July 6, 2012
US corn growers, fertiliser industry officials to build nitrogen fertiliser plant
In order to feed about 12% of the corn and wheat acres in the Dakotas and Minnesota, corn growers and fertiliser industry officials are planning to build a US$1 billion nitrogen fertiliser plant in the upper Midwest.
Organisers have completed a feasibility study and are evaluating potential sites in the three states, according to the North Dakota Corn Growers Association. They also are doing business planning and will be setting up a structure that would enable farmers to invest, Executive Director Tom Lilja told The Forum newspaper.
A plant likely would be funded by farmers and private interests. Other options include investments from Canadian producers and farmers outside the tri-state area.
Officials began studying the project last year with help from the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University. Planners originally focused on a smaller plant but the feasibility study found the ideal size economically would be a US$1 billion facility, Lilja said.
The plant could help local farmers secure fertiliser without having to rely on imports, and also use natural gas that is burned off as a by-product of oil production in western North Dakota, Lilja said. About one-third of the natural gas produced in the oil patch is flared off because there isn''t enough pipeline capacity to move it to market. Natural gas is a key component of nitrogen fertiliser.
"It solves a problem for the energy industry, and it solves a problem for the agricultural industry," Lilja said.
The plant would take three to four years to finish after construction starts, he said.