Producers Interested In N Fertilizer Plant

Oct 03, 2012

Interest from farmers in building a producer-owned nitrogen fertilizer plant is growing rapidly, according to Farmers of North America.

FNA has created a standalone business, called FNA Fertilizer Limited Partnership, for producers interested in investing in the plant.

"We're facilitating an opportunity for farmers to invest in fertilizer manufacturing," explains spokesperson Bob Friesen. "This is about getting farmers into the value chain, and sharing in some of the profits that we know are to be had."

Producers are currently invited to invest seed capital in the project.

"Our target is to sell a thousand seed capital units at $1,000 a piece, so that comes to about a million dollars," says Friesen. The seed capital will be used to complete the required legal, engineering and environmental work.

BMO Capital Markets has been retained to serve as the strategic advisor for development of the plant. Work is underway on developing an equity investment package for farmers.

Friesen notes they will also have to choose a plant operator.

"FNA FLP is not an expert operator, and that will be an important piece of the puzzle. With a great deal of experience in similar projects, BMO will help us find the right partner on the right terms," Friesen said.

They would like to begin raising equity capital this fall. The plant could be operational by 2016 or 2017.

Source: PortageOnline

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.