Mosaic Shares Update On Phosphate Mines Following Hurricane Milton
The Mosaic Company says all of its Florida-based employees are safe and accounted for following Hurricanes Milton and Helene, and recovery efforts have progressed well.
All of the company’s Florida production facilities have returned to normal operations with the exception of the Riverview location, which has resumed production and is expected to return to normal rates by the end of the week. The mining sites are in the process of resuming operations.
South Fort Meade is expected to return to normal operations this week and Four Corners in the next one to two weeks. This quick return to normal operations can be attributed to the proactive and orderly storm management practices that were followed.
“Many Mosaic people came together to ensure that our Florida operations were prepared for the storms, and prepared to recover,” said president and CEO Bruce Bodine. “Their efforts are particularly noteworthy given that many of our people faced significant storm impacts at home. I am extremely grateful to all of them.”
Mosaic expects the hurricane related production impacts to be in the range of 200 thousand tons to 250 thousand tons in the fourth quarter.
Biotalys Appoints Chief Business Development Officer
Biotalys has appointed Kamal El Mernissi as its chief business development officer (CBDO).
“I’m delighted to welcome Kamal to the executive committee of Biotalys,” said Simon Moroney, chairman of Biotalys. “With more than 15 years of experience in agriculture and a broad variety of leadership positions in marketing and sales, he is an excellent addition to the leadership team. The board looks forward to working with Kamal as he builds the company’s roster of partnerships, with a focus on maximizing long-term value for Biotalys and its stakeholders.”
El Mernissi comes to Biotalys from Marrone Bio Innovations (currently Pro Farm Group) and has also worked at Syngenta. In his new role, he will lead Biotalys’ efforts to secure partnerships with major agricultural players that can benefit from the Agrobody Foundry technology platform to develop biofungicides and bio-insecticides with new modes of action.
“Biotalys is uniquely positioned to bring impactful innovation to farmers seeking performance and sustainability, and I am thrilled to start this new journey with such an incredible group of talented and mission-driven colleagues and investors,” said El Mernissi. “During my initial interactions, I was impressed by the team and sensed their excitement and motivation to develop protein-based biocontrols to positively impact the wider ag community.”
AGI Saskatoon Celebrates a 10-Year Safety Milestone in No Lost Time Incidents
Ag Growth International (AGI) celebrated a safety milestone at its Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, manufacturing facility with a ten-year no lost time incidence record.
“I commend the AGI Saskatoon team for achieving an incredible safety milestone of ten years with no lost time incidents. Their achievement demonstrates that safety, as a guiding principle, is deeply ingrained in our work culture,” says Paul Householder, AGI president & CEO. “They embody AGI’s highest global priority that every employee – regardless of where they work or the type of environment they work in – returns home at the end of each day in the exact same working condition in which they arrived.”
A lost time incident (LTI) refers to a non-fatal injury that results in disability or an employee missing work due to an injury. An LTI measurement is a baseline representation of a company’s safety performance and the effects of those injuries on workforce productivity.
“This achievement entirely belongs to the team’s absolute dedication to safety leadership at all levels. Their ‘winning ticket’ includes vigilance, prevention and education. They are continuously on the lookout to identify, report and fix potentially unsafe conditions and processes. That allows them to avoid hazards and near misses before someone gets hurt,” says Kris Wingert, AGI Saskatoon operations manager.
The plant, which was commissioned by Westeel in 1989, produces engineered-to-order smooth wall grain and fertilizer bins for both farm and commercial agricultural use. The ISO 9001:2015 certified facility also specializes in custom welding services provided to other AGI facilities.
“The skillset required is not robotic, but hands on. This means that multiple machines moving, lifting and transporting can create opportunities for things to go wrong. That is why having tight processes in place and maintaining a culture of ongoing education, welding certifications, and employees looking out for each other are crucial to safety,” Wingert says.
According to Harsha Bhojraj, AGI vice president of manufacturing, the Saskatoon facility is the “perfect example” of AGI’s safety vision in action.
“The AGI Saskatoon team has shown that it is possible to adjust and be safe every single day for ten years straight regardless of changing conditions -- through upturns and downturns, across day and night shifts, from summer to winter, and with new and experienced associates. Their record raises the bar for what safety excellence at AGI means,” Bhojraj says.
The Saskatoon facility is the second AGI facility to achieve 10-year no lost time status, after the AGI Olds, Alberta, location marked the milestone in 2023.
