All Posts from December 27, 2012

Koch acquires Farmers Plant Food

Koch FPF Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Koch Fertilizer LLC has acquired Farmers Plant Food Inc., a leading privately-held fertilizer manufacturer and distributor of value-added fertilizer products and services. The company is based in Garretson, S.D., with production and distribution facilities in Garretson, Wolsey and Corson, S.D. and Verdi, Minn. Kevin Baum, president of Farmers Plant Food, will remain with the business on a consulting basis to assist in the transition. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“With the addition of new products and growth of our storage and distribution networks, this move supports our overall expansion efforts while providing value for our customers and suppliers,” said Steve Packebush, Koch Fertilizer president. “In today’s evolving fertilizer marketplace, customers are demanding greater performance and higher overall service responsiveness. This move will help us better meet both of those objectives.”

Farmers Plant Food was founded in 1980 by Baum in Garretson as a regional fertilizer distributor of UAN and manufacturer of ammonium polyphosphate (APP). The business has expanded into other value-added liquid fertilizer products in recent years and has approximately 90,000 st of liquid storage capacity serviceable by both rail and truck. In addition to its liquid fertilizer business, Farmers Plant Food also markets dry fertilizer in the Upper Midwest.

“Farmers Plant Food’s liquid phosphorus and specialty plant food products are an excellent fit for Koch Fertilizer’s portfolio,” said Scott McGinn, Koch Nitrogen’s North America senior vice president. “The addition of these top-quality products, established customer base and solid distribution network should significantly enhance our presence in this growing market.”

Mississippi River traffic could halt Jan. 3-4

Late Christmas Eve, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers advised industry of the most current 28-day weather and water forecast for the Mississippi River area near Thebes, Ill., south of St. Louis, where rock pinnacle removal work is taking place. The forecast suggests that commerce on the Mississippi River could come to an effective halt earlier than expected in the New Year, around Jan. 3 or 4. Earlier forecasts had suggested that the congressionally authorized nine-foot navigation channel could remain in operation until perhaps the middle of January.

The latest forecast calls for the Mississippi River gauge at Thebes to be at 3 feet and falling on or around Jan. 3-4, with vessel drafts limited to 8 feet. The forecast for the river gauge to reach to 2 feet and falling will be on or around Jan. 12-13, allowing only a 7-foot maximum vessel draft. It is estimated that the river will reach a reading of 1 foot and falling on or around Jan.19, which equates to 6 feet of navigable depth. The majority of towboats require a 9-foot draft to operate and only a very small number of towing vessels can operate at 8- or 7-foot drafts.

Stakeholders continue to urge the Administration to release a minimal amount of water from the Missouri River reservoirs (4,000 cfs or 1 percent of current storage in the reservoir system) to avert this effective shutdown of the Mississippi River to barge transportation. While the Corps and the Coast Guard have said that they have no plans to close the river, this latest forecast and falling water levels will preclude navigation because towboats will be unable to transit the “bottleneck reach” between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill., according to The Waterways Council Inc. and the American Waterways Operators.

Revised China export information

A typographic error in information supplied to Green Markets prior to publication misstated the export duty for Chinese DAP and MAP. The correct export rate is 5 percent, not 2 percent as earlier reported.

Also, missing from the initial data was a change in the export window for DAP and MAP. The Chinese government added two weeks on each end of the previous export window. The lower 5 percent duty will be charged on DAP and MAP May 16 through Oct. 15. The previous window was June through September.

Green Markets regrets the error. See the forthcoming Special Edition of Green Markets to be on the website Dec. 28, 2012 for further discussion on this issue.