34 m344f 0.1/3 MANUFACTURE OF ENR VLA ARR BY COOPERATIVES IN THE SOUTH i vam rik LIONARY OF THE im JUL 94 1959 IVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ae By Warren K. Trotter _ FCS Bulletin 13 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE | FARMER COOPERATIVE SERVICE | WASHINGTON, D.C. ee Farmer Cooperative Service conducts research studies and service activities of assistance to farmers in connection with coop- eratives engaged in marketing farm products, purchasing farm supplies, and supplying business services. The work of the Service relates to problems of management, organization, policies, merchan- dising, product quality, costs, efficiency, financing, and membership. The Service publishes the results of such studies; confers and advises with officials of farmer cooperatives; and works with educational agencies, cooperatives, and others in the dissemination of information relating to cooperative principles and practices. Joseph G. Knapp Administrator Farmer Cooperative Service U.S. Department of Agriculture FCS Bulletin 13 July 1959 This is a companion study of one recently made on distribution of fertilizer by the same regional cooperatives and published as FCS Bulletin 11, Distribution of Fertilizer by Cooperatives in the South, October 1958. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C: rice 30 cents 10,13 CONTENTS Page PUMIUIMALY ADC CONCLUSION Sem eels eee eee een ee eee ili Eucpose and method ol stud yee ee enn re ee ee oer 1 Growth of cooperative fertilizer manufacturing______________ 3 ACIUISILLON-OL PLANS aoe eee: aetna any ee nants eae 3 Tsoca tron Of pl art Siew ee es eetes cai ea eal gk rome ert 5 JOMtmanulacturino prograiis .2 eee ee eeenne ee eee 6 UMES TT RA MDIRS OR TUBS AONVADG. ce a eB 12 BroduGhOnetrends om eerie scene tee en ee ere ene es ee 12 Hacilitiessaids0 perd.tlons =o eke oe eee 14 Trieredien tossed eles rp ees Bo eer nt eee ee 24 Peasonalttyainsuseiol ineredicn tease. |e ae oe ee ee 2H Origintominoredientses seas terion te tee eee eee 28 FEransporca on Oleineredlents = asses =e ram eure tenner 32 Weanulactirorolsuperp Ospina lesa eet. e en eee ee ee ees 37 Productions (Gen see eee eee ee ee ee auth Bacilties7ancdsonere. bio lis sy eee es enn seers re eae 38 Procurementyandsuse of ineredients=_=-_ = 25 es 42 Tiraneporta (oncom nerecicn tc aaa een er eee oe 45 Manutacture or nitrogensmaterials je. eee eee ae 45 Broductioreureni swe a= mtr ame eens se neers Se at eee ee 46 Hacilitiessa nso DeLaviOls=y a = 5 eerste ee eee 47 Inegredientssused = a= oe ietoenys ers eee eee 49 (transportation of imeredicn {se ee ne eee ere 49 s) price. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS pede report is based on a study of 29 cooperatives with fertilizer manufacturing facilities in the South. These cooperatives oper- ated 42 fertilizer mixing plants, 13 phosphate rock acidulating plants, and 1 synthetic nitrogen plant. The purposes of the study were as follows: (1) To ascertain the status of cooperatives in manufac- ture of fertilizer in the South; (2) to evaluate their future poten- tial; (3) to examine implications of economic, technological, and trans- Growth of Cooperative @ The first cooperative began handling fertilizer in the region in 1920. The periods of most rapid growth in number of cooperatives handling fertilizer were the depres- sion years of the 1930’s and the years immediately following World Weare tle @ The first cooperative plant in the South to manufacture mixed fertilizer was acquired at Chews- ville, Md., in 1930. One-third of - the 42 mixing plants were acquired prior to 1940, and 18 were acquired _ after the end of World War II. @ The main reason given for acquiring manufacturing facilities was to obtain fertilizer at a lower This reason was given by portation factors; and (4) to deter- mine possibilities for further regional coordination and _ joint development. For purposes of this study, the southern region was divided into three areas. Area I data cover cooperative fertilizer manufactur- ing plants in Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Caro- lina, Georgia, and Alabama. Area II data cover plants in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas. Area III covers plants in Florida. Fertilizer Manufacture 85 percent of the plants included in this study. @ Major factors in locating plants in order of importance were: (1) Nearness to consumption area, (2) favorable transportation rates and facilities, (3) nearness to source of raw materials, (4) plant availability at reasonable price, and (5) labor supply and wage rates. @ About half of all fertilizer manufactured by cooperatives in the South was made in jointly owned or operated facilities of regional wholesale cooperatives. This type operation improved efh- ciency in the manufacture of fer- tilizer by making possible (1) a larger scale of operation, (2) better trained management, (3) more highly skilled technical staffs, (4) greater bargaining power, and (5) volume buying of raw materials. Manufacture of Mixed Fertilizer @ The 42 plants manufactured 868,000 tons of mixed fertilizer in fiscal 1956. Nearly three-fourths of this amount, or 645,000 tons, was made in Areal. Area III was second in volume with 140,000 tons, while Area II followed with 83,000 tons. @ The tonnage manufactured in- creased nearly one-third between 1951 and 1956. The largest pro- portional increase was in Area ITI. This area showed a gain of 56 per- cent compared to a _ 37-percent increase in Area I and a 10-percent decline in Area II. @ Over the South as a whole, cooperatives manufactured 5 per- cent more fertilizer than they dis- tributed within the region in fiscal 1956. The excess of production was due primarily to shipments out of the southern region by two large cooperative manufacturers to other cooperatives. @ Production per plant in fiscal 1956 averaged about 21,000 tons. Two-thirds of all plants produced less than 20,000 tons and one-third produced less than 10,000 tons. @ The rated capacity of mixing units averaged 237 tons per 8-hour shift. Mixing capacity in Area I averaged 294 tons per shift com- pared to 187 tons in Area II and 154 tons in Area III. @ The fiscal 1956 output of mixed fertilizer could have been produced in 85 days of operation, 8 hours each, at rated capacity. About one-third of the plants could have produced their 1956 output in 50 days or less of operation, and two- thirds of all plants could have produced their 1956 output in 100 days or less. The output of only four plants required as much as 151 to 200 days of operation at rated capacity. iv ® Storage capacity for raw mate- rials averaged 3,723 tons a plant compared to 7,692 tons for mixed goods storage. Raw materials stor- age was turned an average of 5.6 times during 1956, or once every 64 days. Mixed goods storage was turned 2.6 times, or once every 142 days. @ Handling of materials was accomplished by a wide variety of equipment—from two-wheeled “Georgia buggies’? in some of the smaller and older plants to elaborate overhead shuttle conveyors and crane systems in the larger and more mechanized plants. Some of the small plants have not been able to keep pace with the trend toward mechanization in recent years. @ Only three plants surveyed had granulating facilities in operation at the time of the survey. How- ever, two were in the process of installing granulating equipment and several others had rather defi- nite plans for producing granular materials. @ Of the total tonnage of in- eredients used in the manufacture of mixed fertilizer, 49.1 percent was phosphate, 19.1 percent was potash, 17.5 percent was nitrogen, 9.1 percent was secondary and trace elements, and 5.2 percent was conditioners and fillers. @ Nitrogen solution and sulfate of ammonia were the most im- portant nitrogen materials used— accounting for 36.9 and 27.2 per- cent, respectively, of all tonnage of nitrogen materials. @ Normal superphosphate was by far the leading phosphate mate- rial—accounting for 93.4 percent of the total. Concentrated super- phosphate followed with 3.8 per- cent of the total. @ Potash materials were made up chiefly of muriate of potash, which accounted for 76.4 percent of the total, and sulphate of potash- magnesium, which accounted for 11.6 percent of the total. @ The cooperatives studied used 47 sources of nitrogen materials, 27 sources of phosphate materials, and 9 sources of potash materials. In many instances sources nearer the plant could have been used with resulting savings on freight. @ Over the South as a whole, 79 percent of all inbound tonnage of ingredients used in mixed fertilizer manufacture was received by rail, 12 percent by motortruck, 4 per- cent by water, and 5 percent by combinations of rail and water or rail and truck. @ Rail was the most important method of transportation in all areas, accounting for from 75 to 90 percent of the total in each area. Movement by truck varied from 15.5 percent of the total in Area I to 1.5 percent in Area IT. Manufacture of Superphosphate @ Thirteen cooperative acidulat- ing plants produced 174,600 tons of normal superphosphate in fiscal 1956. Production of this material increased by 55 percent during the period 1951-56. @ Total use of superphosphate by cooperatives, including that used in mixtures and distributed for di- rect application, amounted to ap- proximately 446,000 tons. Thus, manufactured volume was equiva- lent to about 39 percent of total needs. @ Production of superphosphate » per plant averaged 12,871 tons. If acidulating units had been operated at their rated capacity, this tonnage could have been produced in 88 days of 8hourseach. The range in days of operation at capacity required to - while produce the fiscal 1956 output was from 32 to 214. @ Raw material storage capacity averaged 815 tons a plant. Turn- over of this capacity averaged 15.8 times in fiscal 1956. Finished prod- uct storage averaged approximately 4,800 tons a plant and was turned 2.7 times during the year. @ Cooperatives used six origin points for sulfuric acid, with the major portion of the total supply originating at Copperhill, Tenn. All phosphate rock originated in the Bartow and Tampa areas of Florida. @ Rail movement accounted for 87 percent of all raw materials re- ceived at acidulating plants. About 11.5 percent was moved by truck, water transportation ac- counted for only 1.3 percent. Manufacture of Nitrogen Materials @ The only farmer cooperative in the South producing nitrogen ma- terials during the period covered by this study was Mississippi Chemical Corp., Yazoo City. Production of this cooperative, referred to as MCC, for fiscal 1956 included 96,100 tons of anhydrous ammonia and 143,200 tons of ammonium nitrate. @ Anhydrous ammonia produc- tion in the MCC plant was equiva- lent to 91 percent of all anhydrous ammonia distributed and used in manufacture by southern coopera- tives. Ammonium nitrate produc- tion was equivalent to 60 percent of total cooperative needs in the South. @ MCC’s plant consists of three basic sections: (1) An ammonia section, (2) a nitric acid section, and (3) an ammonium nitrate section. Designed daily capacity of these Vv three sections as of June 1956 was 270 tons of anhydrous ammonia, 330 tons of nitric acid, and approxi- mately 380 tons of ammonium nitrate. @ MCC's fiscal 1956 production of anhydrous ammonia was equiva- lent to 98 percent of the plant’s designed capacity, and production of ammonium nitrate was equiva- lent to 103 percent of designed capacity. All the nitric acid and a major portion of the anhydrous ammonia produced were used in the ammonium nitrate plant. MCC has enlarged its facilities since the date of this study so that by late 1958 their capacities per 24-hour day were 310 tons of anhydrous ammonia, 450 tons of nitric acid, and 475 tons of ammo- nium nitrate. This cooperative also had plans to build a plant that would produce 100 tons per 24- hour day of solid urea and manu- facture 50 tons of nitrogen liquid fertilizers per 8-hour day. In 1956, MCC set up a subsidi- ary—Coastal Chemical Corp. It completed a plant in 1958 at Pascagoula, Miss., with the follow- ing 24-hour daily capacities: Anhy- drous ammonia 150 tons, sulfuric acid 550 tons, phosphoric acid 75 tons, and high-analysis mixed ferti- lizers 400 tons. It also will produce the following per 8-hour day: Super- phosphate 150 tons, and _ triple superphosphate 150 tons. @ The basic raw materials for MCC’s manufacturing operations were natural gas, steam, water, and air. Natural gas was obtained by pipeline and the other materials were obtained at the Yazoo City plant site. Conclusions Findings in this study led to the following conclusions: 1. Joint development and opera- tion of facilities has been carried on with marked success vn the South.— Almost 50 percent of the nearly 1.3 million tons of mixed fertilizer and fertilizer materials manufactured by cooperatives in 1955-56 was produced in jointly owned or oper- ated facilities. Several of these joint operations could well serve as models for further coordination of cooperative fertilizer procurement and manufacturing activities. 2. Consolidation and moderniza- tion of some cooperative fertilizer mix- ing plants 1s desirable for the follow- ing reasons: (1) To increase operating efficiency through larger volumes, (2) to take advantage of modern technology (especially ammoniation and granulation), and (8) to modern- ize materials handling techniques.— The 42 mixing plants produced an average of 20,700 tons each. On the basis of rated capacities of mix- ing units, this represented only vi eighty-five 8-hour days of opera- tion. This is a rather low level of efficiency in the use of mixing plant facilities. To achieve greater efficiency, consolidation of some plants is needed. Furthermore, because of the high overhead involved, some small cooperative mixing plants have not been able to keep pace with the trend toward mechaniza- tion and the newer technological developments of recent years. Modern ammoniating, granulating, conveying, and batching equipment is costly and requires large-volume operation to reduce overhead costs to satisfactory levels. Moderniza- tion of old plants is becoming in- creasingly urgent, and some consoli- dation would be desirable to spread modernization costs. 3. Greater coordination of super- phosphate procurement and manufac- turing programs among cooperatives of the South appears to be needed.— The 13 acidulating plants produced 175,000 tons of superphosphate. This represented about 39 percent of the total of 446,000 tons distrib- uted for direct application and used in mixtures by cooperatives of the South. Thus, approximately 271,000 tons, or 61 percent of the total needed supply, were purchased on the open market. Indications were that existing co- operative superphosphate capacity was not utilized at the most efficient levels. Therefore, further coordi- nation of superphosphate procure- ment and manufacture by southern cooperatives appears needed. The possibilities of cooperative manufac- ture of other phosphate materials such as concentrated superphos- phate, calcium metaphosphate, and diammonium phosphate should be examined. 