Archer Daniels Midland: Manufacturing Fertilizer, A Fertile Source Of Income

The Univesity of Illinois and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) have developed a natural fertilizer to be sold under the name NaturStim.

Currently used fertilizers are made from urea, ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate and are synthesized from natural gas and each is acidifying in nature and can impact the soil pH with overuse. The lines ADM will be producing are contain lysine, a bio-product from fermented corn. University of Illinois researcher Tom Fermanian says "One advantage of these lysine-based products is that they dissolve quickly in water and can be mixed with other turf products that are normally applied as a spray." "Lysine in its granular form is 15 percent nitrogen and soluble in water so it is quickly available for turf use, similar to most synthetic fertilizers."

In tests of three separate plots, the plots that received fertilizer materials generally had better quality than the unfertilized control. And the three newly formulated NaturStim fertilizers made from lysine were rated as well as the ammonium sulfate and Sustane controls applied at the same rate.

"Research shows that the NaturStim products perform as well as synthetic fertilizers, but have the added benefit of providing golf course managers with a more natural alternative to traditional fertilizers," said Fermanian.

If anyone has seen shares of fertilizer companies like Agrium (AGU) and Potash (POT) recently, these companies are booming. Many communities are demanding a natural alternative to the chemical fertilizers currently on the market. ADM, currently the world leader in bio-fuels and bio-plastics has announced the recent formation of a bio-chemical unit and this fertilizer product fits into that line perfectly.

ADM in the past year has transformed itself from a food processor and ethanol company to a diversified bio-products company.

Comments

[Georealist]

Investors may have to formulate an updated tyake on ADMs future..it may go from low/mid tech chemical company to something much more like a vertically integrated food/fuel chemical supplier. They are certainly in an enviable spot in the agribusiness bonanza that is taking shape. Everything is due for a pullback and when it does I'm looking to reestablish a position.