Potash Corp takes offensive in spreading fertilizer message. (Thinking Outside The Box).(Brief Article)

Disclaimer: If you don't mind being scared by what the public thinks about agriculture (and fertilizer in general), please read on. If you want to see how one fertilizer company is using public relations to put an end to misinformation in the halls of government and the streets of our cities and towns, keep reading down the page. If you want to close your eyes and ears to the lack of common sense outside of rural America, skip this column.

Now here's a public relations practitioner's dream case history. Take what appears to be a totally misunderstood product -- commercial fertilizer -- and help consumers and lawmakers better understand what it does.

Chicago-based PotashCorp. has been working for the past year on its Fertile Minds initiative, an educational program designed to enlighten key audiences about the value of commercial fertilizer and, hopefully, debunk the myths and misperceptions about it.

Let's see what consumers on the streets of Chicago have to say about commercial fertilizers:

* Potash

Definition: Comes from potatoes, the middle or peel part (depending on whom you talk to). It's a pollutant, a byproduct or what's left after smoking marijuana. According to one consumer, Potash was defined and named after Larry Potash, a morning news anchor at WGN-TV in Chicago.

* Fertilizer