News Type: Conference Recap

FERT Foundation’s Ford West Leadership Academy Delivers First Class Results

More than 40 emerging leaders from across the fertilizer industry participated in the first annual Ford West Leadership Academy this week in Houston, Texas. The highly interactive industry-specific curriculum for this first cohort featured expert-led sessions on Advocacy, Sales and Business Development, Agronomy and Stewardship, The Essentials of Finance, Crisis Management, Safety and Security, Fertilizer 101 and the History and Future of the Fertilizer Industry. After conclusion of the classroom portion, participants also had an opportunity to tour American Plant Food’s Houston facilities.

“Eighty two percent of all respondents to TFI’s recent Industry Trends Survey cited recruitment and retention of skilled staff as a top tier concern,” said TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch. “The Ford West Leadership Academy tackles that issue head-on by exposing high-potential industry employees to all facets of the fertilizer supply chain and growing their technical and soft skills. By engaging established industry professionals as session facilitators, we’re ensuring the transfer of industry knowledge from current leaders to future leaders and equip participants with essential tools for professional success.”

This prestigious program which is open to individuals who have been nominated by their company’s leadership is named in honor of Ford West, former CEO & President of TFI, whose unwavering dedication and profound commitment to our industry set a shining example of servant leadership.

“Ford’s passion for the fertilizer industry and commitment to opening doors for future generations was legendary,” said Harriet Wegmeyer, Executive Director of the FERT Foundation. “There is no better professional legacy for him than this Academy.”

The FERT Foundation would like to thank members of the Ford West Leadership Academy Steering Committee who expertly directed development of the content and curriculum of the Academy. The steering committee is comprised of a cross-section of companies and individuals with varying skills and experience in the fertilizer supply chain. Inaugural steering committee members are as follows: 

Roger Baker, CHS 
Paul Barr, Winfield United 
Marcie Booth, Koch 
Matt Brown, Landus 
Kim Colvin, Quad Chemical 
Mindy Dale, The Mosaic Company 
John Fowler, Nutrien 
Bert Frost, CF Industries 
Premjit Halarnkar, CH Biotech 
Mary Hartney, FFAA 
Kala Killworth, Simplot 
Josh Long, American Plant Food Corporation 
Tim Mahoney, IRM 
Sean McCarty, Helena Agribusiness 
Lisa Nguyen, TKI 
Jacob Schreve, Helm 
Sarah Terrell, Trammo 
Jacob Winans, Brandt 
Courtney Yuskis, Yara 

We would also like to thank our session facilitators and panelists who shared their expertise and perspectives with our participants:  

Session:                                                                    Facilitator:

Discover Your Strengths                                       Kala Killworth, Simplot

Fertilizer 101                                                          Taylor Pursell, Pursell Agri-tech

Major Events in the Fertilizer Industry                Karl Barnhart, Brandt

Advocacy                                                                Cameron Bishop, Simplot

Finance                                                                   Rowdy Smith, United Services

Crisis Management & Safety                               Todd Stuart, Koch

Agronomy                                                               Trey Cutts, Yara

Management & Coaching                                    Lisa Nguyen, TKI

 

Sales and Business Development Panel 

Moderator Sarah Terrell, Trammo, Panelists: Mike Hamilton, AdvanSix; Scott Lee, Sabic; and Kelly Davey, Nutrien

 

Future of the Fertilizer Industry Panel

 Moderator Bert Frost, CF Industries

Panelists: Toby Hlavinka, American Plant Food; Russell Sides, TKI; and Greg Griffin, Wilbur Ellis.

 

Plant Tour Josh Long, American Plant Food

The Ford West Leadership Academy will bring back this year’s cohort for completion of the program and begin with a new cohort in 2025 at a date and location to be announced shortly.

TFI CEO Rosenbusch Testifies at House Ag Committee Hearing on Agricultural Challenges

Arlington, VA – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch today provided official testimony during the House Committee on Agriculture hearing Uncertainty, Inflation, Regulations: Challenges for American Agriculture.

“Fertilizer is an essential tool for farmers to achieve the yields necessary to feed our growing world,” Rosenbusch said. “We appreciate the opportunity to shed light on current market dynamics and offer solutions to the pressures currently facing the U.S. agricultural sector. As always, the fertilizer industry is committed to ensuring adequate supply to meet farmer demand for the nutrients that are so essential to growing healthy and abundant crops.”

Rosenbusch focused much of his testimony on the fact that fertilizer is a globally traded commodity subject to international pressures and geopolitical events.

“Domestic production of fertilizer accounts for only 7% of global production and 90% of all fertilizer usage happens outside of the United States,” Rosenbusch continued. “Geopolitical events have been the biggest disrupter to fertilizer markets in recent years.”