4. Increased use of water trans por- tation offers possibilities for lowering transportation costs—This appears especially true in the movement of phosphate rock, superphosphate, and muriate of potash. Possibilities also exist for the movement by water of ammonium nitrate, nitro- gen solution, and tankage. Facili- ties were available or could be de- veloped in several instances to move these materials by water, but only a small tonnage had moved this way. Where plants do not have direct access to water transporta- tion, the possibilities for rail or truck in combination with water should be examined. The possible advantages of water transportation are such that cooper- atives should closely examine its place in their present operations and in development of future facili- ties. Some coordination of pro- curement activities may be neces- sary to obtain the tonnage needed for movement by water. 5. Additional facilities for produc- ing nitrate materials offer possibilities for further joint development by co- operatives in the South.—Quantities of anhydrous ammonia manufac- tured by cooperatives were in fairly close balance with that distributed. However, the tonnage of ammonium nitrate distributed for direct appli- cation and used in mixtures far ex- ceeded that manufactured. Like- wise, considerable tonnages of nitro- gen solution and sulfate of am- monia were distributed for direct application and used in mixtures by cooperatives, but neither of these materials was produced in coopera- tive plants. Possibilities of ex- panded production of nitrogen ma- terials by cooperatives, particularly those in Areas I and III merit close study. Vii Manufacture of Fertilizer by Cooperatives in the South By Warren K. Trotter! Farm Supplies Branch Purchasing Division South is characterized by rapidly changing technology and increasing costs of buildings, machinery, labor, materials, and transportation. Cooperatives and others will need to adjust to these T= fertilizer industry in the changing conditions if they are to continue to render effective service to their farmer patrons. There is need for information on which to base plans for future development and guide efforts in making efficient use of facilities and equipment. Purpose and Method of Study HE purpose of this study is to present an overall view of the position of cooperatives in the manufacture of fertilizer in the 1 Mr. Trotter transferred to the Agri- ™ cultural Marketing Service, U.S. Depart- @e ment of Agriculture, in the summer of 1958. Notr.—The author wishes to express appreciation to John R. Douglas, Jr., Division of Agricultural Relations, Ten- nessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, Tenn., and to John N. Mahan, Com- modity Stabilization Service, U.S. De- partment of Agriculture for their helpful suggestions. 497201 O—59——_2 South which can serve as a basis for planning future developments. Special attention is given to possible joint operations by cooperatives and others, and to the possibilities of making more efficient use of existing facilities through greater coordination of efforts. Transpor- tation costs are taking an increasing share of the farmer’s fertilizer dollar, and special emphasis is given to the impact of transporta- tion on present and_ future operations. These are acidulating and mixing facilities of Tennessee Valley Cooperatives, Inc., Decatur, la.—one of the older fertilizer manufacturing co-ops in the South. More specifically, the objectives of the study were to— 1. Ascertain the present status of cooperatives in the manufacture of fertilizer in the South; 2. Evaluate the future potential for cooperative manufacture of fertilizer in the region; 3. Examine the implications of economic, technological, and trans- portation factors on the future development of cooperative manu- facturing facilities; and 4. Examine the possibilities for regional coordination in develop- ment and operation of fertilizer procurement and manufacturing facilities. This study is based on a personal interview survey of 29 cooperatives operating fertilizer manufacturing facilities in 10 southern States. Detailed information was obtained for 1955-56 on purchases and sources Of raw materials, methods of transportation used, use of raw Fertilizer falls from chute into inplant transportation facilities in fertilizer manufacturing plant of Southern States Cooperative, Inc., Richmond. This plant is at Winchester, Ky. 2 materials in manufacturing opera- tions, mixing and acidulating opera- tions and facilities, storage facilities, and production trends. The study does not include an analysis of operating costs and net margins. Although these data are for 1955- 56, the findings still directly apply to current operations. Manufacturing operations of cooperatives in the region were divided into three categories. First was manufacture of mixed fertilizer. Of the cooperatives surveyed, 28 were engaged in this type activity, and they operated 42 fertilizer mixing plants. Second was manu- facture of normal superphosphate through acidulation of finely ground rock phosphate with sulphuric acid. Ten of the cooperatives operated 13 acidulating plants for the manu- facture of superphosphate. Third was the manufacture of synthetic Growth of Cooperative The first cooperative included in this study began handling fertilizer in 1922. The periods when the 29 began were as follows: Number of Period associations LOCA ILORLOLO nee ae ee LOZ GEOL OG) Steele es DS eCO OO meee te dee em POG GO. L040 Ste oe ee es Pe Lieto, 1 945 es ere ee ee POs GstOnlO pee eet ee LOD LSC Os ODO oe So oe ee NOW PN HS Acquisition of Plants In the early days, cooperatives simply purchased a finished product and distributed it to their farmer members. After cooperatives ac- quired the necessary volume and capital, they believed they could make additional savings for their farmer members by acquiring their own fertilizer mixing facilities. Since superphosphate was one of the principal ingredients of mixed nitrogen materials. One coopera- tive engaged in this activity. This report is organized around these three types of manufacturing operations. For purposes of this analysis the South was divided into three areas to reflect differences in fertilizer use and manufacturing practices (fig. 1). Area I data cover cooperative plants in Maryland, Virginia, Ken- tucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Area II covers plants in Mississippi, Arkan- sas, and Texas. Area III covers plants in Florida. Findings in this study should be related to those covering distribution and transportation of fertilizer by these same regional cooperatives. They were recently published as FCS Bulletin 11, Distribution of Fer- tilizer by Cooperatives in the South, October 1958.? Fertilizer Manufacturing fertilizer, cooperatives later added acidulating plants. In recent years they have manufactured basic ni- trogen materials and have ac- quired phosphate mineral deposits and started mining operations. Plans also call for developing their own sources of potash materials. The first cooperative of the region to obtain a fertilizer mixing plant was the Chewsville Cooperative Association at Chewsville, Md., in 1930. Farmers Cooperative Ferti- lizer Purchasers, Kenbridge, Va., followed in 1932. Table 1 shows the years in which cooperative mix- ing plants, acidulating units, and nitrogen plants were acquired. A little more than one-third of all 2 The study on distribution of fertilizer covered 31 cooperatives—4 of which did not have manufacturing facilities. This study on manufacturing covers two addi- tional cooperatives which sell their entire output to other regional associations and consequently were not included in the distribution study. Figure 1.—Locations of cooperative fertilizer manufacturing plants covered in this study, 1956 Type of Plant Number MIXING cS er eee ee eS Mixing and acidulating.....13 Nitric phosphate.......... | BOe oO Synthetic nitrogen......... | Total 43 cooperative mixing plants in the and 18 of these were obtained after region—15—were acquired prior to the end of World War II. 1940. Two-thirds, or 28, of the The Fertilizer Manufacturing plants were acquired after 1940, Cooperative, Inc., at Baltimore, Table 1.—Periods in which 43 cooperative fertilizer manufacturing plants in the South were acquired Type of plant and period acquired | Area I | Area IT | Area III | South Mixing plants: Number 1926-30 oe pee eee cee ta ee eee 1 0 0 ] 195,123 Diet eee ee eee 2 0 3 5 1936-40 sa3 2.2 oh So kee nan eee 4 22 3 9 1041 345 Sore ert eae oe eee ee 4 3 2 9 1946-502 35 exe Noe ee ho Seen eee See 4 3 2 9 TOOTS DD a tc oe a eer a a 1 1 9 lL Ota lite. Oe Aer eee eee 22 9 rT 42 Acidulating plants: ! : LOS S45 oe oe ee 1 0 0 1 1 94620 reno ee Se eee eee 2 1 G 3 TOD SD Oem oe ae ee ee 5 4 0 9 A Bah ic) Nelms 2 > Se tee rahe ene ane 8 5 0 13 INIUO@EI plants ml UO lees eke eee ee ee 0 1 0 1 1 Each of the 13 acidulating plants is located with a mixing plant. 4 Md., acquired the first cooperative acidulating plant in the region in 1938. The Cotton Producers Asso- ciation’s plant at Cordele, Ga., fol- lowed in 1947. Of the 13 coopera- tive acidulating plants, 9 were acquired after 1951. Mississippi Chemical Corp., Yazoo City, built the first cooperatively owned synthetic nitrogen plant in the United States in 1951. The pioneering efforts and outstanding success of this plant have been im- portant factors in stimulating in- terest of other cooperatives in acquiring control of sources of basic fertilizer materials. Considerable progress has been made toward this end in recent years. Reasons why cooperatives said they acquired their own manufac- turing plants are given in table 2. To lower price was the principal reason mentioned by 85 percent of the 27 cooperative managers reply- ing to this question. To obtain better quality or to have more cer- tainty as to quality was the second most important reason. It was given by nearly one-third of the managers replying. Location of Plants Figure 1 shows locations of the 43 cooperative fertilizer manufac- turing facilities in the Southern States. They include 28 conven- tional dry mixing plants, 13 plants with both mixing and acidulating operations, 1 mixing plant based on the nitric phosphate process, and 1 synthetic nitrogen plant. If the acidulating and mixing plants were counted separately, the number of plants would be 56, with 30 plants located in Area I, 15 in Area IJ, and 11 in Area III. Table 3 shows factors considered in selecting locations for cooperative fertilizer plants. The factor men- tioned most frequently was the nearness of the plant to the farmers it was designed to serve—its central location in the consumption area. This was listed by 21 of the 27 replying. Favorable transportation rates and facilities were also im- portant factors—mentioned by 11— and nearness to source of raw ma- terials was mentioned as a consider- ation by 6 of those replying. Transportation considerations, therefore, were important determi- nants of plant locations. Trans- portation must be considered both from the standpoint of finished products leaving the plant for dis- tribution to local outlets and farm- ers, and also from the standpoint of incoming raw materials. Table 2.—Reasons cooperatives acquired their own fertilizer manufacturing plants in the South, by number of associations Reason PDOeLOsVierl Dr iCes ae. a-gets erway a ee To obtain better quality or be certain Ol tality wee eee en eee eee ee FLOrassure suppl yon =.= _ gs oe eet ne To provide better service__________-_- To obtain types of mixtures needed___ To take advantage of new process___- To supply high-analysis fertilizer_.. __ | Area I | Area II] Area III South Number Number Percent 9 6 8 23 85 4 2 2 8 30 0 4 0 4. 15 ao 0 2 4 15 i 0 3 4 15 1 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 1 4 10 i 10 DAE 100 Number of cooperatives responding Jace or ae ses eee ' Do not add to total because some cooperatives gave more than one reason. Table 3.—Major factors considered in selecting locations for cooperative fertilizer manufacturing plants in the South Factors considered Cooperatives Number Percent Nearness to consumption area and centrally located____ _______- Zi 78 Favorable transportation rates and facilities__...4-._._._____.. 11 41 Nearness to source of raw maveriale oes mee ae oe eee ee 6 22 Desirable plant-for sale atrreasonable price. = 2 2 eee 4 15 Favorable’iabor supply. anGiwage ratesem ee ee a 11 Availability Olisite= ee. oS ee ee ee ee 2 ¥ Availability of water tYanspOrlaviOn 222s lee ee ee ee eee 2 2 LO wi pO Werer at Gs sae a= ie ee ee es ei ee ee 1 4 Reasonable axes 29) Sie Soe Se ee Ace eee oe eee ee ee 1 4 Requestsvofslarmners ii area te 2... eee eee oe ee 1 4 Site out oftcity, limits preferredg —.. toe eee ae ee ee 1 4 Locatedswith+existing: facilites seater se ee eee es 1 4 Number of cooperatives responding 12025.) =e es 2% 100 1 Do not add to total because some cooperatives gave more than one answer. Joint Manufacturing Programs This report gives special atten- tion to joint efforts of regional wholesale cooperatives in manufac- turing fertilizer. In recent years, cooperatives have shown much in- terest in acquiring control of pri- mary sources of supply. With con- trol of the sources of primary ma- terials—nitrogen, phosphate, and potash—cooperatives believe they will be in a much stronger position to serve farmers. Such developments usually re- quire investments beyond the means of most single cooperatives. There- fore, continued progress in improv- ing services and lowering costs of fertilizer materials will depend more and more on coordination of efforts among local retail and regional wholesale cooperatives. The volume of fertilizer manu- factured in jointly owned or oper- ated facilities increased from 386,000 tons during fiscal year 1951 to 627,000 tons during fiscal year 1956 (fig. 2). The major portion of this ton- nage was mixed fertilizer, which in- creased from 315,000 tons to 389,000 tons during the period 1951-56. 6 Manufacture of superphosphate in jointly owned or operated facili- ties declined in the later years. This was due to the acquisition of acidulating plants by individual co- operatives and unfavorable sulfuric acid prices. All the ammonium nitrate and anhydrous ammonia represented in this chart were manufactured by Mississippi Chemical Corp. at Yazoo City. The rapid expansion of this operation is evident from the chart. Major efforts at joint develop- ment of facilities in the South are represented by the following or- ganizations: (1) Associated Coop- eratives, Inc., Sheffield, Ala.; (2) Cooperative Fertilizer Service, Inc., Richmond, Va.; (3) Fertilizer Man- ufacturing Cooperative, Inc., Balti- more, Md.; (4) Mississippi Chemical Corp., Yazoo City. Brief comments about each follow. Associated Cooperatives, Inc., Sheffield, Ala. This organization was founded in 1943 and as of June 1956 had 43 member-cooperatives with head- quarters in 20 Southern, Western and Midwestern States. Some of Figure 2.