All Posts from September 25, 2020

Yara Updates on Belarus Concern

Belarus, News Briefs

Yara International ASA on Sept. 22 issued another update regarding its concern over situation in Belarus (GM Sept. 18, p. 31).

A delegation led by the company’s President and CEO Svein Tore Holsether travelled to the country on Sept. 18 to meet with Belaruskali management, workers, and unions, with a primary focus on the safety and the well-being of the potash producer’s workers.

“It was important for us to express our concerns in a face-to-face meeting, where we stated our clear expectations to our business partners,” said Yara. 

“We agreed to continue our dialogue, and we emphasized the importance for the future business relationship of adhering to our Business Partner Code of Conduct and expectations with regard to human and employee rights standards, including the right to organize and strike,” the Norwegian fertilizer major said.

It added that it will continue to monitor the situation, maintaining a dialogue with multiple stakeholders and continually assessing the impact of our approach. The company reiterated its evaluation that as of the present time, it can have the most positive impact by continuing a close dialogue with BPC and Belaruskali.

Yara International ASA – Management Brief

Management Briefs, Scandinavia

Yara International ASA, Oslo, on Sept. 21 made organizational changes, effective Oct. 1.

Lair Hanzen, currently EVP Yara Americas, is appointed Special Advisor to the President & CEO, reporting to Svein Tore Holsether and relocating to Oslo. He will support Yara’s ongoing activities within green ammonia, building on the company’s position in ammonia production technology and distribution, and will in this capacity report to EVP Farming Solutions Terje Knutsen. Hanzen will also initiate a review of Yara’s asset base in the context of the ongoing transition, initially focusing on Yara’s mining projects.

Chrystel Monthean, currently EVP Yara Africa & Asia, is appointed EVP Yara Americas. Monthean was previously SVP Latin America, and has experience from developing commercial relationships with food chain companies, a key element in Yara’s strategy in Americas.

Fernanda Lopes Larsen, currently SVP Indirect Procurement, is appointed EVP Yara Africa & Asia. Lopes Larsen has prior experience from senior positions in Yara, as well as several positions in consumer goods and pharmaceutical companies Procter & Gamble and GlaxoSmithKline. She holds an MSc in Civil Engineering from Graz University of Technology, in addition to a specialization in Corporate Innovation from Stanford University.

Yara also announced an ESG investor seminar to be held Dec. 3. “The organizational changes we make today support Yara’s ongoing transition towards providing sustainable solutions for the global food system, and we look forward to presenting the next steps in our transition during our ESG investor seminar later this year,” said Holsether.

Heliae® Agriculture – Management Brief

Management Briefs, Specialty

Heliae® Agriculture, Gilbert, Ariz., has announced the addition of Jon Collison as a Regional Sales Manager for California and Arizona. He is based in Nipomo, Calif. In his new role, he will work closely with distributors and retail partners to strategically implement the PhycoTerra® product line into their recommended grower applications.

Collison joins the company with over 20 years of experience in agronomy, crop nutrition, and regional sales management, including stints with Alltech Crop Science, Yara North America, Helena Chemical Co., and Farmland Industries Inc. He is also a licensed California Pest Control Advisor and is a Certified Crop Advisor. He earned his B.S. in Agronomy from Iowa State University.

BNDES Aids Multitécnica Expansion

Brazil, News, News Briefs

The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) recently announced that it has approved financing of R$14.8 million for modernizing and expanding the production unit of Multitécnica Industrial Ltda. The project will increase the supply of inputs manufactured in for fertilizers and animal feed.

Based in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais, Multitécnica produces simple and complex mineral fertilizers for agriculture, additives and ingredients for animal nutrition, and inorganic products for use in industrial activities. The total investment of the project will be R$19.6 million and will be used to expand the company’s total magnesium sulfate production to 74,400 mt in 2022.

