The Desert Harrier departed the TEMCO, LLC, grain export terminal in Houston, Texas, for Nigeria on May 14, 2023. It looked like any other ship steaming into the Gulf of Mexico, 但它的货物——超过100万蒲式耳的硬红冬小麦和春小麦——很特别.
码头经理Michael Bates表示，这是自2023年初成为TEMCO家族的第四个码头以来，第一批完全由CHS采购的小麦从该设施出口. TEMCO是CHS和嘉吉皇冠hga010安卓二维码的合资企业，在波特兰也有出口设施, Ore., and Kalama and Tacoma, Wash.
The expansion will serve farmers and cooperatives in the Southern Plains, says Brian Schouvieller, who represents CHS on the TEMCO board of governors. Grain produced in that region naturally flows to the Texas Gulf for export.
“休斯顿港口为我们提供了一个额外的出口通道，可以从头到尾处理粮食，而无需通过第三方. That retains more value for farmers,” Schouvieller says.
The four TEMCO export facilities complement CHS export terminals in Myrtle Grove, La., and Superior, Wis.，为CHS业主提供高效的出口选择，并为全球客户提供服务.
“By expanding our integrated supply chain and export opportunities for the cooperative system, we improve market access and opportunities for farmers, which should increase the volume of patronage-eligible bushels exported through the Texas Gulf,” Schouvieller says. “通过合作社系统将粮食从农场运送到消费者手中，提高了效率和质量控制.”
| Houston, Texas |
Kalama, Wash. |
Portland, Ore. |
Tacoma, Wash. |
|
| Opened in | 1967 | 1962 | 1955 | 1975 |
| Joined TEMCO in | 2023 | 2012 | 2012 | 1992 |
| Primary products | Wheat, sorghum, corn, soybeans | Wheat, sorghum, soybeans, corn, peas | Wheat | Soybean, corn |
| Top export destinations | North Africa, China, Mexico, South America | China, Southeast Asia, Central America, Middle East | Southeast Asia, Middle East, China | China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan |
| Storage capacity (in millions of bushels) |
6 | 6.5 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Grain loaded annually (in millions of bushels) |
140 | 250 | 35 | 200 |
| Loadout capacity (in bushels per hour) |
140,000 | 120,000 | 40,000 | 80,000 |
| Barges unloaded annually | N/A | 300 | 400 | N/A |
| Railcars unloaded annually | 40,000 | 62,000 | 600 | 52,000 |
| Shuttle trains unloaded annually | 480+ | 530+ | N/A |
N/A |
| Oceangoing vessels loaded annually | 100+ | 125+ | 40 | 100+ |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Options and opportunity
Multiple export facilities provide risk mitigation against weather events, logistics problems, operational interruptions and market changes, says Brian Kubik, TEMCO general manager. Through the TEMCO joint venture, CHS is one of the largest exporters of grain from the Pacific Northwest (PNW) to Asian markets.
从2022年6月到2023年5月，TEMCO运送了超过4亿蒲式耳的粮食，处理了PNW出口的约三分之一的粮食.
随着休斯顿港口的加入，TEMCO也是德克萨斯海湾最大的谷物出口商. 该设施拥有600万蒲式耳的储存能力，每年在100至120艘船上装载超过1.4亿蒲式耳的货物. The primary crops shipped across all TEMCO locations are wheat, soybeans, sorghum and corn.
“The Houston expansion provides access to a larger basket of commodities, hopefully making us a more attractive trade partner,” Kubik says.
Reaching new markets
德克萨斯州、俄克拉荷马州和堪萨斯州每年生产数千万蒲式耳的小麦和高粱. Much of that grain is shipped via rail and truck to TEMCO in Houston. The facility’s railyard has been upgraded to hold 350 railcars and unload 250 cars per day.
“With four export terminals in various parts of the U.S. through TEMCO, we have more options and increased market discovery,” Kubik adds. “合资企业实现的共享供应链提高了效率，降低了物流成本, which benefits customers.”
That added strength will boost sales to Asia and emerging markets in Africa. While volume has dropped from expectations, China remains the largest importer of U.S. soybeans and sorghum.
Current projections indicate China will import 100 million metric tons of soybeans, 38.在2023-2024年销售年度，400万吨粗粮(主要是玉米和高粱)和1200万吨小麦, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.
未来几十年，非洲很可能成为国际贸易和投资的重要市场, according to the USDA. In a February 2023 report, 该机构列举了非洲大陆快速增长的人口和城市化以及收入的增加, which are driving demand for meat, cereal grains and other foods.
“在德克萨斯湾拥有固定泊位，为摩洛哥和其他北非国家的客户提供了新的机会,” says Ryan Caffrey, who oversees the CHS wheat product line.
Trading up
Louis Deery, lead wheat trader for Star Trading based in New York City, says he expects to buy more wheat from CHS, thanks to the additional access to southern U.S. 还有机会与一家在西北和墨西哥湾拥有多个港口的皇冠hga010安卓二维码合作.
商人将小麦装进“沙漠鹞”号货舱，运往尼日利亚面粉厂, one of the largest food companies in that country and Deery’s biggest client. 6月，他从CHS为尼日利亚面粉厂购买了85万蒲式耳硬红冬小麦. All of it was shipped through TEMCO in Houston.