—Fertilizers manufactured in jointly owned or operated facilities regional cooperatives in the South, years ended June 30, 1951-56 THOUS. TONS 647 600 5900 400 336 YF Gis 4 300 200 100 I95I Jelby 1953 1954 I955 1956 Years Ended June 30 Ammonium nitrate eee Superphosphate WA Anhydrous ammonia y ee Mixed fertilizer ly Includes tonnage used in manufacturing ammonium nitrafe. Manufacturing plant, Lumberton, N.C., owned by Farmers Cooperative Exchange, Inc., Raleigh, N.C., is bagging fertilizer in 100-pound bags. its original midwestern and western members have withdrawn to join similar groups with headquarters in Chicago and Seattle. Associated Cooperatives has had contractual relations with Ten- nessee Valley Authority (TVA) since 1943 and with other fertilizer manufacturers from time to time. Before 1954 its main function was the purchase for its members of fertilizer materials, including am- monium nitrate, concentrated super- phosphate, muriate of potash, and calcium metaphosphate. In 1954, Associated Cooperatives built a fertilizer plant based on a new nitric phosphate process de- veloped by TVA. The plant has produced granulated 14-14-14 and 15-15-15 complete fertilizers in a continuous process and plans to add other grades. The process is based on the use of nitric and phosphoric acid for acidulation of 8 ground rock phosphate. It results in a granulated product, completely water soluble and ready for distri- bution without the need for a curing period. Cooperative Fertilizer Service, Richmond, Va. This organization is the fertilizer manufacturing arm of Southern States Cooperative, Inc., Rich- mond, Va.; Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Harrisburg; and Farmers Coopera- tive Exchange, Raleigh, N.C. Its headquarters are in Richmond, Va., and at the time of this survey the > organization operated seven plants | located in Maryland, Virginia, Ken- tucky, and North Carolina. In 1957, Southern States Cooperative, Inc., acquired an additional plant in Virginia, which was placed under supervision of Cooperative Ferti- lizer Service. This organization provides expert management and technical know- how for operation of its affiliates’ fertilizer plants. Joint effort of this type makes possible economies of volume buying of raw materials and exercise of mass bargaining power in the market place. Of the plants operated by this organization, three were wholly owned by Southern States Coopera- tive, Inc., and two by Farmers Co- operative Exchange; one was jointly owned by Southern States Coopera- tive, Inc., and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Association; and one was jointly owned by Southern States Cooperative, Inc., and Farmers Cooperative Exchange. For purposes of ownership and distribution of net margins, Co- operative Fertilizer Service is incor- porated under three separate chart- ers. These are known as Coopera- tive Fertilizer Service, Inc., of Baltimore; Cooperative Fertilizer Service, Inc., of Richmond; and Cooperative Fertilizer Service, Inc., of Norfolk. The first is jointly owned by Southern States Coopera- tive, Inc., and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Association. The second is wholly owned by Southern States Cooperative, Inc., and the third is jointly owned by Southern States Cooperative, Inc., and Farmers Cooperative Exchange. Fertilizer Manufacturing Cooperative, Inc., Baltimore, Md. In 1932, the Cooperative G.L.F. Exchange, Ithaca, N.Y., rented a fertilizer plant in Baltimore to manufacture mixed fertilizer for its affiliates in New Jersey, Pennsyl- vania, and New York. Baltimore was selected to take advantage of water transportation. G.L.F. op- erated the plant on a rented basis until January 1, 1938. On that date G.L.F. and The Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Inc., Co- lumbus, Ohio, formed the Fertilizer Manufacturing Cooperative, Inc., which purchased the plant. In January 1943, Southern States Cooperative, Inc., and Pennsyl- vania Farm Bureau Cooperative Association acquired an interest in the plant. The ownership as of May 1, 1956, was divided approxi- mately as follows: G.L.F., 53 per- cent; Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, 26 per- cent; The Farm Bureau Coopera- tive Association, Inc. (Ohio), 18 per- cent; and Southern States Coopera- tive, Inc., 3 percent. Fertilizer manufacturing plant of Associated Cooperatives, Sheffield, Ala. foreground, used to transport the raw materials nitric acid stainless steel. left center, transport away from the plant. They obscure the plant’s loading dock. 497201 O—59——_3 Tank trailer in and phosphoric acid, is built of Storage tanks, left foreground, hold anhydrous ammonia which tank cars, Boxcars are loaded with manufactured products. Ten thousand southern farmers own Mississippi Chemical Corp.’s nitrogen fertilizer plant at Yazoo City, Miss. In the foreground is the ammonia plant. monium nitrate fertilizer prilling towers. Plant production for 1956 was distributed approximately as fol- lows: G.L.F., 40 percent; Pennsyl- vania Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, 50 percent; The Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Inc. (Ohio), none; and Southern States Cooperative, Inc., 10 per- cent. Shipments were made direct to retail outlets of the member re- gional cooperatives, and billing was handled through the regionals. Net margins or overcharges were dis- tributed at the end of the year on a patronage basis. The plant’s capacity is approxi- mately 80,000 tons of mixtures and 40,000 tons of superpbosphate a year. In 1955, continuous ammoni- ating and granulating equipment was installed based on latest process research by TVA. Mississippi Chemical Corp., Yazoo City Mississippi Chemical Corp. was organized in 1948 to supply nitro- genous fertilizer to farmers who could not at that time obtain their 10 This is the first farmer-owned plant supplying a basic fertilizer material. The towers in the right background are the am- needs elsewhere. Its anhydrous ammonia and ammonium nitrate plants were completed in June 1951. Through its fiscal year ended June 30, 1956, the plant had produced approximately 290,000 tons of anhy- drous ammonia and 430,000 tons of ammonium nitrate. Total divi- dends and patronage refunds paid to stockholders during 5 years of operation between 1951 and 1956 totaled about $9.2 million. On June 30, 1956, the association had 9,667 farmers and 63 coopera- 3 Through the organization’s fiscal year ended June 30, 1958, it had produced 480,000 tons of anhydrous ammonia and 760,000 tons of ammonium nitrate. Total dividends and patronage refunds paid to stockholders during 7 years of operation between 1951 and 1958 totaled about $17 million. On June 30, ‘1958, the corporation had 9,144 farmers and 84 cooperatives as stockholders. Cash in- vested in the organization totaled about $11 million and its assets amounted to some $18 million. The organization allocated fertilizer to members in 1957-58 on the basis of 1 ton of ammonium nitrate for each $50 of stock and 1 ton of anhydrous ammonia for each $90 of stock. tives as stockholders. Cash in- vested in the organization amounted to about $11 million, and its assets as of June 30, 1956, amounted to some $18 million. The organization allocated its fertilizer to members on the basis of stock ownership. The 1955-56 allocation was on the basis of 1 ton of ammonium nitrate for each $75 of stock and 1 ton of anhydrous ammonia for each $100 of stock. Mississippi Chemical Corp. spon- sored Coastal Chemical Corp., which was organized as a subsidiary in March 1956. The charter of the latter company provided that control stock would be owned by Mississippi Chemical Corp. and that the latter would provide management. Coastal Chemical Corp.’s facili- ties are located at Pascagoula, Miss., and include sulfuric and phosphoric acid plants, superphos- phate and treble superphosphate plants, a high-analysis fertilizer plant, and a synthetic nitrogen plant. Production from these fa- cilities was allocated on the basis of stock ownership as in the case of the parent company. These four organizations— aes 589 653 111 Es 633 676 107 ae 654 680 104 fe Se 671 relat 106 ieee ie 769 822 107 eles 827 868 105 The process consists essentially of weighing and mixing several in- gredients in their proper proportion and then bagging the resulting prod- ucts.* Most of the ingredient ma- terials are dry with the exception of nitrogen solution which has become the principal source of nitrogen in recent years. 4 A detailed discussion of steps in the manufacture of mixed fertilizer is carried in Grab, Eugene G., Hurst, Wilbur M., and Scroggs, Claud L. Cooperative Fer- tilizer Plants, Circular C-145, Farm Credit Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, May 1952. This publica- tion is no longer available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but may be found in land-grant college libraries. Table 5.—Frequency distribution of size and type mixer operated by 35 cooperative fertilizer plants, 1956 ee SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSeeeee Size and type mixer Area I | Area II | Area III | South oo ee Number of plants eee M AD ALC hc sey oe ee a 1 2 3 6 MPO Ny SG Da Rens aren eee eee Oe ee el 6 4 2 12 ee PSV OnE Oe TONE: eee Se Mee ee ee 4 1 2 7 ABS ESS AS) WH ed tea ponte ae US al See eee 7 0 1 8 COrntinitio Used nti oe eee oe oe) eh 1 1 0 9 ys ele eS eee 19 Sea Meteo ec acs Mixing Units ton batch mixer, seven used a 1%- The activity in a mixed fertilizer plant is centered around the mixing unit. Of 35 cooperative plants on which detailed information was available, 33 used a rotary-drum, batch-type mixing unit. With this unit, ingredient materials are put into the drum through a door which also discharges the finished product. The two other plants used a con- tinuous drum mixing unit. In both instances this type was used to produce granular fertilizer. Incom- ing materials were continuously fed into the drum from one end and dis- charged from the other end. Capacities.—The 1-ton batch mix- ing unit was the most common size used. Of the 33 plants having batch mixers, 12 used this size (table 5). Eight plants used a 2- ton size, and six used a \%4-ton size. Table 6 gives the rated capacities of mixing units per 8-hour shift. Twelve plants fell into the category of 101 to 200 tons per shift. This capacity unit corresponds to the 1-ton batch mixing unit. Capacity of mixing units was higher in Area I than in either Area IY or Ill. Mixing capacities in Area I averaged 294 tons per 8-hour shift compared to 187 tons in Area II and 154 tons in Area III. For the South as a whole, cooperative plants averaged 237 tons per 8-hour shift. Total production of the 35 plants was 710,000 tons in 1956 (table 7). This was an average of approxi- mately 21,000 tons a plant. The 19 plants located in Area I produced Table 6.—Frequency distribution of mixing capacity per 8-hour shift of 35 cooperative fertilizer plants, 1956 Mixing capacity per 8-hour shift A OO UONSTOL GSS eee Os a oe TO leCOR ZOO COL wee ee ee ee PUMstORS Ub Gliseon ie teat ee ete DULECO ULL OT carer eer 2, cer ee Over lOUstOT see hart: eae eee en | Area I Area II Area III | South Number of plants wae 1 fe 3 6 ayaree 2 4 3 Ve Lee 5 | 2 8 ge oe 5 1 0 6 arc 3 0 0 3 eae 19 8 8 35 Tons ae 294 187 154 237 Table 7.—Frequency distribution of tons of mixed fertilizer produced by 35 cooperative fertilizer plants, 1956 Tons produce OOO OT CSS 2 nia oe a eee S,O0dsto 10 O00. Aa re eee 1000 letor 15,000 5 oe Se ee ee ee 1500110 20,0002. 2 ee ee ee 2O;O01(0 25,000 (3 ae ee ee 25-00.) to. 30,0002 ee ee eee Cvert 30 O00 Se sen oo ee era MPOt al Vig UTC 8 eee ee ee eee AVerage vole Stee Lor. See eee ee 547,000 tons, or an average of ap- proximately 29,000 tons. Eight plants in Area II produced 82,000 tons, or approximately 10,000 tons a plant. And eight plants in Area III produced approximately 81,000 tons, also averaging about 10,000 tons. Of the 35 plants, 25 produced less than 20,000 tons and 12 produced 10,000 tons or less. Thus about one-third of all plants produced 10,000 tons or less in 1956. Operating Efficiency.—Table 8 shows the number of days of opera- tion at rated capacity required to Area I | Area II | Area IIT | South Number of plants Seeks 1 Zz 3 6 Sak 1 5 2 6 nes 5 0 0 5 iy 4 2 2 8 ae 1 1 0 2 Pee 1 0 1 2 cae ae 6 0 0 6 ae 19 8 8 35 Tons sue 047, V238) S27 258 eS 1202Zi a7 1 US be 286190" 910,282 Os 12S eee Ors oe produce the total annual output of the 85 cooperative plants for fiscal 1956. Over the South as a whole, 13 of the plants could have produced their total annual output that year in 50 days or less of op- eration. Twenty-five of the 35 plants could have produced their 1956 output in 100 days or less. The output of only four plants re- quired as much as 151 to 200 days of operation of the mixing unit at its rated capacity. Plant capacities were utilized more fully in Area I than in either Area II or III. The output of Table 8.—Frequency distribution of number of days of operation at rated capacity required to produce the annual output of 35 cooperative fertilizer plants, 1956 ! Days of operation required Average numper Ofsdays '222.0 2. os oe | Area I | Area IT | Area IIT | South Number of plants et 4 5 4 i en a 8 i! 3 12 eS 4 1 1 6 ae 3 3 il 0 4 BE spe 19 8 8 35 Days ae 98 55 85 1 Based on managers’ estimates of fertilizer mixing capacity per 8—hour day. 16 plants in Area I required 98 days of operation at rated capacity. This compared with 66 days in Area III and only 55 days in Area IT. It is usual for fertilizer mixing plants to have excess annual capa- city because of the highly seasonal nature of the fertilizer business. Because most fertilizer is used in a relatively short period during the year, it is essential that plants be able to produce a large volume just preceding and during this relatively short period. Annual output depends on several factors in addition to capacity of the mixing unit. The most impor- tant of these are (1) length of the fertilizer season, (2) number of pro- ducing seasons, (3) how well the manufacturing operations can be synchronized with distribution of fertilizer, and (4) storage capacity for mixed fertilizer at the plant. If the season for using fertilizer is relatively long, the plant can operate over a longer period without filling up its storage capacity. Nevertheless, the wide variation in days required to produce the annual output indicated that some of the cooperative plants were not utilized at satisfactory levels of efficiency. Since each of 10 plants operated 100 days or more in 1956, this level of operation could be established as a goal for the other 25 plants. To achieve this modest level of operat- ing efficiency, however, some con- solidation of plants may be neces- sary. Storage Capacity and Turnover Most of the floor space in a ferti- lizer plant is used as storage for raw materials and mixed goods. Because of high construction costs, it is essential that cooperatives made the most efficient use possible of their storage space. Storage space in fertilizer plants is usually Table 9. Frequency distribution of tons of storage capacity for raw materials and mixed goods for 35 cooperative fertilizer plants, 1956 Tons of storage capacity ! Raw materials: HOOCOT ESS Fate oa ee eee EVE Lae 2, OO) ae eed oer te Se 2001504. 000 ses 32 ne Sea A OULSCOTO 0005. fe. were ee wens ee Over OOO P28 eae tes rs ee Wryerage storave Capacity. 22). 2.25.2. Mixed goods: 1,000 or less____-- ee ae es 1-00 Pitot: O00 eae rrere ae fa ee ee 5,00 lstoGl 0 000 296-32. Pe Os wee oS TO SOO L5G OO00Ts ee eee es Lo, U0 Leto, O00 See sae a eeh ee wees Over 20,000___-__ aN eee te eee | Area I Area II ‘Area mn South Number of plants 0 =a %) 2 5 Saas 8 0 3 bia ae 2 1 3 6 Boe 2 2 1 5 = ee 4 3 1 8 Ale. 19 8 8 35 Tons a 3,682 5,450 2, 094 3, (20 Number of plants eer 2 8 il hee 3 1 0 4 ee 9 1 0 10 ie ten Is 4 0 6 Sa 1 0 0 1 eas 2 1 0 3 oe 19 8 8 35 Tons eee 0, G8) i250 152 7, 692 1 Includes both bulk and bagged storage. Superphosphate storage of acidulating plants was included in the raw materials storage of mixing plants. 