Ajay Kumar joined Phosphate Holdings Inc. (PHI), Madison, Miss., as senior vice president and general manager of operations, effective April 7, 2014.
“We are pleased to have added Ajay Kumar to our senior management team,” said James Sherbert, CEO. “Ajay brings a wealth of operations and engineering knowledge to his new challenge of managing our Pascagoula, Miss. plant facilities. We look forward to his contributions and leadership.”
In addition to diverse operations experience, Kumar is a chemical engineer, with a BE from the Indian Institute of Technology, an MS in Atmospheric Science/Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University, and an MBA from Loyola University in Baltimore. He is also a Registered Professional Engineer, a Certified Safety Professional, and a Board Certified Environmental Engineer. Most recently, he was plant manager at the Ada, Okla., facility, of Holcim US, Inc.
In another senior-level addition, Robert Kerley will join PHI as executive vice president and CFO, effective May 27, 2014. He has over 25 years of experience, including stints at Arthur Anderson & Co., Walter Energy Co., and Harris Corp. He holds a BS in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant.
“With the addition of Ajay Kumar and Robert Kerley, we have gained considerable technical expertise and solid executive experience in two critical areas of our company,” said Sherbert. “We look forward to their contributions to our future success.”
Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings LLC has added two more acquisitions to its growing retail distribution network. The company announced on May 21 that it had picked up the seed, fertilizer, and crop protection assets of Uvalde County Farmers Co-operative in Knippa, Texas, and on May 23 reported that it had acquired Performance Ag Services LLC in Aberdeen, S.D.
Originally formed in 1975 as a non-profit association with 38 members, Uvalde is a farm input and supply company that has since grown to 114 active members in the Winter Garden areas of Texas. The company is a certified public grain warehouse engaged in buying and selling wheat, grain sorghum, corn, and sesame, and is also the largest domestic provider of sesame for Sesaco Corporation. Pinnacle said Uvalde will operate as part of its Sanders brand, and will enhance Sanders’ retail presence in the southern Texas market.
“We are delighted about purchasing the agronomy assets of Uvalde County Co-op,” said John Williams, Sanders’ area operations manager. “We look forward to working with area growers who produce some of the highest cotton yields in the state, not to mention vegetable and grain production and livestock operations. We are confident that the farmers Uvalde Co-op has served so well will experience a seamless transition and will continue to receive the excellent service they have come to know in meeting all of their crop input needs.”
Uvalde will remained at its present location at 209 West Main Street in Knippa, and will be managed by Bonnie Turner. Turner’s background includes seven years with Crop Production Services Inc. and ten years with Helena Chemical Company. All other employees of Uvalde Co-op will retain their current positions under the new ownership.
“We are extremely excited about the innovative opportunities and high level of service that Sanders will bring to our area growers,” said Turner. “The Winter Garden region is very diverse, and our planting season is year-round with everything from vegetables and small grains to pastureland, corn, and cotton. We are very excited to be a part of Sanders and will uphold their high standard of quality in servicing our customers.”
The Knippa business will be Sanders’ 23rd Texas retail location, offering custom fertilizer blends, seed, and crop protection products, as well as precision agriculture services through Sanders’ proprietary OptiGro® system.
Performance Ag Services is a supplier of crop protection chemicals that has been in business since 2003. Although headquartered in Aberdeen, S.D., the company expanded to include four additional locations in Mobridge and Winner, S.D., Wishek, N.D., and Conrad, Mont. Performance Ag will operate as part of Pinnacle’s Providence Agriculture brand.
“This union allows Performance Ag to enhance the products and services that we bring to our growers,” said former owner Jon Swenson, who will continue to manage all of the Performance Ag locations. “It also allows us to expand our operations to service new customers in the future. We are aligning with a team that is committed to innovation and capable of delivering enhanced solutions for our farmers.”
The current employees of all five Performance Ag locations will retain their positions under the new ownership. Former Performance Ag owner Jon Swenson will manage all of the locations, and Kurt Schentzel will continue to manage all sales staff. The business will continue to service retail and wholesale accounts from the present locations at 38420 U.S. Highway 12 in Aberdeen; 1324 East Grand Crossing in Mobridge; 31710 Harvest Road in Winner; 4129 Highway 13 SE in Wishek; and 711 South Virginia Street in Conrad.
“Performance Ag is a highly-regarded business with similar company values and goals of grower success, so natural
Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings LLC has added two more acquisitions to its growing retail distribution network. The company announced on May 21 that it had picked up the seed, fertilizer, and crop protection assets of Uvalde County Farmers Co-operative in Knippa, Texas, and on May 23 reported that it had acquired Performance Ag Services LLC in Aberdeen, S.D.
