Agrico Canada Ltd. reports the retirement of Murray Martin as director of operations, effective Dec. 1, 2014, after 15 years with the company. He will continue to collaborate on special projects for the next several months.
Andre Mercure, Agrico Crop Production general manager, said they will be posting a job opening within the next week.
London, Ont. — The Canadian Fertilizer Institute (CFI) reported on Oct. 6 that it is partnering with Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) to launch a $65,000 program to protect water quality in Ontario and promote sustainable agriculture. The project, entitled Expanding Marketability of Soybeans through Roundtable for Responsible Soy, includes the establishment of 15 4R (the right source at the right rate, right time, and right place) demonstration farms funded through the Growing Forward 2 (GF2) program. Producers will receive grants for committing a portion of land to field trials under a 4R nutrient stewardship management plan. “There are many advantages for farmers to adopt the 4Rs into their cropping systems,” said Clyde Graham, CFI acting president. “The 4Rs offer a framework to farmers as they implement best management practices to optimize fertilizer efficiency, which minimizes nutrient loss and leakage into the air and water.” Henry Van Ankum, chair of GFO, said the project “will benefit our farmer members by offering a collaborative framework to establish the best sustainability practices to apply on Ontario grain farms.” More information on the program is available at Farming4rFuture.ca.
Washington — The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA), The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), and other members of the Waters Advocacy Coalition (WAC) submitted a 10-page letter on Sept. 29 to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh urging EPA to withdraw its proposed rule to define waters of the U.S. under the Clean Water Act. The 63 WAC organizations criticized EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a number of legal and procedural issues, and said the rule has drawn criticism from state water and agriculture departments, business groups, governmental organizations, and numerous trade and professional groups including the National Governors’ Association, Western Governors’ Association, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and the American Farm Bureau. “EPA hasn’t finalized the Connectivity Report, its scientific basis for the regulation, or made it available for public scrutiny,” said ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock. “Their Science Advisory Board hasn’t completed its review of that report. The agency can’t give a consistent answer from one day to the next about how much jurisdiction will expand under the rule; one day it’s a 2.7 percent expansion, and the next the Administrator is saying that 60 percent of America’s waters will be unprotected without it. And now we’re seeing a regulatory agency resort to tweeting, posting, blogging, and videos to advocate its proposal. Those are the actions of an advocacy organization, not a science-based regulatory agency.” ARA noted as well that the U.S. House recently passed a bill (H.R. 5078) that would prevent implementation of the rule and require the agencies to work with state and local governments in the development of future rulemaking. H.R. 5078 has not yet been considered in the Senate, and the rule’s comment period ends Oct. 21, 2014.
Bismarck — The North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) has adopted new rules governing the content of agricultural fertilizer that took effect in North Dakota on Oct. 1. The department worked with the fertilizer industry and farm groups to come up with the rules, which are based on national standards developed by the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO). NDDA Commissioner Doug Goehring said the new rules define how much a fertilizer’s chemical compositions can vary from label claims, and also establish minimal concentrations for micronutrient claims on fertilizer product labeling. NDAA conducted a public hearing in February, and the rules were adopted following their approval at a Sept. 15 public hearing before the North Dakota Legislature’s Administrative Rules Committee.
Washington — The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) and The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) have joined seven other trade groups to ask the U.S. EPA for more time to review proposed changes to the Clean Air Act’s accidental release/risk management program (RMP) regulations. In a Sept. 26 letter to the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, the trade groups also asked EPA to utilize a federal advisory subcommittee comprised of industry stakeholders to review the RMP regulations and provide scientific and technical recommendations to EPA on whether any major changes to the program are necessary. EPA published a request for information on the proposed RMP changes in the Federal Register on July 31 that contained more than 380 questions on 19 topics that covered more than 100 options for the RMP program. Proposed changes to the RMP include expanding the list of covered substances, mandating an inherently safer technology (IST) analysis, and other proposals to expand the program. Stakeholders had 90 days to provide input, but the trade groups’ letter said that time frame is “woefully inadequate” to provide the kind of details that EPA seeks, which includes “detailed financial data regarding costs and economic impacts on industry.” The groups are asking for an additional 90 days for the comment period, a time period that they believe is adequate to allow the federal advisory subcommittee to thoroughly review the RMP. They said this will ensure transparency and “prevent inappropriate influence from any special interest.”
Marysville, Ohio — The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. said Oct. 6 that its subsidiary, Scotts Canada Ltd., has acquired Fafard and Brothers Ltd. In continuous operation since 1940 and based in Saint-Bonaventure, Quebec, Fafard is a leader in the production of high-quality peat moss and high-performance growing media products, including peat-based and bark-based mixes, composts and premium soils. Family-owned Fafard serves customers primarily across Ontario, Quebec, and New-Brunswick. The company also distributes a full range of related products for the gardening industry, including fertilizers, mulch, and grass seed, and serves both the retail and professional grower markets. Scotts expects Fafard to add annual sales of approximately $40 million and for the transaction to be earnings accretive in fiscal 2015. Sun Gro Horticulture, Agawam, Mass., told Green Markets that its Fafard-branded products are not affected. Sun Gro acquired the Conrad Fafard Inc. U.S. professional greenhouse and nursery and retail business in 2012. Sun Gro said it does not sell its Fafard-branded retail or professional growing mixes or peat moss in Canada. Sun Gro said it will continue selling Fafard brands throughout the U.S. and that the Scotts deal in no way impacts Sun Gro’s U.S., retail or professional greenhouse, grower, and/or retail businesses.
