Martins Creek, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is reminding a group of protesters in Lower Mount Bethel that the state, and not local government, regulates biosolids for use as fertilizer. “DEP considers biosolids a safe and natural way for farmers to grow their crops,” Colleen Connolly, community relations coordinator, told Green Markets. That may not be enough to convince those who consider biosolids – or what they call “sludge” – a danger to the community. Tempers flared recently after farmers in the area advised township supervisors of their plans to begin using biosolids, which would be provided free by Synagro. Residents said they were wary of the product being used in the area because of potential odor and environmental hazards. Actually, these complaints are not new to this area. A few years ago the township attempted to create an ordinance regulating the application of the fertilizer on farms, but lost its case in the state supreme court, where judges ruled that the authority rests with Pennsylvania DEP. Synagro spokeswoman Lisa Williams said the company would be open to attending a public forum to help ease concerns and would invite residents to tour a treatment plant. Connolly said DEP understands that there are instances of odors in Lower Mount Bethel, but those situations are exempt from regulations. “We investigate odors, but they are exempt under the provisions of the land use approval and can’t sanction the situation for the odor issue or take any action,” she pointed out.
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Deficiencies cited in N-plant ammonia leak
Los Angeles — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has concluded that the lack of adequate procedural guidance for operations personnel led to the leak of a small amount of anhydrous ammonia last Nov. 1 at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station about 45 miles north of San Diego. The leak triggered an alert and the evacuation of about 50 of the plant’s 3,200 workers. A statement by the NRC’s Dallas regional office said that the operators failed to adequately identify, evaluate, and correct the problem in the water purification system, which led to the leak. The NRC report warned, "The failure to take adequate corrective actions for degraded plant equipment was a performance deficiency. The performance deficiency is more than minor because it resulted in an emergency alert.” It found that guidance was not provided to operations personnel to fix problem once it was detected in a tank. The relatively small ammonia leak that occurred on the non-nuclear side of Unit 3 at San Onofre was isolated and stopped, clean-up completed, and the affected area of the plant returned to normal in about three hours. Southern California Edison, which operates the plant, emphasized that there was no threat to worker or public health and safety.
No worries over ammonia in wastewater
Spring Valley, Ill. — The city council has been advised not to be overly concerned about higher ammonia levels in Spring Valley’s treated wastewater. But, cautioned City Engineer Jack Kusek, the city’s not out of the woods yet. The good news, reported Kusek, is that none of the problems have been noted in the Illinois River near Spring Valley. “However, the city will have to do studies to prove its waste water will not harm the river,” he cautioned, noting that ammonia is basically a fertilizer that can make plant growth that shouldn’t be there, and can also make the water less conducive for fish life. The terms of the city’s new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit require keeping ammonia levels between 3.0 to 3.8 ppm, something the city has never previously needed to monitor. After discussions with representatives of Illinois EPA in Rockford, Kusek said the city needs to conduct studies over a period of months to receive an exception for the permit. Chuck Corley, state manager for water pollution control field operations, told Green Markets that EPA monitors ammonia levels in the river throughout the year on a monthly to quarterly basis. According to Corley, the ammonia levels are relatively low. “Most of the samples include ammonia nitrogen; however, the concentrations are low in comparison to other types of runoff.”
Nutrients for Life joins NASCAR sponsorship
Springfield, Ill. — Brandt has announced that the Nutrients for Life Foundation joined the No. 31 Brandt Chevrolet Ag car, driven by Justin Allgaier in the NASCAR Nationwide Series 250 at Richmond International Raceway. The Nutrients for Life Foundation joined The National FFA Organization, Precision Tank & Equipment, and Trademark Nitrogen as the fourth partner on the #31 Ag car, which Brandt said is an effort to build awareness of the critical contributions of agriculture to the world’s economy and food supply through the NASCAR Nationwide Series platform. “Our roots are in the fertilizer industry, and with foundations such as Nutrients for Life we can be assured a bright future,” said Brandt President and CEO Rick C. Brandt. “There are many misconceptions about fertilizer, and the Nutrients for Life Foundation does a wonderful job both in the classroom and in public educating on the benefits of fertilizers.” Allgaier joined members of Brandt and Nutrients for Life at a special classroom visit in the Richmond area with students who participated in a car design contest themed “Racing to Feed the World.” The winner was selected by Allgaier. “Crop nutrients are critically important to feeding the world and are essential not just to agriculture, but everyone,” said Harriett Wegmeyer, executive director of Nutrients for Life. “On a daily basis we work with students and educators across the country to inform them about crop nutrients and why we use them. Our partnership with Brandt helps to extend the reach of our message.”
