The United Soybean Board (USB) engages in a number of infrastructure investments designed to keep U.S. soybean growers in a global leadership position while also benefiting transport of other commodities and agricultural inputs. USB Director Belinda Burrier said they’re focusing on the Mississippi River for one of their projects.
“The dredging of the Lower Mississippi River and the amount of partnerships that we have building this, increasing the depth of the river, actually increases the amount of production that we can send down to the river and out exporting across the world,” Burrier said. “And the second one is Port of Grays Harbor terminal expansion in Washington State.”
These infrastructure investments by the checkoff in research, analysis, and design don’t just benefit soybean producers- they impact other commodities as well.
“I was at both of these ports this year and have seen the investments that we have done with our partners, and it has increased their expansion of direct routes to Southeast Asia and other ports across the entire Pacific Rim,” Burrier said. “So, it’s really a big plus for the farmers, especially in the Midwest.”
However, Burrier said the investments have an especially big impact on U.S. soybean exports.
“They sure do, and it can increase the amount that we can ship by over 60 percent to other ports across the world, and that brings value back to farmgate as far as it goes, and we can ship our products knowing that we have this support infrastructure-wise,” Burrier said.
For more information, visit unitedsoybean.org.
