Progress in Motion

Progress in Motion

By Brock Johnston, bjohnston@iasoybeans.com

Soy Transportation Coalition provides snapshot of current initiatives

Across the heartland, U.S. soybean farmers are reshaping the future with bold investments to improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of their supply chain. With innovation and collaboration in mind, it's a future where U.S. soybeans move faster, farther and smarter than ever before.

Rural bridge replacement and repair

An innovative project using railroad flat cars to replace a rural bridge has reached completion in Buchanan County, located in northeast Iowa.

"Our nation's rural bridges serve as the initial step in a lengthy journey to the ultimate customer," explains Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC). "Unfortunately, the region of the country in which bridge conditions are most severe — rural areas — also happen to be the region in which available funding to improve these conditions is stagnant or on the decline."

In 2024, the STC partnered with Buchanan County, in the construction of one of the longest railroad flat car bridges in the country. Measuring 135 feet in length by 28 feet in width, the bridge utilized six retired railroad flat cars in its construction.

The cost of the county to replace the bridge using the railcars is $300,000, saving the county and its taxpayers more than $600,000.

"Unfortunately, the economic reality is that rural counties have a large quantity of rural bridges to maintain and improve while having access to stagnant and, often, declining resources to accomplish this task," says Brian Keierleber, Buchanan County engineer. "The math simply does not add up. County engineers and other rural stakeholders explore and promote more cost-effective approaches to repair and replace rural bridges without compromising safety."

Buchanan County assumed the cost of the bridge construction. The STC provided $15,000 to help offset the costs of pre-engineering and design.

The effort was highlighted in STC's report, "Top 20 Innovations for Rural Bridge Replacement and Repair," which promotes cost-effective approaches to replacing and repairing rural bridges without compromising safety. Looking ahead, STC and farmer leaders continue to engage with other local counties for additional cost savings on the critical infrastructure.

Lock and Dam #25

Construction of an enhanced lock and dam system on the Upper Mississippi River continues to progress. Located in Winfield, Mo., Lock and Dam #25 assists in moving 200 million bushels of soybeans annually from growers in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin downstream to the Gulf of Mexico, according to the United States Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service.

In 2021, the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) offered $100,000 to address the initial engineering and design modifications necessary to improve the aging infrastructure of Lock and Dam #25 on the Upper Mississippi River. The contribution was part of a $1 million proposal made by state and national partners, including the United Soybean Board (USB), STC and other state soybean organizations.

"Many of these critical lock and dam projects along the Upper Mississippi River region have lingered for years — perpetually waiting for the necessary funding to increase their capacity and resilience," says Steenhoek. "Farmers and other stakeholders believed it was time for Lock and Dam #25 and other priority projects to finally move from the on-deck circle to the batter's box."

With the necessary funds in place, Lock and Dam #25 is the first construction project under the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP). The program allocated $732 million for the project, due in part to the successful collaboration between agriculture, barge and towing and other industries.

The original infrastructure at Lock and Dam #25 opened in 1939 with a lock chamber of 600 feet. Once completed, the new 1,200 feet lock chamber will significantly reduce delays and increase safety.

Port of Houston

The Andersons, Inc., an American agribusiness company focused on commodity merchandising, renewables and more, is in the process of expanding its grain export terminal at the Port of Houston (in Houston, Texas) to handle and export soybean meal and soybeans from the facility. Once completed, the expansion will result in one million metric tons of soybean meal and soybeans being exported from the facility.

U.S. soybean farmers have committed $275,000 for research, analysis, pre-engineering and design expenses associated with the facility expansion at the Port of Houston. USB, STC, ISA and other state soybean organizations have committed funding to this project. Soybean farmer leaders and other project stakeholders held a ceremonial check presentation at the Port of Houston last month.

The project has the potential of meaningfully addressing several major priorities of the broader soybean farmer community, Steenhoek says.

Tangibly enhancing the ability to export soybean meal remains top of mind for soybean farmers.

"Given the continued challenges we've experienced with low water conditions on the Mississippi River, we're continuing to identify opportunities that increase the diversity of our supply chain by 'spreading the eggs across more baskets'," Steenhoek says. "The soybean meal that will be shipped to the facility at the Port of Houston will be transported via BNSF Railway or Union Pacific Railroad. It will not utilize the inland waterway system."

While large "home run" markets like China remain of great importance to our industry, Steenhoek says the project could enhance multiple "base hit" marketing opportunities for U.S. soybean meal and soybeans. The identified markets for the Houston export terminal include key regions like the Middle East and Africa, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Ivory Coast and more. It could also serve key purchasers in the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia.

"We are pleased to extend our relationship with Port of Houston as it remains a strategic location for The Andersons to support our customers in exporting to high-demand markets," says Bill Krueger, president and CEO of The Andersons. "As domestic soybean crush rises to meet the higher demand for renewable fuels, we are seeing new opportunities for the export of soybean meal, and we are working closely with our partners to streamline delivery of product to the export point by installing capability to unload unit trains of soybean meal directly at the Texas Gulf."

The Andersons, Inc. anticipates several Midwestern states, including Iowa, will feed soybean meal to their facility. It's possible, however, that other states will feed into the facility as well given the expansion of soybean processing.

With storage capacity of 6.3 million bushels, the Houston facility supports the export of more than two million metric tons of grain annually and will now include up to 22,000 metric tons for storing soybean meal for export. Additional upgrades include a new conveyance system to transport goods from storage to the ship loaders, as well as a new ship loading tower to increase loading speed and efficiency.

TEMCO project at Port of Kalama

The Port of Kalama (in Kalama, Wash.) and Tacoma Export Marketing Company (TEMCO), a joint venture by Cargill and CHS, are continuing efforts to expand rail efficiency in the Pacific Northwest. The facility, located in a strategic export region for U.S. soybeans and soy products, is undergoing construction enhancements to expedite terminal unloading and staging.

According to Steenhoek, expanding rail lines will increase efficiency by 25 to 30%, especially during the key export period for U.S. soybeans.

"Infrastructure investments that soybean farmers have made in the past have positioned us for future success," adds Steenhoek. "We want to continue that level of investment, so U.S. soybean farmers and their consumers continue to benefit."

The project has also since been awarded a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant of $26.3 million. The grant award continues to remain on schedule.

The STC, alongside USB, ISA and other state soybean associations committed funding to this project.