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AGR 1110
Title: N-Rich (A Form of Reclaimed Nutrients for Agricultural Purposes from Sewage Waste)
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Table of Contents and Figures
Part 1-Product Information and Benefits to Canada ....................................................................... 3
Description of N-Rich and Walker Industries: ........................................................................... 3
Other Products like N-Rich:........................................................................................................ 4
Benefits to Canada: ..................................................................................................................... 5
Part 2- Critical Analysis of Export Potential to the United States .................................................. 7
Introduction to the U.S.A Market: .............................................................................................. 7
Description of who will Purchase the Product in the U.S.: ........................................................ 9
A Current Custom N-Rich Application Company (Kaune Farms) ............................................. 9
Cost Benefit Analysis: .............................................................................................................. 11
Future Studies: .......................................................................................................................... 11
Comparison to Other Competitive Products and Recommendations ........................................... 12
Comparison to Other Competitive Products: ............................................................................ 12
Summary: .................................................................................................................................. 13
References.15
Figures:
Figure 1.0.9
Figure 2.0...11
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Part 1-Product Information and Benefits to Canada
Walker Industries is a large corporation that deals with many different sectors of waste
responsible for the creation and current production of N-Rich. Since receiving the patent for their
process of pasteurizing it so that it meets the standards of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
under the Fertilizer Act (N-Viro Walker Environmental Group, 2015). The fertilizer act basically
restricts or allows a certain product to be used for agricultural uses to grow crops for human
consumption. N-Rich has passed and is considered a licenced fertilizer and liming agent but is
only restricted against organic production (Fretz, How Claybank Farms and Kaune Farms Utilize
N-Rich in their Farming System, 2017). To produce N-Rich, alkaline admixtures (such as lime)
are blended with dewatered biosolids and/or other organic wastes (such as kitchen scraps) to
produce valuable agricultural products (Walker Industries, 2014). In current day agriculture
ensuring that you have no deficiencies in your soil health has been a priority to farmers no matter
where you farm or what type of farm you have. The amount of each nutrient that the farmer will
make readily available will depend on the crop that he decides to grow. The idea behind N-Rich
is that as the farmer you no longer have to micro manage each macro and micro nutrient, your
PH, or your organic matter levels (Fretz, Fretz, & Kaune, N-Rich, 2016). N-Rich can simply fix
all of those problems with one pass. In one metric ton of N-Rich there is 20lbs of nitrogen, 40lbs
organic matter, and 1100 pounds of calcitic lime (Fretz, Fretz, & Kaune, 2016). Walkers have
locations located across Canada, but most subside in Ontario where corn and soybeans and other
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high value crops are primarily grown on most agricultural land (N-Viro Walker Environmental
Group, 2015). When observing the major nutrients in the N-Rich it primarily fits in a corn,
Across North America there are a lot of companies who are all trying to compete for
major market share in the fertilizer industry. Every company thinks that their product is the best
and has their reasoning and research for it. N-Rich and Walker Industries decided not to compete
against the other companies but for the competition to accidentally draw attention to them (Fretz,
How Claybank Farms and Kaune Farms Utilize N-Rich in their Farming System, 2017). Over the
last 50 years research has been heavily done on what nutrients are necessary for growing a
specific crop. As soon as new research has been released someone creates a product or a
company that can fill this need. Large farms that take their nutrient management to the top level
may potentially buy multiple different fertilizers from different companies. This can be very
costly but also very important. Walker Industries took all of this into consideration and decided
to use a waste product and some other additives to create a new product that has all of the
As stated before Walker Industries does not advertise to farmers or have sales people.
When the product was first originated they contacted large fertilizer companies and large farms
that were looking for a product like this and offered them a commission to sell the product.
