The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) is sponsoring a See For Yourself program, organized by the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA), to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Aug. 16-18 for a tour of the Port of Halifax and its related facilities.

With a long history of touring locations that illustrate and emphasize the importance of increasing demand for Minnesota soybeans, MSR&PC continues to invest checkoff dollars in both emerging and established markets around the world, both directly and via national programs.

Nine MSR&PC directors, including Chair Tom Frisch, and MSR&PC CEO Tom Slunecka will join SSGA in Halifax; Minnesota Soybean Growers Association Executive Director Joe Smentek is also attending. During the program, participants are scheduled to visit and tour:

• The PIER (a center for port innovation, planning and strategy);
• Halifax Grain Elevator;
• PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub;
• CN Halifax Intermodal Terminal;
• and Fairview Cove Container Terminal.  

The tour will also include updates from representatives of SSGA, MSR&PC, MSGA, St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, Atlantic Grains Council (Canada), The PIER and the U.S. Consulate General in Halifax.

Programs like See For Yourself serve as important ways for Minnesota soybean growers to engage with industry leaders and learn more about potential for a variety of markets and the opportunities, challenges and other issues – positive and negative – related to exporting to those markets. 

 “The educational See For Yourself program , sponsored by MSR&PC and organized by SSGA, is an opportunity to see firsthand the Port of Halifax, the end of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway,” said MSR&PC Vice Chair Gail Donkers, who represents the Council on the SSGA board. “I look forward to learning about the market potential for soybeans from the Upper Midwest that could ship out of the north Atlantic.”

With competitive access to the Midwest by train and a port featuring container lines with low dwell times and truck wait times, Halifax is a key point of transfer for shipments from the northern plains to European markets. By participating in this event, attendees will learn more about how Halifax can play a key role in increasing soybean shipments to international markets, including the United Kingdom and the European Union. And farmer-leaders will discover ways that Minnesota soybean checkoff dollars can be invested in this growing market potential.