PEORIA, Ill. — A recent article in Farm World highlighted a visit by a Korean delegation of grain buyers to the Peoria Lock and Dam, where the group learned first-hand about how America’s inland waterway navigation system can reliably move millions of tons of products via barge for export. The dozen international buyers, who represented food companies and government entities, also visited a major biofuels production plant located on the Illinois River, along with the farm of soybean producer and U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) global advisory committee chair, Mark Read, of Putnam County.

In addition, the Korean contingent were feted with a nice meal at a restaurant after hearing a presentation from Read and Eileen Pabst, international markets director for the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA), in the downtown Peoria office of Corn Belt Ports. They were hosted by Robert Sinkler, executive director of Corn Belt Ports, and Anshu Singh, who is director of sustainability and conservation for Corn Belt Ports. 

“We’re excited that our international presence is growing with Corn Belt Ports. We’re trying to get the word out, internationally, about the value of central and north-central Illinois to the global supply chain, and how important the Corn Belt Ports are to supporting some of the U.S.’ economic objectives,” said Sinkler. “We are looking to open up more global market opportunities to benefit the ports of Illinois.” 

Also present at the Corn Belt Ports meeting were Guy Allen, an agricultural professor at Kansas State University and organizer of the trip; Mark Wilson, Illinois corn farmer and board member of the U.S. Grains Council; Brent Hoerr, executive director of Missouri Corn; Rodney Knittel, associate director of transportation and infrastructure for the Illinois Farm Bureau; Dan Silverthorn, chair, Heart of Illinois Regional Ports District; Martha Vaughan, a research leader for the USDA-Agriculture Research Service in Peoria and Hye-Seon Kim, a biologist for USDA-ARS in Peoria.

“These buyers were young professionals who are generally making long-and-short goal decisions in the commodity futures market in Korea,” said Singh, who spoke to Farm World shortly after the group’s multi-day tour of the Midwest had concluded. “We spoke to the group about how Corn Belt Ports advocates to bring more infrastructure to our region so that we can provide safe and reliable transportation for agricultural commodities to the global market. Korea is an importing country in terms of soy, and is the number two importer of U.S. food-grade soybeans. They are number ten for U.S. whole soybean exports and number six for soybean oil exports, so they are an important importer of U.S. soybeans.”

Overall, the trip was designed to give the Korean buyers a complete primer on how Illinois soybeans and other crops are planted, grown, maintained, harvested and transported to buyers and end users in global markets. They were also interested in seed genetics, according to Singh. “The purpose of the tour was to give them confidence in our products and our infrastructure,” she said.

The buyers were also interested in how Midwest producers ensure the quality of the grains and oilseeds they sell to the export market remains intact during shipping. “It can take months for our grain to travel from here to Korea, so the quality must remain intact,” explained Singh, adding that the group had several questions about seed genetics for the USDA-ARS scientists. “They were very interested in visiting the (Peoria USDA Ag) lab, but time was not sufficient,” she added. 

Read, who in addition to his work with USSEC is also District 5 Director for the ISA and a member of its Market Development Committee, raises corn and soybeans in both Putnam and Bureau County. Immediately after touring Marquis Energy, the group, led by Allen, arrived at his farm for a tour and a lesson on sustainable Midwestern agriculture.

“These were all young soybean buyers on their first trip from South Korea, a very interesting group that is still learning. Some were buying for their own country, but one was actually stationed in Russia,” said Read. “They saw a soybean field with beans starting to come up, and we explained the process of running a sustainable family farm, and why we are sustainable. We talked about cover crops, which for us is cereal rye after the corn harvest knowing (the land) will go into soybeans the next year. We talked about how we put fertilizers on in strips under the ground, so that it is not spread-broadcast. We then plant right into that strip the next year.”

Read also delved into new planter innovations with the group, including row shut-offs that spare excess nutrient usage. He discussed how precise and efficient nutrient and other input applications are accomplished via GPS, and how convenient it is for Illinois and Midwest farmers to bring their crops to market via the river and rail systems. He also touched on current carbon sequestration efforts by private industry and the government. 

“Europe wants their (grain and oilseed) sources to be sustainable, and that’s our advantage in the United States-- our sustainable product. I’ve been to a lot of countries, and it’s kind of surprising how countries like Nigeria are also getting on the bandwagon. Hopefully, Europe and other markets will pay a little more for our soy meal and that sort of thing. Climate is definitely changing, whether we admit it or not,” Read said.