“We have to time our shipments very carefully, 因此，与一家供应商打交道，拥有更多的运输选择，可以提高效率，增加灵活性,” Deery says, noting if a storm were to damage one port, grain could be diverted and shipped from another. “We’re also very cautious about grain quality, and CHS has a very good [quality] track record.”
Deery typically sources about 17 million bushels of wheat annually from the U.S. for Flour Mills of Nigeria. CHS and Cargill provide the “lion’s share” of the bushels, Deery adds.
“Further integrating the supply chain is good, since it helps bring the farmer a little closer to the consumer. That’s what consumers want,” he says. “Flour Mills of Nigeria is a fairly large durum wheat consumer and CHS is a big durum player, so I think [additional TEMCO shipping options from Houston] should open up more durum trade.”
Retaining value
堪萨斯州的合作社领导人对TEMCO及其休斯顿扩建提供的粮食综合出口机会和提高收入潜力感到兴奋. They believe farmer-owners will benefit in several ways.
CHS和成员合作社中堪萨斯合作社(MKC)于2023年4月扩大了他们的粮食营销合资企业，以最大限度地提高南部平原端到端合作供应链的价值. The TEMCO expansion will optimize the partnership, says Brad Stedman, MKC president and CEO.
Based in Moundridge, Kan., MKC handles about 100 million bushels of hard red winter wheat, sorghum, corn and soybeans each year. Wheat is the largest export crop for the co-op at about 15 to 20 million bushels per year.
In the past, grain was often sold to companies with export capabilities, so that revenue wasn’t fully realized at the local level, says Stedman. But the dynamic has changed, he says, 因为MKC的农场主现在可以通过合作社系统直接接触国际买家.
“Those profits flow back through MKC, which then flow back to our 11,000 farmer-owners in the form of patronage, equity redemption or building new assets such as shuttle train loading facilities,” he adds. “这将使我们能够更快地对该地区老化的基础设施进行再投资.”
Many of those elevators were built in the 1950s and ’60s, he explains, when yields were less, and trucks and farms were smaller. “Farmers are sometimes moving faster than we are right now,” Stedman says.
CHS and MKC are building a grain terminal with 5.2 million bushels of capacity near Sterling, Kan., which is scheduled to be operational in 2024. It will efficiently load shuttle trains, like other jointly owned facilities in Milan and Canton, with combined storage of 18.1 million bushels.
Neil Johnke, CHS senior director of feed grains, says having multiple ports that can quickly unload shuttle trains, trucks or barges — all three in some locations — is an advantage for grain buyers and sellers.
“For a Kansas cooperative, 如果运费上涨，告诉我们把粮食运到西北海岸或德克萨斯海湾，每吨多赚2美元, we can do that. If ocean freight spreads are cheaper at Myrtle Grove, we can go there,” Johnke says. “It will make us one of the preferred suppliers in the world. Farmers will get to share in that entire supply chain profitability.”
Faster, stronger, better
戴尔·施密特(Dale Schmidt)回忆起近10年前MKC和CHS共同拥有的班车装载设施在广州开业的情景, a few miles from his McPherson, Kan., farm. The basis for many commodities, particularly hard red winter wheat, narrowed about 10 cents or more per bushel. He attributed that to lower shipping costs and stronger demand from end users.
施密特将密切关注斯特林号装载机将谷物运往休斯顿TEMCO码头后的类似情况.
“When we can gain on basis, that’s really what it’s all about,” he says. “At the end of the day, whether I get paid more for grain or patronage, I’m seeing value come back to me.”
Schmidt produces hundreds of thousands of bushels of hard red winter wheat, corn and soybeans each year. Sorghum is occasionally part of the crop rotation when prices are favorable.
堪萨斯州布勒市(Buhler)的种植者贾森•盖德特(Jason Gaeddert)也认为，大宗商品价格上涨的可能性很有趣.但他表示，他对整合合作供应链的投资同样感到兴奋.
“The turn time for trucks from the field to the elevator and back is important,” Gaeddert says. “Refreshing assets or building new assets helps the whole supply chain. That brings value to the farmer.”
Added value
Jeff Boyd, Garden City Co-op CEO, is excited about expanded export opportunities with CHS and the added value farmers will reap.
The co-op, based in Garden City, Kan., is building its first wholly owned shuttle loader facility with 1.1 million bushels of storage capacity in nearby Holcomb, Kan. It co-owns another similar transloader operation.
该合作社通常每年出口20列运送硬红冬小麦和高粱的穿梭列车, plus ships some soybeans, says Boyd. A 115- to 120-car train carries about 435,000 bushels of wheat or soybeans and 465,000 bushels of sorghum.
博伊德说，快速将商品装满火车的能力，使合作社能够利用其粮食来源和销售团队，进入更多的市场. With the expansion of TEMCO in Houston and the new shuttle loader projected to open in May 2024, he expects more grain to be shipped and marketed through the cooperative system.
“It allows us to control more of our own destiny,” says Boyd, 他负责澳门皇冠赌场平台堪萨斯州西南部20个谷仓，这些谷仓的粮食容量超过3700万蒲式耳.
What does this mean for Garden City Co-op’s 1,350 farmer-owners? Boyd and Mike Wisner, vice president of grain, 希望增加的机会意味着更好的粮食价格和合作社及其所有者的更大投资回报.
“更直接地进入全球市场将使我们有能力相应地设定报价，并有望提高利润率,” Boyd says. “合作模式的好处是利润与农民分享，而钱留在当地.”