Nichino enters agreement with Engage Agro
Wilmington, Del. — Crop protection products manufacturer Nichino America Inc. has announced an agreement with Engage Agro Corp., Guelph, Ont., that will expand Nichino’s business into Canada. Under the agreement, Engage Agro will register, market, and sell fenpyroximate, flutolanil, tolfenpyrad, and buprofezin pesticide products. Nichino’s company brands include Applaud, Centaur, Courier, FujiMite, Portal, Tourismo, and Vetica insecticides, ET herbicide/defoliant and Venue herbicide, and Artisan and Convoy fungicides. “This is the first opportunity for Nichino America to expand its business outside the United States, and this is an exciting alliance for us,” said Jeffrey Johnson, Nichino president. “We have a product portfolio of excellent chemistry, and this agreement will allow us to offer crop protection solutions in the Canadian marketplace.” With current development activities underway, Engage Agro anticipates the first commercial launches to begin in 2014. “We are excited to be working with Nichino America in bringing new products and technology to growers across Canada,” said Ray Chyc, president of Engage Agro.
Sulfur
Tampa: Mosaic has begun preliminary discussions for third quarter contract prices for molten sulfur delivered to Tampa. PotashCorp said it had not started its talks as of late last week, however.
Prices for molten sulfur delivered to Tampa have been lower than on the world market, and that was likely to continue after negotiations are complete. Most were anticipating a drop of $10-$30/lt for the third quarter.
Supply had been running a little above demand, but the problems PotashCorp had at its White Springs mine and processing facilities added to the abundance. Tropical Storm Debby caused flooding and a power outage at White Springs and the company was in the process of bringing the facility back online last week. Production at Mississippi Phosphates had returned to normal last week after being shut down by OSHA in early June following two deaths from two separate explosions.
Refinery operating capacity rate fell from 92.6 percent to 92 percent, but the drop of 0.6 percent still kept the rate at a historically high number, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
If demand for sulfur on the world market pushes prices higher after the settlement for the third quarter, sulfur producers could turn to the Gulf prill market, where prices were running higher than the Tampa price.
U.S. Gulf: Prill prices exported from the Gulf of Mexico were said to be in the $180/mt range last week.
Vancouver: It was a little unclear last week if the current weak spot market for sulfur out of Vancouver was just a blip on the radar or will carry over into new contracts. Some expect new contracts to yield close to $200/mt FOB, while others think the price could drop as much as $25/mt FOB.
West Coast: Containers were being shipped from Seattle in the $165-$175/mt FOB range last week, and that could affect prices for both Vancouver and, possibly, the Gulf of Mexico.
Benelux: The current price range was $210-$228/mt FOB, but a new range was expected soon.
Potash
Eastern Cornbelt: Sources pegged the potash market at $500-$510/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with most dealer quotes at the upper end of that range out of regional warehouses.
Western Cornbelt: Potash pricing was flat at $495-$510/st FOB regional warehouses.
California: Potash pricing was steady at $570-$587/st FOB in California, depending on grade and location. The MOP market FOB Modesto was pegged at the $587/st mark last week. Delivered potash remained in the $570-$590/st range, depending on grade.
Intrepid Potash on June 22 reposted its warehouse potash prices in California, with 60 percent granular moving to $570/st FOB Chico and 62 percent standard moving to $582/st FOB Bakersfield. Those warehouse postings were down $40/st from July 8, 2011, reference levels.
Sulfate of potash (SOP) was steady at $695-$705/st FOB, and potassium nitrate was unchanged at $1,020/st FOB for bulk tons and $1,090/st FOB for bags.
Pacific Northwest: Sources quoted delivered potash in a broad range at $540-$595/st in the region last week, depending on grade and location.
At its Moab and Wendover mines in Utah, Intrepid Potash’s MOP postings moved on June 22 to $510/st FOB for 60 percent standard and $515/st FOB for 60 percent granular, down $45-$55/st from July 8, 2011, posted levels. Intrepid also announced new MOP postings out of warehouses, with 60 percent granular moving on June 22 to $580/st FOB Moses Lake, Wash., down $40/st from July 8, 2011, reference levels.
Western Canada: The potash market to Canadian customers FOB Saskatchewan mines was reported in the $530-$540/mt FOB range, down roughly $60/mt from spring pricing levels. Out of regional warehouses, the dealer market moved on July 1 to $545-$570/mt FOB, depending on grade and location.
