Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA (SQM) said April 2 that its preliminary evaluation of the effects on the company’s production facilities of the earthquake that occurred the night of April 1 in Northern Chile.

There were no accidents or injuries involving personnel at SQM’s facilities.

The earthquake was approximately 200 kilometers from SQM operations in Nueva Victoria, 300 kilometers from operations in Maria Elena, 500 kilometers from operations in the Salar de Atacama, 430 kilometers from operations in the Salar del Carmen, and 260 kilometers from operations in the port of Tocopilla.

Upon preliminary inspection, no structural damage was detected at the production facilities.

Nueva Victoria: Operations were suspended during the night of April 1 resulting from a loss of electricity. It was reestablished April 2, and SQM expected operations to resume later on April 2 after an operational check is completed on the main equipment.

Tocopilla: Operations were suspended the night of April 1 resulting from a loss of electricity, and following a tsunami alert issued by the Chilean authorities. SQM was expecting electricity to be reestablished April 2 with normal operations resuming April 3.

Maria Elena, Salar del Carmen, and Salar de Atacama: Production was not suspended, and we the facilities were operating normally.

There was no visible damage to the town of Maria Elena, the city of Tocopilla and various towns located near operations in the Salar de Atacama.

Agrium Inc. announced today that the late spring season this year is expected to result in first quarter earnings per share just above breakeven. The slow start to the spring season is expected to impact the timing of Wholesale, and to a lesser extent Retail, earnings. First quarter Wholesale results were also impacted by reduced rail availability and the usual lag in realized wholesale nutrient prices.

Additionally, the Carseland nitrogen facility experienced a failure in the auxiliary boiler on March 22, 2014. There will be an unplanned shutdown to fix the boiler which is expected to be complete in the second half of May 2014. The shutdown is anticipated to lower product availability of urea by approximately 100,000 mt and ammonia by approximately 20,000 mt in the second quarter of 2014.

Agrium will provide guidance for the second quarter with first quarter results, to be issued on May 6, 2014. Agricultural fundamentals continue to improve and Agrium anticipates a strong spring season which will benefit both Retail and Wholesale results in the second quarter.

CHS Inc. has reportedly put its proposed nitrogen plant for Spiritwood, N.D. on hold, according a report in today’s Jamestown Sun. The paper cited a CHS spokesperson who said the plant had “significantly higher than expected construction and labor cost estimates,” which were prompting further review. CHS was expected to announce a decision on the project within the next few months. A CHS spokesperson was not immediately available for further confirmation or details.

Consolidated Grain and Barge (CGB), Mandeville, La., has announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase the Savage, Minn., grain storage facility from Riverland Ag Corp., a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Ceres Global Ag Corp. The transaction is expected to close by the end of June, 2014, and is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions and relevant regulatory approvals.

Plans are underway by CGB Fertilizer, a division of CGB, to construct a bulk fertilizer warehouse with inbound barge and outbound rail and truck capabilities at this location to support CGB Fertilizer’s expanding sales and distribution system.

CGB oversees a diverse family of businesses providing an array of services which includes grain merchandising, fertilizer trading, transportation, processing, bulk handling, financing, crop insurance, and logistics services for a global base of customers.

Uralkali has concluded a contract with Indian Potash Ltd. (IPL), for potash deliveries between April 2014 and March 2015. The contract’s delivery price has been set at US$322/mt CFR. Uralkali’s volumes under the contract will total 800,000 mt.

“Today’s agreement is a mutually beneficial one. India is a strategic market for Uralkali, and IPL is our long-term partner,” said Oleg Petrov, Uralkali director of sales and marketing. “We hope that the contract will help stimulate potash application rates in India, and support the country’s agriculture at the time of continued population growth and rising food demand. We expect that the conclusion of the Indian contract will boost the global potash market growth.”

While the price is much lower price for India than it has paid in recent years, it is still higher than China’s contract of $305/mt CFR, which was achieved early this year. China traditionally pays a lower price than India.

Rotem Amfert workers and management have resumed talks after a three week interruption in an attempt to halt the strike at the company’s production plants. The strike is costing Israel Chemicals Ltd. an estimated US$750,000 a day. The 1,100 Rotem Amfert workers have shut down all operations. Management has said that it will not pay salaries to the striking workers for the days of the strike. The workers went on strike to protest plans to fire 127 workers. Management has said it has no choice and needs to implement a reorganization plan for ICL due to a sharp drop in profits in the past year.

The USDA has lowered its 2014 corn crop estimate to 91.7 million acres, down 4 percent from last year and down 6 percent from 2012, according to the Prospective Plantings report released on March 31. Soybean plantings, however, are expected to be a record high 81.5 million acres in 2014.

USDA said its 91.7 million acre corn estimate represents the lowest planted acreage in the U.S. since 2010, but would still be the fifth largest planted corn acreage in the U.S. since 1944. Citing lower expected returns in 2014 than in recent years, USDA said significant corn acreage reductions are expected in the South Central and Southeast regions. In the Midwest, reductions of 5-6 percent are likely in Nebraska and Ohio and 1-2 percent in Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, while a 3 percent acreage increase is anticipated in Iowa.

At 81.5 million acres, USDA’s soybean estimate is up a full 6 percent from last year, with planting intentions up or unchanged across all states except Missouri and Oklahoma. If realized, soybeans will surpass the previous record of 77.5 million acres planted in the U.S. set in 2009, USDA said. The largest increase is expected in North Dakota, where farmers intend to plant a record high 5.65 million acres in 2014, an increase of one million acres from 2013. USDA said soybean acreage estimates for Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wisconsin will also be the largest on record, if realized.

All wheat planted area for 2014 is estimated at 55.8 million acres, down 1 percent from 2013. USDA said the 2014 winter wheat planted area, at 42.0 million acres, is down 3 percent from last year but up slightly from the previous estimate. USDA reported notable winter wheat acreage increases in Kansas and Tennessee, with record high acreage planted in North Dakota.

All cotton planted area for 2014 is expected to total 11.1 million acres, up 7 percent from last year. USDA said U.S. rice acreage is expected to total 2.88 million acres in 2014, up a full 16 percent from 2013 due to lower prices for competing commodities.

The Prospective Plantings report provides the first official survey-based estimates of U.S. farmers’ 2014 planting intentions. The surveys are conducted by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, and are completed during the first two weeks of March from a sample of more than 84,000 farm operators across the U.S.