Richmond, Utah — A new biotech company that produces a soil conditioner that makes fertilizers more efficient is awaiting approval from city officials to start construction this summer on a 9,000 square foot plant. The Richmond planning and zoning commission already has given its go-ahead to rezone an area in southwest Richmond to light industrial, but the city council is yet to take action. Salam Awada, owner of AG Sci Tech, said his company plans to use the land to produce a soil conditioner called SOLU-PLKS, which he says mostly contains harmless organic carbon. “In a worse case scenario, the chemical wouldn’t cause algae bloom even if it seeped into a nearby creek,” Awada asserted. “Our plan is to build a biotech facility specializing in soil conditioners and specialty products that are used with fertilizers, but at reduced rates. Our technology and patents are to supplement what the growers use and to make fertilizers use more efficient.” AG Sci Tech already manages about 30,000 acres of potatoes in Idaho, where growers are reducing their NPK inputs by about 20 to 30 percent. “At today’s prices that’s a lot of money, and also we are reducing the amount of fertilizers that the growers are dumping into the environment,” Awaded stated. SOLU-PLKS is based on a patent pending bio-fermentation technology for the use of selected biosurfactants such as glycolipids, glycopeptones, and lipopeptones as nutrients’ solubilizers and stabilizers. It is a new technology applied to the field of plant and micro-organisms growth and nutrition. SOLU-PLKS is recommended for use on all soils and plants and is not crop specific. It targets the nutrients P, K, Ca, and Mg and the micronutrients, and acts as a complexing agent. The result is improvement in the bio-availability of these nutrients to the plants and soil microorganisms. In addition, the high degree of complexation between the nutrients and the stabilizers in SOLU-PLKS effectively reduces nutrients leaching from sandy soils. Studies show that phosphate leaching is reduced by more than 44 percent in sandy soils.
Atlanta — While Mississippi Phosphates Corp. has spent an estimated $2.5 million in corrective actions at its Pascagoula, Miss., phosphate complex, relating to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order issue in 2009 (GM Oct. 5, 2009), EPA says there are more things to do. EPA’s Atlanta office on Feb. 16 issued an order on consent that requires expedited corrective measures be taken at the facility to ensure the protection of public health and the environment. EPA believes that an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment exists at the facility due to corrosive water discovered by the facility outside the West Stack perimeter dike in January 2011 and September 2011. However, Miss Phos says the water was found to be seeping slowly from a phosphogypsum stack closed in 2005, and that the dike itself is safe and stable. Miss Phos said it immediately neutralized the liquid and then created a berm from agricultural lime to keep the bayou safe during heavy rains. The company plans to permanently fix the problem by installing remediation wells. The order directs that Miss Phos continue to perform corrective actions that were included in the previous 2009 order, which was issued due to EPA’s discovery of uncontrolled leaks and spills of sulfuric acid and untreated discharges from sulfuric acid plants to the adjacent bayou, and uncontrolled spills and leaks of phosphoric acid to unlined ditches at the facility in August 2009. Some of the work still required includes the submission of a revised plan to repair and replace degraded containment around sulfuric acid plants (SAPs); the continued implementation of the groundwater investigative and remediation work plan for the SAPs, DAP plant, and construction area southwest of SAPs; daily visual assessment of seepage from west stack perimeter dike; and the submission of a west gypsum stack system improvement plan.
Winnipeg — Cargill Ltd. said Feb. 21 that it is ceasing production at its Winnipeg East facility effective March 1, 2012. The Winnipeg East facility is an 8,000 mt elevator with crop inputs and a dry fertilizer plant and shed. According to Cargill, the facility no longer meets the company’s stringent standards for operating safe, cost effective, and efficient farm service networks across Canada. “The facility is outdated and would have required significant and costly upgrades to maintain Cargill’s rigorous standards,” said Jody Magotiaux, Cargill Farm Service Group Manager. “While the Winnipeg facility no longer meets our current needs, we remain committed to offering our valued customers with the same level of dedicated service they have come to expect from Cargill.” Cargill’s customers will have continued access to crop inputs and fertilizer and will be able to deliver grain to Cargill’s other Keystone locations, such as Morris and Elm Creek, as well as utilize alternate direct-to-farm service solutions. The facility has five full-time employees, all of whom have been presented with transition packages.