Originally formed as a non-profit association with 38 members in 1975, Uvalde is a farm input and supply company that has grown to 114 active members in the Winter Garden areas of Texas. The company is a certified public grain warehouse engaged in buying and selling wheat, grain sorghum, corn, and sesame, and is also the largest domestic provider of sesame for Sesaco Corp. Pinnacle said Uvalde will operate as part of its Sanders brand, and will enhance Sanders’ retail presence in the southern Texas market.
Uvalde will remain at its present location at 209 West Main Street in Knippa, and will be managed by Bonnie Turner. Turner’s background includes seven years with Crop Production Services Inc. and ten years with Helena Chemical Company. All other employees of Uvalde Co-op will retain their current positions under the new ownership.
The Knippa business will be Sanders’ 23rd Texas retail location offering custom fertilizer blends, seed, and crop protection products, as well as precision agriculture services through Sanders’ proprietary OptiGro® system.
Performance Ag Services is a supplier of crop protection chemicals that has been in business since 2003. Although headquartered in Aberdeen, the company expanded to include four additional locations in Mobridge and Winner, S.D., Wishek, N.D., and Conrad, Mont. Performance Ag will operate as part of Pinnacle’s Providence Agriculture brand.
The current employees of all five Performance Ag locations will retain their positions under the new ownership, and Kurt Schentzel will continue to manage all sales staff. The business will continue to service retail and wholesale accounts from the present locations at 38420 U.S. Highway 12 in Aberdeen; 1324 East Grand Crossing in Mobridge; 31710 Harvest Road in Winner; 4129 Highway 13 SE in Wishek; and 711 South Virginia Street in Conrad.
Performance Ag and Uvelde Co-op bring the total number of Pinnacle retail acquisitions to 11 since March, and expand Pinnacle’s retail distribution network to 20 states. Pinnacle was formed in 2012, and operates through its Sanders, Providence Agriculture, AgOne Application Services, and Innvictis brands. Its operations include seed production and sales, agricultural chemical distribution, bulk handling of fertilizer, precision agriculture services, and general merchandise for the farming, livestock, and wildlife industries.
An Israeli government-appointed panel has recommended a “windfall tax” on natural resources, including potash and other raw materials, from the Dead Sea. The panel, headed by economist Professor Eitan Sheshinski, issued its interim report May 18. The 42 percent surtax on excess profits would be levied on net profits above an 11 percent return on investment. Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) would be the hardest hit by the recommendations.
The panel also called for a uniform 5 percent royalty level, which would replace current 2-10 percent royalties on natural resources. The panel was appointed last year by Finance Minister Yair Lapid to reassess the tax regime on natural resources excluding oil and gas. The proposals would cost ICL an estimated $120 million in additional taxes annually.
The interim report recommended that the new tax regime come into effect in 2017, and not when the legislative process is concluded by the Knesset. The report said this could give ICL time to adjust to the proposed changes. A final report is due out in a few months, and will be followed by government approval and then passage of a law by the Knesset.
The 30-month postponement will give ICL a $280 million tax break. Until the new law goes into effect, Dead Sea Works will continue to pay 5 percent royalties on potash production up to 1.5 million mt, and 10 percent on production above that level. Royalties on phosphates are currently 2 percent, and under the panel’s recommendations would be raised to 5 percent.
In response to the recommendations, ICL said it was freezing all planned investments in Israel totaling over $1 billion until the issue of increasing taxes on the company is resolved. ICL also said that if the interim recommendations are implemented, the impact would be disastrous and lead the company to reduce its operations in Israel and lay off workers.
Excellence Nessuah Analyst Gilad Alper said the recommendations will have a very negative impact on the company and its willingness to invest in Israel. “They will develop assets outside of Israel and look for opportunities to expand elsewhere,” he predicted. Alper said that ICL had to be in a situation of having real alternatives to the Dead Sea by 2030, when ICL’s concession at the Dead Sea runs out. He also said that he did not expect the lobbying campaign being mounted by ICL management would have much of an impact on the final committee recommendations.
The Israel Union for Environmental Defense (IUED), the country’s leading environmental lobby, called the recommendations very conservative and said they fail to fully take into account the public’s full share in the profits of the company and still allow “the ongoing damage to the Dead Sea.” The IUED added that the committee set a far too low level for royalties and did not take into account the environmental and health costs of ICL’s operations.