17 allocated between raw materials and mixed goods, although there may be some shifting back and forth between assigned areas from time to time. Raw Materials Storage.—The 35 cooperative plants studied in detail had an average of 3,723 tons of raw materials storage in 1956 (table 9). Nearly half the plants had less than 2,000 tons, while eight plants had over 6,000 tons allocated to raw materials. Average raw materials storage capacity varied considerably in the three areas of the South. Area I plants averaged approximately 3,682 tons of storage compared to about 5,450 tons in Area II and 2,094 tons in Area III. Mixed Goods Storage.—In general, space allocated to mixed goods storage was about twice that allo- cated to raw materials storage. The average mixed goods storage for the 35 cooperative plants was 7,692 tons compared to 3,723 tons for raw materials. The variation among plants was much greater in mixed goods storage than in raw materials storage. Eleven plants, or nearly one-third of all those studied in detail, had less than 1,000 tons of mixed goods storage. Three plants, on the other hand, had more than 20,000 tons of mixed goods storage. The mixed goods storage capac- ities of plants in Area II were largest, averaging approximately 11,200 tons a plant. This com- pared with about 9,400 tons a plant in Area I and only 152 tons a plant in Area III. The relatively little storage space allocated to mixed goods in Area III was due to differences in sea- sonality and fertilizer distribution practices in this area. Fertilizer use is less seasonal because of the long growing season and variety of crops grown. Much of the fer- tilizer is bulk-spread direct from the mixer. Thus there is little need for storage space for curing fertilizer because it is used direct from the mixer without having gone through a curing stage. Nitrogen Solution Storage.—T able 10 shows provisions made by 35 cooperatives for storing nitrogen solution. Ten plants had _ their own storage facilities for solution, 18 used solution direct from railway tank cars, and 7 did not use nitrogen solution in their manufacturing operations. The average amount of solution storage for the 10 plants having such facilities was 86 tons. Table 10.—Frequency distribution of provisions made for storing or using nitrogen solution in mixing operations by 35 cooperative fertilizer plants, 1956 Provisions made Have own storage tanks with capacities of— 100 tons or less 101 to 200 tons Over 200 tons Average storage capacity ! | Area I Area II Area III | South Number of plants oF ae 5 S 0 8 ne 0 1 0 1 ne we 0 il 0 1 ie: 13 2 3 18 a4 1 1 5 a wae 19 8 8 35 Tons od 63 109 0 86 1 Includes only those plants having storage capacity. 18 Table 11.—Frequency distribution of days of operation at rated capacity allowed for in raw materials and mixed goods storage capacity by 35 coop- erative fertilizer plants, 1956 Days of operation allowed for in storage Area Area Area South capacity I II III Raw materials: Number of plants OTOTMIC RS pene eee ee es 5 2 i 8 Cet Cn | meee ee Peepers eee 7 0 1 8 TARUOG Se es Se Oe 0 1 3 4 TORO l2O Sera ok 2 ene ae eres 8 5 2 2 9 ZLGLO <20 cee ee tee ee oe 0 1 1 2 LOMAS) 6 AT pe or Shi a A See 2 2 0 4 SRO Use] Spe emt ee eet eee ene ee eho 19 8 8 3D Days Average days of operation__________________- 13 29 14 16 Mixed goods: Number of plants TOOT. less Sree eae eee eee he 1 1 8 10 nts 2 see er ee ee et - 1 0 5 DAS COLO) Sees ee a ee ee es ee ~ 0 0 4 SO 1StOiA Oe ae eet on ee. erie 6 0 0 6 LEU) See oe ag re es Ce oe eee Ok 3 0) 0 3 Ho BS RGA UF Ro aOR kel nathan, = 1 3 0 + Glen Omen gee ee eens Sere ee eee 0 1 0 1 NIG) eh MM fae en Be, a ag a a te Sea a 0 2 0 2 Rote eee ce eee ee a et a 19 8 8 35 Days Average days of operation..__22....._....-_-_- 32 60 i 32 Mixing Capacity Related to Stor- age Capacity.— Uncertainty in sup- ples and delays in transportation often make the relationship of raw materials storage capacity to mix- ing capacity an important consider- ation. By the same token, the highly seasonal nature of fertilizer use makes the relationship of mixed goods storage capacity to mixing capacity significant in fertilizer plant operations. These relation- ships can be expressed in terms of the number of days the plant could operate without replenishing its supplies of raw materials or shipping out mixed goods. These data com- puted by dividing storage capacity by the rated capacity of the mixing unit per 8-hour shift, are presented in table 11. On the average, cooperative plants in the South had the equiva- lent of 16 days of operation at capacity in raw materials storage. In other words, these plants on the average could operate 16 days without having to replenish their supply of raw materials. About one-fourth of the plants could store only a 5-day-or-less supply of raw materials, while six plants fell in the ‘over 25 days’ category. In Area I, raw materials storage ca- pacity was equivalent to 13 days of operation at rated capacity. This compared with 29 days in Area IT and 14 days in Area III. These data show that a depend- able source of raw materials is an important factor in efficient opera- tion of a fertilizer mixing plant. This is one reason why cooperatives in recent years have been interested in gaining control of their primary sources of supply. 19 Mixed goods storage at the 35 cooperative fertilizer plants studied in detail was equivalent, on the average, to 32 days of operation. However, there was a wide varia- tion among the 35 plants. Ten plants had the equivalent of 10 days or less of operation in mixed goods storage, whereas two plants had over 70 days. Mixed goods storage in relation to plant capacity varied widely between areas. Plants in Area III on the average had the equivalent of only 1 day of operation in mixed goods storage. This compared with 32 days in Area I and 60 days in Area II. Again the situation in Area III was largely due to the less seasonal nature of the fertilizer business in that area, and to the fact that most of the fertilizer was used direct from the mixer without having to go through a curing stage. Turnover in Storage Capacity.— The turnover in storage capacity for the fiscal year 1956, calculated by dividing 1956 output by tonnage of raw material and mixed goods storage capacity, is shown in table 12. Raw material storage in the 35 plants was turned an average of 5.6 times during 1956. In other words, supplies of raw materials were depleted and replenished an aver- age of 5.6 times during the year, or once every 64 days. ‘There was a wide variation in turnover among the 35 plants, however, as seen by the fact that 16 plants had a turn- over of 5 times or less while 1 plant averaged better than 30 times. The variation was great between areas, also. Plants in Area I turned their raw materials an average of 7.8 times, or approximately once every 45 days. This compared with about 2 times in Area II and 5 times in Area III. This indicates that plants in Area I used their raw materials storage capacity more efficiently than plants in either Area II or III. Mixed goods storage was turned an average of 2.6 times or once Table 12.—Frequency distribution of turnover of raw material and mixed goods storage capacities for 35 cooperative fertilizer plants, 1956 Turnover Raw materials: 10-1°to15,0).6 22. eee eee 15/1to 20.0. 1. i ae ee 95. 1%60/30'0 15) ee Over; 302. oo. ae ee ee eee Wrerace- turnovers =.) 30 se ee a ee Mixed goods: IO Or lessee Silc A Reet See ee 20 Area I Area II | ArealIT [South Number of plants ie 4 7 5 16 ee 6 0 2 8 A 3 1 1 5 ae? 2 3 0 0 3 ae il 0 0 iL Os i} 0 0 1 aes 1 0 0 1 btw 19 8 8 35 Times a 7.8 1.9 4.8 5. 6 Number of plants LPs Be 0 4 0 4 Diy 5 3 0 8 Ae 7 1 0 8 ees 2 0 0 2 = 2 0 0 2 ee s 0 8 11 haces 19 8 8 35 Times ee 2. 8 0. 9 66. 7 2. 6 Wa Bags of fertilizer move from valve packing unit in manufacturing plant of Southern States Cooperative, Inc., at Winchester, Ky. every 142 days. However, there was a Wide variation among plants and among areas. Four plants turned their mixed goods storage space less than 1 time during the year, while 11 plants had a turnover of more than 5 times. The variation between areas was highly significant. Area I plants had an average turnover of 2.8 times which could be considered about normal. Plants of Area II, on the other hand, had a turnover of slightly less than 1 time. This meant that storage capacity for mixed goods in Area II was some- what greater than their combined output for 1956. Average turn- over for mixed goods storage in Area III was extremely high—about 67 times. This again is a reflection 497201 O—59—_4 of the seasonal and fertilizer use practices of that area. Materials Handling Materials handling is a major operation in manufacturing mixed fertilizer. Probably no other opera- tion in the fertilizer mixing plant requires as much machinery, equip- ment, and man-hours as that of moving materials from one point to another within the plant. Efh- cient handling equipment, well- organized work methods, and good plant layout, therefore, are major determinants of plant operating efficiency. Materials are generally handled several times before they become a finished product. They generally are unloaded from rail cars or 21 trucks; moved into the plant, to and from storage bins, scales, mix- ing unit, curing bins, crusher or pulverizer, bagging unit, sizing screens, and the like, then moved to loading docks, and finally loaded on trucks or freight cars for dis- tribution to retail outlets or farm- ers. To do this tremendous handling job a wide variety of equipment is used—from two-wheeled “Georgia buggies” in some of the smaller and older plants to elaborate overhead shuttle conveyors and crane sys- tems in the larger and more mecha- nized plants. The lift-hopper truck, commonly referred to as the “‘payloader,”’ was used by all cooperatives surveyed and has largely replaced the so- called ‘‘“Georgia buggy” in coopera- tive fertilizer plants. Varying in size, fast and highly maneuverable, these machines were used for a variety of jobs including unloading materials from boxcars, assembling and weighing ingredient materials, and loading out finished products. Lift-hopper trucks were used by Mixing unit and solution flow control equip- ment in fertilizer manufacturing plant oper- ated by Mississippi Federated Cooperatives (AAL), Jackson. 22 all cooperatives in unloading bulk materials from rail cars. These trucks could be maneuvered within boxcars and used to push materials onto under-car screw conveyors or to transport them to elevators for transfer to overhead shuttle con- veyors or direct to storage bins. In unloading bag materials, hand trucks were commonly used. Fork lifts were less common but seven cooperatives used them. Liquid materials were generally unloaded by means of an air com- pressor which forced liquids through pipes direct to storage tanks or batching equipment. Rock phosphate was commonly received in hopper cars. The phos- phate was unloaded into an under- car screw conveyor for movement to storage bins. For handling materials in the plant, lift-hopper trucks, belt con- veyor systems, and bucket elevators were standard equipment for mod- ern fertilizer manufacturing plants. Some of the smaller and older plants, however, still used the two-wheeled “Georgia buggy” extensively. Belt conveyor systems ranged from sim- ple, portable types to elaborate, overhead shuttle systems in the more modern plants. Belt con- veyors were frequently used to receive materials from bucket ele- vators, after such materials were unloaded by lift-hopper trucks, and transport them to storage bins. These conveyors were also used to transport raw mixed fertilizer from the mixing units to curing bins. Overhead cranes were used by two cooperatives. In loading out bagged materials for distribution to locals or to farmers, handtrucks were used most commonly. Several cooperatives had installed bag conveyors that moved materials from the bagging unit direct to trucks. A few coop- eratives used forklifts in loading out bagged materials. Bulk materials were generally conveyed to a loading chute by means of a belt conveyor and then discharged direct to bulk trucks. Mechanization of fertilizer plants has been taking place at a rapid rate inrecent years. Many of the plants covered in this study have not been able to keep pace with the trend toward mechanization because of the small volume produced and because buildings in some instances were not adaptable to mechaniza- tion. In renovating and moderniz- ing old plants it may be necessary, in some instances, to consolidate one or more to_ have sufficient volume to reduce overhead costs to a satisfactory level. For example, automatic batching equipment is expensive machinery, and a con- siderable volume is necessary to justify installation of this equip- ment. However, in order to remain competitive it will be necessary for cooperatives to resort more and more to automation in their opera- tions. Granulation Only three plants surveyed had granulation facilities in operation at the time of the study. However, two were in the process of installing granulating equipment and several others had rather definite plans for producing granular materials. Granulation has not been adopted by the fertilizer industry in the South as rapidly as in other regions of the country. The main reasons for this seem to be: 1. The fertilizer industry of the South is older than in other parts of the country and productive ca- pacity has Jong been adequate to supply current needs. Thus, not many new plants have been built in the South in recent years. In other areas of the country, consumption of fertilizer has been expanding rapidly and new facilities have been built to supply the expanding de- mand. Many of these new facilities were equipped with granulating machinery at the time they were constructed. 2. With nearby phosphate sourc- es the advantages of high-analysis materials compared to low-analysis materials are not as apparent as in other sections of the country. Thus the need for granulation in con- nection with high-analysis materials is not as great. With ever-increasing transporta- tion costs, however, the advantages of high-analysis materials are be- coming more apparent. Granular materials also are desirable for use with modern application equipment to prevent clogging. With con- tinued mechanization of farm op- erations, this is becoming a more important factor. There is also increased interest in preventing separation of materials in fertilizer both in the distribution channels and when being spread. In granu- lar materials each granule or pellet has all the essential elements bond- ed together. Therefore, separation of materials does not take place. The outlook, therefore, is for ai: increasing proportion of fertilizer in the South to be granular material. Some of the cooperative plants are becoming rapidly outdated. Buildings in some instances are in bad shape. Equipment is becom- ing badly worn, obsolete in some instances, and in need of replace- ment. Methods of handling in some plants are time consuming and costly. Plant layouts are not always conducive to efficient opera- tion. Modernization of old plants is becoming increasingly urgent. In modernizing, cooperatives should give due consideration to installing granulating and ammoniating fa- cilities and more modern handling equipment. In some cases, in order to spread modernization costs, it may be advantageous to consolidate operations of one or more plants. This question should be examined carefully before undertaking ex- tensive remodeling and moderniza- tion jobs. 23 Table 13.