All Posts from April 28, 2014

Ammonia

Ammonia, Asia, Eastern Canada, Eastern Cornbelt, India, Market Watch, Middle East, Northern Plains, Tampa, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf/Tampa: The Tampa ammonia price for May quietly rolled over last week at $580/mt CFR. Major players opted to continue the price achieved for April.

May NYMEX closed April 24 at $4.705/mmBtu, off slightly from April 17’s $4.741/mmBtu.

Eastern Cornbelt: Improved weather conditions allowed a flurry of fieldwork in the Eastern Cornbelt last week, with sources reporting long lines at ammonia terminals and tight supplies of potash.

The slow start kept corn planting well behind the five-year average pace in the region, however, with progress as of April 20 estimated at only 5 percent complete in Illinois and just 1 percent in Indiana. Ohio corn growers had yet to register on the planting scale last week, but dealers in the state reported being “very busy” as the week progressed.

The regional ammonia market had reportedly firmed to $680-$685/st FOB last week, with the low reported in Illinois on a spot basis and the upper end in Indiana. Several sources reported product outages at some terminal locations on the Illinois River last week after a period of heavy demand. “Ammonia applications are quickly catching up,” said one contact.

The Henderson, Ky., ammonia market was quoted firmly at the $685/st FOB mark last week.

Western Cornbelt: Planting progress in the Western Cornbelt continued to lag behind the average pace for this time of year. USDA reported that just 2-4 percent of the corn was planted in Iowa and Nebraska by April 20, compared with 26 percent in Missouri, with all three states trailing the five-year average.

Missouri growers also had only 9 percent of the rice planted, and had not yet started on the cotton crop. The oats crop was 67 percent planted in Nebraska by April 20, compared with 51 percent in Iowa.

Sources reported steady movement of ammonia, phosphates, and potash in the region, as weather and field conditions permitted. Inventories were described as tight, with long lines reported at some ammonia terminals last week.

The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $615-$675/st FOB regional terminals for available tons, with the low in Nebraska and the upper end out of terminals in eastern Iowa. Terminal pricing in western Iowa was pegged at the $645/st FOB mark last week.

Delivered ammonia in Missouri remained in the $650-$670/st range, with the market FOB Oklahoma production points pegged in the $580-$590/st FOB range after netbacks.

Northern Plains: Spring planting was off to a slow start in the Northern Plains, as sources continued to talk of wet and cold conditions in the region.

South Dakota growers had only 1 percent of the corn seeded by April 20, but the most significant planting delays were reported for small grains in the region. No barley had been seeded yet in the Northern Plains as of April 20, although USDA reported the average planting pace for this time of year at 22 percent in Minnesota and 6 percent in North Dakota.

The same was true of spring wheat. Minnesota growers had yet to turn a wheel as of April 20, while spring wheat planting progress was rated at 17 percent complete in South Dakota and just 1 percent in North Dakota. Those figures were well behind the five-year averages of 32 percent in South Dakota, 27 percent in Minnesota, and 10 percent in North Dakota.

As for oats planting, just 2 percent of the Minnesota crop was seeded by April 20, compared with 36 percent on average for this time of year. Oats planting in the Dakotas ranged widely, with no progress reported in North Dakota, but fully 37 percent of the acreage seeded in South Dakota.

Although heavy fertilizer demand had yet to pick up in the region, lengthy delays in rail shipments continued to spark concerns about shortages. “We anticipate dry shortages, as well

Koch opens new warehouse

Breaking Industry News

Koch Fertilizer Trading Sarl Sucursal Uruguay (KFTU) has announced the opening of its new bonded warehouse in the port of Paranaguá, Brazil. The state-of-the-art facility – built, owned and operated by RochaLog – will be used exclusively by KFTU. With storage capacity up to 57,000 mt, KFTU intends to market and sell a variety of fertilizers from the facility.

