Trade winds blowing; Eric Wenberg talks SSGA’s mission with Gov. Tim Walz

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By Eric Wenberg, executive director

I had the privilege to attend MN AG EXPO last week near the Specialty Soya and Grains Allliance’s (SSGA) home in Mankato. To a person, the farmers I met were concerned about trade and weather. The two can seem like the same thing sometimes. Is it climate change or not? Is it just hot or cold today? Well, we want a little heat on the administration right now on trade. Market access for non-GMO and organic field crops are still subject to unfair labeling challenges that hold up your sales to China, as the issue was left out of the “Phase One” negotiations, finalized recently. SSGA has been in touch to raise your hope that the trade restricting domestic rules will be lifted during the next round of talks. We have trade deals with Japan, along with the USMCA, that are important to growers; however, there were nine other countries we could have traded with through the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), and we need the administration to do all they can to get further trade deals done.

Lower tariffs are important, but what we need is the best, scientific approach to phytosanitary and technical barriers to trade. We need vigor in talks with India. SSGA’s board will be in Washington, D.C., this spring to underscore those issues with agencies and legislators and their assistants on Capitol Hill. The farmers I spoke with at AG EXPO were grateful for the opportunity offered in the non-GMO or organic space with premiums, and welcomed information about our member companies working with corn, soy, and pulses in that area. There was interest in talking about identity-preserved (IP) practices and the need to support intermodal transportation. You have all heard me spout on about how a single container vessel can carry enough bananas to give everyone in America one or two. Container shipping touches all we eat and do. The toy train with shipping containers at our booth helped start the dialogue, and as members came by, I had to shuffle the containers just like port handlers do.

I also had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for a few minutes – thanks to the SSGA communications team pulling some strings and deftly pointing the governor to our booth. Gov. Walz gave support, and was interested in what it took to connect Minnesota to the globe. He left me in touch with his team, and I look forward to connecting with the governor in the future.

The IP hero of the week is Adam Geers at SSGA member company, MAC, in Michigan, who has been talking to state officials and anyone else under the sun about the upcoming new phytosanitary requirements in Japan, how they will differentially impact IP shippers worse than others and the urgent need for state and federal regulators to get behind a solution. SSGA will also be exhibiting at the Northern Corn and Soybean Expo Feb. 4 in Fargo, where we’ll continue to listen and educate.

Allyship – a buzzword with meaning in agriculture and transportation

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By Eric Wenberg, executive director

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) is a partner of organizations and member of others. Our set of allies is not a ‘roll the dice’ set of decisions, but rather, alliances that further your aims for successful policies in the identity-preserved (IP) area that will grow your business. You likely belong to many organizations, maybe the Shriners, with their mission to change the future for children and medical needs or the Rotary, building a better world connecting youth. SSGA is your business organization – making the area where you work a better ecosystem. Conservationist Aldo Leopold once said that to save a forest, sometimes you need to cut down trees. SSGA is supposed to make things happen for you and we are moving ahead to do that. Our alliances are part of the picture and SSGA is members of – and partners with – some powerful groups helping us. Rather than just including a set of hyperlinks on our webpage, and since we have the word Alliance in our name, SSGA will occasionally highlight a partner and let you know what we think.

Transportation is key to your future and it’s integral to IP field crops. If you can’t move it, you can’t sell it; add the complexity of the traceability system and you earn the premium you pay farmers and ask buyers to pay you. The Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC), led by Peter Friedmann, is hands down the best operator in this field. SSGA seeks to add value in partnership with AgTC by providing detail and analysis in the specific regions where IP agricultural practices run businesses, and on topics relevant to traceability and push ideas and cooperation up to the ATC. We help sponsor and host AgTC’s regional workshops and follow Peter’s advice about what to do and when to do it with pushing transportation issues ahead.

I also have to give a shout out in this area to Rebuild Rural. This important coalition sponsored by the Farm Credit Council draws together a large network to ensure that rural communities are not left out when Congress or the executive branch talk about improving our infrastructure. These investments have lagged against our competitors and it has to change. Improvements in rail and ports, and making the transportation link work in rural America are key to moving crops from the farm to the table. Why do policy makers not focus on this for us? AgTC and Rebuild Rural help.

