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MORRIS, Minn. 鈥� If Minnesota wants to be a leader in the nation or world in the production and utilization of green ammonia, the time is now, according to policy, energy and agriculture leaders at a Green Ammonia Summit on Tuesday, Dec. 10, in Morris.

The Summit was hosted by the Minnesota Farmers Union and included panels of speakers overwhelmingly aware of the risks of trying to develop green ammonia in the state, yet consistently optimistic about why it can work and should happen here.

More than a hundred attendees learned about how to make ammonia green. It involves using renewable energy like wind and solar to produce ammonia, instead of fossil fuels, in an attempt to lower carbon emissions.

The University of Morris knows all about that, as and wind to create the most renewable electricity per student in America. That鈥檚 something Mike Reese, green ammonia research lead of the University of Morris, is proud of as he promotes renewable hydrogen and ammonia production.

The difficulties in developing green ammonia are plentiful, including high costs of infrastructure, extended permitting processes, and getting buy-in from consumers about what exactly this is and can be used for.

Reasons for trying to build sustainable fertilizer production in the state are also many, according to the host of panel speakers. Building and keeping wealth local as opposed to in other countries is just one.

鈥淕reen ammonia is about developing community wealth, I mean having good schools, good hospitals, good social services and all those things that thriving communities have,鈥� Reese said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 an opportunity for farmers to provide increased profitability by owning part of the supply chain.鈥�

Michael Johnson / Agweek

Over time, Reese explained that producing green ammonia for use as a fertilizer will be cheaper than producing it using fossil fuels. He illustrated this by showing the volatility of natural gas prices over decades. It鈥檚 one of many costs that grain producers cannot prepare for. He suggested green ammonia and urea would be a more consistent cost. Policy that supports green ammonia production is key, though.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to happen," Reese said. "There will be green ammonia. In my opinion, it鈥檚 inevitable. I think the real question today is, who is it going to happen with? Is it going to happen with Minnesota farmers and co-ops having ownership in it, or is it going to happen with the same structure that we鈥檝e had?鈥�

As a supporter of the cooperative model, Anne Schwagerl, Minnesota Farmers Union vice president, said that鈥檚 a way to keep money local.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at things like green ammonia to solve several problems facing farm country. Creating a diversified, farmer owner, resilient, distributed source of our fertilizer,鈥� Schwagerl said. 鈥淏ecause right now, we know that our fertilizer supplies are very concentrated by only a few companies that make them.鈥�

Schwagerl stated that Minnesota farmers spend between $500 million and $1 billion a year on fertilizer, mainly sourced from the Gulf Coast and made from fossil fuels. That money leaves the state. That鈥檚 all the more impactful in a year when the corn that the fertilizer is used for might not even be worth the cost of inputs.

鈥淚f we keep some of that money in our rural economy, it could be really transformative for us,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like this is the right time, the right place and the right people in this room to be having this conversation.鈥�

Those people in the room included big ag players like CHS and General Mills; policy leaders like Minnesota Department of Ag Commissioner Thom Petersen and Pete Wyckoff, deputy commissioner of the Department of Commerce; and research experts like Jen King, a research engineer with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

King captivated the audience when she spoke about why Minnesota was the place to develop green ammonia.

Michael Johnson / Agweek

鈥淭here is enormous potential here in Minnesota,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is not just limited to ammonia, and that is actually why it makes it even a better place to go after industrial decarbonization, go after the hydrogen economy because there are multiple applications that exist here.鈥�

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory analyzed the U.S. to see where it made the most sense to build this green industry, and Minnesota was a winner. The state鈥檚 natural resources, embedded infrastructure and existing partners, coupled with low-cost energy, were keys.

鈥淚t鈥檚 cost-effective to do this in Minnesota,鈥� King said.

What鈥檚 making this cost-effective now is the Inflation Reduction Act. While King explained that the IRA funds can be used as long as construction is started prior to 2032, several speakers brought up the unknowns about those IRA funds and other tax credits as the new administration takes over in January.

Contributed / Minnesota Department of Ag

Ariel Kagan, director of climate and working lands for Minnesota Farmers Union, said it鈥檚 imperative that those supporting the green ammonia movement promote its importance and the importance of tax credits to government leadership. She was empowered by the fact that this initiative had bipartisan support working to move it forward in rural Minnesota.

From the perspective of a farmer, building a local supply of fertilizer in rural America would be a gift to the next generation of farmers trying to make ends meet.

Doug Albin, a Clarkfield farmer and board member on the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, is looking for ways to strengthen farming today and in the future.

鈥淲hat keeps me up at night and what worries a lot of farmers is not necessarily the price of some of our inputs, it鈥檚 the availability of it and being held hostage and not being able to get it in a timely fashion,鈥� Albin said.

Having the sort of assurance that locally produced ammonia seems to offer, especially when done by a local cooperative, would be a big boost to rural communities and the next generation.

鈥淲e could actually keep that money in the community, and it would help with the churches, the schools, businesses. Give an opportunity for our kids to come back to participate in the life that they want to rather than moving to a city or West Coast, East Coast, wherever,鈥� he said.

He said the idea of farmers having to worry about carbon credits and carbon intensity is not something he used to have to think about, but he understands its importance to the future of farming.

鈥淔armers are always looking for the next, not challenge, but the next opportunity,鈥� Albin said. 鈥淎nd so, this may well be it.鈥