Document:

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Exhibit 10.6

                           COMMERCIAL INSTALLMENT NOTE

$300,000.00                                         Executed at Mt. Gilead, Ohio
                                                             November 21st, 1997

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the undersigned ("Debtor") promises to pay to the order of
NATIONAL CITY BANK OF COLUMBUS, a national banking association ("Bank"), which
has its principal place of business in Columbus, Ohio, at any office of Bank,
THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND AND 00/100 DOLLARS (or, if less, the unpaid principal
attachment to this note or on Bank's loan account records) in lawful money of
the United States together with interest, in ninety-six (96) consecutive monthly
installments, commencing on December 28, 1997. Each installment shall consist of
principal in the amount of Three Thousand One Hundred Twenty-five and 00/100
Dollars ($3,125.00) plus the unpaid interest accrued on this note, except that
the final installment shall be in such amount as will pay all of the unpaid
principal of and unpaid interest accrued on this note in full.

Prior to maturity, principal and any overdue interest shall bear interest
computed daily (on the basis of a 360-day year and actual days elapsed) at a
fluctuating rate which is twenty-five hundredths percent (0.25%) per annum above
the Prime Rate. Debtor may prepay the principal of this note in whole or in part
at any time without premium or penalty.

Concurrently with any prepayment of the principal of this note, Debtor shall pay
the unpaid interest accrued on the principal being prepaid, and each prepayment
shall be applied to the outstanding installments of this note in the inverse
order of their respective due dates.

If Debtor fails to pay an installment in full within ten (10) days after its due
date, Debtor, in each case, will incur and shall pay a late charge equal to the
greater of Twenty and 00/100 Dollars ($20.00) or five percent (5.0%) of the
unpaid amount. The payment of a late charge will not cure or constitute a waiver
of any Event of Default under this note.

Except as otherwise provided in writing, payments will be applied first to
installments in the order of their respective due dates and then to late charges
in the order of their respective due dates; provided, however, that if a payment
so applied would pay the principal of this note in full, but leave late charges
outstanding, such payment will instead be applied to late charges prior to being
applied to the principal portion of the final installment. Each payment of an
installment shall be applied first to accrued but unpaid interest and then to
principal.

In its discretion, Bank may, from time to time, unilaterally change any
provision for the application of payments and installments by mailing a written
notice to Debtor of the change. The notice shall be mailed to the address
indicated herein or such other address that Debtor may furnish in writing to an
appropriate officer of Bank and shall be mailed not less than fifteen (15) days
prior to the effective date of such change.

If this note is not paid in full at maturity (whether by lapse of time,
acceleration of maturity or otherwise), the interest rate otherwise in effect
hereunder shall be increased by three percent (3.0%) per annum, provided that in
no event shall the principal of and interest on this note bear interest after
maturity at a rate less than the interest rate actually in effect hereunder
immediately after maturity.

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The occurrence of any of the following shall constitute an Event of Default
hereunder:

      (a) Debtor's Bank Debt or any part thereof shall not be paid in full
      promptly when due (whether by lapse of time, acceleration of maturity or
      otherwise);

      (b) any Obligor shall die or be dissolved;

      (c) any representation or warranty made by any Obligor in this note or any
      Related Writing shall be false or erroneous in any material respect;

      (d) any Obligor shall fail or omit to perform or observe any agreement
      made by that Obligor in this note or in any Related Writing;

      (e) Debtor fails to furnish to Bank, as soon as available and in any event
      within ninety (90) days after the end of each of Debtor's fiscal years, an
      annual report of Debtor for that year audited by a certified public
      accountant selected by Debtor and reasonably acceptable to Bank;

      (f) Debtor fails to furnish to Bank, as soon as available and in any event
      within sixty (60) days after the end of each of the quarterly periods of
      each of Debtor's fiscal years, Debtor's balance sheet as at the end of the
      period and its income statement and surplus reconciliation for Debtor's
      current fiscal year to date certified by an appropriate officer of Debtor
      to be true and complete to the best of his knowledge and belief;

      (g) the ratio, determined according to GAAP, of Debtor's debt to its
      tangible net worth is greater than 1.5 to 1.0 at the end of any of its
      fiscal years;

      (h) the ratio, determined according to GAAP, of (i) the sum of Debtor's
      net profit plus equity injections plus interest expense to (ii) the sum of
      Debtor's current portion of long term debt plus interest expense is less
      than 1.25 to 1.0 at the end of any of its fiscal years;

      (i) a judgment shall be entered against any Obligor in any court of
      record;

      (j) any deposit account of any Obligor is attached or levied upon;

      (k) any voluntary petition by or involuntary petition against any Obligor
      shall be filed pursuant to any chapter of any bankruptcy code or any
      Obligor shall make an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or there
      shall be any other marshalling of the assets and liabilities of any
      Obligor for the benefit of that Obligor's creditors;

      (l) any Obligor enters into any merger or consolidation or sells, leases,
      or otherwise disposes of all or substantially all of such Obligor's assets
      in any manner other than in the ordinary course of business; or

      (m) any Obligor's Bank Debt or any part thereof shall not be paid in full
      immediately when due (whether by lapse of time, acceleration of maturity
      or otherwise).

Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default, the holder of this note may, in its
sole discretion, declare this note to be due and payable, and the principal of
and interest on this note shall thereupon become immediately payable in full,
without any presentment, demand or notice of

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any kind, which Debtor hereby waives. Debtor will pay to Bank all costs and
expenses of collection of this note, including, without limitation, attorneys'
fees.

In this note, the following terms have the following meanings:

      (a) Bank Debt means Debt payable to Bank, whether initially payable to
      Bank or acquired by Bank by purchase, pledge or otherwise and whether
      assigned or participated to or from Bank in whole or in part;

      (b) Debt means, collectively, all monetary liabilities, and any charges or
      expenses incurred in connection therewith, now or hereafter owing by the
      Person or Persons in question, including, without limitation, every such
      liability whether owing by such Person or one (1) of such Persons alone or
      jointly, severally or jointly and severally, whether owing absolutely or
      contingently, or directly or indirectly, and whether created by loan,
      overdraft, guaranty or other contract or by quasi-contract, tort, statute
      or other operation of law;

      (c) GAAP means generally accepted accounting principles applied on a
      consistent basis;

      (d) Obligor means any Person who is or shall become obligated or whose
      property is or shall serve as collateral for the payment of Debtor's Bank
      Debt or any part thereof in any manner and, in addition to Debtor,
      includes, without limitation, any maker, endorser, guarantor,
      subordinating creditor, assignor, pledgor, mortgagor or hypothecator of
      property;

      (e) Person means a natural person or entity of any kind, including,
      without limitation any corporation, partnership, trust, governmental body,
      or any other form or kind of entity;

      (f) Prime Rate means the fluctuating rate of interest which is publicly
      announced from time to time by Bank at its principal place of business as
      being its "prime rate" or "base rate" thereafter in effect, with each
      change in the Prime Rate automatically, immediately and without notice
      changing the fluctuating interest rate thereafter applicable hereunder, it
      being agreed that the Prime Rate is not necessarily the lowest rate of
      interest then available from Bank on fluctuating rate loans; and

      (g) Related Writing means a writing of any form or substance signed by any
      Obligor (whether as principal or agent) or by any attorney, accountant or
      other representative of any Obligor and received by Bank in respect of
      Debtor's Bank Debt or any part thereof, including, without limitation, any
      credit application, credit agreement, reimbursement agreement, financial
      statement, promissory note, guaranty, indenture, mortgage, security
      agreement, authorization, subordination agreement, certificate, opinion or
      any similar writing.

Debtor certifies to Bank that all funds disbursed under this note will be used
for business or commercial purposes.

Debtor hereby authorizes Bank to share all credit and financial information
relating to Debtor with Bank's parent company, and with any subsidiary or
affiliate company of Bank or of Bank's parent company.

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In no event shall the interest rate in effect on this note exceed the maximum
rate permissible under the law governing this note.

Any holder's delay or omission in the exercise of any right under this note
shall not operate as a waiver of that right or of any other right under this
note.

If any provision of this note is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction
to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that determination shall not affect any
other provision of this note, and each such other provision shall be construed
and enforced as if the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision were not
contained herein.

This note and the Related Writings set forth the entire agreement between the
parties regarding the transactions contemplated hereby, and supersede all prior
agreements, commitments, discussions, representations and understandings,
whether written or oral, and any and all contemporaneous oral agreements,
commitments, discussions, representations and understandings between the parties
relating to the subject matter hereof.

No amendment, modification or supplement to this note or any Related Writings
shall be binding unless executed in writing by all parties thereto, and this
provision shall not be subject to waiver by any party and shall be strictly
enforced.

This note shall be governed by the law of the state in which Bank has its
principal place of business.

Debtor authorizes any attorney-at-law to appear in any state or federal court of
record in the United States after this note matures (whether by lapse of time,
acceleration of maturity or otherwise); to waive the issuance and service of
process; to confess judgment against Debtor in favor of the holder of this note
for the amount then appearing due, together with interest and costs of suit; and
to release all errors and waive all rights of appeal and stay of execution. If
any judgment against Debtor is vacated for any reason, this warrant of attorney
may be used to obtain additional judgments.

WARNING - BY SIGNING THIS PAPER YOU GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO NOTICE AND COURT
TRIAL. IF YOU DO NOT PAY ON TIME A COURT JUDGMENT MAY BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU
WITHOUT YOUR PRIOR KNOWLEDGE AND THE POWERS OF A COURT CAN BE USED TO COLLECT
FROM YOU REGARDLESS OF ANY CLAIMS YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST THE CREDITOR WHETHER FOR
RETURNED GOODS, FAULTY GOODS, FAILURE ON HIS PART TO COMPLY WITH THE AGREEMENT,
OR ANY OTHER CAUSE.