Lee County, Iowa — Lee County authorities on May 20 approved a higher tax credit for OCI N.V.’s Iowa Fertilizer Co. (IFC), which is building a $1.8 billion nitrogen plant near Wever, Iowa. The contract between the county, IFC, and the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) would increase IFC’s state tax credit from $10 million to $15 million per year until fiscal year 2017/18. The IEDA board approved the tax credit increase last July, but needed the county’s approval before the credits could be granted. Authorities said the change will not affect the county’s revenue or tax base. The IFC complex was 40 percent complete as of March 31 (GM May 5, p. 1), and is on track to start commissioning in fourth quarter 2015. OCI said the plant will have the capacity to sell 2.11 million mt/y of nitrogen fertilizer when it becomes operational, including UAN (1.505 million mt/y), ammonia (770,000 mt/y gross, 185,000 mt/y net), urea (420,000 mt/y), and DEF (315,000 mt/y). In other news, shareholders of Pakistan’s Fatima Group have approved the company’s plan to invest up to $300 million in Midwest Fertilizer Corp. (MFC), a $2.4 billion fertilizer facility planned for Indiana’s Posey County. The approval came at the company’s annual general meeting on April 30. The $300 million equity investment will reportedly be made over a period of four years, either directly into MFC or through a holding company. Plans for the facility are back on track after Indiana Governor Mike Pence reported on April 9 (GM April 14, p. 1) that the state had resumed discussions with the company after withdrawing support for the project in 2013 due to allegations from the U.S. Department of Defense that Fatima had not been fully cooperative with efforts to stop explosives development in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Fatima has since announced changes in its packaging and formulation of CAN fertilizer to make it less explosive. Plans are for the MFC facility to produce 2.59 million mt/y of product, including UAN, urea, and DEF, with the fertilizer products aimed at the U.S. Cornbelt. Intermediate products would include anhydrous ammonia and nitric acid. Although the project has not yet reached the ground-breaking stage, current plans call for the facility to start production in 2018. Indiana’s Posey County approved a $1.3 billion federal disaster loan to the project in 2013 (GM June 24, 2013, p. 1).
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: The Tampa market for June continued to be called $540/mt CFR, and the NOLA barge market $540/st.
June NYMEX prices closed May 22 at $4.359/mmBtu, compared to May 15’s $4.469/mmBtu.
Eastern Cornbelt: Powerful storms brought hail and heavy rain to parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio at midweek, resulting in power outages and flash flood warnings. Hail up to four inches in diameter was reported in Tuscola, Ill., on May 21, while more than five inches of rain fell in just three hours in Tipp City, Ohio.
The wet weather slowed fieldwork in the region. Planting progress remained ahead of normal in Illinois, but the pace trailed the five-year average in Ohio.
USDA reported that 84 percent of the Illinois corn crop was seeded by May 18, compared with 72 percent in Indiana and 50 percent in Ohio. As for soybeans, some 33-36 percent of the acreage was seeded in Illinois and Indiana by May 18, compared with just 20 percent in Ohio.
The anhydrous ammonia market had reportedly slipped to $655-$675/st FOB terminals in the Eastern Cornbelt, down $10-$25/st from last report, depending on location. The low end of the range was quoted in Illinois on a spot basis, but sources continued to report steady demand last week. “The ammonia run is not over,” said one regional supplier. “Nobody saw this one coming as far as spring movement.”
Western Cornbelt: The anhydrous ammonia market in the Western Cornbelt was reported in a broad range last week, with prices down some $45/st from levels in early May.
Sources quoted the dealer market at $570-$630/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low out of Nebraska terminals and the upper end in Iowa on a spot basis. Delivered ammonia in the Missouri market was also reported at the $630/st level from southern production points, down some $20/st from last report.
Many parts of the region were running last week after earlier rain delays, with corn sidedress activity now underway in parts of Missouri. Some areas were still fighting wet weather, however. Strong storms dropped nearly three inches of rain on Ames, Iowa, on May 20, with two-inch hail reported in the Dubuque area.
Planting in Iowa as of May 18 was rated at 84 percent complete for corn and 40 percent for soybeans, with both tracking slightly behind the average pace for this time of year. Missouri and Nebraska corn growers were ahead of normal, however, with planting progress rated at 91-92 percent complete by May 18.
Soybean planting was also slightly ahead of normal in Missouri and Nebraska, with progress rated at 32 percent complete in Missouri and 65 percent in Nebraska by May 18. Missouri growers had fully 86 percent of the rice crop planted by that date, along with 62 percent of the cotton.
Southern Plains: The anhydrous ammonia market was pegged at $540-$550/st FOB regional production points in the Southern Plains, down roughly $20/st from late April pricing levels. The upper end of the regional range was quoted at the $580-$585/st FOB mark out of Kansas pipeline terminals, but sources said new sales were being negotiated “a load at a time.”
Planting was progressing on cotton, sorghum, and soybeans in the Southern Plains, with corn planting nearly finished. Sources said worsening drought in the region, however, has “the farm customer making some fairly conservative decisions on fertilizers.”