In 2019, the company produced 45,500 mt of the mineral used as fertilizer and additive for animal feed. The project will also expand the manganese production line, the company’s product input intended for export.

During the implementation phase, 100 new jobs will be generated, and after the completion of the project, 35 new direct jobs.

Multitécnica, in business since 1993, has also been exporting product for more than 15 years, mainly marketing manganese oxide (animal nutrition) and manganese dioxide (water treatment), with emphasis on European Union clients.

Brazil’s BRFértil Buys Andali Stake

Brazil, News, News Briefs

Fertilizer supplier BRFértil, Curitiba, Parana, announced on Sept. 21 that it has purchased the majority of the shares of the Brazilian block of Andali, Curitiba, Parana, a fertilizer storage and blending company. The value of the deal was not released.

BRFértil explained that the Brazilian block represents 50 percent of the company’s capital, and that it acquired 26.5 percent of the shares. CHS do Brasil, the Brazilian arm of U.S.-based cooperative CHS Inc., Inver Grove Heights, Minn., holds a 50 percent in stake in Andali, which it acquired in 2012 (GM July 9, 2012).

In 2019, BRFértil reported revenues of approximately R$400 million, and it expects these to grow 50 percent in 2020 as it has expanded into Mato Grosso.

“Currently, within our operations, 70 percent of sales are concentrated in the State of Paraná,” said Aluisio Schwartz Teixeira, BRFértil president. “The merger with Andali will allow us to expand borders and we will have secure and competitive access in the State of Mato Grosso, using the services of a company that is a reference in the sector.” He expects the Brazilian fertilizer market to have annual growth of 10 percent annually over the next three years, and to pass 40 million mt.

Nutrien Ammonia Plant Indefinitely Curtailed

Ammonia, Caribbean, Featured, News, Saskatchewan

Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, said on Sept. 22 it will indefinitely curtail one of its four ammonia plants in Trinidad in response to weak market conditions. The change will result in a 15 percent workforce reduction, effective Oct. 30, 2020. The layoffs would amount to 50 individuals, according to the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.

Two of the ammonia plants and the associated urea facility will continue to operate at maximum capacity. The plant being curtailed indefinitely is Number 3, with a capacity of 365,000 mt/y. It was taken offline in June (GM June 19, p. 26).

Plant Number 2, which went down in May (GM May 8, p. 32), has a capacity to produce 545,000 mt/y. It is expected to come back up once market conditions improve. Total Nutrien gross ammonia capacity in Trinidad is 2.2 million mt/y.

Yara International ASA, Oslo, permanently idled one of its Trinidad ammonia plants last December (GM Nov. 15, 2019). The company has been eyeing the turnaround of another one in the country since July, though it has remained up, with the most recent report that it is slated go down later this month (GM Sept. 11, p. 2).

CHS Receives Patent

News, News Briefs

CHS Inc.’s Agronomy Division recently reported that the ortho-ortho EDDHA chelate available in its Levesol® products received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. CHS said the Levesol chelate prevents micronutrients from binding in the soil, making them more available for plant uptake.

Ceres, Co-Alliance Close on CHS Michigan Assets; New JV Called Endeavor Ag & Energy

Eastern Cornbelt, Featured, News

Indiana-based agricultural cooperatives Ceres Solutions and Co-Alliance closed on their expected purchase of the assets of a CHS-owned agricultural retail businesses based in Hamilton, Mich., on Sept. 16, 2020. The pending deal had been announced in June (GM June 12, p. 1). Both cooperatives already had a strong presence in Michigan.

“Together, accessing the assets and the talents of the CHS Hamilton employees, we are able to expand our retail operations and serve farmers throughout Michigan,” said Jeff Troike, CEO of Ceres Solutions. “With Endeavor, we add capabilities and scale to drive growth for our businesses, and for the benefit of member-farmers and local communities,” added Kevin Still, CEO of Co-Alliance.

