(Dave Bedard photo)

PotashCorp, Agrium make engagement official

Reading Time: 3 minutes The boards of two of the heaviest hitters in Canada’s fertilizer sector have formally agreed to a $47 billion “merger of equals” deal under a new, yet-to-be-named parent company. PotashCorp, the world’s biggest fertilizer company by capacity, and rival Agrium, which is also the world’s biggest crop input retail chain, announced an agreement Monday in […] Read more

(FSPartners.ca)

Growmark, FS plan SW Ontario fertilizer store

Reading Time: < 1 minute Crop supply retail chain FS Partners and its owner, ag co-operative Growmark, plan to put up an expanded fertilizer centre in southwestern Ontario to supply both farmers and other retailers. Growmark announced its plans Wednesday for a new 15,000-tonne capacity facility to be built at Ayr, Ont., about 20 km south of Kitchener. The Illinois-based […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Agrium)

Fertilizer merger faces easier approval at home than in U.S.

Reading Time: 2 minutes Toronto/Washington | Reuters — Canada’s PotashCorp and Agrium are more likely to win approval for a potential merger in Canada than in the U.S., but U.S. rejection of the deal would scuttle it globally, competition lawyers said. Saskatoon-based PotashCorp and Calgary’s Agrium confirmed Tuesday they were in preliminary merger talks, toward a deal that would […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

PotashCorp, Agrium merger would send farmers to regulators

Reading Time: 3 minutes Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — North American farmers will pressure regulators to protect their negotiating leverage with fertilizer suppliers if PotashCorp and Agrium agree to merge, major farm groups said on Wednesday. The potential deal revealed on Tuesday would combine the world’s largest fertilizer producer by capacity, with the continent’s biggest network of farm retail dealers, […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Agrium, PotashCorp in merger talks

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian fertilizer giants Agrium and PotashCorp confirmed Tuesday they’re in “preliminary discussions” toward a possible merger-of-equals. Calgary-based Agrium and Saskatoon-based PotashCorp emphasized in separate statements Tuesday that no decision has yet been made on whether to go ahead with such a merger and no agreement has yet been reached. “There can be no assurance that […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Fertilizer price slump chops profits at Agrium, CF

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Two of North America’s biggest fertilizer companies reported large drops in quarterly profit on Wednesday, and warned of tough times ahead as abundant supplies weighed on prices. At U.S. nitrogen producer CF Industries, second-quarter profit fell 87 per cent — more than expected — and it warned prices would likely remain weak into […] Read more


Mosaic’s potash facility at Esterhazy, Sask. (Greg Berg photo)

Mosaic CEO sees opportunities to buy miners’ fertilizer assets

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Miners that produce a diverse commodity mix may be willing to part with fertilizer assets, creating buying opportunities for producers of potash and phosphate, Mosaic Co. CEO Joc O’Rourke said Tuesday. Profits of fertilizer producers have tumbled because of falling prices, weak currencies in importing countries such as Brazil and excessive supplies. Mosaic, […] Read more

Federated Co-operatives builds new fertilizer terminals

Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatoon, Sask. – Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) has announced it will spend $75 million to build two new state-of-the-art, high-throughput fertilizer terminals in Western Canada. “These are not only investments in agriculture, they are investments in western Canadian communities,” said Scott Banda, CEO of FCL. “The fact that we are building these facilities in a challenging […] Read more


Turkey bans ammonium nitrate sales after bomb attacks

Reading Time: 2 minutes Istanbul | Reuters — Turkey has banned the sale of fertilizers containing ammonium nitrate, which can be used in explosives, after at least half a dozen car bomb attacks this year, the agriculture minister said on Thursday. The move comes after 11 people including six police officers were killed on Tuesday in a car bomb […] Read more

Ammonia Tanks

Fertilizer prices and the stock market

In the past, the stock price of agricultural manufacturing and supply companies has given a clue to the future

Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you ever waited for something to go on sale, then it never does and you’re stuck paying full price, or maybe even more? A question I often get from farmers is how they can manage their fertilizer price fluctuations. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, fertilizer is the fourth-largest operating expense for Canadian farms […] Read more