—Kinds of ingredients used by 35 cooperative plants in the manu- facture of mixed fertilizer, 1956 ' Kind of material | Area I Area II Area III South 1,000 -Per- 1,000 -Per- 1,000 Per- 1,000 Per- tons cent tons cent tons cent tons cent Nitrogen 2 22a 65. 0 13.0 146 1832645. 63340 eel 25s 2 1725 Phosphate__-__--_-- oe. 281,55 9°56:52. 40) 7 5009) 629.28 2 Sao le eee Potash ee eee 98. 8 19.7 10.0 12.6 27.8 20.7 136.6 19. 1 Secondary and trace__ 29.7 DP 9 58lo2G) 816.9 eZ 1. Oo OF Om O4 as 9.1 Conditioner and filler__ 26. 0 ae tere De 1082 (El RYE! See otal eee eee 501.0 100.0 80.0 100.0 134.3 100.0 715.3 100.0 1 Data were for 18 plants in Area I, 7 in Area IJ, and 10 in Area III. Only 31 of these plants were identical with those in the group of 35 reporting production in table 7. Ingredient information on the entire 35 plants was used in this report, however, to provide a more complete picture of cooperative operations. Data on ingredient purchases and use and on fertilizer produced were not sufficiently complete for identical plants to yield reliable shrinkage information. Ingredients Used Ingredients used in manufactur- ing mixed fertilizer may be classified into five categories as follows: (1) Nitrogen, (2) phosphate, (3) potash, (4) secondary and trace elements, and (5) conditioners and fillers. Detailed information on ingredi- ents used was obtained from 35 cooperative plants in the South. They used a total of 715,000 tons during their fiscal years ended in 1956 (table 13).2 Nearly half of this amount, or 49.1 percent, was phosphate. About 19 percent was potash and 17.5 percent was nitro- gen. Secondary and trace elements made up 9.1 percent, and the re- maining 5.2 percent consisted of conditioners and fillers. The proportion of these materials varied considerably among the three areas. In Area I, for example, > Only 31 of these plants were identical with those in the group of 35 plants reporting production in table 7. In- gredient information on the entire 35 plants was used in this report, however, to provide a more complete picture of cooperative operations. Data on _ in- gredient purchases and use and on fertilizer produced were not sufficiently complete for identical plants to yield reliable shrinkage information. 24 phosphate made up 56.2 percent of the total compared to 50.9 percent in Area IT and only 21.8 percent in Area III. Nitrogen, on the other hand, accounted for only 13 percent of the total in Area I, 18 percent in Area II, and about 34 percent in Area III. Potash was relatively less important in Area II, while sec- ondary and trace elements were less important in Area I. Conditioners and fillers accounted for a larger proportion of ingredients used in Area III where they made up 7.6 percent of the total. The various types of materials in each of the five principal ingredi- ents used are discussed in the fol- lowing section of this report. Nitrogen Materials Of the 125,000 tons of nitrogen materials used in the manufacture of mixed fertilizer in 1956 the most important was nitrogen solution, accounting for about 37 percent of the total (table 14). Sulfate of ammonia was second in importance, accounting for 27 percent of the total. Thus, these two materials combined accounted for nearly two- thirds of all the nitrogen used. The relative importance of differ- ent nitrogen materials varied some- ( what in different areas. For exam- ple, nitrogen solution made up 52 percent of the total nitrogen used in Area I, 58.5 percent in Area II, but only 8.4 percent in Area III. Likewise organic materials were of minor importance in Area I and II, but made up 28.4 percent of the total in Area III. Sulfate of am- monia was of major importance in Areas I aad II, but of relatively minor importance in Area III. Conversely, ammonium nitrate was of little importance in mixed ferti- lizer manufacture in Areas I and II, but accounted for 23.6 percent ee total nitrogen used in Area The only nitrate material used extensively in mixed fertilizer man- ufacture and produced by coopera- tives in the South was ammonium nitrate. Mississippi Chemical Corp. produced this material, but most of its output was used for direct application rather than in mixtures. Mississippi Chemical Corp. also produced anhydrous ammonia, but practically all of this production also was used for direct appli- cation. Phosphate Materials As previously mentioned, phos- phate accounted for approximately half of all the raw materials used by the 35 cooperative plants to make mixed fertilizer in 1956. Of the 352,000 tons of phosphate used, approximately 93 percent was nor- mal superphosphate (table 15). Next in importance was concen- trated superphosphate, accounting for about 4 percent. Calcium meta- phosphate made up a little over 1 percent of the total. The major differences between areas in the use of phosphate in mixtures was the greater impor- tance of concentrated superphos- phate in Area IT and of wet-base goods in Area III. The only phosphate-carrying ma- terial manufactured by cooperatives in the South was normal super- phosphate. Approximately 175,000 tons were produced in cooperative Table 14.—Nitrogen materials used by 35 cooperative fertilizer plants in manufacture of mixed fertilizer, 1956 Nitrogen materials Area I Area IT Area III | South 1,000 Per- 1,000 -Per- 1,000 Per- 1,000 Per- tons cent tons cent tons cent tons cent Ammonium nitrate_____ 0. 2 0. 3 0. 1 OF) 108 23. 6 11. 1 8. 8 Ammonium nitrate lime- SLOT Glas ee eek ee (1) (2) 0 0 2a 4.6 2a ie Calcium ammonium ni- CERT Gene, eee ene 0 0 vil ch 1. 6 ono ie ¥6 1. 4 Calciumeitrate. 42.52 0 0 0 0 1. 4 3. 1 1a 1. 1 Vana Geese aes Js 1.0 65 3) (2) (1) api 1.0 .9 Nitrate of soda__._._-- Sal! el! (1) ob = Yeoe 8 20.8 9. 6 0 Bigrogen solutiones.— 2229 33.9 8 52510 1855 5825" — 3.8 84 46.3 36.9 OUPAniICs i408 eee ee oe Lae 2 2cee 0 0 129 284 144 11.5 Sulfate of ammonia_____ 28.4 43. 6 Be A Pad lees) 2D 5. 6 34. 0 Dieie CPS ee rn nena (2) bal oaG ilivge 76 AW 125 ee: 2. 6 AGS | Caleta ap ies 0 0 22 182 2 4h a) sa ‘Ova elaeee sae 65.1 100.0 14.6 100.0 45.5 100.0 125.2 100.0 1 Less than 50 tons. 2 Less than 0.05 percent. 3 Includes castor pomace, sewage sludge, nitrogenous tankage, tankage, lupine meal, cottonseed meal, bird guano, citrus meal, materials. dried blood, feather tankage, and similar 25 Mississippi Chemical Corp.’s ammonia plant at Yazoo City produces more than 270 tons of anhydrous ammonia daily. This is the basic material of MCC’s nitrogen fertilizers. Part of the production is used for direct application and the rest is converted to other nitrogen fertilizers. plants in fiscal 1956 and used pri- marily in the manufacture of mixed fertilizer. As indicated later, co- operatives manufactured approxi- mately 37 percent of the normal superphosphate they used in man- ufacturing mixed fertilizer. The 13,000 tons of concentrated superphosphate used in mixed ferti- Table 15.—Phosphate materials used lizer manufacture plus about an equal amount distributed by co- operatives would be insufficient and too widely scattered to justify building a cooperative plant to manufacture it. However, it is anticipated that this material will become increasingly important in the manufacture of mixed fertilizers by 35 cooperative fertilizer plants in manufacture of mixed fertilizer, 1956 Phosphate materials | Area I | 1,000 Per- tons cent Wet-base goods_______-_ 0. 8 0. 3 Calcium metaphosphate_ 4.2 1.5 Diammonium phosphate-_ .8 a Normal superphosphate_ 268.5 95. 4 Concentrated superphos- Dhatee we we: oie 6. 4 2. 2 Ochers emer ae 9 3 1 Less than 50 tons. 26 40.7 100.0 29.2 100; 0 Area II Area III | South 1,000 Per- 1,000 Per- 1,000 Per- tons cent tons cent tons cent 0 0 Beye f20 3. 0 0. 9 (2) Ae 0 0 4.2 pie (3) a) 0 0 .8 Bee SOE 86.1 24.8 85.0 328.4 93. 4 O20 ioe 13 4.6 face 3. 8 0 0 .9 2.9 1.8 5 351.5 100. 0 Table 16.—Potash materials used by 35 cooperative fertilizer plants in manu- facture of mixed fertilizer, 1956 Potash materials | Area I | 1,000 Per- tons cent Muriate of potash_ -_--_-_- 82.7 83.8 Sulfate of potash......-__ 84 8.5 Sulfate of potash-mag- POSIT Sees eee 9 9 Tobacco stems____-__-_- 6. 7 6. 8 (LCN As, eae ay ae ee eee 0 0 Area II Area III | South 1,000 Per- 1,000 Per- 1,000 _ Per- tons cent tons cent tons cent 10. 0 99.5 11.6 41.6 104.3 76. 4 0 0 .7 ‘2: 9. 6. 6 0 0 14. 9 Domi 15. 8 11. 6 0 0 4 Lark 6. 9 ol al 25) ot 1.5 mo 3 98.7 100.0 10.1 100.0 27.8 100.0 136.6 100.0 and for direct application as in- creasing emphasis is given to high- analysis materials. It may be that at some future date cooperatives of the South will find it advanta- geous to manufacture their concen- trated superphosphate needs in a jointly owned plant. Potash Materials The 35 cooperative plants used a total of 136,600 tons of potash materials during fiscal 1956 (table 16). Over three-fourths of this amount was muriate of potash (potassium chloride). Sulphate of potash-magnesium was the second most important potash material, accounting for 11.6 percent of the total. Sulfate of potash and to- bacco stems accounted for 6.6 and 5.1 percent, respectively, of the total. There were considerable differ- ences in the use of potash among the three areas. Sulfate of potash and tobacco stems were of considerable importance in Area I, but were of only minor importance in the other two areas. Likewise, sulfate of potash-magnesium was the major potash material used in Area III, but it was unimportant in the other two areas. Secondary and Trace Elements The 35 cooperative plants used ap- proximately 65,000 tons of second- ary and trace elements in the manu- facture of mixed fertilizer in 1956 (table 17). Secondary element materials, consisting mostly of limestone, made up 97.3 percent of the total. Lime- stone was classified as a secondary element, although it is used in mixed fertilizer manufacture pri- marily to neutralize acid-forming materials rather than to supply the secondary plant food element, calcium. Conditioners and Fillers The 35 cooperative plants used approximately 37,000 tons of con- ditioners and fillers in mixed ferti- lizer manufacture (table 18). Most of this amount was inert materials. Areas I and III used most of the tonnage of conditioners and fillers. Seasonality in Use of Ingredients Seasonality in the use of the five kinds of ingredients used in the manufacture of 715,000 tons of mixed fertilizer by southern cooperatives in 1956 is shown in figure 4. Two definite peaks were reached during the year—one in the spring and one in the fall. The spring peak came in April in Areas I and II and in May in Area III. The fall peak was reached in October in Areas I and II and in November in Area III. 27 Table 17.—Use of secondary and trace element materials in the manufacture of mixed fertilizer by 35 cooperative fertilizer plants, 1956 Kind of material Area I | Area II | Area III | South 1,000 Per- 1,000 Per- 1,000 Per- 1,000 Per- Secondary element: tons cent tons cent tons cent tons cent Limestone !_______-- 29.4 99.0 11.0 809 14.1 65.8 54.5 84.2 Other’?2.5 85 a aes (3) (4) 51207 th D. ae Oe ode SO ee ee Trace element *_2 2 __—- 2 5 10 yo 6.8 1.8 2.4 29.7 “10050551376, 10020 (3) ©) 21.5 100.0 64. 100. 0 1 Includes dolomite, burnt lime, and agricultural limestone. 2 Includes magnesium sulfate, calcined magnesite, gypsum, elemental sulfur, and sulfuric acid. 3 Less than 50 tons. 4 Less than 0.05 percent. 5 All this tonnage was sulfuric acid added during the mixing operation. 6 Includes borax, ‘‘chelated iron,’”’ manganese oxide, copper oxide, iron oxide, copper sulphate, iron sulphate, manganese sulphate, zine sulphate, zinc carbonate, zinc oxide. In May mixing operations were curtailed sharply in all areas. June, July, and August were slack periods in Areas I and II, and July, August, and September were slack in Area III. Production operations also were sharply curtailed in December in Area I and in November in Area LT: Supplies of raw materials were generally contracted for during the slack summer season. Shipping dates were scheduled at this time for the entire year to insure a supply of raw materials on hand when needed. This meant that the entire year’s operation had to be planned a year in advance. Origin of Ingredients Figure 5 shows locations of origin points for three classes of primary plant nutrients. It does not show origin points for secondary and trace elements and for conditioners and fillers. Limestone and _ filler were the major items in these categories, and they were obtained by and large, from local sources. Table 18.—Conditioners and fillers used by 35 cooperative fertilizer plants in the manufacture of mixed fertilizer, 1956 Type of conditioner Area I Area II Area III South! and filler 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 tons Percent tons Percent tons Percent tons Percent Organic conditioners!_____ ooo. aloe dt, 0 1. 4 19285934, 00 1253 Phosphatic sand ?________ 2e1 SF 0 0 4.4 438.4 6.5 17.5 Inert materials?_________ 20.3 78.2 Tl 10050" 4.545 “427° 8" 925.8 soon 46:8 Eo ele poe Pr 25.9 100.0 1,.1°-1000- 10.2) 00507 3722) 10020 1 Includes citrus fines, ground bark, peanut hulls, rice hulls, peat, and furfura! resid ue. 2 Includes material described as ‘‘phosphate filler.’ 3 Includes materials described as “‘filler,’’ ‘‘wet filler,’ vermiculite, terralite, zono- lite, sand, silica, and ‘‘conditioner.”’ 28 aune Apw Jdy JOW gay unr 9299 AON 490 4das SREP a eae PPP oP PP PP POP POPP PoP Pr PoP PP PrP Povod 005050 eraea tet Metatteta etatatete eaten earatetelatatatetet ieteteleteteteteetatetetetetetetetetetc MO) orerarererererereretetorererer er erel eee OOOO OOO Soe OOOO OS Ore Oreo ere eer eer elereeeee, 0909000000000 01 00016 OOOO OOO OO OOOO OOS OOOO Oo Ooo Oo Ore erer ele erefetereteefees 0009010000000 1000 101000001 o OOOO OOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOO eee eeeeeees 0902000800000 10000 00000 renee OOOO OOS OOOO CeO eee eee eer elereletefeetetereteeets orerererererereretereteretererer lel ee OO OO OOOO Oe OOO OOO ee oor ererelereter eter etereteteels CLO III III II II II II III ICI IIIS ILI ICIS C8 19S 05S 880 999.9090 5 055 KKK KK KKK KKK KOKI III I HH IH IH I HI HI HI KSC Se EPI oN NN DPD PO PRO RRRRRRRRRR RRO | COCO OOOO OOO OOOO NOOO OOO OOOO ONTO OOO OOOO oS 0000080000000 100010r5ere ore OO OOO OO OOOO OOO OO OO Oe Oo Oe SO oor ere oreo efereereee. 090200010006 OOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO eee ees 050600000806 0800 0 Ore OO OOO OOOO OOOO OOOOH OOO OOOO OOOO OOOO SO ee eee: 020009000100 0101 0 OOOO OOO OOOO OOOO COCO ECOSOC OOOO Oe Oe eereereeeteeete 900 80o 000100010000 O OOOO OOOO OOO OOO OOOO OOO OOOO OOO OOOO OOO OS "i 5505550555555 555 555 oN PII IH III ore 1 90ateatatnhaee0a0e0e0q0.02020-050,0,0,0502020.0,0-0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0.0°0101010-0,010.0.0" ohh, O Y, -arerererererererarererononereseretetenenotonotesevacateneenotetetetetetetatacaetetetetet rd YER RRR RRR RRR RRR Z * RK KOKO KK ION SRR I II) ‘ ) Y ROI IIH III II IH IIIT N/R KR III LBRO 0 0 0 055 OU, orerererereteteatets rx COO SOOO UTREERRRER RR RR RY ypyree, NV UR RRRRERR RRR WW POO OOOO 0G i cote cevece fete tetere”, Y PEL PIII III \VOYwwwwyy yy VY Ye WKS Ves x \ Mo" 0.0.0.6 0 00 6 oe og > O8 Ws (sjudid S¢) HLNOS 06 aune Apw jdy 4OW qge4 uort 29g AON 490 Jdas Bny Ajne -©.9,9.0. 