Road worth traveling: WSMB tackles transportation issues

This article was submitted by the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board as part of their Marine Highway 35 Workshop sponsorship.

As demand for soybeans and soy-based products continues to rise, farmers are faced with the challenge of transporting their product effectively. For Wisconsin soybean farmers, that often means transporting soybeans hundreds of miles by truck, rail or ship before they reach their final destination. 

To help strengthen and support this process, the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) works to improve and expand infrastructure while creating new market opportunities for growers.  

“In Wisconsin, we don’t have a production issue, but we have to get our beans that we produce moved, either that’s into an animal or into the logistical realm to get them out of the state, because we still don’t have an in-state crush plant,” said Steve Wilkens, a Random Lake farmer who serves as secretary/treasurer of the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board (WMSB).  

The importance of transportation in the soy industry becomes even more apparent when looking at the end locations of the product. According to Andy Bensend, a District 1 WSMB director, export markets account for a large share of soybean distribution. 

“Our soybeans are not always grown in the areas where they’re consumed,” Bensend said. “About 60% of our soybeans either as a whole or as processed meal find their eventual destination in the way of exports. So, it’s a big, big deal.” 

Additionally, soybeans have a high volume of domestic uses that continue to grow. Throughout the United States, increasing demand for renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel and biodiesel is creating even more opportunities for soy as well as a greater need for transportation. For Bensend, who farms near Dallas, this travel barrier affects every load leaving his farm.  

“If they go for processing, we have to go to Mankato, Minnesota, which would be the closest soybean meal processing plant to my farm, and that’s about a 160-mile ride by truck,” Bensend said. 

ImPORTant investments  

 To help ensure smooth transportation processes for every soy farmer in Wisconsin, Bensend also serves as WSMB’s representative on the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC). The STC uses state checkoff money to create, improve and organize transportation systems for 16 states throughout the U.S. Bensend helps ensure STC looks at Wisconsin to ensure growers receive the best possible transportation arrangements.  

“My role on the board is to evaluate and look at opportunities to facilitate development of almost anything that could make the transportation of soybeans either easier or safer or less costly,” Bensend said. 

The Coalition works with government agencies as well as transportation companies to help work toward improving transportation networks. One recent example of this is the improvements made to the Port of Milwaukee.  

“We recently completed a major expansion of the Port of Milwaukee. STC and WSMA combined to helped provide seed funding for the engineering and planning work,” Bensend said. “That support showed that farmers are fully behind the project, which helped strengthen the application for federal grant funding and improved its chances of approval.”  

In April 2026, with checkoff support, construction was completed on the the Phase II expansion of the DeLong Company’s Port of Milwaukee terminal, which will enhance the capacity to export U.S. soybeans and soybean meal. Soybeans and soybean meal have also been exported from the facility, which is capable of loading vessels up to 22,000 metric tons.  

“We sincerely appreciate the support from U.S. soybean farmers on this important project,” said Brandon Bickham, vice president of exports for The DeLong Company. “We need to continue to promote ways to diversify our supply chain to connect with international customers. … We look forward to continuing to work the Soy Transportation Coalition, the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board and the broader soybean farmer community in making the U.S. soybean industry to most competitive in the global marketplace.” 

As the need for soybeans globally continues to expand, so will the complex transportation network that supports it. The STC helps to keep up with the industry’s growth because of investments made by farmers across the United States. So, it’s vital that growers throughout Wisconsin continue to support the efforts made by STC. WSMB is also proud to invest checkoff dollars into supporting the Upper Mississippi Waterway Association by sponsoring the M35 Workshop.  

“I just think that we need to continue to reinforce to these growers just how much good they’re getting out of the development of better markets and the research that’s done,” Bensend said. “The small amount of money that’s collected in the form of a checkoff is regularly used in making sure that these markets are supported.”