Phosphates
Central Florida: Activity and inventories in Central Florida were both low last week, and that will likely continue for at least another month. Inventories were expected to remain low throughout the fall season as export shipping takes up any slack in the domestic market.
The combination of the slow summer season and the Fourth of July holiday apparently offered an opportunity for many in the industry to take the week off, and many took advantage of the situation.
The devastating storms that swept through parts of the Midwest and the eastern U.S. last week took a toll on crops. Metropolitan areas were hit by the combination of a loss of power and high temperatures. Crops were also suffering from extreme heat. Temperatures in Florida were lower than most of the country last week, however, and fewer showers allowed the ground to dry a little after the big rains that Tropical Storm Debby brought the previous week.
PotashCorps’ White Springs processing facility was in the process of restarting after being knocked out by Debby in late June, which caused flooding and loss of power at the facility. It had resumed partial operations and very limited production and shipments late last week. MAP production was expected to return to normal levels on Wednesday.
Traders said the lower priced DAP from sources other than producers was essentially gone last week, which left only producers to supply product, and at a price higher than the $10/st discount offered by traders.
The DAP price for Central Florida changed to a flat $500/st FOB, compared with the previous week’s $490-$500/st FOB. CF’s posted price was at the $500/st FOB mark, and Mosaic was also at $500/st FOB. MAP continued to sell at a $20/st premium to DAP in Central Florida, about the same difference as from traders.
U.S. Gulf: Temperatures in the Midwest were hitting blistering levels of 100 degrees or more in early July. That was expected to moderate somewhat by the weekend, but the cooler weather may arrive too late for some crops.
One of the hardest hit states was Kansas, where corn crops were dying in many areas as temperatures continued to hit triple digits on a nearly daily basis. Many farmers will have to collect on their crop insurance, but that will not provide a winning formula for making a profit. Fertilizers were expected to benefit in the fall, especially potash and nitrogen, provided the long-overdue rains eventually arrive.
As yield projections fell, crop prices increased on the futures market. USDA dropped its estimate for good to excellent corn yields nationally to 48 percent on July 1, down from 63 percent just one week earlier.
Prices for corn, soybeans, and wheat were all up last week. Prices for 2012 corn futures rose to $6.915/bushel for December, up from the previous week’s $6.4125/bushel.
The corn price for December 2013 was $6.08/bushel, increasing from $5.775/bushel the previous reporting period. For November 2012, soybeans moved up to $15.1275/bushel from $14.065/bushel the previous week, and soybeans for November 2013 increased to $13.06/bushel from $12.4475/bushel a week earlier. Wheat for July 2013 rose to $8.225/bushel from $7.985/bushel the week before, and wheat for July 2014 was listed at $8.00/bushel last week, up from $7.9975/bushel the previous week.
The short holiday week made for little activity in the barge market, but few were in the buying mode anyway. The Southwestern Fertilizer Conference in mid-July will provide an opportunity for buyers and sellers to sit down and talk, but whether or not many actual transactions will be arranged was uncertain.
Projections were that prices will be higher through August, but buyers were clinging to the hope that they will deteriorate by September when the fall season gets underway. Low inventories will continue f
Ammonium Sulfate
Eastern Cornbelt: Ammonium sulfate remained at $375-$400/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt region.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $395-$425/st FOB in the region, depending on location.
California: The ammonium sulfate market remained at $370-$400/st FOB in California, depending on grade and supplier. IRM’s postings FOB Chico, Calif., included $380/st for western standard and $400/st for western premium and Transform ammonium sulfate.
Pacific Northwest: Ammonium sulfate remained at $380-$400/st FOB and $390-$410/st DEL in the region, depending on grade. A Washington source quoted the market to his location at $395/st DEL in early July.
Western Canada: The granular ammonium sulfate market in Western Canada was quoted at $405-$410/mt DEL in the region as of July 1, down $145/mt from spring.
Ammonium Nitrate
U.S. Gulf: The most recent prompt business continues to be called $360-$370/st FOB. However, sources were calling forward price ideas $330-$340/st FOB.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate remained at $480/st FOB in the region, where available.
California: No market was reported for ammonium nitrate in Callifornia. CAN-17 was pegged at $290-$310/st FOB in the state, depending on location. Effective July 1, Calamco’s posted price for AN-20 moved to $325/st FOB in California.
Pacific Northwest: No current prices were reported for ammonium nitrate in the Pacific Northwest. The CAN-17 market was unchanged at $313/st FOB Kennewick, Wash.