I am fond of repeating the African proverb If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Choosing our allies defines us, and in transportation we are glad to be helping these two important groups. Our SSGA members on competitive shipping, our ports, freight forwarders and logistics or testing companies are an important component of our organization’s future. Bruce Abbe, our strategic advisor for trade and transportation is always listening and helping SSGA help you. Allyship. The new friendship works for us.

SSGA elects HC International’s Petrich as chair at annual meeting

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The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) tabbed Curt Petrich to continue as chair of the premier business association representing identity-preserved (IP) soya and specialty grains.

Petrich, of HC International, Inc. in Fargo, N.D., was re-elected as chair at the inaugural SSGA annual meeting Dec. 3 in Bloomington, Minn. Bob Sinner of SB&B Foods, was voted vice chair, while Keith Schrader of Wheeling Grain Partnership will act as treasurer/secretary.

Petrich said he was surprised but humbled to be re-elected chair.

“I think there is a lot of really good talent in this organization,” he said. I thought maybe it would be time for some new talent to come in, but I am certainly willing to serve this organization.”

Petrich says with the board of directors in place, the organization can focus on improving how it serves the industry.

“I think having working groups meeting more often will be good for the organization,” he said. “We intend to stay laser focused on issues so we can deliver meaningful results for this industry.”

SSGA members also voted on board members at its meeting, expanding upon the board set after the merger of Midwest Shippers Association and the Northern Food Grade Soybean Association. Board members for SSGA serve staggered terms of either 1-, 2- or 3-year terms.

SSGA’s board of directors is:

  • Petrich, HC International, Inc., 1-year
  • Schrader, Wheeling Grain Partnership, 1-year
  • Sinner, SB&B Foods, 2-year
  • Rick Brandenburger, Richland IFC, 2-year
  • Rob Prather, Global Processing, Inc., 2-year
  • Andy Bensend, AB Farms, 3-year
  • Adam Buckentine, The Redwood Group, 3-year
  • Darwin Rader, Zeeland Farm Services, Inc., 3-year

“We have such a talented and experienced group of producers, processors and shippers on this board,” said Eric Wenberg, SSGA executive director. “We’re really excited to continue to grow SSGA and IP, food-variety field crops worldwide.”

First of many firsts

While SSGA has existed for nearly a year, Tuesday’s annual meeting was its first chance to bring members together to help mold the direction of the organization moving forward.

Tuesday’s meetings saw breakout sessions on food-grade soya, specialty grains and competitive shipping.

Sinner, who attended the food-grade soya and competitive shipping breakout sessions, said he was pleased with the amount of discussion that occurred, but lamented there wasn’t more time for discussion.

“I was really impressed with the IP and food-grade soya session, and I hope we expand upon it next year,” he said. “We talked about market access, about opportunities and challenges, and we discussed the U.S. Global Trade Exchange. I really enjoyed the thoughtful dialogue and interaction from all participants.”

Wenberg was pleased with the day’s events. He said SSGA’s annual meeting is an important venue for the industry.

“This is a fantastic networking opportunity for people across the country to check signals with each other,” he said. “At times, it can seem like every company in this industry is its own ecosystem — they have to source product, they deal with logistics, they do marketing, they adhere to strict identity-preserved practices. Here they get to talk to the people that have the same challenges and opportunities and learn from one another.”

SSGA members also heard presentations from Trevor Fouts, Strategic Sales Manager for AGI, which was the major sponsor of the meeting. Fouts discussed traceability and how AGI’s SureTrack plays a role in the IP, food-variety field crops industry.

United Soybean Board director Nancy Kavazanjian of Beaver Dam, Wisc., discussed her experiences and challenges as an IP producer, and U.S. Soybean Export Council’s Paul Burke, Senior Director – U.S. Soy Marketing, delivered an update from the organization.

Kavazanjian shares IP challenges, successes at SSGA annual meeting

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Nancy Kavazanjian isn’t a stranger to the world of identity-preserved soybeans. Along with her husband, Chuck, Hammer and Kavazanjian Farms has been growing varieties of non-GMO or IP soybeans for more than 30 years. But when Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance Executive Director Eric Wenberg approached her to speak at the inaugural annual meeting, the longtime United Soybean Board director admitted she was a little hesitant.