Although fertilizer sales would come down for the well-established companies, they knew that
they could make more on a commission base selling N-Rich and then focusing on adding a little
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When discussing the product with Clarke Fretz and some of the farmers that use to
purchase commercial fertilizer and now fertilize all of their acres with N-Rich they compare it
with a man-made manure (Fretz, How Claybank Farms and Kaune Farms Utilize N-Rich in their
Farming System, 2017). Chicken, hog, and cow manure are the most similar to N-Rich. For
example, Clarke Fretz was a dairy farmer his whole life and in 2005 he sold the herd of cows. He
then switched to cash cropping where he produced high yield corn, soybeans, and wheat on his
previous hay fields and manured land. As the years went on even by keeping his fertilizer levels
at optimal level he noticed a decrease in average yield in all of the crops. His PH started to
decrease, organic matter came down, but fertilizer levels stayed the same. In 2016 he tried N-
Rich as his primary source of fertilizer for all of his fields. Since N-Rich is half calcitic lime he
was able to bring his PH almost to 7.0 and added a great amount of organic matter. In 2017 he
has had some of the best crops in his career and is very happy with the product and would
recommend it to anyone (Fretz, How Claybank Farms and Kaune Farms Utilize N-Rich in their
Farming System, 2017). Therefore, there is no other product like N-Rich since it is just a
Benefits to Canada:
Facility Capacity:
N-Rich has many benefits to Canadians living in the locations in which it is produced and
for Canada as a whole. Firstly, there are four main sites where N-Rich is being produced in
Ontario. In the cities of Sudbury, Sarnia, Leamington, and Thorold Walker Industries has
production and storage facilities (Walker Industries, 2014). Firstly, the Leamington plant was the
original plant producing N-Rich in 1996. It only produces 6000 tons per year which is just
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enough for the local farms. Similarly, the Sarnia plant only produces 10,000 tons per year and
could easily increase that. Sarnia has a population of 75,000 people therefore have the population
to supply labour if the facility increased production. The Thorold plant is a lot larger and is also
very close to the American border. Over 95,000 tons of N-rich is produced annually at the
Thorold plant and currently that is all being used on farms across Ontario (Walker Industries,
2014). The sewage that feeds the Thorold plant is located just ten kilometers away from Walker
plant. There are the resources to increase production if the demand was there and that is why
Producing N-Rich benefits many parts of Canadas population including the wealth of the
people but also increasing the GDP of the country. 108.1 billion dollars was the amount total
amount of GDP that the Canadian Agriculture Agri-food System generated in 2016 (Statistics
Canada, 2016). If more N-Rich was sold, then that number would only increase which can only
benefit the country. The other thing to consider is that if more N-Rich is being produced then
more labour will be needed but also the labour that is currently working for Walker Industries
producing N-Rich will be worth a lot more, therefore the current staff will likely get a raise. All
of this will increase the cost for Walker Industries but the increase in revenue that they will
receive will be greater then the extra cost. In economic terms this means that the marginal cost is
less then the marginal revenue (Adomait & Maranta, 2013). Economists would say that firms
will continue to increase production until the marginal revenue equals the marginal cost
(Adomait & Maranta, 2013). If Walker Industries makes more profit, then before then more of it
will get taxed therefore greater for the Canadian Government which over time some of it returns
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to the disadvantaged Canadian Families. Some of those tax dollars will also go to improving
roads and structures for the whole Canadian population. Observing this from the other side, if
there is a greater demand for more labour then more of Canadas population will be working and
maybe some of those employees will be disadvantaged Canadian people who are now able to get
jobs. These people can now make an income and can support their families without the need of
By producing N-Rich more of the waste from the sewage treatment plans is being put to
good use. Previously there have been issues of it leaching out or overflowing the storage
facilities which has caused huge environmental problems. When looking at the future of
agriculture and how it is going to be able to produce enough food for the growing population we
know that the yields of crops are going to have to increase but also the cost of production is
going to have to decrease. N-Rich is very cheap to make and there is almost an unlimited amount
of it. As stated earlier in the report it has all of the key nutrient fertilizers all blended together,
therefore there should be no problem to produce the highest yields possible for each soil type
The United States is a very large country with a very large population. When comparing
Canada to the USA people generally say that the United States is ten times larger then Canada.
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With the United States being simply a larger country with a larger GDP we can assume that their
Agri-food sector would be higher (Statistics Canada, 2016). They are the largest producers of
corn in the world and one of the largest producers of soybeans and wheat. The closest state to the
facility with the most potential for exporting N-Rich would be New York State since it is the
state you enter when you cross the border in Niagara Falls and Fort Erie. Another positive about
New York State being right next door to the production facility is that there are a lot of acres that
are currently in crop production there. Farmland totals at 7,183,576 acres in New York State in
2012 (AgCensus USDA, 2012). Farms are generally large in the State averaging around 202
acres per farm. That is double the size of the average farm in Ontario averaging about 100 acres.
Therefore, on average if you were trying to sell N-Rich to American Farmers then it would take
on average half the amount of purchase orders to sell the same quantity of product. (Figure 1.0
shows the main steps and places where N-Rich currently is being produced and used and where it
Figure 1.0
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Figure 1.0 shows the vicinity of the different locations of the production process of N-Rich. It
also shows how close the Bridge to USA is to all of the facilities.
