All Posts from May 1, 2020

Ammonium Polyphosphate

Ammonium Polyphosphate, California, Eastern Cornbelt, Pacific N.W., Western Canada, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

The 10-34-0 market remained at $385-$395/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low reported at Cincinnati and the high at Maumee.

Western Cornbelt:

10-34-0 pricing was steady at $380-$390/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt in late April.

California:

10-34-0 pricing in California was unchanged at $423-$428/st FOB, with the 11-37-0 market reported at $464-$469/st FOB in the state.

Pacific Northwest:

The 10-34-0 market remained at $418-$433/st FOB in the Pacific Northwest. 11-37-0 pricing was steady as well at $458-$473/st FOB in the region, with delivered tons reported at the $446/st level within a limited freight zone in Idaho.

Western Canada:

The 10-34-0 market was steady at C$635-$640/mt DEL in Western Canada.

Phosphoric Acid

California, Eastern Cornbelt, Pacific N.W., Phosphoric Acid, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

The phos acid market was unchanged at $10.30-$10.40/unit rail-DEL in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the high confirmed in Ohio. Sources said no pricing change is expected for May.

Western Cornbelt:

Phos acid pricing remained at $10.20/unit rail-DEL in Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri.

California:

Phos acid pricing was steady at $9.25/unit rail-DEL in California and Arizona for April, with MGA referenced at $9.45/unit FOB Lathrop and El Centro. Sources said no pricing changes have been announced for May.

Pacific Northwest:

April phos acid prices remained at $9.25/unit rail-DEL in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and $8.75/unit FOB Pocatello, Idaho.

Wall Street Sees 1Q Lower Income, Prices, Higher Volumes for Fertilizer Majors

Canada, Featured, Fertilizer Stocks, News, U.S.

With several major fertilizer companies expecting to release first-quarter earnings during the week of May 4, Wall Street analysts surveyed by Bloomberg see lower prices and earnings and increased volumes, at least for three of the majors reporting next week – CF Industries Holdings Inc., Nutrien Ltd., and The Mosaic Co.

CF will see a 9 percent increase in first-quarter sales volumes, according to the analyst average, to 4.46 million st, up from the year-ago 4.1 million st. The year-ago quarter reflected the early start of the 2019 water-logged spring season. All major product categories  – except Other, which includes DEF and lower quantity nitrogen-based products  – are expected to see volume increases. Likewise, all products except Other are expected to report a reduction in average selling prices.

The good news for CF is that it is still expected to be in the black, with net income of $53 million on revenues of $917 million, though this would be down from the year-ago $90 million and $1 billion, respectively.

Analysts expect Nutrien’s Retail segment to post a 20 percent increase in volumes during the first quarter. Wholesale Nitrogen volumes – for all categories  – are also expected to see an uptick. Phosphate volumes are expected to be up a bit, with a decrease in Potash. Average realized prices in all Nutrien sectors are expected to be off.

The analyst consensus is that Nutrien will dip into the red in the first quarter to $6.5 million on net sales of $3.45 billion, versus the year-ago positive $41 million and $3.7 billion, respectively.

At Mosaic, analysts expect Phosphate and Mosaic Fertilizantes sales volumes to be up, with Potash down slightly. Analysts pegged the average realized DAP price at $280/mt and MOP at $211.5/mt. NOLA DAP prices sank to as low as $235-$240/st in December, the lowest price since 2006, according to the Green Markets database. After bottoming they began to inch back up during the first-quarter after Mosaic and OCP announced production cuts.

Analysts project a Mosaic loss of $41 million on revenues of $1.64 billion, down from the year-ago net income of $130.8 million and $1.9 billion, respectively.

Other major players expected to release earnings within the next week include The Andersons Inc., Compass Minerals, CVR Partners LP, Intrepid Potash Inc., and LSB Industries Inc.

CF Industries 1Q-20 1Q-19 Actual
Revenue  ($ millions) 917 1,000
Net Income 53 90
Total Sales Volumes (000 st) 4,457 4,090
Ammonia        770 606
Gran Urea 1,263 1,184
UAN 1,319 1,268
AN 509 501
Other 522 528
Avg Selling Prices ($/st)    
Ammonia        265 309
Gran Urea 244 290
UAN 159 202
AN 231 253
Other 171 167
Nutrien 1Q-20 1Q-19 Actual
Net Sales ($ millions) 3,453 3,700
Net Income (6.5) 41
Sales Volumes (000 mt)    
Retail Crop Nutrient 1,888 1,579
Potash 2,807 2,920
Nitrogen 2,387 2,239
Ammonia        723 644
Urea 718 647
UAN, Nitrate, Sulfate 987 948
Phosphate 719 695
Average Realized Prices ($/mt)    
Retail Crop Nutrient 404 435
Potash 182 238
Nitrogen 227 244
Ammonia        228 252
Urea 294 330
UAN, Nitrate, Sulfate 147 180
Phosphate 405 459
Mosaic 1Q-20 1Q-19 Actual
Revenue  ($ millions) 1,642 1,900
Net Income (41.0) 130.8
Phosphate Shipments* 1,892 1,800
DAP/MAP 1,212 1,100
Potash Shipments 1,819 1,900
Mosaic Fertilizantes Shipments 1,769 1,500
Average Realized Prices ($/mt)    
DAP 280 442
MOP 211.5 271

