News Type: Press Releases

TFI Applauds STB Hearing on Freight Rail Service

Arlington, VA – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch thanked the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for holding this week’s hearing on “Urgent Issues in Freight Rail Service.”

“Railroads are critical to the on-time delivery of fertilizer to farmers exactly where and when they need it,” Rosenbusch said. “We appreciate the opportunity to provide testimony on how rail service issues are negatively impacting the cost and timely delivery of fertilizer inputs to farmers.”

In submitted testimony, TFI cited such issues as the implementation of precision scheduled railroading (PSR), a lack of competition, and a lack of structural and market-based incentives to be customer-oriented as leading to reduced rail service, high shipping rates, and poor cycle times.

The STB also heard testimony from Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, both of whom mentioned the importance and challenges facing fertilizer shippers, as well as other agriculture groups such as the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Grain and Feed Association.

“The ag economy relies heavily on dependable rail service to get inputs to farmers,” concluded Rosenbusch. “The inclusion of so many other groups experiencing the same challenges as the fertilizer industry shows that these issues are felt broadly, are having negative impacts, and must be addressed through modern reforms.”

 

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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.

TFI Disappointed in NEPA Regression, Says Permitting Must be Addressed

ARLINGTON, VA – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) this week reacted to the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) final rulemaking reversing 2020 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) updates, saying the new rule will make the already costly and time-consuming process of obtaining required permitting even more burdensome.

“We have a member company who has already spent over a decade and more than $20 million dollars for a mining project that still has not been approved,” said TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch. “The current fertilizer market has policymakers asking for solutions that will help farmers have an affordable and abundant supply of fertilizer; yet here is a regulation that will do just the opposite. What the administration has done here not only doesn’t help the current market environment, it hurts it.”

A more efficient permitting process is needed to ensure that mining projects critical to the needs of US industry and consumers have a clear path forward towards compliance and approval. Positive steps were made with changes to NEPA in 2020, but those updates have been removed and the permitting process has regressed to the badly ineffective 1978 review process.

“This is not progress, this is regression. It’s more red tape, duplicative regulations, and delays that will cost consumers in the end. We are moving in the wrong direction,” Rosenbusch continued. “Our country has resources, and we should access them responsibly. With this move by CEQ, accessibility and the feasibility of utilizing these minerals is thrown into question and the ones who will pay the price for this shortsighted move are individuals and families already struggling with the rising costs of everyday goods.”

There is bipartisan support in Congress for permitting reform, as evidenced in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021. Current legislation is also aimed squarely at building on that support for broader reform, namely the BUILDER Act.

“TFI strongly supports the BUILDER Act and any other legislative vehicle that can make environmental reviews more efficient, reduce duplicative regulatory burdens, provide clear paths to approvals, and make our country more self-reliant and prosperous,” Rosenbusch concluded. “We also urge the administration to rethink their changes to NEPA and instead pay attention to the broad coalition of stakeholders that have experienced the ineffective process of the previous standard being reinstated by the administration.”  

 

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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.

TFI Engages with Congressional Ag Committee Members

ARLINGTON, VA – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch today issued the following statement after participating in a roundtable discussion regarding fertilizer markets with House Republican Members and staff of the Committee on Agriculture.

“Fertilizer is an essential tool for farmers to achieve desired yields and we appreciate the opportunity to offer solutions to the current market pressures with members of the Agriculture Committee. During this busy spring planting season – and throughout the year – 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.

The effects of COVID-19, extreme weather disruptions, rising energy prices, facility maintenance, geopolitical events, and export bans have dramatically affected our marketplace.  As a globally traded commodity, supply and demand economics drive the fertilizer markets, and ninety percent of the world’s fertilizer is consumed outside the United States. Fertilizer feeds the food that feeds the world, so the issues our industry faces significantly impact global food security. Tackling the challenges to the world’s food supply truly requires collaboration, innovation and partnerships, and we welcome this and future opportunities to discuss these solutions.”

 

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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.

TFI Celebrates Ag Day on National Mall

ARLINGTON, VA – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) is taking part in the National Ag Day Celebration of Modern Agriculture. The celebration, March 21 and 22, is being held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and showcases innovations that are enabling modern agriculture to sustainably provide for a growing world. Joining TFI at the event are over 30 agricultural trade associations, equipment manufacturers and grower groups.  

“The fertilizer industry is proud of our achievements in worker safety, energy use and environmental stewardship and we welcome the opportunity to educate the community about the critical role we play in sustainably feeding the world,” said TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch.” Each step of the fertilizer supply chain is focused on doing more with fewer resources and with environmental and community impacts in mind.”

