Pete Romano of Quincy Farm Chemicals Inc. in Quincy, Wash., received the Agricultural Retailers Association’s Distinguished Service Award for 2006. Romano accepted the award at ARA’s annual conference in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Dec. 6. Also honored at the event were Spencer Douglass of Florida-based Douglass Fertilizer & Chemical Inc., who received ARA’s Lifetime Achievement Award; Jean Payne, President of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, for her industry efforts at the state level; and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who was ARA’s Legislator of the Year for his sponsorship of the Agricultural Business Security Tax Credit Act of 2005 (S. 2052). Craig Struve of CS Agrow accepted the Ag Retailer of the Year Award of behalf of his Calumet, Iowa-based company. The Ag Retailer of the Year Award is sponsored by ARA and Monsanto.
The International Plant Nutrient Institute, Norcross, Ga., has named its executive committee and board members. The members were named at an inaugural meeting Dec. 3 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mr. Patricio Contesse, SQM president and CEO, was elected chairman of the board. Mike Wilson, Agrium Inc. president and CEO, was elected vice chairman. Steve Wilson, CF Industries Holdings Inc. president and CEO, is finance committee chairman. All three were elected to two-year terms and will serve as members of the IPNI executive committee. Other members of the committee include Olavio Takenaka, Bunge Fertilizantes SA vice president, procurement; Joachim Felker, K+S Kali GmbH management; James Prokopanko, Mosaic Co. executive vice president and chief operating officer; Oleg Petrov, Uralkali Trading SA general manager; and Dr. Terry Roberts, IPNI president.
IPNI officially begins operations Jan. 1, 2007, taking over for the Potash & Phosphate Institute, which will no longer exist.