All Posts from January 29, 2021

AdvanSix Acquires CIS Assets, Boosts Granular Production, Touts AS Soy Benefits

Ammonium Sulfate, Featured, News

AdvanSix, Parsippany, N.J., reported three initiatives with respect to ammonium sulfate, including the purchase of certain assets of Commonwealth Industrial Services Inc. (CIS), Hopewell, Va., an ammonium sulfate packaging, warehousing, and logistics services business, as well as selected industrial services businesses, including truck scales.

In addition, the company is targeting the production of 65 percent of its AS as granular, up 5 percent. It is also working to educate growers and retailers on how sulfur can boost soybean production.

“AdvanSix has been both a supplier to and customer of CIS for many years, and we understand the business well,” said Mike Hamilton, AdvanSix Vice President, Plant Nutrients. “This acquisition extends our industry-leading value chain for ammonium sulfate and creates further opportunities for us to quickly diversify and optimize our offerings to serve existing and new customers.”

AdvanSix said the CIS acquisition enables it to expand its offerings to directly supply packaged ammonium sulfate to customers, primarily in North and South America. It said it diversifies and optimizes offerings into stable agricultural and industrial uses to include spray-grade adjuvant to support crop protection, as well as other specialty fertilizers and products for industrial use. It also includes the opportunity to upgrade standard grade material to other applications and end uses that are generally of higher value. The company also expects the addition of packaging and warehousing capabilities to bolster logistics and operational efficiency in the Richmond, Va.-area plants.

AdvanSix said the CIS carve-out includes associated employees who will be integrated into the AdvanSix plant nutrients business.

As a result of recent operational excellence initiatives and enhancements in crystallizer technology and operations, AdvanSix said it is now producing more high-quality granular grade ammonium sulfate to meet the growing demand.

“AdvanSix is a leader in plant nutrients, producing top-quality ammonium sulfate at our Hopewell facility – which is the largest single-site producer in the world – for nearly 70 years,” said Erin Kane, AdvanSix President and CEO. “We continue to see increased demand for sulfur nutrition, and ammonium sulfate is proven to deliver pound-for-pound the most readily available sulfur and nitrogen to a wide variety of crops, including wheat, cotton, corn and soybeans.

“We remain committed to our growth in this area and to advancing grower education and research that validates the return on investment and effectiveness of ammonium sulfate to support the success of our customers,” Kane continued.

The company said modern soybean varieties require better management of essential nutrients, such as nitrogen and sulfur, throughout the planting season to maximize and enhance their yield potential.

AdvanSix said lab and field trials conducted by university researchers show the benefits of ammonium sulfate, which adds sulfur and supplemental nitrogen for soybeans and could mean a yield increase of as much as 10 or more bushels per acre. The company noted that soybean prices are currently at a seven-year high and season-ending stocks are projected to be down over 70 percent from the previous year.

Nutrien Expanding Use of Monitoring Device for COVID-19 Protection

News, News Briefs, Saskatchewan

Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, said on Jan. 26 it is expanding the use of monitoring and contact tracing technology Proximity Trace™ from Triax Technologies, Norwalk, Conn., which it said has emerged as an important tool to help track and combat the spread of COVID-19. More than 8,000 employees are using the technology to date, with an additional 6,500 expected to be part of the expansion in the coming months, representing 65 percent of Nutrien’s global employee base.

To help mitigate the spread of the virus, Nutrien partnered with Triax to help its workers maintain a minimum of six feet of physical distancing and automatically capture data about their interactions with coworkers, as part of its COVID-19 protocols.

Originally deployed last July at Nutrien’s nitrogen and phosphate sites in the U.S., Proximity Trace is now being rolled out at Nutrien’s potash mines in Saskatchewan and at corporate offices in Alberta, Colorado, Illinois, and Saskatoon.

“In the early days of the pandemic, global health authorities called upon the private sector to step up and do our part to help flatten the curve and slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Nutrien EVP & Chief Information Officer Brent Poohkay. “Nutrien developed a playbook that articulates a strategy and a plan for handling the virus, and the Triax system has been valuable in keeping our essential workers safe to help ensure a health crisis doesn’t become a food crisis. Now we are expanding the playbook as we redefine the future of work with safety and integrity at the forefront.”

Proximity Trace tags are attached to workers’ clothing or hard hats and produce an audio and visual alert to those who come within six feet of one another. These wearable sensors also automatically log data for leaders to quickly perform contact tracing if a positive case arises, thereby preventing further spread at the site and reassuring those who are not at risk. Since it pinpoints the individuals who may have been exposed, the solution also helps Nutrien minimize operational shutdowns and reduces the risk of associated costs and product delivery delays.

“At the workplace, if you maintain proper physical distancing, then your risk of spreading the virus is very low,” said Dr. Tarek Sardana, one of the medical experts who has been advising Nutrien’s executive leadership team regarding COVID-19 responses and protocols. “I encourage people to think of themselves as if they’re living within six-foot bubbles, and if no one penetrates the bubbles, it’s harder for the virus to spread.”