5 <5 —=— == (S}UD}d Ol ) IBID Beh SNOL “SNOHL Ov Bny Aine aune Know sdy JOM gay unp 22g AON 490 Jdas Bny Aine (s}ud}g 2) I V3AuYvV 94 O¢ aunp ow dy DW gay upp «98g MON «4490. 4dagSsBny Aine ‘ae. ~~. eee," aaa”, We of if Tae Of OF OS OS Pe Oe OS kr Oe Pi Oa 2st taha Nate tete tel atateteta tattle etter etetatetaletetetatetctetetateetetetete®, O 090001090901 0101 0161010000010. 61000100 OOO OOo OOOO ere erro eee eee 090109070200 096 1010101000. 0 OOO OOO OOO OO OOO OO Oreo ererererefetee 070009076900 01 0101010100100 0160 OO OOo OOo Oreo Orolo erereterereteferefeens 090909096900 09 07010101010. 0101 001 O OO OOo OOO ee Or Or er eretererererefete 050900090101 010 1010101010100 0 0006 OO OOOO OOo OO Ooo elererefeer eee 0009007605100 000 oOo OOo Oe Oreo Ore erorerereretererotoleretereteteretereets 302 020.0.0.0.0-0.0-0.0-0.0 0.0.0.0 .0.0.0.0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0. 0.0. 0.0.0.0 4.0.0.0 .0 0.0 00 0 006 0 0 0 eee ele MO) wrereretereretorerelele OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOo ore Orererereretereretetetefeetefeteneee 0. 0.0001020.010.010- 0.01006 OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO Ooo Oreo Or eer ere eretetereteteretetee”, 05020-0506. 0-0.0.0-0.0.010.010.01010.0.016.0.010181010161010101 00016100 O oreo oro orererer et erer eres W9000°6200020.010.0.010-0.000.01010161010-0161 6101010010010 OO OO oo OOo Orolo erelererereeretetetete: Uy’ siarasararererererereteletetotenoneeereveretetotototonensveretetetetetototetetetatetatatatateteteten ey 7 ‘Gy 200 00010.020.000101010.0.010- 01010010 0010 OOO OOO oro orererererererererereleefeteees YW VG ,050505 050505050205 0502020,0,0,050.02050.0.0.0,0.0-0.0' 4749 0.0.0-0. 0.0.0 000010 Ort Or Or Oe O02 VF), 9,9, 0,. 0.0.0 .@ °, > R é (PROVO OOD OO OPRSRR ~ % OG), seeretetates, O50 BOO” V/ 0. 0.0.0.0. 0.0.0.0-0.0.0.0-6.5 ve WU rorererererererererererere’’ "OY jrrterererererererererete® NG sarererererererererete ff f ogege S054 ogesege 6250505 orere®, ree 025 oes, ore OSS 605 N253 oe PeSq ore OSes SS 5d ore 05 OO re" SS : 25 >» ~ ©; oS NX 2S CS oe 5 ore ee: ose, ore @« se, re Cx) ’e” oS @ 4 4 WU LLM LEE $|DIueyDW eyDYydsoud ees] S|DI48JDW YSD}og HW/// S|DIJejDW UEBOIJIN Pe] S|DIueJOW JueWa{a 9904) 'g KuDpUDIES S18] |1¥ 8 SIAUOIHIPUDD AYO (SJUD|g 8 ) I V3 HV SNOL “SNOHL 9G6} ‘OE 2unf papuaiwad ‘yynocg ayy ul syuDjd 42Z1]1N12) paxiw aAlyDIadoor GE Aq pasn syuzipasbul yo usayod jDuospag—y ainbi4 Os N suD|d uMO WO4 BJoYdsOUduadns ~* S$804NOS SjDI4ajJDW YsDjog S904NOS S|DI4OJDW aJDYdsoUdg V7 OV S$804NOS SjDIuaJOW UaHOIN O *O S is |Vs2 c2V » *N OV22 n 20 6! OS6L “YINos au; ul syuDjd J2Z1|1H12j 2AlyDIVWdoo> CE Aq painyoojnuoW sazijip2ay paxiw ul Pasn sjpuajow yuaiynu yuojd Asowud yo sazinog—g ainbi4 Shown are 47 origin points for nitrogen, 27 for phosphate, and 9 for potash. Nitrogen solution, sulfate of ammonia, superphosphate, and muriate of potash were the four major primary nutrients used in mixing. These four materials com- bined accounted for 513,000 tons, or nearly 72 percent, of the 715,000 tons of materials used. The tonnage figures obtained according to origin points represent plant receipts of the various ma- terials. Therefore, they do not correspond to tonnage used since part of the tonnage received may have been distributed for direct application or accumulated in inventory. The quantities of nitrogen solu- tion purchased by the 35 coopera- tive plants in 1956 were: 53. 3 Ten different origin points were used for nitrogen solution for these plants. Most important was Hope- well, Va., with Vicksburg, Miss., second in importance. The quantities cof sulfate of ammonia purchased by the 35 cooperative plants in 1956 were: Fourteen origin points were used by these plants. Sparrows Point, Md., Hopewell, Va., Clairton, Pa., and Birmingham, Ala., were most important of these. The quantities of superphosphate This dump hopper unit is in the Adel, Ga., fertilizer manufacturing plant of Cotton Producers Association, Atlanta, Ga. purchased by the 35 plants in 1956 were: 1,000 Area tons en, en RR Nels PN Be oh 305. 9 UR ote Po ee ee 55. 4 LL eee ee ee ee ee 25. 2 LL Ota Sere ee eee eeee 386. 5 Cooperatives used 23 origin points for superphosphate. Balti- more, Md., and Norfolk, Va., were the two main sources of this mate- rial. Other origin points were widely scattered and each was mostly used as a source by only one plant. Of their total plant supplies of superphosphate, cooperatives man- ufactured 141,700 tons, or 37 per- cent (table 19). On the other hand, about 245,000 tons, or 63 percent, were purchased on the open market. Area I cooperatives produced some 92,000 tons of superphosphate which accounted for about 30 per- cent of total superphosphate sup- plies. This compared with 50,000 tons produced by Area II coopera- tives, which made up 90 percent of superphosphate supplies in this area. Cooperatives of Area III did not have any superphosphate production of their own. In view of the apparent under- utilization of cooperative super- phosphate acidulating facilities, as will be seen on pages 38-40 of this report, and purchases of 245,000 31 Table 19.—Proportion of superphosphate receipts of 35 cooperative plants manufactured in own plants and purchased, 1956 Area Own manu- Purchased Total facture 1,000 1,000 1,000 tons Percent tons Percent tons Percent | be. eae soe ea ee ee ay 30.0 214.2 70.0 305.9 100. 0 ee ee ee eS 50. 0 90. 3 5. 4 9. 7 55. 4 100. 0 LL pere eae ee ee ee eee 0 0 Zone 100. 0 ope 624 100. 0 BOUL. See eee ee 141. 7 36.7 244.8 63.3 386.5 100. 0 tons on the open market, it seems greater coordination of superphos- phate procurement is needed. The quantities of muriate of potash purchased by the 35 plants in 1956 were: Area: 115. 5 Practically all the potash was obtained from the Carlsbad, N. Mex., area. Small amounts were obtained from Europe and from Trona, Calif., by cooperatives in Area I. Transportation of Ingredients Because of the bulky nature of fertilizer materials and the need for moving them long distances in many instances, transportation is an important element of cost. It has been variously estimated to make up from 25 to 40 percent of the retail price of fertilizer. Thus, of the more than $60 million worth of fertilizer manufactured by coop- eratives in fiscal 1956, some $15 million to $24 million was used to pay costs of moving it from one point to another. Handling Traffic Five of the larger cooperatives studied had complete traffic depart- 32 ments. In general, these depart- ments were in charge of routing inbound and outbound shipments, specifying modes of transportation to be used, auditing freight bills, contracting for motortruck carriers, chartering vessels, and handling insurance and claims against car- riers for loss or damage. If the cooperative had no traffic depart- ment, it usually assigned the job of handling traffic to someone—either an assistant manager, plant super- intendent, or an employee in the sales department. One cooperative used over 2,400 rail cars for movement of inbound and outbound materials. Schedul- ing this number of shipments so as to take advantage of the best possible routes and lowest cost transportation and at the same time give the best possible service to patrons is a job needing full time and attention in an_ efficiently managed cooperative. Many coop- eratives need to give greater em- phasis to efficient handling of in- bound and outbound traffic. Mode of Transportation Used Table 20 gives the mode of in- bound transportation used for four major ingredient materials in mixed fertilizer manufacture, for all other materials, and for all materials by area. Over the South as a whole, 79 percent of all inbound tonnage moved by rail, some 12 percent by Table 20.—Modes of transportation used for inbound materials to 35 coop- erative fertilizer mixing plants, year ended June 30, 1956 ' Material and mode Area I Area II Area III South of transportation 1,000 Per- 1,000 Per- 1,000 —‘Per- 1,000 Per- Nitrogen solution: tons cent tons cent tons cent tons cent Raita. See et 40.0 100.0 9.2 100.0 4.2 100.0 53.3 100.0 Sulfate of ammonia: Raleess ee B24 One OO. Um 26 vee Al ZL OL eos 8 aeOlee 97.1 ALAN CEWaAGCr = seen wea oe re es Cee ee ee at! 10. 2 vo ant § Raia nds tril Ck eee sane ee eee ee 9 2420 Se eee 9 ja. 94 Oval ee 32.0 2100/0" 3275) 100.0 2.6 100.0 38.4 100.0 Superphosphate (18-20 percent): EL DUO os ieeeentcs seers 629 2 BO ee ee ee ee Oh RR ns 0 Ses os 62. 9 24. 9 Riagilten se eee 12126 54. 9 Dope OOO 2542900100) 0 e526 ae G0eo WLLGDo eae ee 20. 4 OS ce ep ae Sant Bad o: 5 aad Die 20. 4 8. 1 Railgand truck. 22. 16. 4 (Lt eater a Recta teak Fin ipo tretine 16. 4 6. 5 Otel ee oes Se 2221 eon L0020, 2 558) 810050" 25:2" 100, 0 =25273° 10070 Muriate of potash: Rate cee 85. 6 98.5 14.8 100.0 9.629 69. 65,110; 0) 9522 Waters 22 eo Ne 1.3 RDA 2 Oe ee ere ee ies li Raiwancdaw ators ee) ei cae eee AREAS.» oo os 4.2 30. 4 4.2 ol Aap nee. Cees eee 86.9 100. 0 .8 100.0 13.8 100.0 115.5 100.0 Other materials: Trucks. + Sisson 8. 9 10. 6 Kee) Sal 6. 6 6. 1 16. 3 7.6 Rigil: mies Sates oy ee 70. 4 84.0 17.8 79.8 94.6 86.6 182.8 849 Waters. sett ote ah ve AIA Bh See eee Pea ett ter our ii Ws Rail and water___-_- it 7h ae: ae ork 8. 0 (bo 8. 1 3. 8 Rail and truck~_-____ Ff 9 oh ff LOS Dawe ae ee. ote 4.4 2. 0 ‘Lota ee eee 83.8 100.0 22.3 100.0 109.2 100.0 215.3 100.0 All materials: BLL C Kauai 0 eke, OE 71.8 15.5 0.8 ss) 6. 6 4,3 79. 2 ieee aL eee eee eee ee 349.9 75.3 50.1 90..3- 13650 —8%. 7 53600) ) 37984 Wialeraere seas cee e 25. 4 el ee ee ee or ye eee ee 25. 4 3. 8 Rail and water__-___ oil (4) ee ee eee 12.5 8. 0 Ps18 19 Rail and truck_-____ 1722 ey aches) SO AL eee pee ee PA Noe 4. 24 (EOUdL eee een eae 464.4 100.0 55.4 100.0 155.1 100.0 674.9 100.0 1 Does not include materials used in acidulating plants. 2 Includes 7,034 tons of own manufactured superphosphate. 3 Includes 400 tons of own manufactured superphosphate. 4 Less than 0.05 percent. truck, 4 percent by water, and about 5 percent by combinations of rail and water or rail and truck. Rail movement on inbound ma- terials was the most important method of transportation in all areas, accounting for from 75 to 90 percent of total volume in each area. Trucks were relatively more im- portant in Area IJ, accounting for 15.5 percent of total volume com- pared with 4.3 percent in Area III and 1.5 percent in Area IJ. Water was important in Areal. However, a combination rail-and-water move- ment accounted for considerable volume in Area III. Most of this latter tonnage was muriate of pot- ash out of New Mexico by water across the Gulf of Mexico and sludge 33 tankage out of Chicago via the Mississippi by barge. The mode of transportation varied among different types of materials. For example, all nitro- gen solution was moved by rail transportation. Considerable quan- tities of superphosphate were moved by rail and truck, with small quan- tities by water and a combination of rail and truck. Water transportation is generally recognized as the most economical method of shipping fertilizer ma- terials. Yet, less than 6 percent of the volume of materials received at cooperative mixing plants utilized this method of transportation. By coordinating procurement of raw materials of several cooperatives, there would seem to be consider- able opportunity to make greater use of water transportation and effect savings for farmers. This possibility exists especially with muriate of potash out of New Mex- ico and with phosphate materials out of Florida. Where plants do not have direct access to water transportation, the possibilities for rail or truck in combination with water should be examined closely. The possible advantages of water transportation are such that coop- eratives should consider it in locat- ing future fertilizer manufacturing facilities. The organizers of Coastal Chemi- cal Corp. have recognized the ad- vantages of water transportation and have constructed at Pasca- goula, Miss., manufacturing facil- ities to take advantage of water rates. Securing Adequate Transportation Problems in Rail Table 21 lists problems reported by cooperative managers in obtain- ing adequate rail transportation for movement of inbound and _ out- bound fertilizer materials. Eight- een managers reported having no special problems. Six managers stated that shortage of cars during certain seasons was an important problem. Delays up to 1 month caused by car shortages were re- ported. Most of these shortages related to shipments of potash out of Carlsbad, N. Mex. The heavy wheat shipping season was reported to be a particularly bad time to ob- tain adequate rail transportation for fertilizer materials. Boxcars in poor condition were the second most important problem reported by cooperative managers. The most common condition re- ported was holes in floors, which allowed bulk materials to leak through. Many of the claims re- ported by cooperatives against car- riers were a result of cars being in bad condition. Claims Against Carriers Claims against carriers filed by 29 cooperatives amounted to about $48,000 in 1956 (table 22). The amount of claims averaged about $2,200 per association. Five as- sociations reported having no claims against carriers. More than half of those reporting claims (13 of 24) Southern States Cooperative, Inc., makes use of water transportation at its Baltimore, Md., fertilizer manufacturing plant. Table 21.—Problems reported by 28 cooperatives in securing adequate rail transportation, 1956 Problem NO. peGlalspropicnis sae ==. = ee A Shortage of cars during certain seasons ?___ DOx cars DOOrCOUCINION 92) 22.2 aa S2 Can’t depend on time of arrival___._..--_- Frequent changes in routes___.-.-_----_- (CelesecauD il switCh vars. =. ee Cooperatives reporting! Number Percent at et See fae 18 64 a A ig eee Peg Oe 6 21 ees erie Rey a Le 5 18 ete 2 Se Pe 2 7 ieee eee et eee 1 4 aS eee ee I 4 ES ee re 28 100 1 Figures do not add to total because some cooperatives reported more than one problem. 2 Managers reported delays up to 1 month because of car shortages. Most car shortages reported related to shipments of potash. 3 Conditions reported included holes in floors, not fit for loading, inferior cars, and leaky cars. had a total of $500 or even less. As to the size of individual claims, 11 associations reported filing 108 claims that totaled $30,656, an average of $284 a claim. Use of Covered Hopper Cars Table 23 shows use cooperatives made of covered hopper cars for incoming materials. Nine coopera- tives reported using this type car for from two-thirds to all of their incoming phosphate rock. Five Table 22.—Frequency distribution of associations reported using covered hopper cars for muriate of potash. Two of these moved from one-third to two-thirds and three reported moving from two-thirds to all of their incoming muriate of potash tonnage by this method. Other materials moved in covered hopper cars—each by one cooperative— were tobacco stems, sulphate of ammonia, concentrated = super- phosphate, and dolomitic limestone. Of 28 associations reporting, 10 used covered hopper cars for 1 or total amount of claims filed against carriers on fertilizer materials by 29 southern cooperatives, year ended June 30, 1956 Amount of claims ! 