Nancy Kavazanjian was interviewed by moderator Doug Monson at the inaugural SSGA annual meeting

“I didn’t want to hear myself talk for 15 to 20 minutes,” she joked.

Thankfully for SSGA members, she was more than happy to be interviewed in front of attendees on her experiences growing IP crops, some of the challenges she feels the industry is facing, and the need for more breeding and genetics for the industry.

Kavazanjian recalled her early days as an IP producer and how many farmers were growing anywhere from 10 to 50 acres of soybeans because the premiums at times kept people afloat.

“Once Roundup Ready came along, most of those farmers didn’t want to deal with having to grow conventional soybeans,” she said. “They all went to Roundup Ready. And of course, once the ethanol industry took off, there was a lot more corn being grown than soybeans.”

Kavazanjian said she sees a parallel in this tough ag economy to the ’80s, where those premiums helped keep farmers going. She says even today the premium is often more than enough to offset the basis in her area.

“We’ve had to change with the way the world has changed around us,” she said. “That’s just part of farming – being able to be innovative enough you recognize these changes and you capitalize on them.”

Kavazanjian, who hails from Beaver Dam, Wisc., said some of the challenges she faces include a lack of a crushing facility in the state, tools to continue to combat weeds and a better selection of varieties.

“As farmers, yield is everything,” she said. “But we need the people in this room, in this industry to work on getting us more varieties that are within a few bushels of commodity crops.”

Lastly, Kavazanjian spoke about sustainability, a topic that is near and dear to her heart. While she admits the word is often a buzzword with different meanings, she says there is no denying companies and customers care deeply about it. Her advice:

“Just embrace it. Use it.”

Japan finalizes voluntary non-GMO food labeling law

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By Bruce Abbe, SSGA strategic advisor for trade and transportation

While in Japan for the U.S. Soy Buyers Outlook Conference, Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) representatives met with officials from the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service/Office of Agriculture Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and the Deputy Director of the Food Labeling Division of the Japanese government’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA). The mission: to get a better understanding of the newly revised Japan genetic engineered (GE) food labeling law that gained final approval in March 2019.

The new labeling regime will require zero GMO presence for any food product to be labeled “Non-GMO” once it goes into effect by April 2023. However, there is a new, voluntary identity-preserved (IP) category for labeling that is to be established under the revised system.

SSGA members who export food soybeans or grains to Japan will want to follow implementation steps for the new system, and maintain communication with their Japanese food manufacturing customers who will be on point for complying with the new system.

Here are key provisions and changes:

  • Eight crops – soybeans, corn, potatoes, canola, cottonseed, alfalfa, sugar beets, papaya and 33 processed food items (see JA 71210) continue to be subject to mandatory labeling, as before. Products containing five percent or more GE components must be labeled for having GE content.
  • Currently and in the past, products containing less than five percent GE components (which are unintentionally co-mingled with the product) can be labeled as “non-GE.” As a common industry practice, most U.S. food soybean exports to Japan have needed to meet the European standard of 99.1 percent non-GE – i.e., no more than 0.9 percent of unintended GMO content due to adventitious presence. Under the new law, to be labeled as “non-GE” or “Non-GMO” the product must have zero GMO presence.
  • To minimize the risk of trade disruption, a new labeling language category for “Identity-preserved products” (identity-preserved to avoid commingling of any GMO content) containing no more than five percent GE components is to be established.
  • Labeling of “Identity-preserved” and “Non-GE” products is voluntary. Companies may choose to not include the label language, unless the products have above five percent GE, when it must be labeled as such.
  • The onus and chief responsibility for compliance will be on the food manufacturers. It will not be directly on food soy, corn and ingredient export suppliers to the food manufacturers.
  • However, to meet requirements to use the new “IP” label, it is assumed that the food manufacturer importers will have identity-preserved handling procedure requirements and their own testing requirements that their suppliers will need to meet.
  • The Japan Consumers Affairs Agency (CAA) is in the process of drafting the testing methodology, which will be critical for U.S. exporters to be aware of. The CAA Deputy Director of Labeling Division advised SSGA that the public will have a chance to comment on the testing methodology after it is released for comments in the near future.
  • The labeling will consist of “text” language in Japanese on the product label, much like the normal mandate ingredient content labeling. It will not be a “logo” type design label.
  • CAA issued a guidance document last April that advised that other language on products labels that might have multiple interpretations that could confuse consumers should be avoided (such as “Almost free of GE corn”).
  • The new rules did not stipulate that imported, processed products that have other non-GMO identification marketing labels (such as the “Non-GMO Project” label) can’t be used. However, the product must still contain the required text language in Japanese on the product. Food manufacturers, one assumes, will need to make a determination that whatever they put on the product will not confuse consumers in the regulators’ eyes.
  • The USDA Foreign Agriculture Service issues a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) Report on the Japanese labeling revisions. Go here to view that report.