*Finished

Growth Promoter Technology Advances

News, News Briefs, South Central, Specialty

Innovations for World Nutrition (IFWN), Florence, Ala., reports that it has filed for patent protection for five of its new plant growth promoter technologies. The initial reports on the technology (GM April 5, 2019) were that rice yields were increased by 56 percent. The latest technology builds on this early success, modifying it to include wheat, corn, and cotton. Other areas expected to be included are trees and energy grasses.

IFWN said the latest research and development work has centered on reducing the growth promoter formulations and costs and increasing the ease of application.

IFWN said the growth promoters do not take the place of fertilizer ingredients, but instead make them extremely efficient. The cost of the growth promoter ingredients is reported to be low, and the storage, handling, and application technology easy. IFWN said the ingredients of these technologies are readily available worldwide and are expected to make a significant impact on world food supplies with reduced costs.

The development work for IFWN has been done by Applied Chemical Technology (ACT), Florence, Ala., over a period of four years of lab, greenhouse, and field work under the direction of ACT founder Ray Shirley. IFWN is currently seeking strategic partners to assist in the effort to further develop, test and provide production and commercialization of the growth promoters.

While Shirley, who has a nearly 60-year career in the fertilizer development business, remains involved with ACT, which has been known for its development and commercialization of slow-release fertilizers, he has now shifted his main focus to IFWN and the new technology.

Pivot Bio Adds $100 M Funding for Nitrogen-Producing Microbial Products

California, News, News Briefs, Nitrogen, Specialty

Biotechnology firm Pivot Bio, Berkeley, Calif., reported on April 30 that it has closed on a $100 million Series C funding round co-led by return investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures and global investment company Singapore-based Temasek (GM Oct. 5, 2018).

Pivot Bio sees its nitrogen-producing microbial product as replacing synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. The company said the technology will decrease greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and global energy use.

The company said its Pivot Bio Proven™ inaugural product for corn consistently delivers more nitrogen into the crop than synthetic nitrogen, translating to an average 5.8 bushels/acre advantage when compared to fields using only synthetic nitrogen in 2019.

The company said Pivot Bio Proven™, in its second year of commercialization, has again sold out and is used on hundreds of thousands of acres of U.S. corn. The new capital is to allow the company to expand internationally, with the company saying the product will soon be available to Argentinian market.

Earlier this spring, the company launched its inaugural product for U.S. wheat crops, Pivot Bio Return™, through a limited, early-adopter program.

Pivot Bio said its model eliminates costly infrastructure of factories, pipelines, barges, and storage at brick-and-mortar retail locations. Instead, local agronomic advisors can leverage a simplified mobile app to order and schedule on-demand delivery as they help farmers plan their nutrient management strategy. Pivot’s microbes are applied with seeds during planting and create a symbiotic relationship with the corn to make nitrogen. The microbial technology can be mailed to farmers.

While Series C is co-led by return Series B investors and Temasek, they are joined by DCVC, who led Pivot Bio’s seed and Series A rounds Prelude Ventures, Spruce Capital Partners; Codon Capital, Bunge Ventures; Continental Grain Co., Tekfen Ventures, Pavilion Capital, and individual investors Alan Cohen and Roger Underwood. To date, the company has raised $186 million in capital.

Intrepid Potash Inc. – Management Brief

Management Briefs, Specialty

Intrepid Potash Inc., Denver, has announced the appointment of Mary McBride as a new independent director to the Board of Directors, effective May 19, 2020. She will replace J. Landis Martin, who earlier this year announced his retirement, effective the same day.

McBride is a senior banking executive with over 30 years of experience and leadership in commercial banking. During her career, Intrepid noted that she covered a variety of industries with a focus on agriculture markets, and has experience working with companies in agricultural production, processing, marketing, and fertilizer, as well as the oil and gas industry.

She joined CoBank, ACB in 1993 and most recently served as president from 2013 to 2016 prior to her departure from the organization in December 2016. Previously, she worked for First Interstate Bank of Denver and the First National Bank of Boston. McBride currently serves as an independent director for CatchMark Timber Trust Inc.