Mosheim, Tenn. — Contractors have begun building the two pipelines to the Nolichucky River to serve the U.S. Nitrogen LLC (USN) plant here. USN expects the construction of the two 12-mile pipelines to be complete by first-quarter 2015, with the $220 million plant slated to begin production by the end of that quarter. USN is paying the Greene County Sheriff’s Department $50 per hour to provide round-the-clock security of the pipeline construction site, according to the Greeneville Sun. At least three lawsuits have been filed to halt the pipeline.
Winnipeg — Compass Minerals reports the official launch of Nu-Trax™ P+, a new phosphorus-based fertilizer that it says delivers better early-season nutrition to crops. It will be available to U.S. and Canadian farmers starting in fall 2014 for the 2015 growing season. The makers of Wolf Trax™ DDP Nutrients designed Nu-Trax P+ with the CropStart™ Nutrient Package, a scientifically derived blend of phosphorus (25 percent), zinc (20 percent), manganese (5 percent), and nitrogen (4 percent) for optimal early growth. “Nutrients like phosphorus and zinc are essential for early-season growth, but are unfortunately relatively immobile in the soil. They do not move to the seedling,” said Mark Goodwin, director of research and product development for Compass Minerals. “That’s why it’s so hard for a young plant to find and take up these important nutrients. Nu-Trax P+ helps overcome these challenges, giving young plants access to the nutrients they need early in the growing season.” Featuring patented EvenCoat™ Technology, Nu-Trax P+ is coated onto dry fertilizer by a fertilizer blender. Coating onto every fertilizer granule allows for blanket-like distribution of the nutrients in Nu-Trax P+ across an entire field. Formulated as a fine powder, the company says the particle size is ideal for plant uptake. “All growers have to do is ask their fertilizer dealer to blend Nu-Trax P+ with their dry fertilizer.”
Portland — Canpotex Ltd. has announced that it is investing up to $140 million at its wholly-owned subsidiary, Portland Bulk Terminals LLC (PBT), in new equipment and infrastructure to improve the efficiency of its shiploading operations and the management of Canpotex’s specialty white potash products. A new shiploader, improved control system technology, and an upgraded conveyance system will enable shorter turnaround times for Canpotex trains and ships at PBT. A new storage building will allow the potash exporter to better manage its specialty grade products at the terminal. “This investment is great for Canpotex and the Port because it improves the speed and quality of our operations at the terminal. But it’s not just our company that benefits; we are doing our part to try to build efficiency into the transportation system in the Pacific Northwest corridor,” said Canpotex’s Steve Dechka, president and CEO. After significant collaboration and discussion with key stakeholders, Port staff and Portland Development Commission (PDC) personnel proposed an enterprise zone expansion to include the PBT facility. The expanded enterprise zone was approved unanimously by Portland City Council last December. The company’s plans began to materialize shortly thereafter, and were officially approved at the Oct. 8 Port Commission meeting. In addition to PBT, Canpotex has terminal operations at Neptune Terminal in Vancouver, B.C. BHP Billiton, which is developing the Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan, bowed out of a proposed port project at Washington’s Port of Vancouver earlier this summer (GM June 30, p. 13).
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has launched a new, collaborative initiative to eliminate fertilizer pollution as a major environmental concern in the U.S. EDF says the effort will engage farmers and businesses throughout the supply chain to transform the way fertilizer-dependent grain crops are grown and sourced.
While recognizing that fertilizer is the engine for agriculture, EDF says its inefficient use is one of the biggest threats to a stable climate and clean water.
“Our long-term goal is to make the entire U.S. grain supply sustainable – good for farmers, good for the climate, and good for our waterways,” said Suzy Friedman, director of EDF’s Sustainable Sourcing Initiative.
EDF noted that Walmart has asked its top suppliers to submit fertilizer optimization plans. EDF said it is working with several Walmart suppliers – including General Mills, Smithfield and The Coca-Cola Company (in partnership with World Wildlife Fund) – to develop and implement these programs.
EDF said it is collaborating with Iowa-based United Suppliers to develop and implement a fertilizer efficiency program to meet the supply chain demand. United Suppliers is a member-owned wholesaler that provides agricultural products and services to about 700 grower cooperatives and retailers covering 45 million acres of farmland in the U.S. The company has committed to optimizing fertilizer use on 10 million acres.
“We believe we’ve got to be on the forefront of this sustainability issue and keep crop nutrients in the fields where they’re applied,’’ said United Suppliers Vice President Matt Carstens. “With EDF’s help, we’ve put together a program that can help growers sort through practices that improve fertilizer efficiency so they can meet food companies’ new standards.”
EDF is also working with farmer networks that have helped to reduce fertilizer loss by an average of 25 percent on half a million acres while maintaining or increasing crop yields.
The near-term goal of EDF’s initiative is to maximize fertilizer efficiency on half of U.S. corn crops by 2020 (approximately 45 million acres), which it says will cut 25 million mt of greenhouse gas emissions and improve water quality.
