MANHATTAN, Kan. — The IGP Institute teamed up with the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission to offer two educational workshops relating to containerized grain exports. The first event was held in Garden City, Kansas, and covered the Kansas rail and container transportation systems, railway transportation overviews and the future outlook.
The second event was held at Kansas State University at the IGP Institute on September 7–8, 2017. The focus of this workshop was to look at the most effective ways to ensure containerized grain products arrive to customers in exceptional condition.
“I came to learn more about how to move our grains and food products internationally in containers,” says Earl Roemer, president of Nu Life Market in Scott City, Kansas. “I not only enjoyed learning a lot about the opportunities in moving containerized grains internationally, but also some of the challenges, and that was a big part of the education in this course.”
The workshop covered topics including Kansas rail and container transportation systems; container logistics; export documents and counter party risk; and non-vessel operating common carriers.
In addition to classroom discussions and presentations, participants also traveled to Edgerton, Kansas to tour the DeLong Co. Inc. container facility.
Jay O’Neil, senior agricultural economist at the IGP Institute, describes how participants who attended the workshop gained knowledge of the regular truck freight for sorghum or other commodities is set at a lower price per running mile than the price per running mile of drayage containers.
“This difference makes it currently uneconomical to sell and load containerized grain out of southwest Kansas, as grain sellers need to be able to originate containerized grain within a 60-mile radius of a container ramp like the BNSF ramp in Edgerton,” says O’Neil.
In addition to specialized workshops, the IGP Institute also offers courses in grain processing and flour milling, grain marketing and risk management, and feed manufacturing and grain quality management. To learn more about these other training opportunities, visit the IGP Institute website at www.ksu.edu/igp.
— Samantha Albers, Communications Intern, KSU-IGP Institute
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