Attendees of the public event will learn about the advances that drive American agriculture’s ability to produce more while reducing its climate impact, water runoff and improving farm safety. Earlier this month, TFI released its annual sustainability report, highlighting industry improvement in the key priority areas of workforce safety, energy and the environment, fertilizer use and industry innovation. That report 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.

TFI Statement on USDA Fertilizer Innovation Initiative

Two out of every five people alive today owe their lives to the use of fertilizer and TFI welcomes initiatives to strengthen domestic fertilizer production including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) $250 million grant program to support the development and production of innovative fertilizers.  

Innovation has been the hallmark of the fertilizer industry. Enhanced efficiency fertilizers and other new technologies play a big role in our ability to feed a growing population efficiently and sustainably. While new products are the focus of today’s announcement, it’s important to recognize the innovative work undertaken by companies in the U.S. market, who have made a strong comeback from the days of high natural gas prices to leverage the shale gas revolution.

We have a more robust U.S. fertilizer industry than we have seen in two decades. By enacting policies that encourage safe, abundant, and affordable supplies of natural gas, which is the chief feedstock for nitrogen production, ensuring that permitting of production plants is streamlined and adding phosphate and potash to the Department of the Interior’s Critical Minerals list, policymakers can also support this vital industry.

The fertilizer industry’s investment in innovation has been longstanding. Most recently, TFI partnered with USDA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other key stakeholders on the Next Gen Fertilizer Challenges. Collectively, the challenges aim to accelerate the development of innovative fertilizer product technologies and to increase the use of existing enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFS) that maintain or increase crop yields and reduce environmental impacts to air, land, and water.

Additionally, we look forward to providing USDA with data for its RFI.  Fertilizer is resource dependent, capital intensive, and requires high-skilled labor and expertise to safely produce, handle, transport, and store. Ninety percent of all fertilizer in the world is used outside the United States, which means that globally supply and demand dynamics are critical factors in the price and availability of fertilizers. Still, when compared to peer sectors around the world, the U.S. fertilizer industry is among the most competitive and environmentally advanced. 

 

TFI and NGFA Urge Biden Administration Work with Canada to Ease Supply Chain Strains

ARLINGTON, VA – In a March 7 letter to President Joe Biden, The Fertilizer Institute, the National Grain and Feed Association, and 19 other members of the Agricultural Transportation Working Group requested the administration work with the Canadian government to avert a major railway labor strike and to rescind the cross-border vaccine mandate for workers moving essential commerce.

“(I)f the U.S. and Canadian governments allow the following supply chain disruptions to persist into the spring fertilizer season, the impacts to our industry and North American farmers could be devastating,” the working group noted.

The letter references a potential upcoming labor disruption at Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference recently voted in favor of strike action, which could happen as early as March 16. The impact would be significant for grain movements on both sides of the border for livestock feeding and processing operations served by the CP. The strike also would halt the CP route that carries U.S grain to the Pacific Northwest export market. Grain is CP’s largest line of business and approximately 10-15 percent of CP’s business is fertilizer, the working group noted.

“A CP railway strike would severely curtail fertilizer supply and shipments into the United States and would happen at the worst possible time as farmers are planting their 2022 crops,” the letter states. “Given the fragility of current supply chains, urgent attention and engagement with all parties is needed to avert a potential strike.”

The letter also urged the U.S. and Canadian governments to modify or rescind their mandates blocking unvaccinated foreign nationals, including truck drivers, from crossing the border. Canada’s vaccine mandate requires U.S. truckers to show proof of vaccination before entering the country and the U.S. mandate requires foreign cross-border truckers to be vaccinated. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said its border policy will remain in effect through April 21.

“The border policy has raised prices because it has constrained trucking capacity and made truck movements more expensive and less timely,” the letter states.

Over one million short tons of fertilizer cross the U.S.-Canada border by truck each year. March, April and May are peak months for fertilizer applications across the northern states.

“Given the urgency of several supply-chain challenges, we urge revision or rescission of the border policy prior to April 21,” the working group stated.

View the full letter here.

 

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New Data from the Fertilizer Industry Highlights Sustainability Improvements

Arlington, Va., March 7, 2022 – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) today released new data highlighting industry improvement in sustainability performance in key priority areas of workforce safety, energy and the environment, fertilizer use, and industry innovation.

“The 104,000 employees of the fertilizer industry work each day to produce and supply fertilizer to farmers in an effort to feed the world,” said Corey Rosenbusch, TFI president and CEO. “Each step of the supply chain is focused on doing more with fewer resources and the impact on communities and the environment. The data in this report highlights the achievements we’ve made in worker safety and energy and environmental metrics.”

