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Farmer dollars supporting more competitive infrastructure

The director of the Soy Transportation Coalition says strategic farmer investments are making the U.S. transportation system more competitive.

Mike Steenhoek tells Brownfield, “Infrastructure can either be an impediment or barrier to farmer success, or it can be a facilitator of farmer success.”

“It all depends upon the degree to which we invest and maintain these links in our supply chain,” he says.

He says investing in a terminal expansion at the Port of Grays Harbor in the Pacific Northwest serves as an example of how farmers can partner in transportation improvement projects.

“We will never have the financial wherewithal to underwrite these projects entirely or even significantly,” he shares. “What we do look for is, are there opportunities for us to provide some strategic funding which will help be a catalyst for greater funding.”

The Pacific Northwest is the second largest exporting region for U.S. soybeans.

Steenhoek says farmers have also supported projects in the Great Lakes St. Lawerence Seaway, the Mississippi, and on rural roads and bridges.

The United Soybean Board, Soy Transportation Coalition, Iowa Soybean Association, Kansas Soybean Commission, Nebraska Soybean Board, North Dakota Soybean Council, and South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council contributed to the $1.3 million for the project. 

Steenhoek says the total expansion cost about $250 million.

AUDIO: Mike Steenhoek, Soy Transportation Coalition