The Mosaic Company

The Mosaic Company is a Tampa-based American agricultural-inputs company focused on the production, processing, marketing and distribution of phosphate and potash fertilizers. Its products supply nutrients used in commercial farming and are sold through wholesalers, retail dealers and directly to growers across international markets. Mosaic also produces phosphate-based animal-feed ingredients and operates an international distribution network that includes manufacturing sites, mines, ports, warehouses and sales offices. The company was created in October 2004 through the combination of IMC Global and Cargill’s crop-nutrition business. That transaction brought together IMC’s long history in fertilizer and mineral extraction with Cargill’s crop-nutrition assets and commercial network. Mosaic began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 2004 under the symbol MOS. Cargill initially remained an important shareholder, but the companies later arranged an orderly separation of Cargill’s interest, completed through transactions announced and carried out in 2011. Mosaic’s main businesses are potash and phosphate. Potash operations include mines and surface facilities in Saskatchewan, Canada, and Carlsbad, New Mexico. Canadian production is marketed internationally in part through Canpotex, the export association for Canadian potash producers. Mosaic has also developed the Esterhazy K3 mine in Saskatchewan as a successor to older underground operations, while the Colonsay site has been placed in indefinite idling and maintenance mode. Potash is primarily used to supply potassium, an essential crop nutrient that supports plant health, yield and resistance to environmental stress. The phosphate business is based principally on mining phosphate rock in central Florida’s Bone Valley region, processing that rock into concentrated crop nutrients, and distributing finished products globally. Mosaic’s phosphate portfolio includes diammonium phosphate and monoammonium phosphate, as well as other concentrated phosphate products. The company expanded its Florida position in 2013 by agreeing to acquire CF Industries’ phosphate operations. In 2018, it completed the acquisition of Vale Fertilizantes, adding Brazilian phosphate mines, chemical plants and related interests to its operations. Mosaic also holds a minority interest in the Ma’aden Wa’ad Al Shamal Phosphate Company joint venture in Saudi Arabia. The company’s business is exposed to agricultural commodity cycles, crop economics, international fertilizer prices, energy and raw-material costs, mining conditions, transportation constraints and environmental regulation. Its operating model combines resource ownership, chemical processing, logistics and fertilizer marketing rather than relying solely on third-party supply. Mosaic describes its role in terms of supporting crop productivity and food production, while its mining and processing activities have also made environmental management, water use, waste storage and emissions important areas of public and regulatory attention. Mosaic remains an active, publicly traded fertilizer producer. Its principal identity is that of a global crop-nutrition supplier with particular scale in phosphate and potash, rather than a consumer-facing agricultural brand. Its customers generally encounter the company through fertilizer products, distribution partners and agricultural channels rather than through direct household retailing.

The Mosaic Company was formed in 2004 from the combination of IMC Global and Cargill’s crop-nutrition business. IMC Global traced its fertilizer heritage to an earlier company founded in 1909, while Cargill contributed crop-nutrition assets, commercial relationships and distribution capabilities. The combination was designed to create a major integrated producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash fertilizers. The name Mosaic was selected in June 2004, and the company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in October of that year. During its early years, Mosaic operated across the fertilizer value chain. It mined phosphate rock in central Florida, processed the material into concentrated nutrients and managed distribution through plants, ports, warehouses and sales offices. Its potash platform included Canadian mines in Saskatchewan and a U.S. mine in New Mexico. The company sold to wholesalers, agricultural retailers and individual growers, giving it both production scale and access to international crop-nutrient markets. Leadership changed in the late 2000s. Jim Prokopanko became chief operating officer in 2006 and succeeded Fritz Corrigan as president and chief executive officer in 2007. Mosaic and Cargill later undertook a structured separation of Cargill’s ownership position. The companies agreed to the process in 2011 and completed the associated distribution, reducing Cargill’s continuing role as a shareholder and leaving Mosaic as a more independently held public company. Mosaic expanded its phosphate assets during the 2010s. In 2013, it agreed to buy CF Industries’ phosphate operations. The transaction strengthened Mosaic’s position in Florida and reduced the need for a separate major processing investment associated with the company’s regional phosphate-rock resources. Mosaic also adjusted its legacy operations during this period, including the closure of potash operations at the Hersey facility in 2013. In 2014, it acquired Archer Daniels Midland’s fertilizer distribution business in Brazil and Paraguay, broadening its commercial reach in South America. Cargill acquired Mosaic’s Hersey, Michigan, salt plant in the same year. The company made its largest strategic expansion in Brazil through the acquisition of Vale Fertilizantes, completed in January 2018. The transaction added five Brazilian phosphate-rock mines, four chemical plants and an additional economic interest in the Miski Mayo mine, complementing Mosaic’s existing phosphate and potash activities. Mosaic also participates in the Ma’aden Wa’ad Al Shamal Phosphate Company joint venture in Saudi Arabia, giving it an interest in a major international phosphate complex. Mosaic’s potash operations have continued to evolve. Its Saskatchewan system includes Belle Plaine, Colonsay and Esterhazy facilities, including the K1, K2 and K3 mine developments, while Carlsbad provides another potash source. Esterhazy K3 was developed to replace ore from older Esterhazy underground mines and to address operating and brine-management considerations. Colonsay has been indefinitely idled and maintained rather than operated as a normal production site. Canadian potash is marketed outside the United States and Canada in part through Canpotex. The business has also faced the environmental and operational responsibilities associated with large-scale mining and chemical processing. Mosaic’s phosphate activities in Florida involve phosphate-rock extraction, processing and management of residual materials, while its potash activities involve underground mining and brine management. These issues, together with greenhouse-gas emissions, water management and permitting, form an important part of the company’s public profile even though its principal commercial mission remains the supply of crop nutrients. In 2015, Joc O’Rourke succeeded Jim Prokopanko as president and chief executive officer. In 2023, the board announced that Bruce Bodine would succeed O’Rourke, with the transition taking effect on January 1, 2024. Mosaic therefore entered its current period as an established publicly traded fertilizer producer with major phosphate and potash resources, operations in multiple countries and a business model tied closely to global agricultural production.

