Manila, Ark. — Crop Production Services (CPS), the Loveland, Colo.-based retail operation of Agrium Inc., is in the process of acquiring Home Oil Co., a farmer-owned cooperative with five locations in northeastern Arkansas. CPS stated only that it is "in the early stages of negotiations on this potential transaction," but Home Oil told Green Markets that its farmer members approved the proposed transaction in a Nov. 24 vote. Home Oil was established in 1946, and currently operates fertilizer, seed, fuel and oil, and farm implement and tire services from Arkansas locations at Manila, Frenchmans Bayou, Monette, Tyronza, and Paragould. Home Oil’s Lost Cane location in Manila is its newest, serving since 2013 as the company’s headquarters and the distribution hub for its other sites. The Lost Cane site has storage facilities for fertilizer, chemicals, and seed, as well as a full-service tire location. Home Oil’s fertilizer operation offers custom application and precision ag products and services for conventional fertilizers and micronutrients, including variable rate and blanket rate applications, grid sampling, and field mapping. The company’s propriety brands include 8-10-2 Boost-It Fertilizer, HyHeat herbicide, and VitaBor, a foliar spray for cotton, vegetables, and other crops. Home Oil’s fuel and oil business offers gasoline, diesel, propane, motor and hydraulic oil, grease, and Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). Home Oil also sells tires and industrial engines. CPS markets fertilizer, seed, crop protection products, and agronomic services through a network of more than 800 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company’s website touts a global retail footprint of more than 1,250 locations on three continents.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain