Kansas Soybean Commission makes large donation for port expansion

TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Kansas Soybean Commission has contributed $25,000 to expand the Port of Houston to expanding soybean capacity.

Kansas Soybean commissioners and staff traveled with the Soybean Transportation Coalition to Houston, Texas on Sept. 24 to present a check to The Andersons, Inc for the expansion of the port’s soybean export processes in Houston. The check from the Soybean Transportation Coalition, worth $275,000, will be used to expand its grain export terminal, allowing for the port to export one million tons of soybean meal.

“We see this project as essential to marketing Kansas soybeans,” said Kaleb Little, a Kansas Soybean Commission administrator in a press release. “One-half of the U.S. soybean crop is exported, and we can only do that through the best rail, river and port infrastructure. This investment in the Port of Houston is an investment in those international markets.”

This project has the potential to meaningfully address several major priorities in the broader soybean farmer community, according to the Kansas Soybean Association. Some of these priorities include: increasing soybean meal export capacity, increasing the resilience of the supply chain and diversifying international markets.

Although the Chinese market remains out of reach for soybean farmers across the country, secondary markets like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco and Ghana have been identified as markets for export from the Port of Houston.

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