February 01, 2021
Yara Celebrates 75 Years in North America
Yara’s crop nutrition solution approach is centered around supporting grower profitability through efficient nutrient application to grow their best crop, while also protecting the environment by promoting proven 4R Nutrient Stewardship Practices. Over the years, Yara has made a number of contributions to the industry, most notably introducing YaraLiva® Calcium Nitrate in 1946, and the launch of a patented micronutrient coating technology, YaraVita® PROCOTE™, in 2018. Both of these products are cornerstones of Yara’s portfolio, along with a homogenous nitrogen and sulfur product, YaraVera® AMIDAS®, and the YaraVita® foliar nutrition line. In addition to the most comprehensive crop nutrition portfolio in the industry, the organization’s commitment to the future has sparked a focus on digital farming tools to enhance grower practices across all aspects of the cropping system. Such digital tools include the launch of the Farm Water Advisor App, which is a newer innovation to help growers better manage their irrigation, and Atfarm, a remote crop monitoring tool that uses satellite images and is currently under development.
“Since 1946, Yara North America has been committed to being the crop nutrition company of the future, and we’re extremely proud of all of the significant strides that we’ve made within the industry. In 1946 our export of fertilizer to the US helped rebuild a war-torn Norway as well as creating an off-take market for US crops on the return. Being a core contributor to the food value chain has always been our DNA” said Magnus Ankarstrand, President of Yara North America. “We’ve continued to invest in research and development for different crop nutrition solutions, sought ideas for creating new digital tools to improve practices, and we look forward to continuing to build and share our knowledge for the betterment of our industry and world.”
In 2019, Yara established two Incubator Farms in Auburn, AL, and Modesto, CA, and in 2020 opened a third in Saskatoon, SK as centers for research on field-scale soil fertility and crop nutrient management in collaboration with various partners, customers and technology providers. By utilizing large, multi-acre plots to gather many layers of data on every aspect of the cropping system, Yara has been able to explore, refine and share knowledge among the industry in order to make advances in crop nutrition.
Other significant investments Yara has made in North America include the 2018 opening of a world-scale Ammonia plant in Freeport, Texas, in partnership with BASF, and the 2008 acquisition of Yara Belle Plaine, a world-scale nitrogen production facility.
“It is important to us to work alongside partners in the whole food value chain to develop more efficient, effective and climate-friendly crop nutrition solutions,” said Ankarstrand. “The more ways we can collaborate on innovative solutions, the closer we are to creating a more sustainable, healthier world while still supporting farmer profitability.”
With the world population continuing to grow, the planet will be at 9 billion people by 2050. At that time, farmers will need to make 60% more food on the same area of land. Globally Yara recognizes the importance of solving this problem, with a goal of reducing the company’s carbon footprint to zero by 2050 - tying into their mission of responsibly feeding the world and protecting the planet. In order to achieve climate change goals for agriculture and food supply, Yara has been actively lowering CO2 emissions in the manufacturing process and educating farmers to improve nutrient use efficiencies.
Join the celebration
To join in the 75th anniversary celebration, Yara invites everyone to share a photo, video or memory about working with the Yara team, or that represents a nostalgic moment they’ve had as part of the agriculture community. Tag @cropnutrition.yaraUS or @cropnutrition.yaraCA on Facebook, or @Yara North America on LinkedIn and #YaraNorthAmericaCelebrates75 and we’ll send you a Yara 75th Anniversary hat*. Each month we’ll select submissions to highlight in our 75th Anniversary campaign.
*Entries to receive a hat while supplies last.
Learn more about Yara North America’s past, present and future by visiting www.yara.us/about-yara/75th-anniversary/.
About Yara
Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet. Supporting our vision of a world without hunger, we pursue a strategy of sustainable value growth, promoting climate-friendly and high-yielding crop nutrition solutions for the world’s farming community and food industry.
Yara’s ambition is to be the Crop Nutrition Company for the Future. We are committed to creating value for our customers, shareholders and society at large, as we work to develop a more sustainable food value chain. To achieve our ambition, we have taken the lead in developing digital farming tools for precision farming, and work closely with partners throughout the food value chain to improve the efficiency and sustainability of agriculture and food production.
Founded in 1905 to solve the emerging famine in Europe, Yara has established a unique position as the industry’s only global crop nutrition company. With our integrated business model and a worldwide presence of around 16,000 employees and operations in over 60 countries, we offer a proven track record of responsible and reliable returns. In 2019, Yara reported revenues of USD 12.9 billion.us
