for remaining contaminants. Environmental monitoring would be performed to ensure impacts do not exceed those authorized.
Issues initially identified for the proposed mining include potential effects on groundwater and surface water quantity and quality; absorption of contaminants by vegetation; loss of soil and mineral resources; changes to air quality; loss of wild
The Week in Fertilizer Stocks
The Week in Fertilizer Stocks
| Producer | Symbol | Price | Week Ago | Year Ago |
| Agrium | AGU | 97.34 | 94.19 | 80.55 |
| CF Industries | CF | 212.86 | 194.39 | 148.62 |
| CVR Partners | UAN | 25.40 | 25.73 | 20.74 |
| Intrepid Potash | IPI | 22.28 | 22.01 | 27.36 |
| Mosaic | MOS | 58.65 | 56.99 | 60.93 |
| PotashCorp* | POT | 43.09 | 42.67 | 52.44 |
| Rentech Nitrogen | RNF | 32.44 | 30.32 | N/A |
| Terra Nitrogen | TNH | 236.10 | 226.20 | 145.70 |
| Distribution/Retail | ||||
| Andersons Inc. | ANDE | 36.60 | 37.45 | 39.23 |
| Deere & Co. | DE | 78.68 | 76.41 | 70.93 |
| Scotts | SMG | 41.39 | 39.03 | 42.83 |
| * represents three-for-one stock split | ||||
Spot Barge Prices
USDA lowers projected corn yield
USDA, in its Aug. 10 Crop Production report, said U.S. corn production is now forecast at 10.8 billion bushels, down 13 percent from 2011 and the lowest production since 2006. Based on conditions as of Aug. 1, corn yields are expected to average 123.4 bushels/acre – down roughly 23 bushels from last month, and 43 bushels below the June estimate. The yield projection also reflects a drop of 23.8 bushels from 2011. If realized, USDA said this will be the lowest average yield since 1995. Area harvested for grain is forecast at 87.4 million acres, down 2 percent from the June forecast, but up 4 percent from 2011.
USDA said heat and drought has “devastated pastures and summer crops in a broad area covering the Nation’s Heartland, including large sections of the Plains, Midwest, and mid-South.” July rainfall totaled less than 50 percent of normal in the hardest hit areas, USDA reported, while July temperatures averaged 4-8 degrees above normal across much of the Plains and Midwest. “As a result, corn and soybean conditions fell to levels comparable to those observed at the height of the historic 1988 drought,” the report said.
“By July 29, 2012, the percentage of U.S. soybeans rated very poor to poor – 37 percent – matched the highest value observed at any point in 1988.” Soybean production is forecast at 2.69 billion bushels, down 12 percent from last year. Based on Aug. 1 conditions, soybean yields are expected to average 36.1 bushels/acre, down 5.4 bushels from last year. If realized, the average yield will be the lowest since 2003. Soybean area for harvest is forecast at 74.6 million acres – down 1 percent from June, but up 1 percent from 2011.
All cotton production is forecast at 17.7 million 480-pound bales, up 13 percent from last year. Cotton yields are expected to average 784 pounds/acre, down 6 pounds from last year. Producers expect to harvest 10.8 million acres of all cotton, up 14 percent from 2011. All wheat production, at 2.27 billion bushels, is up 2 percent from the July forecast and up 13 percent from 2011. As of Aug.1, the average U.S. wheat yield is forecast at 46.5 bushels/acre, up 0.9 bushel from last month and up 2.8 bushels from last year.
Rice production is forecast at 190 million cwt, up 3 percent from last year. Rice area for harvest is expected to total 2.64 million acres, unchanged from June, but 1 percent higher than 2011. Based on conditions as of Aug. 1, the average U.S. rice yield is forecast at 7,196 pounds/acre, up 129 pounds from last year.
Downtime impacts LSB 2Q
Downtime at its El Dorado and Pryor facility’s impacted LSB Industries Inc.’s net income for the second quarter ending June 30, 2012. LSB net income was $26 million ($1.11 per diluted share) on sales of $209.3 million, down from the year-ago $28.6 million ($1.22 per share) on sales of $235.6 million. Operating income was $42.3 million, down from $48.3 million.
