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Top of Mind in Soy Transportation
The Soy Transportation Coalition identifies top priorities as it relates to soy transportation
STORY AND PHOTOS BY BETHANY BARATTA
From row to road and rail to river, the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) is focused on projects that increase efficiency in transporting soybeans near and far.
TEMCO project at Port of Kalama
The Port of Kalama (in Kalama, Washington) and Tacoma Export Marketing Company (TEMCO), a joint venture by Cargill and CHS, are in the process of expanding the rail unloading and staging infrastructure at the terminal.
Expanding rail lines will increase efficiency by 25 to 30%, especially during October through January, which is the key export window for soybeans.
“It’s the same concept as keeping the combines rolling and not having it stop because you don’t have a truck or wagon to offload that crop,” says Mike Steenhoek, STC's executive director.
The United Soybean Board, Soy Transportation Coalition, Iowa Soybean Association and other state soybean associations have committed funding to this project.
Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway
The DeLong Co. Agricultural Maritime Export Facility on Jones Island is one of the first on the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway system to handle various agricultural commodities via truck, rail and international vessel, including dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGs). This facility is expected to open Wisconsin’s maritime and agricultural economies to new international markets.
“Though this facility will never rival the Pacific Northwest or the Mississippi River/Gulf, this is another way to diversify our supply chain,” Steenhoek says.
The Soy Transportation Coalition and Wisconsin Soybean committed funding to this project.
Railcar bridges
A project is underway in Buchanan County, in northeast Iowa, to use six railroad flat cars to replace a rural bridge. This was one of the efforts highlighted in STC’s report, “Top 20 Innovations for Rural Bridge Replacement and Repair”, which promotes cost-effective approach to replacing and repairing rural bridges without compromising safety.
The cost of the county to replace the bridge using the railcars is $300,000, saving the county and its taxpayers more than $500,000.
“My crystal ball says that the local, state and federal governments aren’t likely going to be winning the lottery anytime soon to replace these rural bridges in our country, so if we’re going to be constrictive on the funding availability side, we’d better be serious on the cost containment side,” Steenhoek says. “This is an excellent way of doing it.”
Contact Bethany Baratta at bbaratta@iasoybeans.com
