Green ammonia producer Talusag, ag cooperative Central Farm Service (CFS), and nonprofit environmental tracking company CleanCounts are working together to provide Minnesotan farmers with cheap and locally produced fertiliser through a plan to bring ammonia production facilities to the state.
As part of the plan, Talus will deploy its systems to transform air, water, and power, provided by utility provider Blue Earth Light & Water, to create 40 tons of ammonia a day, as shared in a press release. Once operational, the supply of ammonia can treat more than 100,000 total acres of farmland — equating to two-thirds of CFS’ annual ammonia sales.
The project is pending support from Minnesota’s Renewable Development Account, which is slated for the 2026 legislative session.
“The genesis of Talus was, ‘how do we produce nitrogen fertiliser in remote, rural, developing locations that are either at the end of the supply chain ─ or there is not a supply chain that goes there ─ as a practical approach to address food security.’” Tristan Peitz, president of Americas at Talus, told AgTechNavigator. “That has since evolved, and so our mission is to make fertiliser cheaper, more reliable, and more sustainable.”
Can locally produced fertiliser reduce farmers’ expenses?
U.S. farmers are grappling with rising fertiliser prices, as geopolitical tensions complicate the supply chain. The U.S. is the third-largest fertiliser producer, behind China and Russia.
“Ammonia prices have swung by more than 300% in recent years. Local production gives our member-owners a level of control and predictability they’ve never had before — and it strengthens the economic resilience of every farm we serve,” KC Graner, CEO of CFS, shared in a press release.
The U.S. is the largest market for direct application of ammonia, which is “knifed into the soil in the fall or the spring, sometimes both, depending on the geography and the weather conditions,” Peitz explained. Additionally, Argentina and Ukraine are large direct application markets, he added.
“We only do these projects where we can price the ammonia at a meaningful and material discount to the long-term average delivered price in that market and where that lines up is where there is local and regional demand for nitrogen fertiliser, and where we can access our feedstock, which is electricity and water, at a price that allows us to price that ammonia at that meaningful discount to long term average customer,” Peitz elaborated.
He added, “We got lucky in that there is actually really cheap electricity in the Corn Belt, mostly because of the wind generation, and that is also the largest market for ammonia.”
Helping companies reduce their Scope 3 emissions
CleanCounts will provide accountability on the ammonia production process by tracking the molecules produced in the process, Rob Davis, the company’s chief growth officer, told AgTechNavigator.
Also, companies can purchase CleanCounts certificates as part of their Scope 3 greenhouse gas emission reduction strategy or to make specific product claims, he added. PepsiCo plans to purchase the locally produced ammonia fertiliser to support its decarbonisation efforts.
“By supporting initiatives like Talus and the use of credible registries such as CleanCounts, PepsiCo aims to advance lower‑carbon, locally produced fertilizer solutions that can help strengthen supply chain resilience and deliver climate benefits for agriculture,” Margaret Henry, VP of sustainable agriculture for PepsiCo, said.
Historically, CleanCounts tracked electrons to ensure that they are produced without emissions, but the non-profit can also track clean molecules, like green ammonia, Davis noted.
“We want to be able to produce the auditable record that a given volume of ammonia was produced with this novel and new technology that is increasingly becoming more common in more parts of the country,” David elaborated.