Doral, Fla. — BioNitrogen, a developer of a patent-pending technology for converting renewable and abundant biomass waste into urea, says it has secured a 49-acre parcel of land to construct the company’s inaugural plant in Lubbock, Texas. Lubbock was selected because the site is close to the company’s engineering and construction office, also located in Lubbock. As a result of this proximity, the company intends to utilize the plant as BioNitrogen’s primary research and development facility to develop and refine technological enhancements to the company’s products and processes. BioNitrogen expects to complete the land purchase after concluding an Environmental Site Assessment (ESA). The company has already engaged X8 Engineering, which anticipates completion of the ESA no later than March 12, 2012. BioNitrogen expects to begin construction of the plant after evaluating, obtaining, and finalizing its financing and engineering options for the construction and commissioning, which it expects to complete in the coming weeks. It anticipates that the total cost to construct the plant will be approximately $65 million. The modular plant has a design capacity capable of manufacturing up to 15 st of urea fertilizer per hour for a total annual production of up to approximately 124,200 st/y per plant, which anticipates 20 days for equipment maintenance and upkeep. The company estimates that the annual economic potential associated with the proposed Lubbock plant could be as much as $77.3 million. Additionally, the 49-acre land parcel would allow the company to increase the size of the production facilities, which in turn is projected to double the proposed output capacity. The additional capacity would be used to produce UAN as well as granular urea. As previously announced earlier this month (GM Feb. 6, p. 12), BioNitrogen has entered into a Letter of Intent with United Suppliers for the purchase of up to 300,000 st/y of urea in granular or prilled grade form. The binding agreement, currently under final negotiation between the two parties, will be for an initial term of three years. BioNitrogen projects that the economic potential benefit could be as much as $558.9 million.
Arden Hills, Minn. — Land O’Lakes Inc. reported record sales of $12.8 billion for the year ending Dec. 31, 2011, compared to 2010’s $11.1 billion. LOL reported its second-highest net earnings at $182 million, up from 2010’s $178 million. Cash return to members of $108 million was the third largest annual cash return. LOL’s Crop Inputs business, Winfield Solutions LLC, reported a record $4 billion in 2011 sales, up 10 percent from the previous year. Pretax earnings in the segment were $140.4 million, down from 2010’s $144.8 million. 2011 results included a $600,000 unrealized hedging loss, versus a $1.9 unrealized hedging loss in 2010. Input volumes were strong in most segments, with alfalfa seed up 25 percent, corn 8 percent, and crop protection products 22 percent. LOL expanded its crop production insights and technologies business, launching its new R7® crop production tool, which brings together Answer Plot® data, weather information, and satellite imagery to help growers optimize productivity, profitability, and sustainability.
Cranbury, N.J. — Specialty phosphate maker, Innophos Holdings Inc. reported fourth-quarter net income of $20.9 million ($.93 per diluted share) on sales of $209.2 million for the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, 2011, compared to the year-ago $19.3 million ($.86 per share) on sales of $192.2 million. While fourth-quarter specialty phosphate volumes were up 2 percent, those for GTSP/Other (primarily fertilizer co-product) were off 54 percent, referencing the lull seen by much of that industry segment for the quarter. The company reached a settlement with its former parent Rhodia over various claims during the quarter, with net income after tax including a $500,000 after-tax benefit ($.02 per share), with a further $6.8 million ($.30 per share) to be recognized in the first quarter 2012. For the year, net income was $86.5 million ($3.83 per share) on sales of $810.5 million, versus 2010’s $45.1 million ($2.02 per share) on sales of $714.2 million. Specialty phosphate volumes for the year were up 2 percent, and those of GTSP/Other were off 5 percent, reflecting the fourth-quarter lull.
Tel Aviv — Israel’s Finance Ministry has selected five finalists in the tender for the sale of the government’s 100 percent stake in the southern port of Eilat. The winner will be given a 15-year concession to operate the port, with an option for a further ten years. The finalists include Aviation Links Ltd., which is owned by the Ofer family, the controlling shareholder in Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL); Maman Cargo Terminals and Handling, controlled by businessman Nochi Dankner; Gold Bond Group Ltd.; Papo Maritime Ltd.; and the Gadot Group, owned by Ampal-American Israel Corp. The finalists have two months to submit their final bids, with a decision expected in early May. Israel’s Anti Trust Commissioner, David Gilo, still has to review the participation of the Ofer-controlled group and of Maman to ensure that a win by either group would not be anti-competitive. Both of the bidders control substantial chunks of the Israeli economy, and recent recommendations by a government-appointed committee have called for sharply reducing the over-concentration of the economy in the hands of a few businessmen. Eilat, Israel’s third largest port, has been handling an increasing share of the burgeoning trade with the Far East. ICL, which accounts for nearly 20 percent of the port’s revenues, ships some 2.5 million tons of potash and other chemicals via the Eilat port. Shipments via Eilat are expected to continue to increase in the coming years. In addition, the government is planning a rail line to Eilat that would include a feeder line from Sdom at the Dead Sea specifically for shipping potash. Senior ICL officials have met with government officials handling the sale to clarify the company’s position. The company had demanded that cargo ships at its terminal in Eilat port be given priority over container vessels, but the government position is that this would reduce the attractiveness of the proposed privatization.
Anderson, Ind. — Anderson city officials were able to deal quickly with elevated levels of PCBs being discovered in biosolids used as fertilizer by some area farmers. Three water pollution control employees reportedly were disciplined for failing to notify supervision when a reporting error was discovered in the utility’s annual report to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). No PCBs were found in samples taken from all farm fields where the biosolids were spread last year. However, higher levels were discovered in a stockpile on one farm where the material was collected and hauled to a nearby landfill. IDEM spokesman Barry Sneed told Green Markets, “The city notified us as soon as the discovery was made while reviewing their annual report that during three months in the summer where it had spiked on the PCBs. They were able to go back and see where the biosolids were being stockpiled by one of the farmers for use on other farms. They’ve taken care of part of the problem, and now they’re looking for the source of the PCBs, which could be from several industrial sources or from some construction that was done last summer, which may have dislodged years of collecting in the pipes. In the meantime, they’ve changed lab procedure and are double checking everything daily.” The highest PCB level found in sampling was 16 parts per million, while the allowable limit for the utility’s permitted use is 2 ppms.
Pittsburgh, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has fined EG Systems of Marysville, Ohio, $160,000 for the deliberate disposal by an employee of an herbicide-pesticide-fertilizer mixture into a small Allegheny County stream. EG Systems does business in the Pittsburgh area as Scotts Lawn Service. In June 2010, DEP investigators discovered an EG Systems employee at the Scotts Lawn Service location in Monroeville had built a siphon system connecting an 8,000-gallon holding tank to a gutter downspout drain. The drain empties directly into a storm sewer, which discharges into a tributary of Thompson Run. The employee later used the siphon to drain five gallons of a mixture of herbicide, pesticide, fertilizer, and water into the drain to test how long it would take to drain a known volume of the material. The next day, the employee used the siphon to discharge between 800 and 1,000 gallons of the mixture into the drain, which was detected by neighbors who called the authorities. DEP and the company entered into a consent assessment on eight violations of the state’s solid waste management act and clean stream laws, and the employee later reached a settlement on criminal charges with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General calling for two years probation, a $2,500 fine, and 40 hours of community service.
Decataur, Ill., and Singapore – Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Wilmar International Ltd. have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding, indicating their intent to work together in a strategic partnership in global fertilizer purchasing and distribution, global ocean freight operations, and tropical oils refining in Europe. Collaborations between ADM and Wilmar began in the mid-1990s, when they jointly built a network of soybean processing operations in China. Today, ADM owns a 16 percent equity stake in Wilmar. The companies have significant supplier relationships with each other. Today, ADM owns a 16 percent equity stake in Wilmar. The companies have significant supplier relationships with each other. The recent MOU says that in the global fertilizer business, the companies will collaborate on purchasing and distribution; in ocean freight, they will partner to improve the utilization and management of their shipping fleets, with each company initially contributing two ships to the effort; and in tropical oil refining in Europe, they will work together to optimize refining capacity utilization. ADM and Wilmar will look to finalize the definitive agreements over the next few months.
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