Soy Transportation Coalition sees improvements in Pacific Northwest infrastructure
Twenty-five percent of all U.S. soybeans are exported through Pacific Northwest ports; a majority of these beans eventually make their way to China. And with China’s seemingly insatiable appetite for soy continuing to increase, these ports are staying on the cutting edge of technology to make sure they are able to meet these customers’ demands.
During the most recent Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) meeting, farmer-leaders representing the United Soybean Board (USB), American Soybean Association and various state soybean boards got a firsthand look at these updates during visits to Export Grain Terminal, TEMCO and the Kalama Export Company.
“I was really impressed how quickly these companies are able to unload grain and soybeans from railcars and barges and then load those products onto ships for export,” says Woody Green, soybean farmer from South Carolina and USB farmer-leader. “This really shows that the rest of our transportation system needs to work to keep up with demand.”
U.S. soybean farmers consistently export more than half their crop, so ensuring a reliable transportation infrastructure remains critical to maintaining this market share.
In addition to visiting the export terminals, soybean farmer-leaders met to discuss current issues impacting soy transportation, current STC projects and studies that are underway and future studies and projects that the coalition should consider.