SIC 2875 Fertilizers, Mixing Only

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 2875

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in mixing fertilizers from already-processed fertilizer materials. In the industry, "fertilizer materials" refers specifically to fertilizers that have no more than one of the three primary plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium). This category also includes manufacturers of compost and potting soil, which condition the soil to promote plant growth but contain relatively small amounts of plant nutrients.

NAICS CODE(S)

325314

Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing

The production of mixed fertilizers is an industry that has seen periodic declines followed by rebounds during the past 30 years. The value of mixed fertilizer shipments in 2005 was $3.5 billion, up from nearly $2.7 billion in 2002. Previously, sales were inconsistent, climbing from $2.2 billion in 1995 to $3.1 billion in 1998. Though single nutrient fertilizers have dominated the fertilizer market since the 1970s, mixed fertilizers remain a necessity for American farmers.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), mixed fertilizers, which also are termed multiple-nutrient fertilizers, typically are of four varieties: nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium mixtures(N-P-K); nitrogen and phosphorous mixtures (N-P); nitrogen and potassium mixtures (N-K); and phosphorous and potassium mixtures (P-K). In the early 2000s N-P-K multiple-nutrient fertilizers were used most frequently in the United States, with more than 10 million short tons consumed annually. Roughly 7 million short tons of N-P mixtures were consumed annually, followed by N-K and P-K.

Mixed fertilizers also can be classified according to the method manufacturers use to combine the component fertilizers—homogeneous mixtures, bulk blends, and fluids. A key process performed by producers of homogeneous mixtures (and one that is performed by producers of fertilizer materials as well) is granulation. Nongranulated dry fertilizer powders have a tendency to form hardened cakes, which make the product difficult to handle. The hardened cakes are not always broken up easily, and explosives are sometimes used to break these cakes up into heaps of stored fertilizer. Another problem with nongranulated fertilizer mixes is the propensity for the component fertilizer materials to segregate by particle sizes during transport and handling. Granulation addresses the problem of caking and segregation by shaping...