SSGA takes part in Japan Soy Buyer Outlook Conference, Taiwan’s 50th U.S. Soy anniversary and buyer event

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By Bruce Abbe, strategic advisor for trade and transportation

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) took part in two significant trade events in North Asia over the last two weeks hosted by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC). SSGA attended the Taiwan U.S. Soy Outlook Conference and 50th anniversary celebration of the American Soybean Association’s (ASA) presence in Taiwan in Taipei, Nov. 14-15. SSGA also exhibited at the Japan Soy Buyers Outlook Conference in Tokyo Nov. 18 -19.

Japan Food Soybean Trade Show
SSGA unveiled a new exhibit at the Japan event’s trade show that promotes the identity-preserved (IP) handling systems of SSGA member companies for sourcing soybeans and food grain products for international customers, as well as the organization’s trade referral services.

The trade show also featured several participating U.S. food soybean exporting companies, including SSGA members Bluegrass Farms of Ohio, Pipeline Foods, Scoular, Star of the West, and Stonebridge. The exporters also held one-on-one meetings with buyers during their Japan visits to explore contracts and commitments for the 2020 growing season.

Japan Soy Outlook Conference
U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) North Asia Regional Director Roz Leeck and U.S. Embassy Agricultural Trade Office Deputy Director Barrett Bumpas greeted attendees at the Soy Outlook Conference. Leeck also gave the 2019 U.S. Soybean Production Quality Report, noting projections for a decline in production due to late planting and harvesting conditions, but assured buyers that reports across U.S. production regions point to continued high quality of the 2019 crop.

Masanori Natsuka from the Japan Ministry of Agriculture provided the Japan Soybean Supply and Demand report.

Nancy Kavazanjian, a director on the United Soybean Board (USB) and a non-GMO food soybean producer from Wisconsin, presented the U.S. Non-GMO Soybeans Update: Production Growing Conditions and 2020 Planting Intentions report. Kavazanjian will be a featured speaker at SSGA’s upcoming annual meeting in Minneapolis on Dec. 3.

Attendees also heard reports on U.S. soy sustainability, and the potential impact the 2020 Japan Summer Olympics will have on trade and logistics next year. ASA president Davie Stephens emphasized the commitment of U.S. farmers to free trade and continuing to be reliable suppliers to international customers.

SSGA meets with Foreign Agricultural Service and Japan Consumer Affairs Agency on new labeling law
While in Japan, Bruce Abbe, SSGA strategic advisor for trade and transportation and consultant Hoa Huynh, a recent USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) retiree, met with officials of the USDA FAS Office of Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. Abbe and Huynh, along with FAS officials, also met with the Japanese government’s Consumer Affairs Agency on new Non-GMO product labeling regulations that were approved earlier this year and will take full effect in April of 2023. Under the new rules there will be zero tolerance for any unintended GMO content for food products to be labeled “Non-GMO” or with no genetic engineered content.

SSGA exporter members will want to track implementation developments for this new labeling regime in the coming months. More in-depth coverage will be included in the upcoming issue of SSGA Member News Update next week.

Taiwan U.S. Soy Outlook Conference and ASA’s 50th Anniversary in Taiwan
Taiwan is the world’s 20th largest economy, with a population of 23 million people, large high technology industries, a vibrant democracy and strong ties to the U.S. in trade and policy.

