Infrastructure is critical to the functions of the country, in particular the shipment of commodity crops such as soybeans. This unit introduces students to several types of infrastructure that are important for the movement of soybeans from grower to processor to consumer. Students analyze data and calculate capacity for each method of transportation.
Students read a position paper from ASA and recent articles on infrastructure and its importance to agriculture, and share with classmates. Teacher instructions, student pages and articles are included.
Students learn about capacities of various carriers of freight and use conversions to compare the methods on several levels.
Transportation infrastructure is what connects U.S. soybean growers to the domestic and export market. Easy access to highways, rail and waterways allow for efficient transportation of soybeans by growers and traders. Watch this video to hear about where soybeans from the United States are shipped.
In July 2014, the American Soybean Association released a position paper supporting waterway and highway transportation infrastructure improvements and protections.
ASA supports the funding of dredging projects and increased monies toward dams and lock improvements along the Mississippi River. ASA also supports a revision of truck weight limits in the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (SETA).
In one week during the August of 2015, the amount of soybeans and other commodity crops shipped by container ship for export, nearly exceeded 2 million metric tons!
Where did your food come from? How far did it travel? Many people are thinking about these questions prompted by the mantra “Buy Local.” But much of our food has been shipped by barge, ridden on rails and rolled on the road…
I am the General Manager of Zen-Noh Grain Corporations Export Terminal in Convent, Louisiana. I oversee the operations involved in exporting 12.5 million metric tons (450,000,000+/- bushels) of grains and oilseeds …
Kelsie Heath is a Management Trainee in our Operations department. She works in the Feed Ingredients division, where grain dust is taken from the corn and soybeans and made into …
Chuck Crawford and I hope to show other educators that authentic learning can be created in the classroom by using simulations and inquiry based learning. At this time we are …