NCI Hosts Soybean and Soybean Meal Procurement Course May 13-21, 2024

The Northern Crops Institute (NCI) hosted its Soybean and Soybean Meal Procurement course on May 13-21, 2024. This course contained lectures on cash and futures markets and the complexity of the international soybean and soybean meal markets. It also provided an overview of the U.S. soybean and soybean meal handling and marketing system and the risk management tools available to assist buyers in purchasing U.S. soybean and soybean meal that meets their quality needs at the best value. This course was conducted in-person at the NCI in Fargo, North Dakota and the U.S. Pacific Northwest in Portland, Oregon with 22 participants from  the United States, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, Colombia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Italy.

The course, similar to previous years, was led by William Wilson, Ph.D., NDSU Distinguished Professor, AES Agribusiness and Applied Economics and an expert in commodity futures trading and consultant to the international agricultural commodity and food processing industries. In addition to lectures at NCI, the participants experienced hands-on exercises in the NDSU Commodity Training Room, a world-class training facility of the Agribusiness and Applied Economics Department at NDSU. The high-tech room has 32 computer stations, each with a computer that receives live information feeds for financial information including equities and credit, plus commodity market information such as agriculture, energy and biofuels.

The first day was spent at the NDSU Commodity Training Room with lectures and live trading exercises. The second day was spent at NCI with more lecture-heavy discussions and analyses. Day three was back to the Commodity Room to further enhance the application of the topics covered thus far.

On the fourth day, the course visited the NCI Feed Production center for some lectures in the auditorium there and a tour. The group then traveled to North Dakota Soybean Processors, a soybean crush plant in Casselton, ND, for a tour. Next, they toured Alton Grain Terminal, an elevator and shuttle loading facility in Hillsboro, ND. Lastly, the group was able to tour a farm in Portland, ND, with farmer and ND Soybean Council board member Milo Bratten.

On the final instructional day in Fargo, the group wrapped up with case studies and reviewed major topics of discussion. Some participants continued on to the PNW portion of the course. They had a short break over the weekend before hopping on a flight out west.

The group toured many different sites. First up was SGS in Vancouver, Washington, then both TEMCO and Kalama Export in Kalama, Washington. The next day brought the participants to a tour of AGP Export Terminal in Aberdeen, Washington, which concluded the tours in the PNW region.

The group was extremely engaged and ready to learn. The diverse array of countries represented led to great discussion. This group contained a variety of international soybean and soybean meal buyers associated with private trading companies, soybean processing, feed manufacturing and food processing. Some domestic attendees with interest in importing soybean and soybean meal from the United States joined as well. This course was designed for participants with an intermediate to advanced level of knowledge and experience. This program was made possible by the support of the North Dakota Soybean Council and the South Dakota Soybean Checkoff.

A certificate of completion was awarded to all the attendees who participated in this course. As mentioned, some participants joined only for the Fargo, ND, portion, while the majority tagged along for the tours of the PNW. NCI would like to extend a thank you to all the participants, presenters, sponsors, and staff members who made this course possible.

To view and register for NCI’s upcoming courses, visit https://www.northern-crops.com/courses.