2, OU lel 13,0 00 sects ae eS oat a. eee a ht UIE CORDA UU ae ee tet tha nel ote ee Ba Lat £50) IU) sees tetera Seep Se See ee CHVETS DO fo) Se een tee eee ese ah ae Se ee AMOUNT tNOW AV aA DIC fee eee eee Cooperatives reporting Number Percent 17. 0 45. 0 — S| Nw Rwown SS Sou: (>) an) 1 Total claims reported filed were $47,731, or $2,170 per association. 35 Table 23.—Use of covered hopper cars for incoming materials by 10 coop- erative fertilizer manufacturers, 1956 Proportion of ton- nage in covered hopper cars Material received Ones third Two- to thirds two- to all thirds Number of coop- eratives Rock phosphates<3 63 5 Se ee eee Muriate of, potash. 3) ee ee ee eee Tobacco stems... tae. 2 erate at eee eae ee Concentrated superphosphate Dolomitic limestone M c i = in cf (qo) S hy 5 () a i) 1 \ | 1 i} 1 ' 1 | ! \ 1 1 \ 1 \ \ i] | ' \ ! f I 1 | | 1 | 1 i] I fl I i 1 QQ] =) HO more incoming ingredient materials. Freight Rate Activity The use of this type car was ms reported to be increasing because Cooperative fertilizer manutac- of the ease of unloading bulk turers in the South have made materials. More and more cooper- active efforts to obtain more favora- atives are installing under-car screw ble freight rates on _ fertilizer conveyor systems to handle receipts materials. Congressman =. nearness en 1 5) Made freight rate survey in locating plant_________________ 1 oy) Eppled or special rates se een ee ee see 1 5 Obtained special rate through direct negotiation with rail- LOAG oe ees oe eee ne ee Pe ee 1 9) Lotal®. "Be Mae) en 21s) st eee Cooperatives reporting no action taken__._..__........____. 0) Se ee ee Cooperatives notireporting—))). a ee rg le ee Totalecooperatives se acm ee eee een 29 100 1 Figures do not add to total because some reported more than one action. 36 table 24. The most common way of working for lower freight rates was through industry, State, or cooperative groups. Eleven asso- ciations reported taking action of this kind. Six associations reported submitting briefs or complaints at freight rate hearings. Other cooperatives attempted to influence rates by shifting part of their tonnage to trucks, offering to nego- tiate with the railroads, hiring services of traffic consultants, sending representatives to ICC hearings, and applying for special rates in certain cases. In Area III, several cooperatives reported participating in activities of the Inland Fertilizer Council. This group was successful in obtain- ing adjustments in rates to inland cities to bring them more in line with rates to port cities. Rates to port cities had been set lower than to inland cities because of com- peting water transportation. This applied especially to potash from New Mexico. Manufacture of Superphosphate (Cea ee in this study operated 13 superphosphate manufacturing plants with 8 in Area I and 5in Area II. All made normal superphosphate through acidulation of finely ground phos- phate rock with sulfuric acid. One cooperative produced enriched su- perphosphate (27% to 30 percent P,O;) with its acidulating equip- ment through the use of phosphoric acid. Production Trends Production of superphosphate by the 13 cooperative plants from 1951 through 1956 is shown in table 25. Their output increased from 112,500 tons in 1951 to 174,600 tons in 1956, an increase of approximately 55 per- cent. Production went up each year with the exception of 1953 when it fell below the previous year. Production in Area I jumped 74 percent compared with 23 percent in Area II. None of the coopera- tives in Area III had superphos- phate plants. Superphosphate production is compared with the total used in mixtures and distributed as straight material in table 26. An estimated 408,100 tons of superphosphate were used in mixtures by the 42 cooperative plants in the South. Another 37,900 tons were distrib- uted as straight material, thus bringing the total superphosphate used and distributed to 446,000 tons. The production of 174,600 tons, therefore, was about 39 per- cent of total needs. Area I coopera- tives produced 35 percent of their Table 25.—Superphosphate production by 13 cooperative plants in the South, 1951-56 Year ending June 30— Area I Area II | South 1,000 tons ae Clet 40. 8 ess Mo iae te 87. 4 37.6 125. 0 es, Ae 70.8 40. 6 111.4 ie tae e 87.9 53. 0 140. 9 Baye dac one son G22 49. 4 151. 4 Sere 124. 6 50. 0 174. 6 37 Table 26.—Comparison of superphosphate volume manufactured with that used in mixtures and distributed as straight material, year ended June 30, 1956 Superphosphate (18-20 percent) DscGenernix tures =. 2 eo ee eee Distributed as straight material_-___----- Proportion of total volume manufactured__ Area Area Area I ist IIy | South 1,000 tons ie 345. 8 36. 4 25. 9 408. 1 PA 2 8.8 27.8 (es 37. 9 ae 354. 6 64. 2 Piel t 446. 0 Sas 124. 6 50. O 0 174. 6 Percent 4. ay aay a Ting 0 39. 1 1 Estimated total of 42 mixing plants based on actual use by 35 plants. 2 Manufactured volume of 13 plants. needs compared to 78 percent in Area II. Facilities and Operations Detailed information on facilities and operations was obtained on 11 of the acidulating plants—6 in Area I and 5in Area II. Each coopera- tive also operated mixing plants at the same location. Although lo- cated in the same or adjacent build- Area ings, the acidulating and mixing operations were entirely separate. Acidulating Units Of the 11 superphosphate plants, 6 had batch-type acidulating units and 5 had continuous units. Capacities.—Data on rated capac- ities of acidulating units per 8- hour shift are summarized in the following tabulation. Tons This indicates all cooperative plants in the region were small to medium in size. Large plants would range in capacity from 300 to 400 tons per 8-hour shift. Total production of superphos- phate by the 11 plants for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1956, was 143,580 tons, or an average of 12,871 tons per plant. Approximately 92,000 tons of this amount were produced in the six plants located in Area I and 50,000 tons in the five 38 Number Range in Average of plants capacities capacity Tons ae 6 80 to 160 140 fx 5 120 to 200 154 ces 11 80 to 200 146 plants in Area II. The average output per plant in Area I was 15,273 tons compared to 9,988 tons per plant in Area II. The range in output per plant was from 6,000 to 26,000 tons in Area I and from 6,400 to 14,700 tons in Area II. Operating Efficiency.—An idea of the efficiency of acidulating units in fiscal year 1956 may be obtained from the following data on number of shifts they operated and the wide variation among plants: q Area If one assumes that all plants could have operated 200 shifts a year, as 2 plants actually did, then the average of 128 shifts and 89 shifts in Areas J and II, respectively, indicates that plants operated at considerably less than their max- imum capacity. Efficient use of acidulating plant facilities is determined by the num- ber of shifts operated during the Range in Average Plants shifts of shifts operated operated Number 6 35 to 200 128 afi 5 31 to 160 89 ie lo 31 to 200 110 year and also the rate of operation when the facility is being used. Thus, if an acidulating unit is oper- ating 200 shifts a year but at a rate of only 50 percent of its rated capacity, it is operating at only 50 percent efficiency. The actual output per 8-hour shift of plants when in operation in 1956 is shown in the next tabulation. Range in Average Percent Area Plants actual output} output of rated per shift per shift | capacity Number Tons Tons Percent | (is apa tere ae (ee ms ln ns ea ee 80 to 179 119 85 dee ee ee ered 84 to 207 112 73 SOUL meee ee ee ee eee Ti 80 to 207 116 79 This indicated that acidulating plants in Area I operated at about 85 percent of rated capacity during the time they were in operation. This compared with 73 percent in Area II and about 79 percent for all 11 plants. Another indication of the effi- The Louisville, Ky., fertilizer manufacturing plant of Southern States Cooperative, Inc., Richmond, Va. 39 ciency with which acidulating units were utilized was obtained by dividing the year’s output by the rated capacities of the plant per 8-hour shift. This calculation gave the number of days of operation at rated capacity that would be re- quired to produce the equivalent of the 1956 output of the plant. Results for Areas I and II and the South are shown in the follow- ing tabulation. Days of operation at capacity required to Area Plants produce 1956 output Range | Average Number Days Days Te ote he Seeks ee 6 - 38 to 214 109 i Se a ee ees carn erage 5 32 to 113 65 South? a2 22 5. 5oe se eee ae 32 to 214 88 _ Thus, plants of Area I, if operat- 65 days of operation at rated ing at their rated capacity, could capacity. have produced their total super- phosphate output for 1956 in 109 days of operation. Similarly, plants in Area II could have pro- duced their entire 1956 output in Dual solution setup in fertilizer manufac- turing plant, Carrollton, Ga., operated by Cotton Producers Association, Atlanta, Ga. 40 Since two plants required 200 days of operation or more to pro- duce their annual output it seems that, in general, acidulating capac- ity was not utilized at a satisfactory level of efficiency during fiscal year 1956. Storage Capacity and Turnover Raw material storage capacity at the 11 acidulating plants totaled approximately 9,000 tons. Ap- proximately 6,400 tons of this was allocated to rock phosphate storage and 2,600 tons to sulfuric acid. Raw materials storage averaged approximately 815 tons a plant. This was divided 580 tons for rock and 235 tons for acid. The aver- age ratio of rock storage to acid storage was 2.5. Storage capacities in individual plants ranged from 235 tons to 2,800 tons. age ranged from a minimum of 150 tons at one plant to a maximum of 2,000 tons at another plant. Acid storage ranged from 50 tons to 850 tons. Storage Capacity Related to Produc- tion Capacity.—Because of uncer- Rock phosphate stor ¢ Mississippi Federated Cooperatives’ plant at Canton, Miss., manufactures superphosphate and mixed goods for distribution through its member local co-ops. tainties in supplies and delays in transportation, raw materials stor- age in relation to production capac- ity is often an important consider- ation. By dividing the total raw materials storage capacity by the Area In other words, acidulating plants could be operated, on the average, 5.6 days without replenishing sup- plies of raw materials. Finished Products Storage. ‘Stor- age of finished products at acidulat- ing plants totaled 53,200 tons and averaged approximately 4,800 tons a plant. Total capacity was divided about the same by areas—25,200 tons in Area I and 28,000 tons in Area IJ. Average capacity was 4,200 tons a plant in Area I and 5,600 tons a plant in Area II. The range in plant capacity was from 1,200 tons to 9,000 tons in Area I, and from 4,000 to 8,000 tons in Area IT. The ratio of finished products rated capacity of the acidulating unit per 8-hour shift, the number of days of operation represented in raw materials storage by coorper- ative plants in the South is shown in the next tabulation. Days of operation in raw materials storage Plants Range Average Number Days Days wane 6 22 GO? Se | One ee 5 1.8 to 14.1 5. 9 te 11 1.8 to 14.1 OG} storage to raw materials storage averaged 5.9 for all 11 plants. The range in this ratio was from 2 to 12 in Area I and from 3 to 30 in Area II. The average ratio was 5.7 in Area I and 6.1 in Area II. Storage Turnover.—A rough meas- ure of efficiency in utilization of storage capacity was obtained by dividing output for fiscal year 1956 by tons of storage capacity. This calculation gave turnover in storage capacity for the year. The turnover in raw materials storage capacity is shown at top of next page. These data indicated that cooper- atives in Area I made much more efficient use of their raw materials 4] Area Plants Range in Average turnover turnover Number Times per year Pee Or et 2 sn, Ree eee ce ee 6 4.7 to 36.6 20. 8 De ae eee tes 2 5c ee Se ee ee 5 4.2 to 33. 1 11. 0 NOUCHC es Oe a ee ie 4.7 to 36. 6 15. 8 storage capacity in acidulating storage is shown in the next tabu- € plants than cooperatives in Area II. lation. Turnover in finished product Cooperatives of Area I also made Area Plants Range in Average turnover turnover Number Times per year ne eee Re ey Rees Nat Sein Lie, eae 6 2.0 to 13. 4 a0 | Ras eee ee A eed Dee a ae eS PR ET pc 5 LAUstO55 257 1.8 SOUtI See ee ee eee 11 1.0 to 13. 4 ial more efficient use of finished prod- ucts storage capacity than cooper- atives of Area IT. Procurement and Use of Ingredients Sulfuric acid and phosphate rock are the two ingredients used in manufacturing superphosphate. Procurement and use of these in- gredients was examined from the standpoint of (1) amounts and origins of ingredients purchased, (2) ingredients use, and (3) seasonal pattern of ingredients use. Amounts and Origins of Ingredients Purchased The 35 cooperative plants pur- chased 67,500 tons of sulfuric acid from 6 origin points in 1956. Coop- eratives in Area I obtained 25,000 tons. The principal origin point was Copperhill, Tenn., with Fort Worth, Tex., next in importance. A total of 85,600 tons of phos- phate rock was purchased by the co- operative acidulating plants in 1956. Of this quantity, 54,400 tons went 42 into Area I and 31,200 tons went into Area II. All the phosphate rock used in these plants was obtained from Florida, with the major portion coming from the Bartow area. Ingredients Use The quantity of ingredients used and the production of superphos- phate by the 11 cooperative plants in 1956 is shown in table 27. These data indicate that shrink- age for all 11 plants averaged about 6.7 percent. The amount of shrink- age in Area I averaged 7.5 percent compared to 5.2 percent in Area II. Most of the shrinkage was due to loss of moisture during the acidulat- ing process. Fertilizer technologists indicate that a shrinkage of from 5 to 10 percent in the manufacture of super- phosphate can be considered normal depending to some extent on the strength of the acid used. Seasonal Pattern of Ingredients Use For the 11 plants together, the period August through January accounted for most of the super- Table 27.—Sulfuric acid and phosphate rock used and finished superphosphate produced in 11 acidulating plants, 1956 Material | Area I | Area II | South 1,000 tons 1,000 tons 1,000 tons Percent Sulfuriccnelds used ees fee 43. 5 Don! 66. 6 43.9 Phosphate rock-used (= = ee. | 55.5 29. 6 Sor] 56. 1 FOE lar eiers. 2 eee Le ata ee 99. O Ve of Lo lan 100. 0 Superphosphate produced___________-_ 91.6 49. 9 141. 6 100. 0 phosphate manufactured in fiscal of operations was reached in 1956 (fig. 6). The spring months October. It then began to decline of February through June were’ until February, when it leveled off relatively hight, with some upturn for the remainder of the spring in operations during Apriland May. months. In Area II the peak The pattern of ingredients use of production was not reached varied considerably between the until December. Production then two areas. In Area I, the peak dropped each month through March Table 28.—Tonnage and percentage of phosphate rock and sulfuric acid used in cooperative acidulating plants, by month, year ended June 30, 1956 Material and month Area I Area II South 1,000 1,000 1,000 Sulfuric acid: tons Percent tons Percent tons Percent UL Vee ere ee a 1. 