USDA FAS Associate Administrator Clay Hamilton traveled from Washington, D.C., to take part in the celebration of ASA International Marketing’s 50th anniversary of having an office in Taiwan.   Mark Petry, chief of the Agricultural Trade Office at the American Institute of Taiwan (the equivalent in Taiwan of a U.S. Embassy), and Deputy Director Lucas Blaustein, gave U.S. attendees reports on the Taiwan market, which has consistently ranked among the top importers of U.S. agriculture goods.

ASA Director Stan Born, an Illinois soybean farmer, gave a presentation on the 2019 U.S. soybean production year and supply outlook, and emphasized U.S. soybean growers’ commitment to continue to serve their global customers. Guy Allen, senior agricultural economist at the IGP Institute at Kansas State University, gave the global soy supply and demand report. A host of U.S. farmer representatives were on hand for the festivities.

USSEC Senior Director Paul Burke presented the 2019 U.S. Soybean Quality Survey results.  While U.S. crops were generally four weeks behind normal schedule, and planting problems led to reduced production, Burke noted again that quality reports on the 2019 crop were good across the country.

U.S. exporters, including SSGA member International Feed also participated and held one-on-one meetings with buyers. SSGA had an exhibit booth that provided information on SSGA’s trade referral service to Taiwanese buyers in attendance.

SSGA’s ‘action of opportunity’

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Last week, Thailand announced it will ban the herbicide glyphosate effective Dec. 1. In a letter to Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, USDA Undersecretary Ted McKinney urged a focus on “scientific evidence,” warning that a glyphosate ban would “severely impact Thailand’s imports of agricultural commodities such as soybeans and wheat.”

In 2018, the U.S. exported $2.1 billion in agricultural products to Thailand. Soybeans are the largest U.S. agricultural commodity exported to Thailand, equating to $593 million in 2018, primarily for animal feed. SSGA members ship soybeans for tofu, and specialty grains such as rye hybrids. All these crops move in containers with U.S. identity preserved practices.

“Moving grains and oilseeds to Thailand is a business, and specialty field crops are sold by small businesses who need support to be informed about these changes and react to them,” says SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg. “It’s SSGA’s job to make sure our members have the information they need to educate their buyers about what’s happening in the market.”

SSGA is making proactive moves to ensure strong relations continue with its trading partners. Rob Prather, an SSGA member and chief strategic ambassador for Iowa-based Global Processing, is traveling to Southeast Asia in November to meet with several buyers.

“We’re hoping to get the story behind what’s going on,” says Prather, who holds more than a decade of experience connecting growers with international buyers.

Wenberg helped connect Prather with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service office in Bangkok, and provided Prather with the necessary background information to represent himself and the industry.

“Eric wants us to be an organization of quick action, an action of opportunity,” says Prather, who serves on SSGA’s food grade soya action team. “Both countries addressed this last week and now we’re going to address it personally with FAS in Thailand, which is a huge opportunity.”

Prather has traveled several times to Southeast Asia previously, but this will be his first visit as an SSGA member. He says the connections brought forth from his SSGA membership are paying dividends.

“It gives us another facet to what we can do. As SSGA members, now we can interface directly with FAS — we couldn’t do that before,” he says. “If I have a problem with shipping to Thailand, I don’t have a solution for it, but because of SSGA now I do. I feel like I can get more of a quicker solution to help not only myself and my company, but other people and SSGA members who are doing the same thing.”

Prather says his SSGA membership allows him to connect more directly with Southeast Asia on the specific issues he cares about and, by extension, a firmer grasp of trade relations with Thailand when he returns home.

“This shows that we’re fairly connected and we’re not starting from scratch,” he says. “We’re utilizing our knowledge base in an efficient and effective way.”

While the United States faces the loss of potential Thai sales, Thailand has problems with its sales to the United States, adding to trade tensions between the countries. Recently, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a statement halting $1.3 billion in trade preferences for Thailand, citing labor rights concerns.

“This is another example of circumstances where trade concerns outside agriculture can complicate finding solutions,” Wenberg says. “We hope the Thai government and the United States can work together to solve each other’s trade concerns in a way that doesn’t stop our exports.”

