Ports of Indiana, ISDA team up to grow agricultural trade
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The Ports of Indiana and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture on Thursday announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at increasing collaboration and expanding agricultural trade.
The partners said in a news release that the purpose of the MOU is to establish a framework to achieve their goals while also fostering economic development in Indiana.
The agreement outlines several areas of focus through the partnership, including supporting the expansion of ag exports through the state’s ports, connecting key agricultural stakeholders with the ports to explore new shipping opportunities, and investigating opportunities to develop new container shipping facilities to serve the needs of the agriculture and hardwood industries.
“ISDA has helped position Indiana agriculture as a global leader in innovation and commercialization for food and fuel production, and our ports play a critical role in connecting our ag industry with world markets,” Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock said in a news release. “Our organizations and industries are inextricably linked, and we have several shared objectives and opportunities for collaboration that can create future growth for our state and agricultural communities.”
The MOU is the latest development in the relationship between the Ports of Indiana and the ISDA.
The organizations were part of a trade mission to Indonesia earlier this year led by the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council with the goal of growing soybean exports to the country.
The partners also hosted the inaugural Indiana Container Shipping Conference in June, which came in conjunction with the launch of the Indiana Container Initiative—an effort to support the development of multiple international container terminals throughout the state.
That effort is already bearing fruit as the Ports of Indiana received approval in July to establish the first international sea cargo container terminal on Lake Michigan at the Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor.
“It’s an exciting time for Indiana and I see a bright future for our ag industry in the global marketplace,” said ISDA Director Don Lamb. “One of our shared goals is to make it as easy as possible for Indiana farmers and agribusinesses to market their products worldwide. By exploring opportunities to provide new container shipping facilities and better leveraging our ports, we’re taking a major step forward in giving our growers a long-term competitive advantage.”
The partners said agriculture contributes more than $35.1 billion to the Indiana economy annually, making it the ninth largest agriculture state in the country. The Ports of Indiana handles more than 4 million tons of agriculture products on its three ports each year.