Superior Ag has completed a new $20 million dry fertilizer terminal on the Ohio River, a project the cooperative's president and CEO says could help increase access to dry fertilizer for farmers across the state.

Richard Lloyd says the recently completed facility is designed to help meet demand during peak seasons, when fertilizer demand surges around planting and when supply bottlenecks can leave farmers waiting on deliveries.

"It's 32,000 tons of dry fertilizer storage," he says. "We have a large urea bin on one side of the building. We'll be able to hold phosphates and all of the nutrients that we need to be able to take care of the soils in southern Indiana and Kentucky."

The Ohio River location positions the terminal to receive product by barge, the primary low-cost mode for moving dry fertilizer into the Midwest, before it is distributed to farms in southern Indiana and Kentucky.

Speaking with Brownfield, Lloyd says an efficient supply chain can help improve farmer profitability, a consideration that has grown as fertilizer has ranked among farmers' largest input expenses in recent years and prices have swung sharply.

"Being able to get the most cost competitive products when they need it to the farm as effectively and as quickly as they can, especially in peak seasons, is very, very important for the longevity and the competitiveness of our local farmers," he says.

Lloyd says the facility represents the cooperative's long-term investment in the future of Indiana's agricultural industry. The project also reflects a broader push by regional cooperatives to expand on-farm-input infrastructure and storage capacity to buffer growers from supply and price volatility.

Source: Brownfield Ag News