SSGA talks transportation, research on Michigan tour

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With more than 300 commodities grown, Michigan boasts diverse agriculture, so it’s understandable why staff from the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) wanted to introduce the organization to the agricultural industry in the state.

SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg met with the agribusiness industry in Michigan Oct. 23-25 to learn more about Michigan’s identity-preserved (IP) industry and to see how SSGA can work for its member across the nation.

SSGA kicked off its trip at Zeeland Farm Services, Inc. (ZFS), in Zeeland, Mich., where ZFS officials shared transportation hurdles they’re facing. Among their concerns was the perception that heavy trucks damage the roads more than lighter trucks.

In Michigan, the allowable truck weight limit is 164,000 pounds on an 11-axel truck, which averages 14,900 pounds per axle. The federal limit of an 80,000-pound truck with 5 axels equals 16,000 pounds per axle. Despite the heavier federal allowance, neighboring states are adapting to Michigan’s rule to alleviate stress on roadways and increase efficiency by using fewer trucks, drivers and fuel. ZFS also shared other transportation concerns such as not being able to transport a fully loaded, 40-foot container to Chicago because of weight limits when driving between states.

“Visiting member companies like ZFS helps bring more awareness to issues they’re facing when growing, brokering and transporting identity-preserved crops across America,” says SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg. “By listening to our members, SSGA can bring these issues to the forefront and help create a better environment for the entire IP industry.”

Another stop for SSGA staff was to the Michigan State University agronomy farm to learn about soybean breeder Dr. Dechun Wang’s research. Wang considers the 11,000 non-GMO soybean breeding lines he planted in 2019 like his children and relayed the importance of support for public research breeding programs.

“Both public and private breeding programs are vital to the success of crops like soybeans,” Wang says.  “Public programs like the one at MSU ensures that growers have unbiased research solutions to an ever-changing agricultural climate.”

SSGA also met with new Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee director Janna Frisk, and with Michigan Agricultural Commissioner Gary McDowell, to discuss the issues Michigan faces with identity preserved crops, practices, and shipping.

Soybeans are the Michigan’s top food export and 12 percent of all soybeans grown are IP. Michigan also leads the nation in production of the dry edible bean classes of black, cranberry, navy and small, red beans.

SSGA talks export logistics at JOC Inland Distribution Conference

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The outlook for U.S. exports and export shipper logistics challenges were the central focus of a key panel of experts at the Inland Distribution Conference held Oct. 21-23 in Chicago. The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) was represented on the exporter panel.

There was record turnout for this year’s annual event, which focused on inland intermodal container shipping hosted by the Journal of Commerce (JOC)/IHS Markit. JOC is the leading international intermodal shipping news media source covering global trade, ocean shipping, rail and trucking drayage transportation for importers and exporters.

SSGA Strategic Advisor for Trade and Transportation Bruce Abbe participated in a panel discussion on export obstacles and opportunities looking at how U.S. trade disputes, tariffs and reciprocal tariffs on goods to and from China and other trading partners are challenging U.S. exporters as well as importers. Scott Sigman, transportation and export lead for the Illinois Soybean Association; Sean Mulford, trader and broker for Agniel Commodities; and Don Lake, senior vice president, Enterprise Development for Dunavant Logistics Group, a division of major cotton exporter Dunavant, were the other panelists.

Container export outlook

The North American economic and freight outlook is slowing, in line with a slow down in the world economy, putting a damper on the outlook for increased trade and related transportation, Paul Bingham, IHS economist, told conference attendees, citing several economic indicators.

However, if a new trade deal between the U.S. and China is finally inked, that could lead to a sharp increase in exports, shipping and logistics demand that could strain the transportation infrastructure, exporter panelists said.

The pending Phase One partial trade agreement between the U.S. and China has not yet been announced in detail. If an agricultural trade deal is confirmed, that could well spur exports of several commodities. However, the main commodity to most benefit will likely be whole soybeans that are shipped in bulk vessels to China, as opposed to containers.