International Chemical Company (Inter-Chem) – Management Brief

Management Briefs, Obituary

John R. Arend, 89, founder of International Chemical Company (Inter-Chem) and former member of the Board of Directors of The Fertilizer Institute, passed away on April 25, 2020, at his home in Tulsa, Okla., after a short illness.

Arend attended Texas Christian University and joined the FBI as a special agent after graduating from law school and passing the bar exam. He was then hired as the head of investigations at Continental Oil Company, where his career in the fertilizer industry began in 1966 when Continental Oil entered the phosphate rock business in Florida.

Eventually this business was sold to the Williams Companies, and Arend moved to Tulsa to join Agrico Chemical Company, where he served as Vice President of International Sales before founding Inter-Chem with his wife, Tricia, in 1976.

Inter-Chem was originally focused on the international trade of phosphate fertilizer, but the company grew to include nitrogen, potash, and sulfur, and also became involved in the U.S. wholesale fertilizer industry. Several other business lines were developed in the Inter-Chem portfolio before Arend sold the company to its employees in 2008.

Private graveside services for the family will be on May 2, with a memorial service to be held at a later date subject to COVID-19 guidelines. Arrangements are through Fitzgerald’s Funeral Home in Tulsa.

Highfield Signs Salt Offtake

Europe, News, News Briefs, Potash

Junior potash miner ASX-listed Highfield Resources, Pamplona, reports that its wholly-owned Spanish subsidiary, Geoalcali SLU, has signed a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the sale of up to 500,000 mt/y of byproduct salt from its flagship Muga Potash Project in Spain to Maxisalt-Pardira Premium SL, Barcelona. Highfield would provide Maxisalt some 400,000 mt of vacuum salt and 100,000 mt of de-icing salt.

Maxisalt is an international distributor of rock, solar, and vacuum salt, the latter of which is used for water treatment, industrial applications, and animal feed. Maxisalt has a diversified network of international clients, with a particular focus on markets located in Spain and France.

Highfield said the Muga mine is planned to commence at a depth of 350 meters from the surface and is ideal for a relatively low-cost conventional mine.

Canada Relaxes Regs for Nitrogen Stabilizers

Canada, News, News Briefs, Nitrogen

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that in light of the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is extending the deadline for submitting data packages and applications for the registration of urease and nitrification inhibitors by 120 days, to Sept. 30, 2020.

The agency said staff shortages, data collection and analysis capacity gaps, and laboratory availability all contributed to the need for the deadline extension, which was requested by Fertilizer Canada.

“Should the crisis situation not be resolved by then, the decision can be revisited at that time,” said Eva Madey, PhD, National Manager, CFIA Fertilizer Safety Section. “In the meantime, nitrification and urease inhibitor products currently on the market that are not currently registered will not be subject to compliance and enforcement activities.”

Sound Agriculture – Management Brief

California, Management Briefs, Specialty

Sound Agriculture, Emeryville, Calif., announced the appointment of Adam Litle as CEO on April 16. Litle joins Sound Agriculture from Granular, a farm management software company based in San Francisco, where he played an integral role leading the company from inception to acquisition by DuPont (now Corteva). While at Granular, Litle served as Senior Vice President, Revenue, and member of Corteva’s Global Leadership Team, as well as in a number of sales, marketing, business development, and operations functions.

Before Granular, Litle held general management and corporate development roles at Codexis, a biotech company serving the life science and food industries. He began his career as an investment banker at Barclays Capital, working on M&A and debt/equity financing in the healthcare sector.

Sound Agriculture also announced the appointment of Joel Lipsitch as Vice President of Marketing and Sam Wilson as Director of Agronomy. Lipsitch most recently led global sales and product management for Iteris ClearAg, a digital farming platform for crop analytics based in Santa Ana, Calif. Previously, he held senior roles at John Deere and Bayer Crop Science.

Wilson is an agronomy technical support expert with previous positions at FMC Corporation, Syngenta, ADAMA USA, Verdesian Life Sciences, and Nutrien Ag Solutions. Sound Agriculture said Wilson will work with a variety of crops across the U.S. to develop trial protocols to support product development, and will also provide technical support to customers.

Sound Agriculture was started six years ago by Eric Davidson, PhD, and Travis Bayer, PhD, as a science-based development company for agricultural products. The company’s latest product, Source™, was launched for the 2020 growing season as a biostimulant that is applied in-season to improve nitrogen and phosphorus uptake. Davidson will now transition from his role as CEO to a newly formed leadership role as Chief Administrative Officer.

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