A newly formed startup company has ambitious plans to build a fertilizer terminal on the Mississippi River in Osceola, Ark., according to Osceola city officials and one of the company’s co-owners.
Agricultural Solutions LLC, headquartered in Chicago, reported that it hopes to break ground in late summer on a dry fertilizer blending and distribution facility on 44 acres of barge-accessible land that it owns in Osceola.
Donald V. Opal, one of the company’s owners, told Green Markets that the plans are in place, the financing is set, and the appropriate approvals have been secured for what he described as a “first-class operation” with “state-of-the-art standards” for the distribution and sale of fertilizer to regional cooperatives and farmers in northeastern Arkansas.
“We’re just waiting to pull the trigger,” he said. “We think there’s a need to have a fertilizer facility right in that area, and to let the farmers and co-ops benefit from us right there.”
That sentiment was echoed by Osceola Mayor Dickie Kennemore, who first announced the terminal plans on May 20 with Opal and his Agricultural Solutions co-owner, Mike Brito-Amador. Kennemore, who claimed credit for negotiating the deal with company representatives, said the facility will barge in fertilizer and sell it to local farmers and wholesalers. He said the business expansion will be good for the local economy and also reduce fertilizer costs for area farmers.
Opal said the company, which owns a total of 88 acres, will be incorporated in Arkansas. The first phase of the Osceola terminal will be constructed on 20 acres, and will require “a considerable amount of fill” to raise the property above the river’s 100-year flood plain. Opal said approvals have been obtained from the levee board and the city, and the company is negotiating with area contractors to do the excavation and construction.
Eric Golde, executive director of the Osceola-South Mississippi County Chamber of Commerce, told Green Markets that Agricultural Solutions plans to erect its blending facility on the land side of the levee south of Arkansas Highway 198. “They plan to begin construction this summer with initial employment of 25 full-time, permanent workers,” Golde reported. “Seasonally, they will have 50 workers.”
Those employment figures were confirmed by Opal, who noted that the facility will be staffed entirely with local people. He said the company has already tabbed a local resident “with lots of experience” to be general manager.
Opal said the construction plans call for the building of a barge dock and conveyor system at the site, noting that the location presents advantages because no dredging or silt removal will be required. “They plan to have not only highway access, but also a rail spur to the BNSF main line,” Golde added. “Future plans include export shipments to South America.”
Opal had no estimate on the amount of fertilizer tonnage the facility will handle, but noted that the inventory will be limited to dry fertilizers only, with no plans to handle liquid fertilizers “at this point.” He said he plans to meet with both Agrium Inc. and CF Industries in the near term to discuss supplying the facility, adding that Agrium is “excited” about the location because it “has no presence in that area.” He noted as well that Agricultural Solutions has ambitious plans for growth, reporting that this is the first of three terminals planned by the company. He said the other two locations have yet to be established.
Industry sources noted that Osceola is located halfway between Memphis, Tenn., and Caruthersville, Mo. – roughly 30 miles from each. One source referred to it as an “aggressive market,” with a number of players already well-established and operating out of terminal locations in nearby Memphis and Caruthersville. Agrium’s own website notes the presence of ten or more Crop Production Services (CPS) retail outlets clustered throughout southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas.
Neither Opal nor Brito-Amador has experience in the fertilizer industry. Opal told Green Markets that he has been the vice president of several companies, the last of which was a sandpaper company, before he took early retirement two years ago. Opal said his partner in the venture owned a general contracting company at one time, and has a background in exporting to Central and South America. Opal said Brito-Amador’s father, now 80, was once vice president of international operations for McDonalds, and had a similar role at one time with Sears.
The company has no website at this time, and its name is similar to several others in the field. Agriculture Solutions LLC of Strong, Maine, is engaged in organic gardening and sustainable farming products and has its own brand of folic fertilizers and soil amendments. Agriculture Solutions of Owensboro, Ky., offers heating solutions for business and agriculture. There is also a fertilizer and farm supply distributor based in Chickasha, Okla., that operates under the name Ag Solutions LLC.
Golde said Agricultural Solutions is not the first fertilizer company to establish a presence in Osceola. Actagro, headquartered in California, operates a liquid nutrient production facility on 39 acres in the city, with a rail spur to the BNSF main line. Actagro also ships its products via 18-wheelers from the Osceola facility. Golde said the company has plans to grow its annual production at the Osceola site to 20 million gallons.