I thought I’d give our website visitors an exclusive preview of my column to appear in the January issue of Citrus Industry Magazine. Several members of our Southeast AgNet/Citrus Industry Magazine/AgNet OnLine team spent this past Sunday learning a lot about the fertilizer and ammonia industries, and enjoying food and fellowship aboard one of the world’s leading ammonia transfer ships while it was in port in Tampa. Dining on an ammonia ship during its load transfer is a very unique experience!
Buying the opportunity at auction for a group of our Southeast AgNet/Citrus Industry Magazine 
team to dine on a big ship at the Port of Tampa, little did I know it would come with such an educational opportunity for us all. The dinner package was an offering in Florida Citrus Mutual’s PAC auction during their annual summer conference. We wanted to support the auction in some way, and when I heard the words ‘meal’ and ‘big boat’ I started bidding. As it turns out I’m glad I did.
In early December several members of our company team followed through on the auction purchase, enjoying a seven-course meal aboard one of Yara N. A.’s ammonia transport ships, the Marola. Dinner with the Captain and Chief included representatives from Southeast AgNet/CIM, Yara N. A. and Mosaic Fertilizer, a Yara client company.
The ship tour and dinner followed a tour of Yara’s Port Sutton Terminal, where Terminal Manager Duane Allen explained the operations and safety procedures of one of the world’s most advanced ammonia operations.
Yara is known for high-quality fertilizers for citrus and other crops and its commitment to resource information assisting growers in crop nutrition and application planning. It is a huge multi-faceted international company with a focus on agriculture inputs.
The Marola is part of Yara’s fleet of 17 vessels of various sizes and capacities. It’s an Italian ship spending a lot of time going back and forth between Trinidad and Tampa, bringing in ammonia primarily used by Florida’s phosphate industry. The Marola is more than 600 feet long 
and it only stays in port a day or so on each turnaround, so scheduling this kind of special dinner event during the ship’s discharge can be tricky. Special thanks go to Yara Territory Manager Jerry Southwell for his patience and help in putting the dinner, tour and educational seminars together.
Rumor has it a similar dining experience may again be offered at an upcoming citrus industry auction in the future. For a most unique, educational and memorable dining experience for anyone in agriculture, I’d recommend it.