TFI has collected data since 2013 on metrics that provide insight into the industry’s efforts to improve safety, security, sustainability, environmental stewardship, and efficiency. The data announced today was gathered in 2021 and reflects industry operations in 2020.

Report highlights include:

  • In 2020, the industry captured 31 percent of all CO2 generated per ton of nutrient produced. These greenhouse gases are not emitted into the atmosphere and are used for other industrial uses.
  • To reduce the industry’s energy footprint, 40 percent of all energy consumed is generated using waste heat rather than pulling from the electrical grid.
  • Nitrogen producers are using 54 percent less water to produce one ton of fertilizer than they did in 2013.
  • The fertilizer industry is more than twice as safe as industry peers when compared to the industry benchmark data from the Department of Labor.
  • The industry’s performance on the lost time incident rate is the lowest it’s been since data collection began in 2013.

The data includes metrics on segments of the fertilizer industry from fertilizer use on the farm, worker safety, energy and environment, and industry innovation. To learn more about this year’s report, visit tfi.org/sustainability.

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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.

Statement on Russia-Ukraine Conflict

TFI is concerned about the destabilizing situation occurring in the Ukraine. Our main concern is the safety of all the citizens in harm’s way.

Currently, it is unclear the exact magnitude and how the Russia-Ukraine conflict will affect the already-tight global market for fertilizer, but it will add additional pressure on a market that has already experienced many challenges over the last 18 months.

It has been implied that fertilizer companies may take advantage of the current situation, but that is far from the truth. The U.S. fertilizer industry is committed to serving farmers and makes it unequivocally clear that ensuring grower access to the nutrients needed to sustain people around the world is of the highest priority.

Because 90% of all fertilizer used is consumed outside the United States, the actions of Russia will impact the global market for fertilizer around the world. Russia is the second largest producer of ammonia, urea, and potash and the fifth largest producer of processed phosphates. In terms of their share of the global export market, Russia accounts for 23% of ammonia, 14% of urea, and 21% of potash, as well as 10% of processed phosphate exports. The conflict in the Ukraine will also put additional stress and uncertainty on energy markets. Russia supplies approximately one-third of Europe’s natural gas, the main feedstock to produce nitrogen fertilizers.

Because of Russia’s large fertilizer production and its role as a global fertilizer supplier, the removal of Russian product from the global marketplace will have an impact on supply. Despite the benefits afforded by a robust U.S.-based fertilizer industry, prices for our products are driven by global supply and demand factors. There have been reports of misleading information regarding the applicability of U.S. sanctions to companies in the industry, and TFI strongly encourages companies to consult legal counsel for advice on sanctions-related issues at question.

 

TFI Seeks Senior Vice President, Government Affairs

The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), the leading voice of the fertilizer industry, is seeking a Senior Vice President of Government Affairs to lead a collaborative and well-rounded team, while managing his or her own portfolio of advocacy issues, which include climate change, energy, trade, agriculture, mining and manufacturing. In addition, the new SVP must not only be able to build relationships across branches of government, agencies, and political parties, but also within the department and throughout TFI.  

The ideal candidate will have existing relationships in all areas of government and be willing to lend his or her expertise to the team — whether the lead on the issue or not. Preferred candidates will have knowledge or experience related to agriculture and the farm economy.

Click here for the full position description.

 

How to Apply

To apply, please submit a comprehensive CV and cover letter expressing interest and summarizing relevant experience to Jennifer Proctor, [email protected].

TFI Elects 2022 Board of Directors

ARLINGTON, VA – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) today announced the election of its 2022 Board of Directors. The election took place during a vote of the membership during TFI’s Annual Business Conference last week in Orlando, FL. Koch Fertilizer Executive Vice President Scott McGinn now serves as TFI’s Chairman and GROWMARK CEO-elect Mark Orr will serve as Vice Chairman.

TFI’s membership also elected the following board members for three-year terms: Ward Bloodworth, Helena Agri-Enterprises; Chris DeMoss, MFA Incorporated; Dale Edgington, Advanced Micronutrient Products; Josh Long, American Plant Food Corporation; Amy Yoder, Anuvia Plant Nutrients.

“The leadership of TFI’s Board of Directors is integral to the continued success of our organization,” said TFI President & CEO Corey Rosenbusch. “The fertilizer industry faces challenges on many fronts, but as both an organization and an industry we have been able to innovate with new technologies, advance sound public policy objectives and educate a wide audience about the critical need for fertilizer through strategic engagement. Our Board of Directors plays an active role in ensuring we have a clear vision on where we are heading as an industry and remain focused on achieving the goals we have set for ourselves. I am excited to work with this talented set of industry leaders.”

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.

Learn more about TFI’s nutrient stewardship initiatives at nutrientstewardship.org.

 

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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.