The geopolitical events Rosenbusch referred to included sanctions on Belarus, which supplies 20% of the world’s potash supply; China, which is a major exporter of fertilizers, but last year imposed restrictions on fertilizer exports; and Russia, which has historically provided 20% of global fertilizer supplies as the world’s largest fertilizer exporter.

Rosenbusch then offered solutions and items Congress could act on to improve domestic production and supply.

“While Congress cannot control Russia and China, there are a number of areas where policy could have a positive impact on the agricultural sector,” Rosenbusch concluded. “Regulatory certainty is perhaps the most significant area Congress could help. Additionally, listing potash and phosphate as critical minerals, energy policy that supports an abundant and affordable supply of natural gas, permitting reform to streamline long delayed fertilizer projects, focusing on USDA conservation programs that empower agronomists and certified crop advisors to help farmers with nutrient management, and a focus on supply chain bottlenecks through improving rail service and promoting driver recruitment and retention.”

Rosenbusch’s oral statement can be found here

Rosenbusch’s full written testimony can be found here.

TFI’s full policy solutions document can be found here.   

 

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The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) is the leading voice of the nation’s fertilizer industry. Tracing its roots back to 1883, TFI’s membership includes fertilizer producers, wholesalers, retailers and trading firms. TFI’s full-time staff, based in Washington, D.C., serves its members through legislative, educational, technical, economic information and public communication programs. Find more information about TFI online at TFI.org and follow us on Twitter at @Fertilizer_Inst. Learn more about TFI’s nutrient stewardship initiatives at nutrientstewardship.org and on Twitter at @4rnutrients.

T-3 Conference to Provide a Hub for Information on the Fertilizer Industry

Fertilizer is critical to the world’s food production system and the global stability of nations. Unprecedented global volatility means timely and accurate information on the market is a necessity, not a luxury. Getting a handle on the factors impacting today’s fertilizer market is about to get easier. The Fertilizer Institute’s (TFI) T-3 Conference, on November 7-9 in Houston, Texas is the must-attend meeting for economists, market analysts and reporters who track the fertilizer industry and the agricultural economy.

Attendees at this conference will return to their office with a greater understanding of the ways that supply and distribution challenges are impacting the industry and food production. Speakers include fertilizer market experts, regulators, including two members of the Surface Transportation Board, a former senior White House Advisor, and representatives of companies that are making innovation a centerpiece of their business plans.

Conference sessions include:

  • Market outlooks for Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash
  • Market outlooks for Agriculture and Natural Gas
  • Global Disruption: Russia
  • Green Ammonia in the fertilizer industry – why and how?
  • Fertilizer and Food Security
  • Inland waterway transportation challenges
  • Rail service

TFI members are entitled to a discounted registration fee. For further information, and to register, please visit the T-3 Conference page on TFI’s website. This is a live event and a limited number of media passes are still available. Please reach out to Kathy Mathers at [email protected] for additional information.

Ag Retail Leader and Sustainability Advocates Headline InfoAg Conference in St. Louis

Arlington, VA – InfoAg, the leading conference and expo in precision agriculture since 1995 for the agriculture retail community, will this year be headlined with a keynote from GreenPoint Ag President and CEO Jeff Blair and a robust panel discussion on sustainability and stewardship with growers Tom Connors and David Myerholtz moderated by AGI Farmobile Vice President of Data Services Steve Cubbage.

“We are extremely excited to have Jeff Blair as our keynote speaker at this year’s InfoAg Conference in St. Louis,” said The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) President & CEO Corey Rosenbusch, whose organization holds the event. “Jeff is well-known and well-respected among his industry peers. Jeff is passionate in elevating the agriculture industry while driving the development of GreenPoint through steadfast customer engagement, performance improvement and operational excellence.”

During his keynote, Jeff will share his vision for the future of agriculture and ag retail, including the value of advancing sustainability, crop science innovations in soil sampling, variable-rate fertilizer application, effectively applied crop protection products, and empowering farmers and growers.

The following day’s general session luncheon, titled Profitable Practices, Sustainable Solutions and sponsored by AGI Farmobile, will key in on real-life examples of how sustainability and profitability can go hand-in-hand and provide attendees insight into the tools and innovations utilized by a set of growers and how they achieved maximum efficiency and profitability while being environmentally sustainable, including 4R Nutrient Stewardship practices.

“The credibility of the industry’s collective work around 4R, sustainability, regenerative ag, and carbon programs hinge on the integrity of the data used to document practices and measure progress so participants can be rewarded for their efforts,” says Bradford Warner, AGI vice president of sustainability for Farmobile. “That is AGI’s focus. We seek to help ag retailers and their growers capture, maintain and control high-quality, standardized data sets to foster these new markets and benefit their own operations.” During the event, AGI will roll-out a new100k-acre pilot collaboration with TFI and ag retailers to advance the use of the 4R calculator.

