Israel Chemicals Ltd. is negotiating to form a joint venture for mining and selling phosphates to emerging markets. The company said the potential deal would involve the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars.

ICL said that the deal involved investment in a mine and the construction of downstream fertilizer plants. The company has been looking to expand its fertilizer business abroad specifically in the phosphate field as the Israeli government has so far refused to approve mining operations at the Sde Barir field in the northern Negev region. Israel’s Health Minister Yael German has expressed opposition to mining in the area due to its proximity to the town of Arad and the potential health implications for residents of the region.

Last year ICL signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam’s Duc Giang to build and expand a phosphate mine in Vietnam. The agreement calls for the project to include a phosphate mine as well as factories to process the material in Bao Thang province in Vietnam. The production facilities would be for a variety of downstream products. ICL is Israel’s largest chemical manufacturer focusing on potash, phosphates, fertilizers and industrial chemicals.

Duc Giang is a producer of thermal acid and is in the process of expanding its fertilizer activities and produce phosphoric acid for the fertilizer and food industries.

The announcement by ICL was made in conjunction with plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange later this month.  The Israel Corp, ICL’s parent company said it planned to sell 62 million shares in ICL for $522.4 million on Sept. 24.  ICL currently trades only on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.   Morgan Stanley and Barclays are the lead underwriters for the ICL offering.

USDA’s Sept. 11 Crop Production report forecasts the 2014 U.S. corn crop at 14.4 billion bushels, up 3 percent from both the August forecast and from 2013. Corn yields are expected to average 171.7 bushels/acre based on conditions as of Sept. 1, up 4.3 bu/a from the August forecast and a full 12.9 bu/a above the 2013 average. If realized, USDA said this will be the highest corn yield and production on record for the U.S.

State-by-state yield forecasts in the Cornbelt show corn coming in a 194 bu/a in Illinois, 185 bu/a in Iowa, 184 bu/a in Indiana, 179 bu/a in Nebraska and Ohio, and 169 bu/a in Missouri. Iowa’s yield forecast was unchanged from August, but the other Cornbelt states all showed increases, with the Missouri forecast rising by 9 bushels from August, Illinois and Nebraska by 6 bushels, Indiana by 5 bushels, and Ohio by 2 bushels.

USDA’s latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, also released on Sept. 11, raised the U.S. corn ending stocks figure by 194 million bushels, to 2,002 million bushels, the highest level since 2004/05.The WASDE report also lowered the projected season-average corn farm price by 40 cents/bushel, to $3.20-$3.80/bushel.

U.S. soybean production is forecast at a record 3.91 billion bushels, up 3 percent from the August forecast and up 19 percent from last year. Based on Sept. 1 conditions, USDA said soybean yields are expected to average a record high 46.6 bushels/acre, up 1.2 bushels from last month and up 3.3 bushels from last year. Soybean area for harvest in the U.S. is forecast at a record 84.1 million acres, unchanged from the August forecast but up 11 percent from last year.

The WASDE report projects soybean ending stocks at 130 million bushels, down 10 million bushels from last month due to higher soybean exports and crush. The U.S. season-average soybean price is projected at $9.00-$11.00/bushel, down 35 cents/bushel on both ends of the range.

USDA pegged all cotton production in the U.S. at 16.5 million 480-pound bales, down 6 percent from the August forecast but up 28 percent from 2013. Cotton yields are expected to average 803 pounds/acre, down 2 percent from last year. Ending stocks are now forecast at 5.2 million bales, with the marketing-year average farm price for cotton pegged at 58-70 cents/pound.

Citing rising ammonia prices, Interoceanic Corp. on Sept. 11 announced an immediate price increase for premium granular ammonium sulfate manufactured by Rentech Nitrogen. The new postings, which apply to both North America and Brazil, include $300/st FOB Midwest terminals, $310/st rail-DEL to Midwest destinations, and $260/mt CFR Brazil ports.

India’s MMTC on Sept. 10 called its anticipated urea tender while the industry was still meeting in San Francisco at the TFI World Conference. The tender closes Sept.17 with shipment no later than Nov.10.

The tender comes just after a Bangladesh tender showed softer Chinese prices. Late last week, however, industry sources were saying prices had stabilized at best.

Look for more details and analysis in the Sept.15 issue of Green Markets.

Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings LLC announced on Sept. 2 that it has acquired East Kansas Chemical, a wholesale and retail agricultural chemical and seed supply company based in Wellsville, Kan. East Kansas Chemical originated in 1972 and opened a second location in Kingsdown, Kan., in 1995. The Wellsville facility serves eastern Kansas, western Missouri, and other surrounding states, while the Kingsdown facility serves western Kansas, eastern Colorado, Oklahoma, and northern Texas.

East Kansas Chemical will operate as part of Pinnacle’s new Performance Agriculture brand. Dan Karigan will continue to manage the Wellsville location at 616 Locust Street, and Mike Stegman will continue to manage the Kingsdown location at One EKC Place. The current employees of both locations will retain their positions under the new ownership.

“We are very excited about this recent acquisition. East Kansas Chemical is a highly-regarded, top-ranking business in our industry that also happens to have similar company values and goals of grower success,” said Keith Karnes, Performance Agriculture regional business director. “Like East Kansas Chemical, we at Performance Agriculture are also committed to delivering innovative, customized solutions to help our farmers become more profitable. We are confident that the growers East Kansas Chemical has served so well will continue to receive exceptional service.”

Performance Agriculture is the latest farm input retail and wholesale brand to be launched by Pinnacle, and is focused on retail growth in the Western, Mountain, and Pacific states. Pinnacle completed a comprehensive rebranding initiative on Aug. 28, with Performance Agriculture joining Pinnacle’s existing brands, which include Sanders – the company’s flagship farm input retail brand in the southern U.S. – and Providence Agriculture, Pinnacle’s Midwest, Upper Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic brand.

“We are delighted to extend our business to the West Coast and confident that we will continue to grow the Pinnacle family of brands through Performance Agriculture,” said Kenny Cordell, president and CEO of Pinnacle. “This recent venture is another important step towards establishing a national, first-in-class operation.”

Pinnacle has named Jason White as president of Performance Agriculture. White joined Pinnacle earlier this year as regional business director and director of wholesale for Pinnacle’s Providence Agriculture brand. Before that he worked in regional sales management for Helena Chemical Co. for five years, and from 2002-2007 served in various procurement and wholesale management roles at United Agri Products. White also worked for eight years as an agricultural supplier representative after graduating from North Dakota State University in 1994.

“This is an extremely exciting time for Pinnacle,” said White. “We look forward to serving growers in many diverse regions of the U.S. Innovation and technology are key drivers that fuel our operation so that we can deliver only tried and proven products, techniques and services to our growers to increase their productivity, improve yield quality and maximum their profitability.”

The name for Pinnacle’s newest brand comes from the company’s May 2014 acquisition of Performance Ag Services (GM May 26, p. 13), a crop protection chemicals suppliers based in Aberdeen, S.D. Performance Ag was formed in 2003, and by the time of Pinnacle’s acquisition had expanded to four additional locations in Mobridge and Winner, S.D., Wishek, N.D., and Conrad, Mont. Under Pinnacle’s ownership, the original Performance Ag locations have expanded their offerings to include seed, fertilizer, and precision agriculture tools and services in addition to crop protection products and services.