The new joint venture is called Endeavor Ag & Energy LLP. It includes CHS assets in Hamilton, Holland, Traverse City, and Wayland. The new company will deliver agronomy products and services, propane, grain marketing, and animal nutrition products to customers in Allegan, Ottawa, Grand Traverse, and surrounding counties.

As a jv between cooperatives, local eligible farmers will be invited to join as shareholding members. Approved applicants will become members in both Ceres Solutions and a parent co-op of Co-Alliance. As a competitive business, Endeavor will also serve non-member customers.

Endeavor will have almost 100 employees. A new website and Facebook connections will be announced soon. Employee cell and location telephone numbers remain unchanged.

Headquartered in Crawfordsville, Ind., Ceres Solutions is a 100 percent farmer-owned co-op serving customers across 37 counties in Indiana and Michigan. The company has 650 employees and operates agronomy, fuel, propane, and feed divisions from more than 50 locations.

Co-Alliance LLP is a member-owned supply and marketing operation serving customers in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois, with headquarters in Avon, Ind. The company was formally established in 2002 through the merger of five local cooperatives, and today operates agronomy, propane, fuels, grain, seed, hog production, and feed businesses from more than 50 locations.

Azotic Reports Receipt of Patents Relating to Nitrogen Fixing Technology

Europe, News, News Briefs, U.S., United Kingdom

U.K.-based Azotic Technologies reports that it has been granted two patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office relating to its natural nitrogen fixing technology (N-Fix®), which is derived from a naturally occurring food-grade bacterium Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus (Gd). They include “Novel Microorganisms and Their Use in Agriculture” and “Plant Inoculation Method.”

“These patents will increase the market potential for N-Fix® products and will benefit the grower, as well as the environment,” said Peter Blezard, Azotic CEO. “They protect Azotic’s product development pipeline and highlight the company’s expertise in nitrogen fixation.”

Azotic said the patents have been granted elsewhere, including the E.U., the U.K., and South Africa. They are of significant value to the company. This follows on the issuance of several patents earlier this year in Europe and other territories.

Lawsuit Over EPA Rollback of Chemical Regulations Paused until December

News, News Briefs, U.S.

The U.S. EPA has reached agreement with the United Steelworkers union and a group of states and environmental groups to pause a case that challenges the agency’s rollback of chemical-plant safety regulations, according to Bloomberg Law.

The agency and parties contesting its regulatory action filed a joint motion at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Monday, Sept. 21, to continue the case until December. The agreement, which marks the second pause in the litigation, comes after EPA on Sept. 4 denied plaintiffs’ request to reconsider the policy.

The abeyance motion states the parties “need time to review and evaluate EPA’s recent responses to their reconsideration petitions.” The plaintiffs and EPA are asking the court to allow motions to be filed by Dec. 3.

The environmental groups sued EPA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Jan. 7 over a new rule that rolled back parts of an Obama-era safety regulation, which had bolstered the agency’s Risk Management Program regulations.

The final rule was announced late last year (GM Nov. 22, 2019) and went into effect in December. It rescinds provisions in the original 2017 action, which came in response to an explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, that killed 15 people in April 2013.

The Trump EPA’s changes included dropping requirements for third-party compliance audits and analysis of the root causes of chemical-release incidents. The rollback also modified procedures for local emergency coordination, emergency response exercises, and public meetings.

Separately, attorneys general in 14 states and the District of Columbia sued the agency and Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Jan. 29 in the D.C. Circuit to challenge EPA’s action. The D.C. Circuit later consolidated the cases.

Emma C. Cheuse, an attorney at Earthjustice, one of the plaintiffs, said the “community groups are pressing forward to ensure that EPA does its job to protect communities, first responders, and workers from these devastating chemical disasters.”

In March, the groups requested and received a six-month pause so EPA and Wheeler could review their petition.

Disclaimer of Warranty
All information has been obtained by Green Markets from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Green Markets or others, Green Markets does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.

For additional details visit our Terms of Use.