0 Das tore 5. 6 2a3 3.4 UOTE eter ee eee ore peste 42 9. 7 Deel 9. 1 6. 3 9. 5 epee beh wee fa eee 5. 4 12. 4 15 6. 5 6. 9 10. 4 Octobereaee poss ears 620 1328 13 5. 6 3 11. 0 INOVEMDECrw so cen 2 ka Boal Lalas; 2. 0 Sad fia 10. 7 Deécembers... 5 = oe 3.9 9. 0 2.9 12. 6 6. 8 10. 2 JANUArY set oe eee See ee 3. 8 8. 7 Zab Lie 6. 5 9.8 Rebrugr yoni see oats 2. 6 6. 0 2e2 9.5 4.8 2 IMOrCh ee eee See be 2.8 6. 4 1.6 6. 9 4.4 6. 6 Ie lg REMC, Ae Ieee ee Sear ote Dae 5.5 2.9 12. 6 53 7.9 je Wa cad Seok te Pe ae ie ae Sa 7.6 1.9 S32 Lab? 7.8 LD NG ee Pate ee eee 3. 0 6. 9 i 3. 0 Boek ono {aj eet ee eee eee 43. 5 100. 0 Zaid 100. 0 66. 6 100. 0 Phosphate rock: J UL yee nn Shr ekg OS 3 254. ieee ae 3, 0 B20 PUG US te ete Ae ie ea Pee 5. 4 9. 8 2.8 9.5 8. 2 9. 6 mentem betwee. see a TA l257 1.9 6. 4 8. 9 10. 4 Oetober= ae seem 2 en 7.8 14. 0 16 Ome 9. 4 tiheea) INO Vem De lee ao tet ie cS 6. 8 ea 8 ITS 8. 5 9. 3 10. 9 Decemberset oe Dee 9. 4 348 1248 9. 0 10. 6 Januar yee eee eee ae 4.9 Sh 3. 5 11.8 8. 4 SPAY Nebr a nyse eee ten. we eee 3. 4 6. 1 2. 8 9.5 6. 2 ‘Gee Marcheiae hee ee Ook 3. A 6. 2 2.0 6. 8 5. 4 6. 4 A Dri] ieee tan eens a oa) 5.3 oe 22D Gea 7.9 IN a yee en at ee) 4.0 FV nts 8. 4 6. 5 7. 6 JUG a eae eee ee Dae 5. 9 8 Zee | 4.9 Votaleeeere Soe 5D. D 100. 0 29. 6 100. 0 atin dT 100. 0 Figure 6.—Seasonal pattern of ingredients used in the manufacture of super- phosphate, year ended June 30, 1956 AREA IT (6 Plants ) AREA II (5 Plants ) THOUS. TONS O July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June SOUTH (11 Plants) THOUS. TONS el ) Table 29.—Mode of transportation for materials used in acidulating plant operations, 1956 Area and mode of Sulfuric acid Phosphate rock Total transportation 1,000 1,000 1,000 Area I: tons Percent tons Percent tons Percent PETG Sea nes oo on Sa 11.9 27.9 0 0 11.9 PA, F2 Lia Vi ee, 5 ee eae Mea ieee 28. 7 67. 4 54. 4 100. 0 83. 1 reise, Vin COlee seer 20, 4.7 0 0 2. 0 2a] Ota Ae ee ae ee 42. 6 100. 0 54. 4 100. 0 97. 0 100. 0 Area II: FE TUCK Gee ays eaten eaten Dad 23. 0 0 0 Sy 0 10. 2 EA Lees eee eee heme en 19, 2 77. 0 Sao 100. 0 50. 5 89. 8 Ota See espenre ce ees 24.9 100. 0 Slee 100. 0 56. 2 100. 0 South: dM dito) a 2) ace Zeeteee neta ere che 17. 6 26. 0 0 0 17. 6 11.55 ei) eee eet eee Ser oe 47.9 71.0 85. 6 £00.09 4t33r6 87. 2 WW A Lers Sentai Nor ee 2. 0 3. 0 0 0 2. 0 133 4 Be I ee ee | 67. 5 100. 0 85. 6 100. 0 153.2 100. 0 but considerable upturn occurred in April. June and July were slack months in both Areas J and II. Table 28 gives tonnages and percentages of phosphate rock and sulfuric acid used each month for fiscal 1956. Transportation of Ingredients Table 29 gives modes of trans- portation used in movement of sulfuric acid and phosphate rock from origin points to cooperative acidulating plants. Rail movement accounted for 87 percent of total tonnage of acid and rock. About 11.5 percent was moved. by truck, while water transportation accounted for only 1.3 percent. Of the 67,500 tons of sulfuric acid receipts, 71 percent moved by rail, 26 percent by truck, and 3 percent by water. Rail and truck movement were of about the same relative importance in Areas ITand II. All the water movement occurred in Area I. It consisted entirely of sulfuric acid shifted across the harbor in Baltimore. All phosphate rock used in co- operative acidulating plants moved by rail. As was true in transporta- tion of ingredients for mixed ferti- lizer, a considerable part of the vol- ume moved in covered hopper cars. This makes for efficient handling of materials upon arrival at the plant, and more and more cooperatives are installing under-car screw con- veyor systems to handle receipts of phosphate rock in this type car. Manufacture of Nitrogen Materials 1 ae only cooperative manufac- ture of nitrogen materials in the southern region at the time of this study was that of Mississippi Chem- ical Corp. in its plant at Yazoo City. This cooperative, referred to as MCC, was founded in 1948 to sup- ply its farmer and _ cooperative members with basic nitrogen ma- terials which were then short in 45 Table 30.—Production of anhydrous ammonia and ammonium nitrate by Mississippi Chemical Corp., 1951-58 Year ended June 30— Anhydrous | Ammonium ammonia ! nitrate 1,000 tons a ote, oles 4.5 4.4 Ee 25. 5 36. 7 Te pe ee: Sea 2 41.8 62. 1 Se ke ay ae 50. 0 (iho: eee re ee Se (le Se 112.8 as, pong ieee 96. 1 143. 2 as hgh 97.3 160. 6 JEST ah Spann rot 93. 3 bites 1 Includes anhydrous ammonia used in producing ammonium nitrate. supply. It was the first attempt at cooperative production of basic fertilizer materials in the United States. The outstanding success of this venture helped stimulate interest among cooperatives all over the Nation in efforts to gain control of basic sources of supplies. Production Trends The materials produced in MCC’s plant at Yazoo City are anhydrous ammonia (82.2 percent nitrogen) and ammonium nitrate (33.5 per- cent nitrogen). The output of these two materials for fiscal 1956 was nearly four times that of 1952— the first full year of operation (table 30). It was necessary to add additional production units to the initial installations to meet the rapid expansion in demand. The tonnage of selected nitrogen materials used in manufacturing or distributed by cooperatives is com- pared with the tonnage manufac- tured in cooperative plants in table 31. The materials shown are those that are presently produced by co- 6In February 1956, MCC directors voted to establish a subsidiary corpora- tion—Coastal Chemical Corp.—to manu- facture high-analysis water soluble ferti- lizers. This subsidiary built and began operating such a plant at Pascagoula, Miss., in 1958. 46 Operatives or appear to offer good possibilities for cooperative produc- tion. Total anhydrous ammonia used in manufacture or distributed for direct application amounted to 105,800 tons. MCC used about three-fifths of this tonnage in pro- ducing ammonium nitrate. The tonnage of anhydrous ammonia manufactured was equivalent to about 91 percent of the total used in manufacture and distributed for direct application. The tonnage of ammonium nitrate manufactured was equivalent to about 60 percent of total needs of cooperatives. All of the nearly 58,000 tons of nitrogen solution used or distributed by cooperatives had to be pur- chased on the open market. Pro- duction of this material appears to offer a good possibility for joint development by cooperatives in the South. Output of anhydrous ammonia fluctuated little from month to month in MCC’s plant during fiscal 1956 (table 32). Production varied from a low of about 7,000 tons in July to a high of 8,600 tons in January. Monthly output of ammonium nitrate was more variable than output of anhydrous ammonia, ranging from 8,342 tons in April, or 5.8 percent of annual output, tomo, (Usetons-in- March or «1107 percent of annual output. Efficient use of manufacturing capacity requires close coordination of manufacturing, storage, and dis- tribution programs. Distribution practices must be designed to move material out of the plant as rapidly as possible after manufacture. MCC offered attractive offseason ) storage allowances to farmers and dealers to encourage such move- ment. Facilities and Operations MCC’s plant at Yazoo City consisted essentially of three basic Side view of continuous ammoniating unit in manufacturing plant of Foremost Fertilizer Co., Leesburg, Fla. This unit will make 10-10-10, 8-16-0, and possibly 14-0-14 fertilizers. It is expected to increase the plant’s production by about 10,000 tons annually. sections—an ammonia section, a_ was first placed in operation in June nitric acid section, and an ammo- 1951. The original section was nium nitrate section. constructed to produce 120 tons of The ammonia section of the plant ammonia per 24-hour day. Since Table 31.—Tonnage of selected nitrate materials used in manufacture and distributed by cooperatives compared with tonnage manufactured in coop- erative plants, year ended June 30, 1956 Weedain Manufactured Area and material manufacture : _ and mn Proportion distributed moun of total Area I: 1,000 tons 1,000 tons Percent AAXINY CATO Use UNE OD Ae ee oe Bene ae 0, 2 0 0 AmnroOniurir nitrates aap er 73. 9 0 0 IILTOCETMSOlUTIONS 2s. Se eee. kee 44.8 0 0 Area II: UN OTOMS ANI Oni A apee- a ee eee 105. 6 96. 1 91.0 weg tetey citi tialaeila thts aie ae ae ee ae 147. 4 1438. 2 Oie2 INISTOP CD SOLUTION =e weet 8.8 0 0 D tiie PUN VOrOlsm NODA 54 oes. ee 0 0 0 Aainroniuiny Ditta les 4. Seca oI 16. 2 0 0 Nitrogen SOlution-c 2 at 4.1 0 0 South: ANNYOTOUS alninOniges se ee te ee 105. 8 96. 1 90. 8 Dan MOnuiiiLenl(ratea eee ieee os 23120 143. 2 60. 3 ENT EO SENSO LUTON aetna eceetneeeg tee ale oa 0 0 47 Table 32.—Monthly production of anhydrous ammonia and ammonium nitrate by Mississippi Chemical Corp., year ended June 30, 1956 Month Anhydrous ammonia Ammonium nitrate 1,000 tons Percent 1,000 tons Percent 4 [VIN 5 eRe enaiee e Centered ie. 7.0 (ia: 10. 9 7.6 AN UCUBL a. (cet 28 Sete oUt eee eens 7.3 ib eas | 8. 4 Septem bere Sse eas ee 8. 2 8.5 (oa 5. 0 Gctober 2st ar a St seek en ere 8. 0 8.3 14. 4 10. 1 IN OV ET Der ee woe ee eee oe eee ees Cae 8. 0 12. 5 8. 7 Decenibersiga2 = 4 Saar eee 8. 5 8. 9 12. 9 9. 0 G-mNOn ths (Ota lames eee eres 46. 7 48. 6 69. 9 48. 8 JAWURTY sees See ate ee hy ee ee 8. 6 9. O 13. 1 9.1 Februarys2) eee ee em See 2 (aw 7.8 11. 6 8.1 March 2285-2 ht ene ee See 8. 6 8. 9 16. 7 ta Aprile 4s fies: fhe ees ee 8. 4 8. 8 8.3 5. 8 WUE ene Se ae ayn Dee he ne ee 8.4 veh, ih 12. 9 9.0 J UDC 5 Se aN ce at eo oo (ee!) 8. 2 LOG. xo, O-mMonth’ totals-saeeee eee 49.4 51. 4 (Si) 51. 2 Year's total ss. oem eee eee 96. 1 100. 0 14342 100. 0 that time three additions have been made to boost its capacity to 270 tons a day.’ Actual production in fiscal 1956 averaged approximately 263 tons a day, or about 98 percent of the plant’s designed capacity. The original nitric acid section in MCC’s Yazoo City facilities con- sisted of two war surplus units with a daily capacity of 110 tons. A third war surplus unit was added in August 1952 which boosted daily nitric acid capacity to 165 tons. Capacity was further increased in October 1954, when a second expan- sion unit was added which had a capacity equal to the other three units. It increased MCC’s nitric acid capacity to 330 tons a day.® 7 The ammonia plant was expanded again in 1958 to a total of 310 tons per 24-hour day. 8 The nitric acid plant was expanded again in 1958 to a total of 450 tons per 24-hour day. Also, during the summer of 1958, MCC authorized construction of a urea plant that will provide 100 tons of solid urea per 24-hour day and make 50 tons of high nitrogen liquid fertilizers per 8-hour day for direct application. 48 MCC produced its first ammo- nium nitrate in March 1951 from MCC-produced nitric acid and pur- chased ammonia. The original am- monium nitrate section had a daily capacity of 140 tons. This was increased to 190 tons in August 1952 and to approximately 380 tons in October 1954.° Production for fis- cal 1956 averaged about 392 tons a day, or 103 percent of designed capacity. The plant at Pascagoula, Miss., completed by MCC’s subsidiary, Coastal Chemical Corp., had the following capacities in 1958: a. High-analysis fertilizer; 300 tons per 24-hour day. (Complete granular fertilizer such as 14-14-14, 6-24-24, 16-20-0, and 9-27-18.) 6. Superphosphate (18 to 20 per- cent POs), 150 tons per 8-hour day. c. Triple superphosphate (46 to 48 percent P,O;), 150 tons per 8-hour day. 9 The ammonium nitrate section was expanded again in 1958 to a total of 475 tons per 24-hour day. d. Sulfuric acid (100 percent). 500 tons per 24-hour day. e. Phosphoric acid (30 to 33 per- cent), 75 tons per 24-hour day. jf. Anhydrous ammonia (82.2 per- cent N), 150 tons per 24-hour day. Ingredients Used Ingredients used in production of anhydrous ammonia are natural gas, steam, water, and air. These mate- rials are subjected to extreme pres- sures and temperatures to form anhydrous ammonia in a contin- uous process. Part of this anhydrous ammonia is distributed as such for direct. application to the soil. The re- mainder is used in manufacture of ammonium nitrate. This is treated in two different ways. Part is run through a platinum catalyst and oxidized to form nitric acid. The raw materials used are anhydrous ammonia, compressed air, and dis- tilled water. The process of manufacturing ammonium nitrate consists essen- tially of neutralizing nitric acid with additional quantities of anhy- drous ammonia and dehydrating and pelletizing the resulting prod- uct. In this process the solution of ammonium nitrate resulting from neutralization is put through a vacuum evaporator where most of the water is removed. The con- centrated solution is then sprayed from the top of a prilling tower 70 to 80 feet in height. The hot falling spray meets a countercurrent of air supplied by blowers at the base of the tower causing the droplets to solidify into small granules. These are dried, coated with an anticaking agent, and packed in moistureproof, multiwall paperbags. Molten ammonium nitrate sprayed from shower heads at the top of these towers cools and solidifies into prills, shotlike par- ticles, as it falls to the bottom. About 500 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer is prilled here daily by Mississippi Chemical Corp.’s plant at Yazoo City. Transportation of Ingredients Ingredients are transported to MCC’s plant by pipeline or are obtained at the site. Movement from one section of the plant to another is also by pipeline and is controlled by automatic machinery. The method of transportation from the plant to farmers and dealers in fiscal 1956 was as follows: Anhydrous | Ammonium Method ammonia nitrate Percent Percent Rw ed 31 79 rick ==> 69 on Potala 100 100 49 U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1959 O—497201 ~——_A Farmer Cooperatives in the United States, FCS Bulletin 1. Methods of Financing Farmer Cooperatives, General Report 32. H.H. Hulbert, Nelda Grifin and K. B. Gardner. Farmers Buy Supplies Cooperatively, Bulletin Reprint 3. J. Warren ¢ Mather. Controlling Open Account Credit in Feed Cooperatives, FCS Cir- cular 24. Charlie B. Robbins and Lacey F. Rickey. Credit Control in Selected Retail Farm Supply Co-ops, General Re- port 35. J.M. Bailey. Inventory Management by Selected Retail Farm Supply Co-ops, General Report 38. J. M. Bailey. Bulk Distribution of Fertilizer and Lime in the Northeast, General Report 24. W.K. Trotter. Problems of Western Cooperatives in Obtaining and Distributing ~ Fertilizer, General Report 11. d/. A. Abrahamsen and C. L. Scroggs. Farmers’ Cooperative Fertilizer Manufacturing Plants (Facilities and Operations), Circular C-145. £.G. Grab, W. M. Hurst, and C.L. Scroggs. Cooperative Manufacture and Distribution of Fertilizer. by Small Regional Dry-Mix Plants, Circular C-126. John H. Lister. Economic Aspects of Transportation Affecting a Cooperative Fer- tilizer Program in the North Central States, Miscellaneous Report 149. C.L. Scroggs. Fertilizer Distribution: Methods and Costs, Service Report 19. df. A. A brahamsen. Distribution of Fertilizer by Cooperatives in the South, FCS Bulletin 11. Warren K. Trotter. | A copy of these publications may be obtained upon request while a supply is available from— information Division FARMER COOPERATIVE SERVICE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON 25, D.C.