Port of Catoosa, Farmers Have Worked Together 40 Years

Sep 03, 2014 at 01:38 PM CST
"The first barge load of wheat that was shipped through this port occurred in mid-1974 when we built the nine concrete silos." Port Director Bob Portiss is standing on a stage in the middle of a dirt road leading to one of the Port of Catoosa's grain elevators. He says the port’s agricultural business has taken off since that first shipment. "And now look at this grain elevator here with about 4 million bushels of storage capacity, another couple million on the other side of the channel. I’ve said this time and time and time again, but agriculture and energy clearly drive our boat. No pun intended," Portiss said. Portiss and several men with ties to Oklahoma's agriculture industry spoke at a news event Thursday touting the relationship between farmers and the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, or MKARNS. State Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese knows what it was like before that first barge shipment. "I remember driving the pickup truck with my grandpa into a grain elevator, where they raised the front end up to dump the elevator. We’re talking about a totally different era," Reese said. "And this has allowed, instead of pickup truck by pickup truck, we’re shipping them 1,500 tons a barge, and so this access is critical to agriculture in Oklahoma." The state’s agriculture industry puts out $7 billion worth of products a year. Reese said that includes more than 3.6 million tons of grain and forest products. "That would be 2,400 barges, 36,000 rail cars or 138,461 semitrucks if we were having to ship it another way," Resse said. That helps merchandisers, which collect and distribute farmers’ crops. Phil Guettermann with Gavilon said the company can store 5.5 million bushels of grain at the port and sends 98 percent of its shipments on barges. "The grain markets we serve include Oklahoma, southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri, which we have access [to] through the Watco and Burlington Northern railroads," Guettermann said. "Now, at times, especially during harvest, our market reaches clear into Colorado, western Kansas and northwest Missouri." Eric Kresin with CGB said the company recently expanded in the area mainly because of the port and the MKARNS. "Farmers, ranchers that are down in the Carnegie area or they’re down in southwest Oklahoma — that grow corn, soybeans, wheat — that bring their grain to us at Port 33 or bring their grain here to Gavilon have the opportunity to sell it at a better price than they would if they had to truck it to Houston, because that’s their next best option," Kresin said. Reese said the state’s farmers also reach the international market thanks to the McClellan-Kerr navigation system. "This waterway, this water right here, goes to China, to Japan, to Russia. There’s not a railroad, a highway, anything else that gets things there," Reese said. And the Panama Canal expansion, "expected to be done maybe in a couple years, is going to reduce our shipping costs to Asia by 12 percent," Reese said. The port’s value to the state’s farmers covers shipping and receiving. Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Tom Buchanan owns a farm in Altus. He said it’s common for farmers to drop off a truckload of grain at the port and haul back a truckload of fertilizer. "So we get that double benefit, so to speak, in that we get that price point that freight allows that break for our product as we’re selling it and then get a good purchase price for the input of fertilizer," Buchanan said. "[It] has been a great savior for southwest Oklahoma agriculture. But the example I just described for you is taking place across the state with all producers in all types of commodities." So in future legislative issues, don’t be surprised if Oklahoma farmers turn out to be strong supporters of the port and the MKARNS.

Sep 03, 2014 at 01:38 PM CST

"The first barge load of wheat that was shipped through this port occurred in mid-1974 when we built the nine concrete silos."

Port Director Bob Portiss is standing on a stage in the middle of a dirt road leading to one of the Port of Catoosa's grain elevators. He says the port’s agricultural business has taken off since that first shipment.

"And now look at this grain elevator here with about 4 million bushels of storage capacity, another couple million on the other side of the channel. I’ve said this time and time and time again, but agriculture and energy clearly drive our boat. No pun intended," Portiss said.

Portiss and several men with ties to Oklahoma's agriculture industry spoke at a news event Thursday touting the relationship between farmers and the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, or MKARNS. State Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese knows what it was like before that first barge shipment.

"I remember driving the pickup truck with my grandpa into a grain elevator, where they raised the front end up to dump the elevator. We’re talking about a totally different era," Reese said. "And this has allowed, instead of pickup truck by pickup truck, we’re shipping them 1,500 tons a barge, and so this access is critical to agriculture in Oklahoma."

The state’s agriculture industry puts out $7 billion worth of products a year. Reese said that includes more than 3.6 million tons of grain and forest products.

"That would be 2,400 barges, 36,000 rail cars or 138,461 semitrucks if we were having to ship it another way," Resse said.

That helps merchandisers, which collect and distribute farmers’ crops. Phil Guettermann with Gavilon said the company can store 5.5 million bushels of grain at the port and sends 98 percent of its shipments on barges.

"The grain markets we serve include Oklahoma, southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri, which we have access [to] through the Watco and Burlington Northern railroads," Guettermann said. "Now, at times, especially during harvest, our market reaches clear into Colorado, western Kansas and northwest Missouri."

Eric Kresin with CGB said the company recently expanded in the area mainly because of the port and the MKARNS.

"Farmers, ranchers that are down in the Carnegie area or they’re down in southwest Oklahoma — that grow corn, soybeans, wheat — that bring their grain to us at Port 33 or bring their grain here to Gavilon have the opportunity to sell it at a better price than they would if they had to truck it to Houston, because that’s their next best option," Kresin said.

Reese said the state’s farmers also reach the international market thanks to the McClellan-Kerr navigation system.

"This waterway, this water right here, goes to China, to Japan, to Russia. There’s not a railroad, a highway, anything else that gets things there," Reese said.

And the Panama Canal expansion, "expected to be done maybe in a couple years, is going to reduce our shipping costs to Asia by 12 percent," Reese said.

The port’s value to the state’s farmers covers shipping and receiving. Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Tom Buchanan owns a farm in Altus. He said it’s common for farmers to drop off a truckload of grain at the port and haul back a truckload of fertilizer.

"So we get that double benefit, so to speak, in that we get that price point that freight allows that break for our product as we’re selling it and then get a good purchase price for the input of fertilizer," Buchanan said. "[It] has been a great savior for southwest Oklahoma agriculture. But the example I just described for you is taking place across the state with all producers in all types of commodities."

So in future legislative issues, don’t be surprised if Oklahoma farmers turn out to be strong supporters of the port and the MKARNS.