“Our bonded warehouse in Paranaguá, Brazil will allow us to sell to our customers in any state, providing greater flexibility for them to manage their purchase planning and inventory control,” said Reinaldo Bello, managing director of Latin America Sales and Trading for KFTU. “Our customers will benefit from immediate availability and faster order fulfilment from our storage inventory, instead of waiting for products that may be delayed on a vessel waiting for a berth.”

At bonded warehouses, products are unloaded and warehoused, but treated as though still in international waters. Once the product is sold, the purchaser is responsible for all importation fees and taxes.

KFTU, based out of Montevideo, Uruguay, serves customers throughout Latin America.

SupraSensor develops sensors to monitor nitrate use

News, News Briefs

Eugene, Ore. — SupraSensor Technologies (SupraSensor) is developing sensors to wirelessly monitor nitrate fertilizer and provide real-time information about fertilizer levels in a growing field. The company says such detailed information can help farmers reduce over-fertilization and save money, while reducing the environmental impact of over-application and runoff. Plants can only absorb a certain amount of nitrogen, and SupraSensor says the sensors can reduce fertilizer use by 30 percent. Chemist and SupraSensor CEO Dr. Calden Carroll told Green Markets the company’s name refers to supramolecular chemistry, which examines the interactions between molecules. He discovered the receptor used in the sensor as he studied with Univ. of Oregon chemistry professors and eventual SupraSensor co-founders Darren Johnson and Mike Haley. Carroll was working to develop a receptor to select for chlorides, and instead found one for nitrates. He said that the SupraSensor methodology measures “a direct molecular interaction rather than conducting an indirect measurement of nitrate such as leaf greenness, measuring the actual molecules of nitrate in the ground.” He said they were about mid-way through the development cycle, and that they were waiting for Phase II to really test the large-scale manufacturability cost of the product. The company hopes to price the sensor at around $200. He said the sensors “leave the lab calibrated for essentially 2 ppm to 120-150 ppm” and could go wider. The sensors are left in the ground and are “pretty small,” with about 9 months of data logging capability, and there is no need for an external logger since the data can be retrieved with a Smartphone app. Carroll said that in addition to the scientific applications, as an avid fisherman he would like to reduce algal blooms, which can occur from nitrate runoff when excess fertilizer is applied. SupraSensor is conducting beta testing in the U.S. and hopes to begin testing in the southern hemisphere to incorporate data from two growing seasons. He added that the company is always looking for input and that he spends “a lot of time talking to people, because we want to develop something they would actually like to use.” If individuals are interested in beta testing or have project development suggestions, the company welcomes ideas and can be contacted on their website, www.suprasensor.com.

The Week in Fertilizer Stocks

Fertilizer Stocks

The Week in Fertilizer Stocks

Producer Symbol Price Week Ago Year Ago
Agrium AGU 93.88 93.10 92.37
CF Industries CF 240.29 242.34 187.09
CVR Partners UAN 20.82 20.57 25.32
Intrepid Potash IPI 15.81 15.11 18.39
Mosaic MOS 48.79 48.72 59.98
PotashCorp POT 35.43 34.90 39.63
Rentech Nitrogen RNF 17.77 18.12 36.19
Terra Nitrogen TNH 149.00 151.55 206.00
Distribution/Retail
Andersons Inc. ANDE 64.50 63.04 53.79
Deere & Co. DE 93.89 93.40 85.12
Scotts SMG 60.96 59.63 44.17

