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MSR&PC Joins Stakeholders for Ag Transportation Mission to Netherlands

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands – The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) traveled straight to the heart of the supply chain Sept. 2-6, visiting Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to promote the St. Lawrence Seaway as the gateway of choice for global imports and exports.

“This is a first-of-its-kind event,” said Tom Slunecka, CEO of MSR&PC. “It’s really a reverse trade tour where we’re looking for people who want to ship to us and, we, in turn, get to ship our products out.”

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) hosted the trip to Europe’s largest seaport. SSGA and MSR&PC were joined by several key stakeholders, including Wisconsin and Illinois’ soy checkoff leaders, the Department of Transportation, USDA and Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. In total, six directors from MSR&PC participated (including Vice Chair Gail Donkers and Directors Paul Freeman, Corey Hanson, Ron Obermoller, Joel Schreurs and Gene Stoel) in the trade mission, along with Minnesota Soybean Growers Association Treasurer Rose Wendinger.

“We are focused on what our region can accomplish,” said Eric Wenberg, SSGA executive director. “Our takeaway message is to bring trade to the (Great) Lakes. We want to demonstrate by our presence with the region’s farmers and business organizations that our government has our support as a region to make trade investments and opportunities available.”

Donkers noted the reciprocal nature of conversations while in Europe.

“We shared information about the St. Lawrence Seaway, like the fact that it had a 99.4% on-time deliveries, that it is very environmentally sustainable and is a direct path to Rotterdam,” said Donkers, who represents MSR&PC on SSGA’s board of directors. “Our trade mission delegation had time to meet with the transportation specialists to discuss our objectives and look at how each company could benefit from shipping goods along the St. Lawrence Seaway as a back haul.”

Navigating challenges, maximizing opportunities

The tour kicked off at Hutchison Port ECT, recognized as one of Europe’s leading container terminal operators. The terminal utilizes semi-automatic cranes and automated guided vehicles to move containers, enhancing operational efficiency and safety.

“We saw a fully automated port where there are people, but they’re in the control room. They’re not actually on the equipment,” Slunecka said. “It’s more efficient, it’s quiet and it’s a way of the future.”

The first day wrapped up with a tour of the World Port Center, where Council leaders learned about the advantages of having Europe’s largest seaport, and the potential for Minnesota to fit its piece into the St. Lawrence Seaway puzzle.

“In Minnesota, 60 percent of all the soybeans that we raise get exported, so looking for those markets is really key,” Slunecka said. “We’ve depended on China for the last 10 years and as that market seems to be shifting away from us, we have to find new markets. We’re here in Europe looking for new ways and new places to ship our soybeans.”

The process doesn’t come without challenges, which are nothing new to those in the trade industry, like SSGA Chair Bob Sinner, owner of SB&B foods, a company that ships internationally and has been working to keep up with a growing global demand for identity preserved crops.

“We’ve been doing this for 35 years, and our number one issue 35 years ago was transportation,” Sinner said. “Our number one issue 15 years ago was transportation and still to this day, it’s transportation. Anytime we can come up with options to improve access to our foreign customers, we want to be a part of it.”

Other potential challenges include logistics, seasonal limitations and adhering to upcoming deforestation regulations in the European Union, but Slunecka says the Council is prepared to navigate those obstacles.

“We are up for the challenge; we can do it,” he said. “That’s why the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council spends as much time as we do on both research and promotion to make sure we can raise these new markets.”

The tour continued with several presentations promoting the St. Lawrence Seaway, a tour of the Port of Antwerp in Belgium, a visit to the Samga Grain Terminal and more.

“There are a lot of things to be done yet to make this a large-scale operation of shipping large quantities of our products out of the Midwest to Europe through the St. Lawrence Seaway,”

Slunecka said. “We’re going to continue working with the Department of Agriculture and our trade representatives on both the U.S. and international side, but bit by bit this will happen.”

About the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council 

The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council is a 15-person, farmer-led board that oversees the investment of checkoff dollars on behalf of the state’s nearly 26,000 soybean farmers. The Council is governed by the rules of a federally mandated checkoff program requiring all soybean producers to pay a fee on the soybeans they sell. This money is used to promote, educate and develop market opportunities for soybeans.

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