1. 2024Bruce Bodine becomes chief executive

   Bruce Bodine succeeded Joc O’Rourke as president and chief executive officer on January 1, 2024.

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2. 2018Vale Fertilizantes acquisition completed

   Mosaic completed its acquisition of Vale Fertilizantes and expanded its Brazilian phosphate operations.

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3. 2015Joc O’Rourke becomes chief executive

   Joc O’Rourke succeeded Jim Prokopanko as president and chief executive officer.

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4. 2014Brazil and Paraguay distribution expansion

   Mosaic acquired Archer Daniels Midland’s fertilizer distribution business in Brazil and Paraguay.

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5. 2013CF Industries phosphate transaction

   Mosaic agreed to acquire CF Industries’ phosphate operations.

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6. 2011Cargill ownership separation

   Mosaic and Cargill completed arrangements to split off and distribute Cargill’s interest in Mosaic.

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7. 2007Jim Prokopanko becomes chief executive

   Jim Prokopanko succeeded Fritz Corrigan as Mosaic’s president and chief executive officer.

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8. 2004Mosaic is formed

   The crop-nutrition business of Cargill and IMC Global entered into a transaction to create The Mosaic Company.

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9. 2004Public-market debut

   The newly formed company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MOS.

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A large-scale, vertically integrated crop-nutrition producer combining phosphate and potash mining, processing, logistics and global fertilizer marketing.

• PotashCrop nutrient

  Mosaic produces and markets potash, principally potassium chloride, from mines and processing facilities in Saskatchewan and Carlsbad, New Mexico. Its Canadian network includes Belle Plaine, Colonsay and Esterhazy operations, with K3 developed as a successor to older Esterhazy mining areas. Canadian production is exported internationally through Canpotex. Potash supplies potassium, a key nutrient used to support crop development, quality and resilience.

• Phosphate fertilizersCrop nutrient

  Mosaic mines phosphate rock and converts it into concentrated phosphate fertilizers for agricultural customers. The portfolio includes diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate and related products distributed through global sales and logistics networks. The business is supported by Florida mining and processing assets, Brazilian operations added through Vale Fertilizantes and an interest in the Ma’aden Wa’ad Al Shamal phosphate joint venture in Saudi Arabia.

• Phosphate rockIndustrial and agricultural raw material

  Phosphate rock is extracted from Mosaic’s mining operations and used as feedstock for fertilizer and chemical processing. Major mining activity is associated with Florida’s Bone Valley formation, with additional Brazilian resources incorporated through the Vale Fertilizantes acquisition. The material links Mosaic’s mineral-resources business with its downstream production of finished crop nutrients.

• Animal-feed phosphate ingredientsAnimal nutrition

  Mosaic has included phosphate-based ingredients for animal nutrition within its broader phosphate portfolio. These materials provide phosphorus and related nutritional value for feed applications, although crop fertilizers remain the company’s central commercial identity.

• 2018Acquire Vale FertilizantesM&A

  Mosaic pursued a significant expansion of its Brazilian phosphate production and resource position.

  What changed. Mosaic completed the acquisition of Vale Fertilizantes in January 2018.

  Aftermath. Mosaic added five Brazilian phosphate-rock mines, four chemical plants and additional economic interests in phosphate assets.

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• 2013Acquire CF Industries phosphate operationsM&A

  Mosaic sought to expand its phosphate platform and use existing processing assets rather than construct an additional major facility in Florida.

  What changed. Mosaic agreed to purchase CF Industries’ phosphate operations.

  Aftermath. The transaction strengthened Mosaic’s Florida phosphate position and expanded its operating base.

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• 2011Separate Cargill’s Mosaic ownershipStrategy

  Cargill and Mosaic agreed to separate and distribute Cargill’s ownership interest in Mosaic.

  What changed. The companies carried out an orderly split-off and distribution of Cargill’s stake.

  Aftermath. Mosaic continued as a more independently held public company.

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• 2004Combine IMC Global and Cargill crop nutritionM&A

  The transaction was intended to unite IMC Global’s fertilizer and mining platform with Cargill’s crop-nutrition business and distribution capabilities.

  What changed. The businesses formed The Mosaic Company, which became a combined producer and marketer of phosphate and potash fertilizers.

  Aftermath. Mosaic became a major publicly traded crop-nutrition company and began trading on the NYSE in October 2004.

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• 2023Bruce Bodine selected to succeed Joc O'Rourke

  Mosaic’s board selected Bruce Bodine to become chief executive effective January 1, 2024; he also became president and joined the board before the succession date.

  Leadership change
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• 2018Mosaic completes Vale Fertilizantes acquisition

  The acquisition added Brazilian phosphate mines, chemical plants and related interests to Mosaic’s portfolio.

  M&A
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• 2013Mosaic agrees to acquire CF Industries phosphate operations

  Mosaic reached an agreement to purchase CF Industries’ phosphate operations, expanding its Florida phosphate platform.

  M&A
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• 2011Mosaic and Cargill begin separating Cargill’s Mosaic interest

  Mosaic and Cargill announced and completed arrangements to split off and distribute Cargill’s stake in Mosaic.

  M&A
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• 2004Mosaic begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange

  The newly formed fertilizer company began public trading under the ticker MOS.

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1. The Mosaic Company
2. The Mosaic Company official website