Central Valley Ag starts work on new Nebraska site

News, News Briefs

Randolph, Neb. — Central Valley Ag Cooperative has started work on a new fertilizer and grain complex on 160 acres four miles west of Randolph near the junction of Highway 81-20. Central Valley said it will be the biggest facility in northeast Nebraska and the fourth hub facility of this magnitude for the cooperative when it becomes operational Oct. 1, 2014. Central Valley officials aren’t disclosing the size of the investment here, but have reported that everything will be the most up-to-date, including the automated receiving and load-out equipment. The 11,600-foot double loop oval track is slated to start construction in May and finish in August, according to Vice President for Agronomy Karl Hensley. “The facility will have a Stueve 28,000-ton dry fertilizer building, which will include a Waconia 850 ton per hour receiving capability and 250 ton per hour load-out capacity,” Hensley said. In addition to the facility, a 110×400 building will house the liquid load out, with one bay being a 24-hour operation. Also included in the building are the chemical and seed warehouse and shop. The initial undertaking for the new grain facility involved a week-long continuous slip form concrete pour of 4,000 yards of concrete to complete the 880,000 bushel (8 pack) grain silos. It went from ground level to 130 feet in 4-1/2 days and required crews being on the job 24-7. Central Valley, headquartered in O’Neil, Neb., has $720 million in annual sales, with 6,100 members and serving 10,000 plus customers.

Maryland aims at more manure use

News, News Briefs

Annapolis — Maryland officials have launched a campaign to convince the state’s farmers to use more of the state’s ample supply of manure for fertilizer, having spent some $25,000 so far to advertise the cause. The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), which is at the forefront of the effort, has already launched its “Manure Happens” campaign, which is featured as a part of the MDA website and is included in an advertising effort pointing out the benefits of recycling manure. Agriculture Secretary Earl (Buddy) Hance told Green Markets that the state has a plentiful supply of manure, but “we don’t have a surplus.” Hance explained that it’s mainly a distribution problem, with supplies centralized in the lower eastern shore of Maryland. “We need to get it to other agriculture areas.” He explained that the campaign is mainly geared toward educating the public about normal farming practices and what farmers have to do when they use manure by handling it in ways that protect water quality. "There is a perception when people see a pile of manure that it’s contaminating the water quality. But that’s not the case, because we require this to be properly stored and it does not mean there is a water quality problem there." He said so far MDA has gotten "a very positive response.” He also said there was "a little concern that environmental groups would take issue with our campaign but this has not happened."

Corn N-efficiency patent issued

News, News Briefs

Johnston, Iowa — The Iowa Corn Promotion Board has received a patent for its work in nitrogen use efficiency in corn and related to transgenic plants that have increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased yield using a patented gene. According to the announcement, Patent 8,692,070, titled Improved Nitrogen Utilization and Stress Tolerance, demonstrates a commitment to improving farmer productivity even to the gene level. “The Iowa Corn Promotion Board collaborated with Strathkirn Inc. and Athenix Corp. to develop improved corn plants that are more efficient in using nitrogen fertilizer,” said Larry Klever, an Audubon farmer and chair of the Iowa corn research and business development committee. “This new trait could result in improved economics on the farm, reduced impact on the environment and reduced energy requirements to grow a corn crop.”

CF Woodward complex to be offline 6-8 weeks

News, News Briefs

Deerfield, Ill. — CF Industries Holdings Inc. said late April 21 that its entire Woodward, Okla., nitrogen complex is offline due to a problem in one of the boilers. CF said all of the plants in the complex were safely shut down with no impact on personnel, the surrounding community, or the environment. CF estimates that it will take approximately 6 to 8 weeks to return the plant to normal operations. During the outage, the plant will execute the turnaround maintenance activities that had previously been scheduled for June. The Woodward complex has average annual production capacity for 480,000 st of gross ammonia, 820,000 st of UAN, and 25,000 st of urea liquor. “We are communicating with customers to work through product availability and delivery schedule implications,” a CF spokesperson told Green Markets. “CF Industries’ network of 74 in-market storage and distribution points is one of the unique advantages we have that helps us to serve our customers well, especially in situations like these.” Most sources said they saw no panic in the market due to the outage, indicating that UAN is more of a late season product and it does not appear to be in short supply. There appeared to be more of a crunch a few weeks ago when Agrium Inc. declared force majeure at its Carseland, Alta., plant (GM April 7, p. 1).

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