American farmers rely heavily on imported fertiliser. That could change with a new $450m plant planned in Louisiana. Farmer-owned cooperative CHS and OCP North America plan to build a phosphate fertiliser plant at Cornerstone Energy Park in Waggaman, Jefferson Parish. The plant will be the first new phosphate fertiliser manufacturing facility built in the US since 1984.
The facility is expected to produce between 1m and 1.3m tonnes of fertiliser each year. Its main products will be monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and diammonium phosphate (DAP).
Construction could start in late 2026 or early 2027. The partners expect the plant to be ready by late 2028 or early 2029.
The US uses about 2.5m tonnes of phosphate fertiliser each year. Around 40% to 60% of that supply comes from overseas.
CHS and OCP North America expect the new plant to cut finished phosphate fertiliser imports by more than 48%.
“This is an exciting moment for American agriculture. As a farmer-owned cooperative, we exist to help farmers succeed. Together with OCP North America, we have the opportunity to build the first phosphate fertiliser plant in the U.S. in more than 40 years,” said Jay Debertin, president and chief executive of CHS.
“This will cut roughly in half the amount of finished phosphate fertiliser products imported into the United States,” he said.
The $450m investment will be split equally between CHS and OCP North America.
OCP Group will supply phosphoric acid from its phosphate reserves. Ships will carry the material to the US Gulf Coast, where it will be stored before being turned into finished fertiliser.
The site is next to CF Industries’ ammonia plant. A pipeline will carry ammonia directly into the new facility, reducing the need for trucks to move the raw material.
The location also gives the project access to the Mississippi River, railways and roads. The partners plan to build a new barge dock and conveyor system to move fertiliser to farming areas across the US.
The project is expected to create about 500 construction jobs and 60 permanent jobs. CHS and OCP North America estimate that 924 direct and indirect jobs will be linked to the project.
The partners have applied for funding through the US Department of Agriculture’s Fertiliser Investment & Expansion for Long-term Domestic Supply (FIELDS) programme.
The project still needs regulatory and financing approvals.
The announcement follows the arrival of 54,000 tonnes of OCP’s triple superphosphate at the Port of New Orleans on 17 August.
Louisiana is also seeing other large investments in fertiliser production. CF Industries is developing a $3.7bn low-carbon ammonia project in Ascension Parish.
CHS and OCP North America have also pledged $100,000 to hunger-relief programmes in the Greater New Orleans area.
