PLYMOUTH, Minn. (September 24, 2013) — The Mosaic Company has launched three new social media sites aimed at sharing expertise and building a peer community for retailers and growers seeking to advance their crop nutrition knowledge and elevate the role of micronutrients in their crop production systems.

   

      PLYMOUTH, Minn. (June 4, 2013) — The Mosaic Company has released another digital tool for farmers to gather important information that can help to increase efficiency and generate higher yields.
   
Recognizing the fact that farmers are increasingly using tablets and smartphones to increase production, The Mosaic Company responded by recently unveiling a mobile site for its premium fertilizer, MicroEssentials®.
   
The new mobile site for MicroEssentials will provide its customers with a more efficient and convenient user experience, particularly as retailers strive to better serve growers in their own fields and offices.
   
“There’s a perception that the agriculture industry as a whole isn’t very modern with its technology,” says Kevin Kimm, Senior Director of Marketing and Agronomy at The Mosaic Company. “What we’ve found is that smartphones and tablets are quickly becoming indispensable tools our customers use to make important decisions. It’s essential that we continue to adapt our services to best serve them.”
   
MicroEssentials.com site analytics confirm increasing use of mobile platforms. In certain months, mobile visits consist of more than 40 percent of the website traffic, and the average number of mobile visits year-round is increasing consistently.
   
Now, when mobile users visit MicroEssentials.com, their device (phone or tablet) will be detected, and they will automatically be sent to the new mobile site. Once there, users will find a more convenient place to learn about MicroEssentials, the patented Fusion™ technology powering the next generation of fertilizer, details on the MicroEssentials product portfolio and a dealer locator to find the nearest retailer that sells MicroEssentials.
   
All this information is made easier to find with a simplified navigation structure that is more conducive to mobile devices, improving the efficiency of site visits by mobile users. By eliminating large, high-resolution images, the mobile site will load more quickly on mobile networks.
   
Furthermore, the mobile sites allow The Mosaic Company to utilize features exclusive to mobile platforms, such as GPS detection (for the Dealer Locator feature) and YouTube mobile functionality for MicroEssentials animations and commercials.
   
“This mobile site will give visitors to MicroEssentials.com the user experience and the ease they want and expect from a forward-thinking company like The Mosaic Company,” says Kimm. “We’ve also now set the stage for more mobile marketing opportunities in the future, all directed toward continuously providing retailers and farmers with the latest crop nutrient products to push yields to the next level.”

To visit MicroEssentials’ new mobile site, visit www.MicroEssentials.com on your smartphone or tablet.                        

For Immediate Release
For more information, please contact:     

               

Mara Hughes Mosaic Co. 763-577-2754 Mara.Hughes@mosaicco.com

Dee Weeda Broadhead + Co 641-344-0757 dweeda@broadheadco.co

The fundamentals of nutrient stewardship invaluable when fertilizer planning     

PLYMOUTH, Minn. (December 7, 2011) —  Growers can’t afford to let much time pass between evaluating the current year’s harvest and diving into planning for the next year. The Mosaic Company encourages growers to keep in mind the fertilizer fundamentals while considering innovative agronomic technology.  The  4 R’s of Crop Fertility  are keys to profitability and sustainable nutrient stewardship in the coming year.

Simply put the 4 R’s stand for fertilizer from the right source, applied at the right rate, applied in the right time, at the right place. Fertilizer from the right source will deliver balanced crop nutrition, and farmers must carefully consider the ratio of nutrient elements applied to their soil. 

Innovative products from Mosaic, such as MicroEssentials ^® SZ™, were designed with these characteristics in mind. MicroEssentials applies a consistent balance of nutrients that enhance plant uptake, allowing plants to use nutrients more efficiently and achieve higher yields.

Ron Olson, Mosaic Eastern Region Senior Agronomist, points out that the 4 R’s deliver more than higher yields – they support the future of agriculture.  “Often farmers are too modest about the good things they are doing for the environment,” says Olson.  “Practicing and talking about the 4 R’s is a good way to engage in the conversation.  If we look at the trend, it seems likely that we will see a growing interest in efficiency and sustainability, both by farmers and by consumers of farm products.” 

Olson continues, “It’s important that agriculture show the regulators, our neighbors, and the world, that American farmers are being good environmental stewards with best management practices.”

Smart stewardship practices impact a grower’s bottom line, as well.  According to the International Plant Nutrient Institute (IPNI), best management practices suggest that at least 40 percent of yield can be attributed to the 4 R’s.  “Sustainable best management practices such as the 4 R’s certainly provide farmers with better yields and profits,” says Olson. 

About The Mosaic Company 
The Mosaic Company is the world's leading producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash, two of the primary nutrients required to grow the food the world needs. Mosaic engages in every phase of crop nutrition development, from the mining of resources to the production of crop nutrients, feed and industrial products for customers around the globe.