Since the implementation of the Triax technology, Nutrien said it has been able to safely support as many as 1,700 employees and contractors at a time at its Nitrogen and Phosphate sites. The physical distancing alerts have reduced the number of close contacts, positive cases and quarantines. Additionally, it said the automated data system has improved the efficiency and accuracy of contact tracing.

Nutrien said as it explores how to safely return more employees who have been working remotely to the workplace, the Triax technology will support additional prevention and protection across Nutrien’s North American footprint.

CHS Inc. – Management Brief

Management Briefs

CHS Inc., St. Paul, on Jan. 25 announced that it has named Brandon Smith as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. He will be a member of the CHS strategic leadership team and will report to CHS President and CEO Jay Debertin.

Smith will join CHS in late March 2021 and succeeds James Zappa, who has been EVP and General Counsel since 2015. Zappa will be assuming another leadership role in the company.

CHS said Smith brings more than 15 years of experience, most recently as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Tenneco Inc., a multinational industrial company based in Lake Forest, Ill. Previously, he was an attorney with Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago, Ill.

Smith earned a juris doctor degree from Cornell Law School, Ithaca, N.Y., and a bachelor’s degree from Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio.

Biden Administration Highlights Climate Goals; Seeks Input on Climate-Friendly Ag Practices

Featured, News, Specialty, U.S.

The Biden Administration on Jan. 27 released a detailed fact sheet highlighting numerous steps it plans to take as part of an executive action to tackle climate change. Among these are the pausing of new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and offshore waters; the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies; significantly increasing land conservation acres in the U.S.; and the adoption of “climate-smart agricultural practices” that produce verifiable carbon reductions.

“These Executive Orders follow through on President Biden’s promise to take aggressive action to tackle climate change and build on the executive actions that the President took on his first day in office, including rejoining the Paris Agreement and immediate review of harmful rollbacks of standards that protect our air, water, and communities,” the White House said.

The administration said its “ambitious goals” are intended to achieve a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and a “net-zero” emissions economy in the U.S. by 2050, while identifying climate considerations as “an essential element of U.S. foreign policy and national security.”

The order directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect input from farmers, ranchers, and other stakeholders on how to use federal programs to encourage adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices that the administration promises will create new sources of income and jobs for rural Americans.

The order also commits to the “goal of conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and oceans by 2030, and launches a process for stakeholder engagement from agricultural and forest landowners, fishermen, Tribes, States, Territories, local officials, and others to identify strategies that will result in broad participation,” the White House said.

The order further directs the Secretary of the Interior to “pause on entering into new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters to the extent possible,” and directs federal agencies to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies while identifying opportunities to “spur innovation, commercialization, and deployment of clean energy technologies and infrastructure.”

The order also formally establishes a Civilian Climate Corps Initiative; an Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities; a National Climate Task Force with representation across 21 federal agencies and departments; and a White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy, which will be led by the first-ever National Climate Advisor and Deputy National Climate Advisor.

Biden also promised to sign an Executive Order re-establishing the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, as well as a Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking, which the administration said will “protect scientists from political interference” so they can “make evidence-based decisions guided by the best available science and data.”

Obituary

Obituary

Charles Richard “Chuck” Locker, 87, passed away on Jan. 16 at his home in Owasso, Okla. He was a long-time fertilizer industry veteran, having completed his career as a consultant for Ben-Trei Ltd., Tulsa. He began his career as a laboratory chemist before working his way up to Purchasing Agent, then Product Manager with Agrico. He attended college at John Carroll University, Kent State University, and Memphis State University, and served in the U.S. Army.

Locker was preceded in death by his wife, Phyllis, and is survived by five children, three grandchildren, two sisters, and a brother. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Kidney Fund at https://www.kidneyfund.org.

Gensource Extends Offer Date

News, News Briefs, Potash, Saskatchewan

Gensource Potash Corp., Saskatoon, said on Jan. 25 it has extended its non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of up to $10 million (GM Jan. 15, p. 36), which was to close on or about Jan. 25, to on or about the second week of February. The company said the move was made to accommodate investors.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the offering to advance engineering and construction activities at the company’s Tugaske Project, and for general corporate and working capital purposes.

The Andersons Adds Intrepid’s Organic MOP at Waterloo Facility

News, News Briefs, Potash Muriate, Specialty

The Andersons Inc., Maumee, Ohio, said on Jan. 25 it has expanded its organic storage in Waterloo, Ind., to meet the growing demand for bulk organic nutrients in the Eastern Cornbelt and Midwest. Through a partnership with Intrepid Potash Inc., Denver, the company is now selling OMRI-listed granular muriate of potash (MOP 0-0-60) from its Waterloo facility.

“Intrepid is excited to partner with The Andersons in providing sustainable, high-quality organic nutrient products for organic growers in the Eastern Cornbelt,” said Alex Uhls, Intrepid Organic Ag Manager.

“We are excited about this partnership to further our support for organic agriculture,” said Sarah Pirolli, Vice President and General Manager of The Andersons Plant Nutrient segment. “Our Waterloo facility is the only organic MOP bulk warehouse in the Midwest. This asset allows us to grow and provide more options for producers who are looking to source their organic plant nutrient needs.”