One potential game changer for container shipping, Abbe noted, would be if a deal is made that gets rid of China’s current high tariffs on U.S. dried distillers grains (DDGS). In 2015, DDGS accounted for nearly one half of all containerized grain exports from the U.S., and made for a natural backhaul for containers to China for use by consumer goods manufacturers. China’s 80 percent tariff in 2015 dried up DDGS exports to China. U.S. exporters have largely been successful in diversifying to other markets – albeit with a decline in prices. Reopening China’s potential big demand for DDGS, which the U.S. Grains Council is pushing for, could add a big demand resurgence for the feed commodity.

Sigman and Abbe noted the U.S. soybean exporters have been making steady progress in diversifying to other markets as well, notably to Southeast Asia’s growing population countries, but the China market is too large to replace in short order. Meanwhile, China has ramped up its ag commodity purchases from South America.

The panelist all agreed that the impact from African swine fever is having a dampening demand on soy and grain export demand in China, and a further threat if it spreads wider across Asia.

Mulford was blunt that the U.S. needs to get serious about improving our own export infrastructure, citing the deteriorating status of our locks, dams and barge shipping infrastructure in particular. He noted it’s a stark contrast to the rapid export infrastructure development under way now in the Black Sea region.

Lake had a different take from earlier presenter’s forecasts of flat global trade next year keeping a lid on shipping demand. If the scope of the trade deal that’s talked about comes through and spurs quick new demand from China, he said we could see some major logistics challenges occur that the shipping industry is not ready for.

Shipping Logistics

Panel moderator Mark Szarkonyi, executive editor of JOC, asked Abbe about the need for additional intermodal shipping locations in the inland – a consistent message that SSGA has brought to these circles.

Abbe noted there are serious intermodal development initiatives underway in Wisconsin and North Dakota at this time, along with rumored developments in the works in other locations that could improve capacity for exporters. He encouraged ocean carriers and railroads to take a serious look at these developments, with an eye to helping them work for all parties.

Worsening congestion around the main inland container yards, increased trucking costs, and periodic shortages of trucking options are driving forces behind the new inland intermodal development initiatives, he noted.

Abbe also encouraged carriers and railroads to be more open and work with shippers and forwarders on container repositioning programs to make equipment more available where it is needed by exporters.

Detention and demurrage penalties at ports and terminals is another hot issue that came up. Mulford said it consumes a huge amount of time to sort these penalties out. A current Federal Maritime Commission initiative pushing for clarity and consistency in these procedures to minimize unfair penalties is welcomed by shippers.

SSGA helping to improve rural infrastructure

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The Rebuild Rural Infrastructure Coalition is comprised of more than 250 organizations from across the country focused on rural communities and U.S. agricultural producers. The coalition is hosted and operated by the National Farm Credit Council, and is actively building consensus in Washington, DC, for action on rural infrastructure. The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) met with the group to join in its activities.

Advocating for transportation infrastructure improvement to highways, bridges, railways, and port facilities is the most obvious need. Fifteen percent of the nation’s rural roads have pavements in poor condition with 21 percent in mediocre condition. Ten percent of bridges in rural communities are structurally deficient. SSGA is joining the coalition to bring focus to the needs of small business and farmers to connect with customers domestically and abroad.

“When everyone talks with pride about connecting the farm to the table, people forget that it’s the infrastructure that links it together,” says SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg. “Accomplishing action in agriculture requires bipartisan support and wide ranging coalitions. By joining Rebuild Rural, SSGA will connect with like-minded organizations and lend its assistance to the cause of helping rural communities.”

Rebuild Rural believes that federal resources can’t fill the entirety of the need and recognizes fulfilling the promise to rural residents requires creative solutions that pair federal, state, and local investment along with private sources of capital. This matches SSGA’s philosophy in transportation, working across the various parts of the supply chain to connect farmers with food manufacturers efficiently.

“SSGA is a trade association of business people like farmers, brokers, and transport companies who are part of the 15,000 jobs supported by each $1 billion in U.S. agricultural exports,” Wenberg says. “An SSGA member is a company that looked around at rural America and saw the wisdom of pursuing a value with the premium available for food grade specific variety commodities. They deserve respect, support, and a place at the table in national level decisions about what happens in our farm country.”