                          

“Compared with the wheat, corn and sugarcane of years past, today’s crops eat like 16-year-old boys,” says Rick McLellan, senior vice president at  The Mosaic Co.  (NYSE: MOS). “They need constant feeding.”

Mosaic is helping satisfy their appetite. The company is one of the world’s largest producers of phosphates and potash, both key ingredients in fertilizer. It focused on that core commodities business until 2000, when it began developing phosphate-based animal feed and crop fertilizers. The addition of these performance products not only helps Mosaic support the ever-growing global demand for food — part of its core mission — but “differentiates us from more traditional competitors and provides great value for customers as they seek higher yields,” says President and CEO James Prokopanko.

What makes a better fertilizer? Typically, fertilizer is made up of a mix of nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and zinc. But as anyone who has ever baked a cake knows, simply stirring those ingredients doesn’t guarantee that they’ll be distributed evenly. One part of a field, for example, could get a heavy dose of a nutrient while another part gets none. To address this problem, Mosaic developed MicroEssentials, which  Farm Industry News named the most innovative fertilizer product of 2010. MicroEssentials, says McLellan, blends all of the ingredients into one perfectly composed granule, which results in more efficient distribution and creates a greater and higher-quality yield.

Gary Halvorson, general manager of CHS Ag Services, a Minnesota-based fertilizer distributor, says MicroEssentials SZ (one of five formulations that address different types of soil) has produced good responses in corn, sugar beets and spring wheat. In its own corn yield trials, Mosaic says, MicroEssentials produced between 2.7 and 7.7 more bushels per acre than competing fertilizers.

With sales escalating, Prokopanko says the company has invested $70 million to expand MicroEssentials production capacity to 2.5 million tons a year from 1.5 million tons. McLellan reports that Mosaic’s performance products represent 15 percent of its capacity this year, but he anticipates that the area will constitute 25 percent in the near future.

Mosaic also sees opportunity in emerging countries, which are racing to keep agricultural output on pace with their populations’ upward mobility. It is working with farmers and government officials in India on a MicroEssentials recipe that will work for local soil conditions and crops. This research serves not only a business purpose, says McLellan, but a worthy cause.

SOURCE: The Mosaic Company.
Online: NYSE Magazine.

   

                          

Efficiency and Balanced Fertility Program Critical to Optimize Grower Investment in Crop Genetics

PLYMOUTH, Minn. — Oct. 29, 2008 — With fertilizer prices at all time high, growers may be considering reducing input costs by cutting back on their crop fertility programs. Improving efficiency of those fertility programs may be a better approach to help optimize investment in seed genetics.

MicroEssentials ^® is a new, advanced nutrition technology from The Mosaic Company that has been proven to improve phosphorus uptake of crops by 10 to 30 percent and enhance plants' utilization of other nutrients as well.

MicroEssentials combines the correct ratios of three critical nutrients - nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur - into uniform granules. Delivering consistent distribution of all nutrients gives every plant a better shot at getting the essential nutrients it needs to produce the best results. Growers can also use less total secondary nutrients and micronutrients while still meeting the crop's needs.

"MicroEssentials works better than other fertilizers for several reasons. First, the granules are formed in a way that allows plants to absorb them more easily," explains Dan Froehlich, director of agronomy at Mosaic. "They also contain two types of sulfur, the sulfate form which is available immediately to the plants, and the elemental form which becomes available later in the growing season.

"In addition, there is a unique relationship between the sulfur and phosphorus that allows plants to take up 10 percent to 30 percent more phosphorus along with many other beneficial nutrients," Froehlich adds.

Soil nutrient levels lower than expected

Froehlich recommends starting every fertility program with a clear picture of current soil nutrient levels which means soil testing should be completed, particularly if this hasn't been done recently. Soil nutrient levels may be much lower than growers expect for a couple of reasons.

"Over the past three to four years, we've seen record high yields across the country. High crop output draws more nutrients out of the soil. In addition, previously low commodity prices meant many growers were already limiting P and K applications. Both of these factors means P and K levels are lower than would be expected," Froehlich explains. "If levels drop too low, the plants' nitrogen uptake efficiency decreases, and in turn, the return on investment in genetics and nitrogen are both jeopardized."

Soil tests, past yield reports, cost of production per acre, along with knowledge of the genetic potential of the chosen seed and the individual grower's yield goal are all pieces of the crop production puzzle. With that information in hand, successful decisions can be made on the appropriate investment in plant nutrition.

The MicroEssentials family of products includes three formulations, each appropriate for specific crop needs. It is a versatile product that works well as a starter, a direct application fertilizer or bulk blend ingredient. For more information visit www.microessentials.com or contact your local Mosaic marketing manager.


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About The Mosaic Company

The Mosaic Company is one of the world's leading producers and marketers of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Mosaic is a single source provider of phosphates and potash fertilizers and feed ingredients for the global agriculture industry. More information on the company is available at www.mosaicco.com .