CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — A top soybean official says the U.S. is falling behind an ongoing expansion of the Panama Canal. Because of the expansion, the canal will basically double its capacity but U.S. farmers and shippers can’t capitalize on that, said Phil Bradshaw, United Soybean Board past chairman and Illinois soybean farmer. Other countries have been improving their ports and upgrading their abilities to load and unload super-sized cargo ships. The U.S. is way behind its major competitors such as Argentina, he said. The U.S. needs to expand and improve its terminal elevators and transportation network and hasn’t made a significant start, he said. The process will be extremely expensive, but the U.S. faces little choice if it expects to be a player in the global grain markets, he said.
Wednesday, June 1, 2 p.m.
