HOUSTON, Texas – A group of U.S. soybean farmer leaders presented a ceremonial check of $275,000 to The Andersons, Inc., in Houston Sept. 24th for the company’s expansion project at the Port of Houston, which will enable the export of soybean meal from the facility once it’s completed in the first quarter of 2026, officials said.

The Andersons, Inc., is based in Maumee, Ohio.

Presenting the check to The Andersons, Inc., at a luncheon at the Port of Houston’s headquarters, Mike Koehne, Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) chair and Greensburg, Ind., farmer, said, “As stewards of the funding through the Soybean Checkoff program, my fellow soybean farmers and I are constantly exploring any opportunity to increase the profitability of our industry.” The group also received a tour of the Port of Houston export terminal, and an update on the expansion project.

He added The Andersons, Inc.’s soybean meal and grain export facility at the Port of Houston is “an excellent example of an investment that will help accomplish many of our major priorities.

“Most soybean farmers in the U.S. are located hundreds of miles or more from our coastal regions,” he said. “This geographic distance is a challenge we must overcome if we are to compete in the international marketplace. We would like to express our appreciation to The Andersons, Inc., and the Port of Houston for investing in the supply chain that allows farmers like me to be successful.”

Mike Steenhoek, STC executive director, told Farm World, “Given how the objectives behind the investment align with a number of the key priorities of U.S. soybean farmers, we began discussions regarding the potential of investing funding in the project. The Soy Transportation Coalition board visited the facility in February of 2024. We committed the $275,000 of funding in late 2024.”

He said The Andersons, Inc., was chosen because soybean farmers decided to invest in the project because it addresses some of the key priorities of soybean farmer organizations, including increasing soybean meal export capacity, increasing resilience of the supply chain, and diversifying international markets.

“One of the significant developments in the U.S. soybean industry continues to be the investment in processing facilities in order to produce more soybean oil for renewable fuels,” he said. “The additional production of soybean oil will result in an additional production of soybean meal.

“While much of this additional soybean meal will be consumed by the domestic livestock industry, it is increasingly essential to invest in additional export capacity to connect with international markets,” he added.

He said given the continued challenges the soybean industry has experienced with low water conditions on the Mississippi River, it is important to promote diversity of the supply chain by “spreading the eggs across more baskets.” 

“The soybean meal that will be shipped to the facility at the Port of Houston will be transported via BNSF Railway or Union Pacific Railroad,” he said. “It will not utilize the inland waterway system.

“Given the significant challenges confronting soybean exports due to the curtailment of the Chinese market, it is imperative to pursue base hit marketing opportunities for soybean meal and soybeans,” he added. “The identified markets for the Houston export terminal are: The Middle East and North Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia.”

With storage capacity of 6.3 million bushels, the Houston facility supports the export of more than 2 million metric tons of grain annually, and will include up to 22,000 metric tons for storing soybean meal for export, officials said. Additional upgrades will include a new conveyance system to transport goods from storage to the ship loaders, as well as a new ship-loading tower to increase the efficiency and speed of loading.

The Andersons, Inc.’s projects in the primary states that will feed the soybean meal to their facility include Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska: “It is possible other states will feed into the facility as well, given the expansion of soybean processing throughout the country,” Steenhoek said.

Because the Port of Houston facility will result in greater resiliency of both international marketing and the supply chain, officials said the following soybean farmer organizations contributed the $275,000 toward the project: United Soybean Board, Soy Transportation Coalition, the Iowa Soybean Association, the Kansas Soybean Commission, the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council and Nebraska Soybean Board.

Officials added the funding will be used for research, analysis, pre-engineering, and design expenses associated with the Port of Houston facility expansion, and The Andersons, Inc., would assume the costs of the actual construction of the project.

“We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to work with soybean farmers on this important investment,” said Matt Dvorak, Houston business manager at The Andersons, Inc.

“As domestic soybean crush increases, we are identifying new opportunities for the export of soybean meal via our Houston facility,” he added. “We look forward to working with the Soy Transportation Coalition and the broader soybean farmer community on this project, which will help connect U.S. soybean meal with international customers.”