In Brief… – for Mar. 19, 2009

Bobcat, Polaris team up:North Dakota-based skid-steer maker Bobcat Co. and snowmobile and ATV maker Polaris Industries have signed on for a “long-term strategic alliance” that will ultimately lead to co-development of new equipment. “Initially, Polaris will produce and sell highly differentiated work vehicles to Bobcat for sale through the Bobcat dealer network,” Scott Wine, CEO

Getting The Most Out Of Green Gold

“Being the opportunistic SOBs that we are in the industry, we take that free nitrogen, convert it to something, and then charge the guys for it.” – RAY DOWBENKO Growing crops to feed the world removes nitrogen from the soil. To figure out how much needs to be put back in for next year, a


Agrium, PotashCorp Differ On China Price Talks

Fertilizer and farm retailer Agrium said Feb. 19 that Chinese potash price negotiations could stretch into July, two months longer than rival Canadian fertilizer producer PotashCorp of Saskatchewan is targeting. “I have dealt with the Chinese on other commodities. They are good at brinkmanship; they will hold right to the end. They could hold until

Spring fertilizer crunch coming?

Reduced demand for fertilizer this fall has sparked concerns about shortages in 2009. “Farmers are trying to wait as long as they can to see if prices will keep coming down and yet on the other side of the coin, there is the concern about whether or not the supply will be there in the


The silence of farmers

JOHN MORRISS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR When the stock market drops by 40 per cent, what happens? People get upset. Really upset. The world’s leaders hold emergency meetings. Virtually every economist quoted in the financial press agrees that the “free market” system got completely out of hand, turning into a system to capitalize gains and socialize losses.

Agrium profit surges, widens outlook

Agrium Inc. reported a higher third-quarter profit that topped analyst expectations and the company widened its outlook for the second half of the year amid turmoil in the global economic and commodity markets. Agrium, the world’s third-largest nitrogen producer and the top U. S. retailer of crop supplies, earned $367 million or $2.31 a share