A West Coast port is set to receive $25.5 million to fund an expansion that will include streamlined shipping for agricultural products.
The Grays Harbor Terminal 4 expansion project in Washington was one of 41 grants funded in a $703 million announcement from the U.S. Maritime Administration. The project is an ongoing effort that also has the financial support of soybean producer groups on top of the federal Port Infrastructure Development Program.
The program aims to “improve our port infrastructure, strengthen our supply chains, and help cut costs for American families," said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The Grays Harbor project will help double the soybean meal export capacity of AG Processing, Inc. According to the Soy Transportation Coalition, it’s one of 10 facilities the Omaha-based cooperative owns and operates. The grant will go toward building an additional 50,000 feet of rail infrastructure at the terminal, facilities for railcar storage, repurposing a 50-acre brownfield site and other site infrastructure improvements.
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The grant will be matched by $21.35 million in non-federal funds, which includes $1.3 million in soybean producer group investments, including from the United Soybean Board, the Iowa Soybean Association, the Kansas Soybean Commission, the Nebraska Soybean Board, the North Dakota Soybean Council, the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council and the Soy Transportation Coalition.
Tom Quigg, president of the Port of Grays Harbor Commission, said the project will allow the port to accommodate AGP’s growth there and "increase international shipments of US grown and processed soybean meal, and sustain thousands of farming jobs throughout the Midwest, while creating new jobs for our community."
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