Tropical weather to soak East Coast, but not seen to be as threatening of a storm to fertilizers

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Expected to make landfall late Monday in South Carolina but not develop further, the next round of tropical weather is already delivering wind and rains to the region but for the fertilizer industry, it was not seen as being the type of threat that Hurricane Francine was last week.

While South Carolina and North Carolina have significant agriculture activities and infrastructure along with crop nutrient operations and distribution, fertilizer manufacturing is less prevalent than in other parts of the US.

The storm was being classified as a tropical rainstorm with potential to produce several inches of rain per hour with it expected to trek northward once it makes landfall. There have been tropical storm-force winds seen from this event but there has not been a defined center of circulation.

In terms of major fertilizer activity, Canadian producer Nutrien has the Aurora Phosphate plant in Aurora, North Carolina, with the city located near the coast. The company said it is keeping aware and taking necessary steps.

“We are actively monitoring the tropical storm system and have comprehensive emergency response plans in place to ensure the safety of our people and operational integrity of our facilities,” said a Nutrien spokesperson.

Like the previous tropical weather that has struck the US, this storm’s wrath will bring the most damage to crops.

Harvesting of corn and soybeans are underway, with cotton and other crops now maturing also in jeopardy, with the heavy rainfall likely causing some localized flooding.

Harvesting campaigns in both South Carolina and North Carolina have been halted, with this trend possibly carrying into the surrounding states. If the rain is extensive the delay could be several days, if not longer depending on rainfall amounts.

The concern is with a delay in these activities it creates an additional lag for starting post-harvest field activities like end-of-the-year fertilizing.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 47% of the corn crop had been completed with only 1% of soybeans having been harvested in North Carolina. There were no results provided for South Carolina.

As with Hurricane Francine which hit both Louisiana and Mississippi much more severely, the true impact of this latest tropical system will be felt in crop damage rather than damaged fertilizer plants or retail operations.

There is concern that any loss of yields will mean less income for farmers which then could cause a sizeable decrease in buying for further volumes.