A Little Personal Story For The Archives -- January 24, 2015

Louis Dreyfus Commodities has a grain elevator in Portland, OR. Back in late 2012, Louis Dreyfus announced a $21 million "update" to that Rose Quarter grain elevator.

Louis Dreyfus Commodities will invest $21 million to remodel and update its grain elevator near the Rose Quarter.

Louis Dreyfus is the latest grain operator to announce investments totaling more than $65 million this month.

In early December, Columbia Grain Inc., said it would invest as much as $45 million over the next 30 months to expand its Portland grain handling facility. Columbia Grain will expand its T-5 operation following a 25-year extension of its lease with the Port of Portland.

In 2011, Louis Dreyfus said the grain exporting facility processed a record amount of grain and that all elevators on the Columbia River system were operating at capacity, hinting at the need to expand capacity.

The renovation has been completed. The photos of the project can be found here.

But that's not important.

This is what caught my eye. Do you see that ship in the photos? That's the Almasi. The Almasi is a bulk carrier ship.

It is the first ship to anchor at the new Louis Dreyful Rose Quarter grain elevator in Portland. One can track the Almasi at this site.

But that's not important.

This is the important part.

The grain that is being loaded unto the Almasi, the first ship to take on grain from newly renovated Rose Quarter elevator is grain that was grown in North Dakota.

I do not know the name of the North Dakota farmer(s) whose grain that was, but if the fields were in northwestern North Dakota, it was very possibly my dad's agency that "wrote" the crop insurance. Back in 2011 I had the pleasure of reconciling crop insurance policies for that agency during a short stint on staff.

As noted: I do not know the name of the North Dakota farmer(s) whose grain that was, but my operatives are hot on the trail. LOL.

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Addendum

This really is a wonderful country. The information above is accurate to the best of my knowledge but it was written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But think of all the little "things" that went into that "process." A farmer in North Dakota growing the grain that somehow gets from the field to the train, and then from the train to the port, and then unto the ship. Think of all the individuals that were involved in developing, marketing, and selling the seed that was bought by the farmer. Think of the three or four generations of Scandinavians or Syrians or Germans or Ukrainians or Russians who immigrated a century ago and homesteaded the original farms in North Dakota. The farm was passed down from generation to generation. Think of all the folks that would have insured the crops over the years through a Federal crop insurance program. Think of the technological improvements of the farm tractors. Think of the one-lane gravel roads that are now four-lane divided highways, and the single railroad tracks that are now double or triple tracked. Think of all the dispatcher, engineers along the way. Think of the men and women who manufactured the train cars. To me, it's simply a marvel that these things all come together.

And if that farm is in the northwest part of the state, there is probably a Bakken well producing oil that will end up on the East Coast of the United States or in Texas, via Cushing, Oklahoma.