Other organic-approved products currently available at Waterloo include The Andersons NutraLime ® OP, NutraSoft ® OP, Humic DG™, Black Gypsum DG ®, and SmartPhos ® DG Natural, as well as Chilean Nitrate, organic sulfur, and organic boron.

The Andersons said it is working to add more organic products and services in 2021 to better serve organic producers.

Brazil Rushes to Appease Truckers; Nationwide Strike Called for Feb. 1

Brazil, Featured, News

Brazil’s government is mulling reducing taxes on diesel to appease truckers and prevent a strike that could derail transportation of a record soybean harvest, according to a Bloomberg report.

Truckers in Latin America’s largest economy have been planning a strike for Feb. 1, and calls have gained steam over the past few days as state-run oil company Petrobras raised diesel prices. On Wednesday, Jan. 27, the National Confederation of Transport and Logistics Workers urged its 800,000 members to join the stoppage. In Sao Paulo, South America’s largest city, about 50 trucks planned to gather at a key bridge to call attention to the walkout.

“We recognize the value of truckers for our economy and we appeal to them to not go on strike as everybody will lose,” President Jair Bolsonaro told journalists in Brasilia on Wednesday.

Bolsonaro, who spoke about the potential tax cuts as he left the Economy Ministry for an off-schedule meeting, added that such a measure would not be easy to approve. The government is trying to lower spending after a multi-billion dollar stimulus package to boost the economy amid the pandemic.

While the size of the stoppage is unclear – truckers do not have a single representative and threaten to strike almost every year – Brazil is largely dependent on road transportation. In 2018, key highways connecting states were blocked, paralyzing the country in a matter of days, disrupting food, fuel, and other cargo transportation in major cities.

The timing could also be disastrous for the agriculture superpower, as soybeans are on the verge of being loaded through the nation’s ports. Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of soybeans, is starting to collect an all-time-high production in the coming weeks after record plantings by farmers encouraged by insatiable Chinese demand. A nationwide strike would prevent the oilseed from being shipped at ports at a time that similar movements have emerged in Argentina, also a key-exporter of soy products.

Soybean futures have jumped 18 percent since early December in Chicago on concerns that global supplies will be tight amid robust Chinese demand.

Sprea Misr Announces Sulfuric Acid Project

Egypt, News, News Briefs, Sulfuric Acid

Egyptian plastics and chemicals manufacturer Sprea Misr has announced plans to build a new 182,500 mt/y sulfuric acid plant in Ramadan City, Egypt, tentatively set to commission in first-quarter 2022.

Misr on Jan. 20 awarded a contract to Nuberg EPC to design and build the 500 mt/d plant. The facility is expected to utilize the Double Contact Double Absorption (DCDA) production process, capable of outputting high-grade sulacid products suitable for use in complex fertilizers. The facility will include an associated five megawatt steam-based electricity generation plant to power the facility.

The Misr facility will be Nuberg’s fourth project in Egypt, including one prior sulfuric acid plant in Alexandria. Nuberg has delivered at least five sulfuric acid projects worldwide.

Co-Alliance, Harvest Land to Merge on Feb. 1

Eastern Cornbelt, Featured, News

Two Indiana cooperatives – Co-Alliance LLP in Avon and Harvest Land Cooperative in Richmond – announced on Jan. 22 that the boards and membership of both co-ops have voted overwhelmingly to merge the two companies. Harvest Land and Co-Alliance reported last August that they were pursuing a merger to bring efficiencies to the agronomy, energy, grain, swine, and animal nutrition services of each company (GM Aug. 21, 2020).

The merger will take effect on Feb. 1, 2021, with the new organization headquartered in Avon and operating under the Co-Alliance Cooperative Inc. name. Kevin Still, current President and CEO of Co-Alliance, will take over as President and CEO of the merged cooperative, while Harvest Land CEO Scott Logue will become the Executive Vice President.

“Co-Alliance Cooperative brings together two extremely strong cooperatives with a successful history of servicing member-owners at the highest level,” Still said. “I anticipate this strong combination will provide synergies and resources that will enhance our customers’ experience and prepare us to meet the needs of our future stakeholders.”

The merged company will serve customers in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois from some 90 locations, and will operate four core divisions in Agronomy, Energy, Grain, and Swine and Animal Nutrition. The combined organization will have more than 1,000 employees and $1.3 billion in annual sales. Co-Alliance and Harvest Land are already partners in United Agronomy Services LLP, a full-service agronomy retailer in Summitville, Ind.

“Merging Co-Alliance and Harvest Land enriches our ability to embrace the cooperative spirit by focusing on our member’s needs and investing in our local communities,” said Logue. “This historic merger creates a cooperative that can proactively navigate the ever-changing industries we service and provide an environment in which our customers and employees thrive.”

Harvest Land currently offers agronomy, energy, grain, and feed products and services from some 40 locations in Indiana and Ohio. Co-Alliance operates agronomy, propane, fuels, grain, seed, hog production, and feed businesses from more than 50 locations in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.

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