As of May 20, the nation’s two significant drought areas were in the Southern Plains and California, with both regions showing sizable areas of extreme to exceptional drought. In the Southern Plains, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed exceptional drought – the worst possible drought rating – covering northern and central Texas, western
U.S. Gulf: Prompt granular barges that were loaded and ready to go were reported to be pulling in a premium as high as $340/st FOB last week. Two weeks out, however, and prices dropped to $305/st FOB, if not lower.
Prills were being quoted at $350-$355/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing was pegged at $425-$445/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, down another $5/st from last report.
Western Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing in the Western Cornbelt was down significantly from last report, but pricing covered a broad range in the region. Sources quoted the low end of the regional range at $390-$400/st FOB in southern Missouri last week, with the upper end pegged at $435/st FOB in Iowa.
Southern Plains: Granular urea had reportedly dropped to $370-$380/st FOB the Tulsa, Okla., market for new sales, down some $50/st from pricing levels in late April. As one source said, the market is “weak and getting weaker.”
South Central: Sources said topdress urea applications on rice were just starting in many areas last week, but activity should be heavy after the Memorial Day weekend. Some areas of the South Central region also continued to see a small amount of corn sidedress activity last week. “I believe our busiest days are still in front of us, especially on urea,” said one contact.
Granular urea had reportedly fallen to $390-$400/st FOB in the South Central region, down some $35/st from pricing levels in early May, with the low end of the range reported in the Arkansas market.
Southeast: Granular urea pricing was quoted at the $440/st mark FOB Norfolk, Va., Wilmington, N.C., and Savannah, Ga. That level was virtually unchanged from last report, with sources noting that the “market has not really dropped, even though Gulf pricing is down.”
Wet weather continued to delay fieldwork in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas last week, while unusually hot weather settled over central Florida. One Carolina source said his location received five inches of rain over the previous weekend, but growers were slowly getting back into the field by May 21.
“We are still having some problems with application due to wet fields and erratic stands due to soil being saturated and cool temperatures,” said one Georgia contact last week. “We need some drying time and warmer temps for our crops to get going.”
North Carolina growers had 96 percent of the corn and 32 percent of the soybeans planted by May 18, while cotton planting was estimated at 73 percent complete in Virginia, 64-65 percent in the Carolinas, 47 percent in Alabama, and 44 percent in Georgia. Peanut planting varied widely in the region, with progress as of May 18 rated at 71 percent complete in South Carolina, 31 percent in Alabama, and 48-49 percent in the rest of the Southeast.
India: Sources who were once confident that the main talk of this week’s IFA gathering in Sydney would be about the just-called Indian urea tender are now saying they don’t expect to hear anything until June.
One trader suggested that an announcement could be delivered to IFA delegates’ inboxes while the delegates are still in the air heading home. The safe money, however, is on a tender being called in the second week of June.
The delay in calling a tender is attributed to a number of factors. A primary motivator, said one trader, is the need for the new Indian government to get organized. New cabinet leaders need to be named, and – in turn – they need to name their subordinates. The whole procurement bureaucracy will be affected by the change in government, say observers.
U.S. Gulf: The NOLA barge market is now called $275-$280/st ($8.59-$8.75/unit) FOB. Sources said UAN barge and vessel markets are under pressure.
East Coast vessels had reportedly fallen to $260-$270/mt CFR, with expectation of June business in the $250s/mt.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN-28 remained in a broad range at $285-$310/st ($10.18-11.07/unit) FOB terminals in Ohio and Indiana, depending on location, with UAN-32 pegged commonly at the $340/st ($10.63/unit) FOB level in the Illinois market.
Western Cornbelt: UAN-32 to dealers was quoted at a flat $340/st ($10.63/unit) FOB most regional terminals in the Western Cornbelt last week.
Southern Plains: UAN-32 pricing was slipping in the Southern Plains region. Sources tagged the low end of the market at $285/st ($8.91/unit) FOB Gulf Coast terminals in Texas, down $10/st from last report. Out of production points in Oklahoma, the dealer market was pegged at $300-$310/st ($9.38-$9.69/unit) FOB last week.
South Central: UAN-32 was pegged at $310-$330/st ($9.69-$10.31/unit) FOB terminals in the South Central region, down $10-$15/st from last report, with the low end of the range reported in Memphis.
Southeast: UAN terminal pricing was falling in the South Central region, driven by a softening vessel market.
Some sources continued to quote the upper end of the UAN-32 market at $295-$300/st ($9.22-$9.38/unit) FOB port terminals, but others said new business was reportedly being done as low as $280/st ($8.75/unit) FOB last week. UAN-30 was also quoted in a broad range at $262.50-$275/st ($8.75-$9.17/unit) FOB port terminals in the region.
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.
