Barges, trains and trucks: Logistics and moving soybeans

Why is transportation for commodity crops so critical?
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. See teacher background →

Lessons

# Infrastructure literacy

Students read recent articles on infrastructure and its importance to agriculture and share with classmates. Students read a position paper from the American Soybean Association about transportation and infrastructure. Links to articles included on teacher instructions.

Files

Teacher background

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!

Read more

Next gen science standards

Science and engineering practices

  • Analyzing and interpreting data
  • Using mathematics and computational thinking
  • Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Crosscutting concepts

  • Scale, proportion, and quantity

Disciplinary core ideas/content

  • ESS3A Natural resources
  • ESS3C Human impacts on Earth systems
  • LS2C Ecosystem dynamics, functioning and resilience
  • ETS1B Developing possible solutions
  • ETS2B Influence of engineering, technology and science on society and the natural world

Curriculum author



More like this at GrowNextGen

unit
Global trade in agriculture
unit

Global trade in agriculture

4 lessons, 13 files
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 in trucks. Without …
unit
Commodity transportation
unit

Commodity transportation

4 lessons, 7 files
How do transportation and logistics affect our food supply? Getting food from farms to markets is dependent on many forms of transportation, and involves careers related to logistics, infrastructure, commodity trading, and engineering. Students learn about …
article
Flooding impacts soybean transportation
article

Flooding impacts soybean transportation

Jan 4, 2016
Learn about the way recent flooding has affected soybean transportation from Ohio to China in this NPR story. Your students can see how natural disasters here affect transportation and the economy. Now is the peak time for American farmers to get …
article
Destinations of soybeans
article

Destinations of soybeans

Mar 22, 2016
Do you know where the soybeans grown here in Ohio end up? All over the world! John Motter, Treasurer of The United Soybean Board (USB), explains how far and wide those soybeans travel. (embed: https://vimeo.com/156015018 )