Fertilizer Blend Plants -- A Growing Demand
April 26, 2004
by Kris Garrison
Fertilizer blend plant:The blend plant mixes, packages, stores, and distributes specialty chemicals for various agricultural purposes. Facilities contain many large bins used to store phosphorus, potash and nitrogen in various forms and other micronutrients like iron, chrome or zinc. From these ingredients hundreds of different fertilizer formulas can be created.
During the early 1980's food production was on the rise in the United States. A farmer's routine for preparing soil would go something like this:
A farmer needs fertilizer for his crops. A soil sample would be taken and sent to a lab. A report was then sent to the farmer specifying which nutrients needed to be added to his soil for maximum crop production. The report would be taken to the nearest fertilizer blend plant to request the specified mixture. A worker puts together the combination of nutrients requested by the lab and rotates a blender which looks similar to a concrete mixer. The customized mix is then loaded onto trucks or trailers and taken to farms and spread on the land.
Toward the end of the 1980's, many government farm programs to decrease surpluses were implemented, causing a decline in US food production. Therefore, the need for new blend plants was diminished. Older facilities still exist, but very few new plants have been built. However, the US is seeing a small rise in food production once again and more fertilizer blend plants are needed and old ones need replacing.
Monolithic Domes are the ideal structures for blend plants
- Domes offer the strongest, toughest facility for storage of chemicals.
- Domes can handle the abuse of front loaders and other heavy machinery.
- Domes can handle the chemistry of the products being stored. (There is some danger in storing ammonium nitrate).
A Brief History: The First Monolithic Fertilizer Storage
Lincoln County Farm Center in Chandler, Oklahoma was built in 1979 and was the first Monolithic Dome fertilizer storage. Owner, Bill Matthews saw a small ad in a publication for Monolithic Dome fertilizer storages and called David South. After several conversations, Bill decided to go to Idaho to see for himself.
Bill Matthews said, "We were operating on a shoestring budget. We got into the fertilizer business under very poor circumstances in 1971. We had a big competitor in town. We tried several times to buy them out, but they never would sell to us. After learning about domes and talking to David South, I had to borrow money for a plane ticket to Idaho."
While in Idaho, David showed several potato storages and a few houses to Bill so he could try to visualize a Monolithic Dome Fertilizer storage. David assured Bill that he could build him exactly what he wanted.
"I could tell he was an intelligent man and so I trusted him." Said Bill.
David traveled to Oklahoma to build the dome for cost plus a little more. Bill said, "He saved me a lot of money and I provided him with the opportunity to build right off a major highway where we had a lot of lookers and some who would stop to tell us the dome would surely fall in."
When the suppliers discovered that the Lincoln County Farm Center had a place to store fertilizer near Tulsa, they began to make Bill better deals. Then OK Grain Company at the Port of Catoosa, Oklahoma (the river port) heard about the domes and soon built a Monolithic Dome grain storage facility too. Pretty soon the tug boat captains along the Mississippi and Arkansas and other rivers leading to the port heard about the unique storage facility. Consequently, over the next few years, Monolithic built fertilizer storages all over the Midwest on all the navigable rivers. Soon the Tom Bigbee, Missouri, Mississippi and Columbus were speckled with Monolithic Domes.
A Changing Market
Bill Matthew said, "Back in the 70's we had nothing but full time farmers coming to us. That was the market. Now, our market consists of 40-hour-a week-people whose farms are secondary. What used to be one person farming on 100 acres is now probably 10-15 people farming that same land which has been divided into smaller farm lots."
Whether it's 10 acres or 100, soil still needs tested and yet most don't soil test. Instead, they request a "guess" or estimate be made of the fertilizer company. However, according to Bill, progress is being in convincing farmers of the benefits of soil testing.
The focus on farming has also shifted. Instead of wheat or other grains being grown for food consumption, a large percentage of grain in the US is grown for forage (animal feed).
The Growing Demand
In closing, Bill Matthew said, "The only reason I could see NOT utilizing a blend plant, is if by some chance everyone in the same area was growing the same crop using the same soil with the same needs. However, that's rarely the case."
Because land has changed so much over the years, more blend plants are needed to meet the needs of the changing soil and assist farmers in adapting to those changes.
As an Aside:
The Lincoln County Farm Center was also the first project where we used the spray in place construction for the bin walls. A local concrete supplier was so enthralled with the spray-in-place method, he spent a large amount of time watching and learning. David South remembers the man saying, "I am so excited about this new application process, I am neglecting my own business."
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