3795 County Road 29                 SIMS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS CO.,
P.O. Box 69                         an Ohio corporation
Mt. Gilead, Ohio 43338-0069
(419) 946-2015
                                    By:   /s/ Dallas H. Paul
                                          --------------------------------
                                          Dallas H. Paul
                                    Its:  President

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Exhibit 10.7

                                 MUTUAL RELEASE

      This Mutual Release is entered into by and between SIMS AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTS CO., an Ohio corporation, with its principal place of business at 3795
County Road 29, Mt. Gilead, Ohio 43338 ("Sims"), FERTILIZER CORPORATION OF
AMERICA, a Florida corporation with its principal place of business at Miami,
Florida ("FCA") and DAVID CHRISTOPHERSON, an individual residing at Miami,
Florida ("Christopherson").

                                   Background

A.    On or about September 1, 1997, Sims purchased substantially all of the
      assets of the Specialty Products Division of FCA. Pursuant to that the
      Asset Purchase Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A,
      FCA agreed not to compete with Sims.

B.    In connection with the asset purchase, Sims and Christopherson entered
      into a Confidentiality and Noncompetition Agreement dated September 1,
      1997, pursuant to which, among other things, Christopherson agreed not to
      compete with the business of Sims and Sims agreed to pay Christopherson,
      as partial consideration for the noncompetition obligations imposed upon
      him, common shares of Sims pursuant to a gross margin formula set forth in
      the agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit B.

C.    This Mutual Release is executed by the parties voluntarily and is intended
      to effect the extinguishment of FCA's obligations under Section 5.16 of
      the Asset Purchase Agreement, the extinguishment of Chistopherson's
      obligations under Section 1 of the Confidentiality and Noncompetition
      Agreement. Sims' obligation under Section 7.7 of the Asset Purchase
      Agreement regarding Sims' Board of Directors, and Sims' obligation under
      Section 3(b) of the Confidentiality and Noncompetition Agreement to pay
      additional consideration for the noncompetition obligation imposed on
      Christopherson.

                                   Agreement

      For good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency is hereby
acknowledged by all parties, the parties agree as follows:

1.    Sims hereby releases and forever discharges FCA and Christopherson from
      any and all claims, demands, actions, causes of action, judgments and
      executions, which Sims ever had, or now has, or may have against FCA or
      Christopherson for violation of the noncompetition obligations imposed
      upon them in, respectively, Section 5.16 of the Asset Purchase Agreement
      and Section 1 of the Confidentiality and Noncompetition Agreement.
      Christopherson is not released from the confidentiality obligation
      provided Christopherson may solicit customers of the Specialty Products
      Division (that were former customers of FCA).
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2.    Christopherson hereby releases and forever discharges Sims and its
      officers, directors, shareholders, employees, affiliates, subsidiaries,
      legal representatives, administrators, successors and assigns, from any
      and all claims, demands, actions, causes of action, judgments and
      executions, which he ever had or now has, or may have, against them, for
      payment or nonpayment of the additional consideration for the
      Noncompetition obligations imposed upon Christopherson in Section 3(b) of
      the Confidentiality and Noncompetition Agreement between Sims and
      Christopherson dated September 1, 1997. It is understood that all payments
      made through the date of this agreement are to be retained by
      Christopherson or FCA as the case may be.

3.    FCA hereby releases and forever discharges Sims and its officers,
      directors, shareholders, employees, affiliates, subsidiaries, legal
      representatives, administrators, successors and assigns, from any and all
      claims, demands, actions, causes of action, judgments and executions,
      which he ever had or now has, or may have, against them, for the
      obligations regarding the Board of Directors imposed on Sims in Section
      7.7 of the Asset Purchase Agreement. Sims agrees that it will no longer
      use the FCA name and that all intellectual rights or intangible rights
      revert or will be assigned to FCA including all EPA registrations, or if
      lapsed, Sims will cooperate with FCA in reinstating those registrations.

4.    The parties agree that their covenants and promises in this Mutual Release
      are made only in consideration of the covenants and promises explicitly
      made hereunder by the parties, and not in consideration of any other
      matter. The parties agree that the foregoing constitutes the entire
      agreement between them and that there exist no other agreements, oral or
      written, between them relating to any matters covered by this agreement.
      The parties agree that the invalidity of any provision or provisions of
      this Mutual Release shall not effect the other provisions, and this Mutual
      Release shall be construed in all respects as if any invalid provisions
      were omitted. The parties agree that the laws of the State of Ohio will
      govern the resolution of any dispute arising under this Mutual Release,
      and agree to submit themselves to the jurisdiction of the courts of the
      State of Ohio, with venue in Morrow County, for the resolution of any such
      dispute.

      IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Mutual Release on the
date set forth below their respective signature lines.

SIMS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS CO.     FERTILIZER CORPORATION OF AMERICA

By: /s/ Dallas H. Paul             By: /s/ David C. Christopherson
    --------------------------         -----------------------------
    Dallas H. Paul                     David C. Christopherson, President

Date: October 18, 1999             Date: October 13, 1999

                                   By: /s/ David C. Christopherson
                                       -------------------------------------
                                       David C. Christopherson, Individually

                                   Date: October 13, 1999

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