For more details, see the Green Markets Web-Edition Aug. 10.
Tennessee Farmers and Winfield Solutions to form retail joint venture
Tennessee Farmers Cooperative (TFC), a regional farm supply organization headquartered in La Vergne, Tenn., and Winfield Solutions LLC, a leading provider of agricultural inputs and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Land O’ Lakes Inc., announced on Aug. 8 that they have signed a nonbinding letter of intent to form a joint venture that combines their retail agronomy operations.
Under the proposed transaction, the 11 locations of TFC subsidiary Ag Distributors Inc. Agronomy in Missouri, Arkansas, and Kentucky would join the 34 locations of Winfield subsidiary Retail Agronomy Solutions LLC in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi under a new company to be called GreenPoint Ag LLC.
Each partner will hold 50 percent ownership and governance interest. The expected effective date for the transition is Dec. 2, 2012.
JDCP completes financing for pilot plant
JDCPhosphate Inc., Fort Meade, Fla. (JDCP) has closed an equity financing sufficient to fund the construction and operation of a demonstration plant with annual production capacity of 12,000 tons per year of high quality and high concentration phosphoric acid. The investors are a combination of strategic and venture investors, including Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., Vulcan Phosphates LLC (a special purpose entity formed by the owners of Agrifos Fertilizer L.L.C), the Florida Opportunity Fund and Espirito Santo Ventures.
The patented process technology being implemented in the demonstration plant – the Improved Hard Process (IHP) – was developed by Dr. Joseph Megy, the founder and Chief Technology Officer of JDCP. The process incorporates a number of critical developments and improvements to the kiln phosphoric acid technology developed by Dr. Robert Hard and Dr. Joseph Megy in the early 1980s.
"We are delighted that such a strong international syndicate of strategic partners and venture investors has decided to invest in this important technology", said Theodore "Tip" Fowler, CEO of JDCPhosphate. Jennifer Dunham, Managing Director of the Florida Opportunity Fund added, "It is not often that one finds an opportunity to invest in a company with the potential to transform a $30 billion industry, as well as substantially impact the local economy. JDCPhosphate has the potential to be such a company."
JDCP is commercializing the Improved Hard Process (IHP) for the manufacture of phosphoric acid. Contact: T.P. (Tip) Fowler, 863-285-8607, www.jdcphosphate.com.
The Florida Opportunity Fund (FOF) was established in 2007 to increase the availability of venture capital in Florida. The FOF actively invests in Florida-focused venture capital funds, infrastructure projects, and emerging Florida-focused companies within industries of strategic importance to the State, including: Energy, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Technology. The FOF is sponsored by Enterprise Florida and managed by Florida First Partners. For additional information regarding the FOF visit www.floridaopportunityfund.com.
Mitsui USA was incorporated in 1966 in New York as a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, a leading international trade and investment company operating with an extensive global network. Beyond traditional trading, the Company’s newer emphasis is on project development and management, business investment, capital goods leasing and technology transfer. With its comprehensive services capabilities, Mitsui USA aspires to meet the needs of its customers as “Your Global Business Partner®,” while committed to sustainable growth and good corporate citizenship. More information on Mitsui USA may be found at www.mitsui.com/us.
Agrifos is a privately owned producer of sulfuric acid and ammonium sulfate fertilizer located in Pasadena, Texas.
Espirito Santo Ventures, Lisbon, Portugal, is a venture capital firm focused on technology-based companies and innovative business projects with high-growth potential. It says it has more than 250 million Euros in assets under management and has invested in over 40 companies that are developing worldwide leading products and services in the areas of Clean Tech, Health Care and Well-being and IT. For more information please visit www.es-ventures.com.
CF reports record 2Q
CF Industries Holdings Inc. reported record quarterly net earnings attributable to common stockholders of $606.3 million ($9.31 per diluted share), compared to the year-ago earnings of $487.4 million ($6.75 per share). Earnings were up 24 percent over the year-ago period. Net sales were actually off slightly to $1.73 billion from the year-ago $1.8 billion.
For more details, see the Green Markets Web Edition, August 10.