CSBP and Landmark part fertiliser ways

The move, with CSBP having already switched to Elders as selling agent for its fertilisers and Landmark launching its own fertiliser offshoot at the Dowerin GWN7 Machinery Field Days, is expected to clarify for farmers where to order a particular fertiliser and at what price.

CSBP distribution manager Peter Rowe announced Monday that his company and Landmark had reached agreement on terminating the long-standing agency agreement between the two from September 30.

The agreement had been due to end on April 12 next year, Mr Rowe said.

"CSBP will ensure our customers remain first priority, and CSBP has worked with Elders, Primaries and additional independent agents to ensure that growers across the State will have options to buy from local sales agents in their areas," he said.

It would continue "to ensure customers have access to the best fertilisers for their needs" plus "customised service" from field staff and unique analytical tools, Mr Rowe said.

"Our goal is to provide the best CSBP staff in combination with the best sales agents in each rural community in Western Australia, to deliver superior service and advice along with high quality products delivered based on our customers' needs."

He said CSBP continued to develop new support-service tools like online FERTview which used the company's unique interpretive model NUlogic - based on WA field trials results - to examine soil and plant variation.

The myCSBP portal had also proved popular with customers, Mr Rowe said.

As well as Elders' farm supplies outlets acting as agents for CSBP fertiliser products, CSBP has maintained its own network of area managers and independent agents.

Landmark WA sales and operations manager Natalie Adams, who now also heads Landmark Fertilisers, said the early separation was a foregone conclusion.

"It has probably made the situation (of who is selling which range of products) much clearer now for farmers," Ms Adams said.

"We were having some difficulty (with customers confused by the CSBP agency change) because they prevented us selling their products some months ago, and no doubt so were they," she said.

Ms Adams said Landmark Fertilisers "went live" on Landmark's website Monday and she hoped to publish a fertiliser price list before the end of the week.

Landmark Fertilisers was "ready to go" delivering bulk fertiliser out of Geraldton, Kwinana, Albany and Esperance ports, she said.

Landmark had previously said it intends supplementing its bulk and liquid fertilisers range with products sourced from its Canadian parent company, Agrium.

It intends to offer a full range of crop fertiliser products before the start of next season and regional Landmark farm services outlets and about 200 staff will be agents for its fertilisers, backed up by a field team and technical staff.

Ms Adams said a new soil and plant testing laboratory in Malaga was undergoing final trials and would be opened once some "corporate identification" was in place.

Landmark caused some consternation within the increasingly crowded WA fertiliser industry - worth an estimated $850 million per year - when it announced plans to import its own fertiliser under an arrangement with US supplier Koch last November.

With commercial concerns about Landmark acting as a CSBP agent while selling its own fertilisers in competition, CSBP began negotiations with Elders, as a potential agent, and Landmark, to terminate the existing agency agreement.

CSBP, which is owned by Wesfarmers, and Landmark formally agreed in April to end the agency agreement with a carryover period until next April when it was due to expire anyway.

A new agency and sales agreement with Elders was signed in June.