Full Description

Agrium Inc., incorporated on December 21, 1992, is a retailer of agriculture products and services in the United State, as well as Argentina and Chile, and global producer and wholesale marketer of nutrients for agricultural and industrial markets. The Company’s three operating business units are: Retail, Wholesale, and Advanced Technologies. The Company operates 872 retail centers, 72 terminals and 19 distribution centers in North and South America. On May 5, 2008, the Company acquired UAP Holding Corp. (UAP), a distributor of a range of crop protection products, nutrients, seed and services to growers across North America. On July 8, 2008, it acquired a 70% interest in Common Market Fertilizers S.A. (CMF) a fertilizer distribution company.

Retail

Agrium Inc.’s Retail business unit markets crop nutrients, crop protection products, seeds, custom application and other agronomic services to customers through 872 outlets in the United States, Argentina and Chile. Approximately 94% of its Retail business is based in the North America. The Retail business unit’s market is primarily retail sales directly to farm customers, but also includes significant wholesale activity of crop protection products to other retail operations.

Crop nutrients are generally mixed in a custom blend to suit the particular nutrient requirements for each customer’s field based on soil fertility tests or plant tissue samples. The Company offers custom crop nutrient application services and employs a fleet of application and nurse equipment to apply these nutrients at the prescribed rates. Many of the Company’s crop nutrient application rigs are also capable of precision application using global positioning system (GPS) technology, which allows nutrient application rates to be adjusted when required based on GPS grid soil sample test results. Similar to crop nutrient application, Agrium Inc. employs a large fleet of crop protection application equipment.

The Company’s Retail business unit offers several agronomic services in addition to the custom application services and soil and petiole testing. The Company owns and operates a laboratory in California where soil and petiole tests are performed. In its Western United States sales regions the Company uses a system of weather tracking stations to monitor crop disease conditions and irrigation requirements in high-value crops. Retail has a group of crop advisors throughout the organization who monitor customers’ crops to maximize yields with fertility and pest control recommendations.

Wholesale

The Company’s Wholesale business unit manufactures, purchases and markets a range of nutrients, including nitrogen-based, potash and phosphate-based crop nutrient products. Wholesale owns and operates five North American nitrogen facilities, four located in Alberta, Canada and one in Borger, Texas. The majority of the nitrogen produced in Alberta is sold in Western Canada and the North Western and Northern Plains regions of the United States. Nitrogen products from Borger are sold in the Texas Panhandle area and ammonia is sold by pipeline from Texas to the Western Cornbelt.

Wholesale has a 50% joint venture ownership in a nitrogen facility located in Bahia Blanca, Argentina (Profertil). Product from Profertil is sold within Argentina and to other South American destinations. The Company also owns and operates a number of facilities that upgrade ammonia and urea to other products, such as nitrogen solutions (UAN) and nitric acid.

Wholesale owns and operates a potash mine and production facility at Vanscoy, Saskatchewan, Canada. Capacity of this plant is approximately two million product tonnes. Approximately 50% of Vanscoy’s potash production is sold internationally. The Company’s Redwater, Alberta facility produces sulphur and phosphate-based fertilizers. Phosphate rock is supplied by the Company’s phosphate rock mine located at Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. A second phosphate-based fertilizer production facility and phosphate rock mine are located at Conda, Idaho, United States. Total capacity of these plants is 1.2 million product tonnes. Products produced at these plants are primarily marketed within North America. Wholesale also operates several fertilizer granulation and blending plants in the United States. Wholesale has a storage and wholesale distribution network serving Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest, California, Midwest Corn belt, Great Plains, and Southeast regions of the United States.

Advanced Technologies

Agrium Inc.’s Advanced Technologies business unit comprises crop nutrient technologies and professional products, including the controlled-release crop nutrient and professional products businesses of Nu-Gro and Pursell, as well as the business unit’s controlled-release and micronutrient products. Advanced Technologies utilizes urea produced at the Company’s Wholesale Carseland facility in their production of ESN and Duration.

Crop nutrient technologies include the manufacturing and marketing of controlled-release crop nutrients and micronutrients that are sold to the crop nutrient industry worldwide. Crop nutrient technology products are produced in five production facilities located in the United States at Sylacauga, Alabama; Reese, Michigan, and Louisiana, Missouri, and in Canada at Courtright, Ontario and Carseland, Alberta.

Professional products include the marketing of crop nutrients and pest control products in Canada to the professional turf market (golf courses and lawn care companies), horticultural market (greenhouse, nursery, specialty agriculture), and the structural pest control industry (pest control in residential and commercial structures). Professional products are marketed through a network of distributors in Western Canada and through a direct to market approach in Ontario and Eastern Canada. Professional products are produced in two Canadian production facilities located in Putnam, Ontario and Brighton, Ontario.