Our Competitive Advantage
Purchasing Power
One of the most important factors that determines the final price of a fertilizer product. Since fertilizers are comprised of macro and micro elements such as the NPK (Nitrogen/Phosphorus/Potassium) and micros including iron, copper, boron, molybdenum, zinc, manganese, calcium and magnesium, it’s crucial that those products were procured at the correct price.
These raw materials are generally mined from the ground, processed into workable products, sold to importers and exporters, purchased by national distribution companies, re-sold to regional distribution companies, and then sold to wholesalers/retailers, and eventually to farms.
Americore is manufactured by the Khemical company which is one of the largest manufacturers, importers, and distributors in the United States of chemicals and chemistry for commercial crop production. Our close relationship with the mines for these raw materials and the manufacturers producing the products ensures all products that go into AMERICORE are purchased in bulk quantities, full truckloads and shipping containers.
Khemical and its affiliates have well over 500,000 SF of warehouse space dedicated to the storage and manufacturing of greenhouse grade water-soluble crop nutrition raw materials and finished products. Our large footprint provides confidence through price instability, tariffs, fluctuating shipping rates, and scarcity of products.
Labor Costs
Another variable that contributes to higher-than-expected fertilizer prices. Many blenders manufacture their products in small scale operations and cannot afford or justify automation. Fertilizer weighing, blending, transportation around the plant, bagging, palletizing, and storage can be a labor-intensive operation or automated with machinery and skilled technicians.
The manufacturing of Americore utilizes high-efficiency machinery and processes to ensure minimal human involvement and risk of error. This contributes to our bags of finished products coming off the line quicker and shipping out to you faster than most other fertilizer companies.
Additionally, having our own machinery and in-house expertise means we are not reliant on third-party manufacturing or expensive private label agreements. We control our costs, we operate machinery when it’s most efficient, and we are dedicated to our own products.
Sourcing Salts
Sourcing salts correctly is complex and requires knowledge of chemistry, manufacturing, logistics, pricing, purity, solubility, contamination, quality control, and several other key variables. With many decades of experience, Americore relies on a tried and tested supply chain that is resilient to disruptions in trade and commerce.
By focusing on high-purity raw materials that exceed expectations for solubility our products will always outperform the market. Our sourcing department is careful when considering country of origin, processing capability, moisture levels, lab testing, quality control, storage, clumping, particle size, and level of impurities, just to name a few.
Costs for raw materials can be managed in several ways. There is the underlying raw material cost, import/export duties, fees, tariffs, port fees, trucking fees, and processing costs. We are careful to negotiate our volume directly with the shipping companies to get the best rates. We maintain our own fleet of trucks to pull containers from the port and get the material to our production facilities. Product distribution is done from our onsite warehouses so there are no intermediate transport costs and the goods ship directly to you.
Since there are only a few sources for each of the raw materials, we are careful to only purchase from trusted sources. Our vendors are billion-dollar companies and household names in the fertilizer world. While newcomers cannot get direct access to minerals, we have direct access. This is crucial to ensure sources don’t change from batch to batch, inventory is always available as needed, and quality is controlled. Even during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns, product scarcity, and shipping volatility we maintained constant supply at regular prices due to pre-negotiated contracts and supply agreements.
Fertilizers Should Not be Expensive
One of your inputs that although important cost little to make and should not be a major expense for your business. Did you know 80% of fertilizer sales are commodity products like calcium nitrate, monopotassium phosphate, potassium nitrate, magnesium sulfate, etc.
The other 20% are specialty fertilizers that are comprised of the same raw material but are “specifically formulated” and marketed as products that will outperform commodity fertilizers. Fertilizer companies derive 80% of their profits from the specialty fertilizer portion of sales.
You brutally cut costs. That means no more spending on things you don’t need. You are allowed 1-2 convenience purchases, but that is it. You cannot purchase fertilizers that cost a fortune because they simply blend a few inputs. You cannot purchase fertilizers that cost a fortune because they have a convenient feed chart. You will not succeed in the long-term if you are wasteful with your resources and bleed profits.
No more running products that are going to clog emitters. Commercial crop production means large-scale cultivation. There will be a lot going on and the last thing you should have to deal with is clogged emitters, salt filled stock tanks, constantly servicing disc filters, and buildup in your irrigation lines. Growers must have the ability to anticipate how the crop will respond and how the fertilizers will perform; there should be no surprises.
Crops require specific levels of various inputs. These inputs are in a state of antagonism and are fighting each other for entry into the plant. A balanced fertilizer blend will ensure appropriate uptake of each element required for maximum crop expression. There can be no deficiency or toxicity. Lab testing should support your efforts for without testing you are flying blind and cannot truly know or understand your crops potential. Data and intuition are required; you cannot succeed without both of them.
Great questions, but guess what, you already know the answer. Run a trial. Yeah, but I did that and that’s what got me to where I am today. Great, but guess what, you probably need to establish the variables and what outcome would constitute a successful trial.
Too frequently we see well intended farmers running specialty fertilizers that “increased yields” over a single trial and without taking into consideration the increased labor demand, increased costs, and how that additional product or swap out affects the overall fertility program. We always ask farmers to share their target values and then we determine whether what they are doing will get them there.
A Value Proposition for The Commercial Grower
- Balanced ratios to reduce
antagonism and increase uptake - Manufactured in the USA
- High purity NPK and chelated micros for
industry leading solubility and bioavailability - The best return on investment
product in the market, no one has better pricing - Large inventories around the USA for
fast and convenient shipping - Free shipping on pallet orders
- Convenient supersacks and 50-pound bags
tailored for commercial operations - Simple two-part vegetative mix and either simple two-part
flower mix or three-part nitrogen optimization mix