CF Industries has an important role to play in addressing some of the most critical challenges of our time. Our products help crops grow, putting food on the world’s table. As a company, we’re also confronting issues such as energy efficiency, resource use and economic growth. CF President and CEO Tony Will explains how we’re working to remain part of the solution.
Question: Ensuring food security for a growing global population is one of society’s greatest challenges. How is CF helping?
Will: We’re well aware of the sobering statistics on food demand around the world today and in the future. Of the 7 billion people in the world, about 805 million go to bed hungry each night. That’s one in nine people. It’s no surprise that ending hunger is one of the UN’s foremost Sustainable Development Goals, but it's a vision that is only going to become more difficult going forward.
As the world’s population adds 83 million people per year, food production must increase to meet climbing demand. That level of growth is impossible without fertilizer. More than one-half of the world's food supply is attributable to the use of commercial fertilizer. We’ve risen to the challenge by increasing our own production capacity in recent years and working every day to make sure that farmers receive their product in a timely fashion to maximize their yields.
Question: Beyond helping meet global nutrition needs, applying nitrogen leads to increased sequestration of carbon. Why is that?
Will: Nitrogen fertilizer helps farmers increase their yield, which allows them to grow more food on smaller plots of land. If nitrogen fertilizer weren’t available to play this vital role, more land would have to be put into production. And to do that, carbon-consuming forests would have to be cleared. This, in turn, would lead to a higher concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases than is present today.
What’s more, recent studies show that applying nitrogen to corn, the most widely grown crop in the U.S., increases soil's ability to store carbon over time. When you consider the net impact of nitrogen application to produce crops, the advantages become very clear.
Question: Don’t organic fertilizers serve the same purpose?
Will: Whether farmers use a synthetic fertilizer product or an organic fertilizer like manure or compost, their crops crave the same thing: nitrogen. Synthetic fertilizers deliver nitrogen in far higher concentrations than organics. This means, for example, that you’d need to apply about six times as much manure as urea to feed the same plot of land. And there’s simply not enough organic matter to go around. Generally, farms that don’t use synthetic fertilizer produce approximately one-third less crops per acre. While organic methods serve a purpose, feeding the entire world isn’t possible without the help of synthetic fertilizer.
Question: Does the environmental impact of producing nitrogen fertilizer differ around the world?
Will: Absolutely. There are important distinctions between the raw materials used to make nitrogen in different parts of the world, and they have significant implications for fertilizer’s environmental impacts. While producers in China and other parts of the world use coal as their primary feedstock, CF is fortunate to rely on North America’s abundant, reliable and affordable supply of natural gas. The CO2 emissions of a coal-based plant are more than twice those of an average natural gas-based plant. At the same time, scale and process improvements also have enabled us to further reduce emissions at our natural gas-based plants.
Question: Another environmental concern is the risk of nitrogen runoff from farms contaminating water supplies. What is CF doing to address this?
Will: This is a valid concern, and one we’re actively working on. One instance in which runoff occurs is when more nutrients are applied to fields than needed. By applying the correct fertilizers in the proper amount at the right time and in the right place, farmers can maximize the amount of nitrogen that is absorbed by plants and minimize runoff into bodies of water. Through a partnership and grant to The Nature Conservancy and our support of 4R Nutrient Stewardship, we’re better educating U.S. farmers on how to do exactly that.
Question: How do you ensure that safety remains paramount throughout your operations?
Will: We value safety above everything. Our “Do It Right” culture encourages employees to take safety into account in all that they do. And we’re always looking for ways to improve. The Stephen R. Wilson Excellence in Safety Program, now in its third year, is a great way for us to capture potentially life-saving, innovative safety ideas from the people who know our plants and facilities best: our employees. (Read more about this year’s Wilson Award winner here). We share these safety innovations openly with others in the industry.
It’s also important to us to promote safety in the communities where we operate. That’s why we provide services like training and equipment for local fire departments and first responders.
Question: Why are nearly all of your facilities located in smaller, often rural, areas?
Will: The locations of our production and distribution facilities are no coincidence. With strategic proximity or access to all of North America’s major crop-growing regions, we’re well positioned to deliver the right products to farmers when they need them.
Plus, our relationship with these communities is truly symbiotic. They provide us with a great pool of skilled talent, who, as employees, often spend their entire career with CF. Our presence provides a stable economic force within the community. It’s a great example of American manufacturing done right.
Question: CF strives to help “feed the crops that feed the world.” How will this commitment evolve in the face of new global sustainability challenges?
Will: Our mission is unchanged. We’ve long understood the need to increase food production to feed a growing global population. Farmers must maximize the amount of food they can produce from every available acre. That’s where CF comes in. Whatever the future brings, we’re committed to ensuring that farmers have the nutrients they need to meet demand. In this respect, CF is very much part of the solution to feed a hungry and growing world.