Montreal–In the lead up to the TFI World Conference in Montreal, some industry stalwarts predicted most participants would be slightly depressed over the state of the global fertilizer markets. Instead, the approximate 750 participants, while noting the current slump in prices, spent Sept. 22-24 in meetings and social gatherings to discuss better days ahead. At the first day’s breakfast session, new TFI President Chris Jahn called for a round of applause in appreciation of former TFI president Ford West, who was in attendance. Jahn came to TFI after heading up the National Association of Chemical Dealers and more than ten years in Washington. Throughout the conference Jahn took as many opportunities as possible to sit and talk with the attendees. Jahn told Green Markets how struck he was with the “global reach of the industry.” He promised the TFI participants that he would keep up the pressure on Washington over issues directly affecting the industry. The two breakfast sessions featured Jan Stanmeyer and the co-founders of Free the Children, Craig and Marc Kielburger. Stanmeyer, an award winning photo-journalist, presented pictures from his National Geographic photo essay End of Plenty about food insecurity. He noted the need for proper soil management and heaped praise on the fertilizer industry for making it possible for more food to be produced in the same acreage. The Kielburger brothers established their organization originally to fight child labor around the world. Since its inception, Free the Children has included education, health and food security in their global programs. The Kielburgers were introduced by Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. President and CEO Bill Doyle who noted that PotashCorp has given Free the Children a $9.6 million multi-year grant to help villages improve their agricultural output and learn better soil conservation methods.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain