Nov. 5: A National Corn Growers Association sponsorship is helping representatives from various sectors of the agricultural industry explore current trends in ports, ocean freight, rail and other transportation options in New Orleans this week at the Soyatech Global Soybean and Grain Transportation Conference. Through this activity, NCGA helps the industry leaders work to resolve current transportation issues and improve options for the future.
“We sponsor this sort of event to take a proactive role in leading the industry and helping find solutions and opportunities that will positively affect corn growers,” said Nebraska grower Steve Ebke, chairman of NCGA’s Production and Stewardship Action Team. “This conference provides an excellent opportunity to meet one-on-one with others interested in a cost effective transportation system. We continually seek opportunities such as this to support important efforts to move our industry forward.”
Transportation issues affect all industries. The United States spends about one percent of our gross domestic product on transportation. At the conference, thought leaders will address if that is a sufficient amount to provide an efficient transportation system in light growing freight needs expected to increase by 60-70 percent over the next 10 years.
These issues, while seeming large in scope, have a direct effect on farm profitability. While our growers produce the highest quality corn in the world, there are often questions about the ability to deliver grain at a cost effective rate. Multi-billion dollar transportation costs have a tangible effect on growers’ net profit as a less efficient transportation system negatively affects grower profits.
The summit ends today and features speeches from experts in all major types of transportation, economists and executives from multiple major ports. Topics further reinforcing the need to find solutions for today’s transportation challenges include:
• The effect of worldwide economic instability
• Initiatives to broaden the potential for containerized shipping
• Perspectives from the rail, ocean freight and other industry sectors
• A behind-the-scenes look at port operations
“The information that the conference provides on containerized shipping will be important as it provides growers an opportunity to capitalize on a rapidly growing market,” Ebke said. “As containerized shipments of DDGS continue to experience considerable growth, we need to make sure that we utilize this option to optimize profitability.”
NCGA Director of Production, Stewardship and Livestock Max Starbuck is attending the conference as a participant. In his role, Starbuck works with the growers on the Production and Stewardship Action Team, which addresses issues related to corn production, environmental stewardship, transportation and livestock.
During this meeting, Starbuck has developed industry relationships that will benefit both NCGA and corn growers. As many related industries attend this conference, he has been able to converse with companies working to improve mycotoxin detection.