As stated in the previous subtopic at the final stage of the production stage the end user
will be the American farmer. Ideally farmers could purchase the product directly from Walker
Industries and then could pay to ship across the border and straight to their farm. If an American
company or large farm realized that this was an opportunity of a lifetime they could almost act as
a middle man and could purchase large quantities from Walker Industries at a discounted price.
The next step would be to have a reliable trucking company that understands the difficulties of
the border and that has a good record there manage all of the hauling of the product from the
plant in Thorold to wherever this company decides to store the product (Forkenbrock, 2001).
Then this company could resell the product or if they had experience in owning and operating
To apply N-Rich it is quite simple. The product has the same texture as chicken manure
and since it is so fine in texture it can influence the soil in two weeks or less (Fretz, Fretz, &
Kaune, 2016). Kaune Farms and Claybank Farms are the two largest users of N-Rich in the
Niagara Region during 2016-2017 season, spreading 10,000 tons at $65/ton of the product on
their 3200 combined acres (Fretz, How Claybank Farms and Kaune Farms Utilize N-Rich in
their Farming System, 2017). They accomplish such a large amount by using two 250 horse
power tractors and 25ton Nitro manure spreaders set up for chicken manure (Fretz, Fretz, &
Kaune, 2016). This is the ideal setup for efficiency and cost effectiveness (Fretz, Clarke).
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Neighbouring farms started to see how much success they were having with the product
and some even decided to try some on their own acres. Kaune Farms saw the potential for the
product in the area and contacted Walker Industries about it (Fretz, 2017). They basically
became the middle man like I described in the previous paragraph. They purchase the N-Rich
from Walker Industries, truck it to the designated field or back to the stock pile at the home farm
and then is sold from there to farmers across Niagara (Fretz, Fretz, & Kaune, N-Rich, 2016).
Today if a farmer wants to purchase N-Rich in the Niagara Region they have to buy it from
Kaune Farms (Fretz, Fretz, & Kaune, N-Rich, 2016). The main reason why Walker Industries
gave the contract to Kaune Farms was because they had the equipment to do it and very highly
skilled employees that had a lot of experience operating manure spreaders and large tractors. Not
everyone could do this but if a company had the resources and wanted to pursue something like
Figure 2.0
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Figure 2.0 is a picture of Kaune Farms spreading N-Rich on corn stalks in 2017
Over the last 2-3 years the exchange rate between Canada and the US has gone down
substantially for Americans (Statistics Canada, 2017). This makes Canadian products a lot
cheaper for American citizens and companies to purchase, (their purchasing power has
increased) (Adomait & Maranta, 2013). Therefore, if shipping costs arent too expensive then it
may be worth it for American farmers to look towards Canada for input products.
The prominent way that N-Rich is currently shipped is by truck although it could be shipped by
train (Fretz, Fretz, & Kaune, N-Rich, 2016) (Walker Industries, 2014). An average of 0.25 US
cents per ton per mile is the cost of shipping materials by rail whereas the cost of shipping by
truck is 1.11 US per ton per mile (Forkenbrock, 2001). The Thorold plant is only a 25-minute
drive and 11.6 miles from the US/CAD border at the Queenston Lewiston Bridge. According to
(Forkenbrock, 2001) it would cost approximately $12.88 US per ton to get it to the border and
then another $65/ton CAD to purchase the product (Fretz, How Claybank Farms and Kaune
Farms Utilize N-Rich in their Farming System, 2017). After doing a cost benefit analysis for the
American farmers they will receive $175 USD worth of fertilizer for a discounted price.
Future Studies:
Since N-Rich is new to the market for farmers to purchase not a lot of studies have been
done with it. Canadian farmers that do use the product only have good things to say about it and
continue to use it. This year Kaune Farms and Veenstra Farms did a strip test in a wheat stubble
field in Port Colborne Ontario (Fretz, How Claybank Farms and Kaune Farms Utilize N-Rich in
their Farming System, 2017). After the wheat was taken off 4 ton to the acre of N-Rich was
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applied to the field and then a cover crop was planted. There is a 70 foot strip where no N-Rich
was applied to see if there was a visual difference in the cover crop where there was no N-Rich.
The following year soybeans will be planted in that field and there will be yield test for the strip
against the rest of the field to see if there is a difference in the soybeans the following year.
Results of this test will be shared at the Niagara Soil and Crop meeting for 2017 and 2018 (Fretz,
How Claybank Farms and Kaune Farms Utilize N-Rich in their Farming System, 2017).
When comparing different products in the fertilizer industry it is very difficult to do so.
Every type of nutrient fertilizer is basically the same product it simply just comes down to what
company can produce it the best and who can be more reliable for getting you the product when
you need it. N-Rich is more expensive then purchasing lime that doesnt have any fertilizer in it
which makes sense but a lot less then purchasing just fertilizer (Fretz, Fretz, & Kaune, N-Rich,
2016). Also, since it is all mixed together in N-Rich you can still put a lot of material on per acre
and not overload the amount of each nutrient on the field. Adding too much of one thing can also
cause issues just as bad as if you didnt have enough of it. This is one upside to using standard
commercial fertilizers. You can purchase as much of each nutrient that you want to add and put
that amount on the field. With N-Rich it is a set rate of each nutrient, organic matter, and lime in
each ton of N-Rich (Fretz, Fretz, & Kaune, N-Rich, 2016). An example of where it could lead to
an issue is if your field only needed potassium and sulfur. You could purchase potassium
sulphate and add correct amount of it so that your soil has the ideal amount of those two
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nutrients. With N-Rich if you wanted to increase your potassium and sulfur you would have to
add a substantial amount of N-Rich which if your PH is already good and you already have a
high amount of Nitrogen and phosphorus would just be a waste of money or at worst potentially
make your soil too basic and overloaded with a nutrient. After talking to farmers who use the
product they say that N-Rich has the perfect blend of everything that once your soil fertility
levels are at the optimal amount you simply add a ton or two of N-Rich per acre per year to keep
them there. Frequent soil tests are beneficial to see how your fertilizer program is going and what
Summary:
In summary and in conclusion, N-Rich is a very sustainable and affordable product for
cash crop farmers across Canada and the United States to use to fertilize their fields, keep their
PH at 7, balance their magnesium potassium ratio, and increase their organic matter (Patterson,
2015). Since N-Rich is produced in Canada, if American farmers and fertilizer companies
purchase it will benefit our country in many different aspects. An increase in production will
create more jobs for residents around the production facilities, create more GDP for the country
since GDP represents all of the products created domestically (Statistics Canada, 2016). As well
it helps the Canadian environment as it allows for another source of removing sewage waste
from water. The only negative that could occur is that the American buyers can afford to
purchase more N-Rich for the same dollar value since the American dollar is worth so much. In
that case the Canadian could add a tariff or extra tax to the product for Americans or Walker
Industries could simply keep increasing production. Currently there is almost an unlimited
amount of sewage waste that needs to be recycled. Over time this could change but with the
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increase in population and the popularity of living in the Niagara Region the amount of sewage
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References
180 Marketing. (2014). Leamington N-Rich and Biosolids. Retrieved from Walker Industrues:
http://www.walkerind.com/walker-environmental-group/biosolids-
management/leamington-ontario/
Adomait, E. J., & Maranta, R. (2013). Dinner Party Economics. Peason Canada.
AgCensus USDA. (2012). Country Summary Highlights 2012 by State.
Forkenbrock, D. (2001). Comparison of external costs of rail and truck freight transportation.
Elsevier Ltd.
Fretz, C. (2017, Oct 13). How Claybank Farms and Kaune Farms Utilize N-Rich in their
Farming System. (L. Fretz, Interviewer)
Fretz, C., Fretz, L., & Kaune, R. (2016, March 10). N-Rich. Niagara Falls: N.P.
Government of Canada. (2017, March 30). The Fertilizer Act. Retrieved from Canadian Food
Inspection Agency: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/fertilizers/products-regulated-but-
exempt-from-registration/eng/1320629219258/1320629641719
N-Viro Walker Environmental Group. (2015). Maximize Your Field Crop Production With N-
Rich. N.P.
Patterson, G. (2015). Magnesium to Pottasium Ratio. Ontario.
Statistics Canada. (2016, May 9). Agriculture Contribution to Canada GDP 2016. Retrieved
from Statistics Canada: http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/about-us/publications/economic-
publications/an-overview-of-the-canadian-agriculture-and-agri-food-system-
2016/?id=1462288050282
Statistics Canada. (2017, Oct 4). Exchange Rate from 2011-2016 with the American Dollar.
Retrieved from Statistics Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-
som/l01/cst01/econ07-eng.htm
Walker Industries. (2014). N-Viro Technology. (180 Marketing) Retrieved October 15, 2017,
from Walker Idustries Corportation Web Site: http://www.walkerind.com/walker-
environmental-group/biosolids-management/n-viro-technology/
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