701-566-9300Today we begin to leave for Portland, Oregon for the “See for Yourself” tour of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) soybean exporting facilities put on by the ND Soybean Council (NDSC) that we all see each year in the Soybean Grower Magazine. By begin to leave, I mean that the group of a dozen or so travelers meet today (Monday) at NDSC HQ in Fargo for a briefing/orientation thing. Then we go to the airport at O dark hundred tomorrow.
Exports as of today for U.S. soybeans to China out of the PNW are down about 60% from the same time last year, so maybe some of those folks will have the time to show us around once we get there. They say we have to wear long pants while on tours even though temps will be around 80, but most of the producers I know wear jeans nearly all year anyway; whereas as a golfer and summer lake guy, I don’t. I live in Portland, North Dakota and expect the Oregon version to be just like my Portland although they might have a grocery store. Expect me to be letting you know each day of the trip what is going on out there unless I fall off of a pier which I understand is kinda like my dock at the lake except higher. I have a lot to learn.