“The world’s population is set to reach 8 billion people by this November and 10 billion people by 2050,” Rosenbusch elaborated. “So how is the agriculture industry positioning itself to feed this future? How can we increase land use efficiency while protecting the farmer’s bottom line? These are the questions we are helping to answer through InfoAg and dynamic speakers like Jeff, Tom, David and Steve.”

The InfoAg Conference and Expo addresses the challenges of the ag retail agronomist through the lens of precision ag, environmental stewardship, sustainability, and product innovation. The conference features opportunities for crop consultants, agronomists, and other agricultural retail employees to learn more about innovative practices and new products and technologies that can be put into action with their grower customers. The conference also offers unique opportunities to share information and stories among industry peers.

“The information obtained through education sessions and on-site networking is extremely valuable to advancing shared goals of sustainability,” concluded Rosenbusch. “The final piece to this is the tradeshow aspect of the conference, where you can hear firsthand about the products, practices, and services being talked about among farmers across the country.”

InfoAg is being held in St. Louis, MO on July 26 and 27. Information about the conference and registration can be found by clicking here.

 

About GreenPoint Ag:

Headquartered in Decatur, Alabama, GreenPoint is one of the leading retail agronomy providers in the southern United States with a team of more than 1,000 employees across 10 states. To learn more, click here.

 

About AGI (Ag Growth International Inc.):

AGI is a provider of the physical equipment and digital technology solutions required to support global food infrastructure including grain, fertilizer, seed, feed, and food processing systems. AGI’s digital division includes leading data-driven brands that build value from field to bin, including Farmobile, BinManager, SureTrack, and CMC. AGI’s Farmobile data technology is a leader in auto-collecting and standardizing complex agronomic and machine data sets from a mixed fleet of equipment so it can be easily viewed, shared and streamed into other software systems. A To learn more, click here.

 

 

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The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) is the leading voice of the nation’s fertilizer industry. Tracing its roots back to 1883, TFI’s membership includes fertilizer producers, wholesalers, retailers and trading firms. TFI’s full-time staff, based in Washington, D.C., serves its members through legislative, educational, technical, economic information and public communication programs. Find more information about TFI online at TFI.org and follow us on Twitter at @Fertilizer_Inst. Learn more about TFI’s nutrient stewardship initiatives at nutrientstewardship.org and on Twitter at @4rnutrients.

Global Fertilizer Day is October 13

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) today announced that Tuesday, October 13 is Global Fertilizer Day, an annual event celebrated around the world by the fertilizer industry in an effort to educate people about the importance of the fertilizer industry, its contributions to feeding both the global population and the global economy, and encouraging students to explore the many fulfilling career paths available to them within the industry.

“We are extremely proud of the fertilizer industry’s global role and believe we are lucky to be able to not only feed the world by putting food on peoples’ tables, but to feed economies by providing important and fulfilling careers and working tirelessly to innovate to be good environmental stewards,” said TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch. “We feed the world, we do it sustainably, and we are proud of the women and men working in our industry to make it all happen. It is an honor to celebrate them, and that’s what Global Fertilizer Day is all about.”

In years past, facilities have opened their doors to local school students, elected officials and the general public for facility tours and presentations. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 celebrations have gone mostly virtual.

“TFI and the Nutrients for Life Foundation (NFLF) are jointly hosting a virtual learning event on October 13 focused on workforce development by highlighting available career pathways in the fertilizer industry,” continued Rosenbusch. The learning event consists of interviews with six individuals working in the fertilizer industry and includes a live Q&A with students after each session. “The individuals we’ve chosen to highlight represent a broad swath of available careers within the industry and include product engineers, equipment operators, a chef and a top government affairs professional.”

With group gatherings and in-person events largely curtailed this year, TFI is also helping the industry spread the word through social media channels. “TFI has put together some interesting facts about the industry for companies to share through their channels, and also a few short and fun videos,” Rosenbusch concluded. “We’re excited to share with the world the wonderful and amazing contributions the fertilizer industry makes to feed economies and populations, and also to excite potential employees of the future about the possibilities within our industry.”

More information about the TFI/NFLF virtual learning event can be found here.

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The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) is the leading voice of the nation’s fertilizer industry. Tracing its roots back to 1883, TFI’s membership includes fertilizer producers, wholesalers, retailers and trading firms. TFI’s full-time staff, based in Washington, D.C., serves its members through legislative, educational, technical, economic information and public communication programs. Find more information about TFI online at TFI.org and follow us on Twitter at @Fertilizer_Inst. Learn more about TFI’s nutrient stewardship initiatives at nutrientstewardship.org and on Twitter at @4rnutrients.