—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 6, 1977
98
Elevator is overseas terminal for U.S. grain
By JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Reporter
BALTIMORE, Md. -
Prominent on the harbor
skyline of the port city of
Baltimore is a cluster of
gray storage silos reaching
skyward. At the foot of the
towering facility, a long dock
reaches out into the channels
of the Chesapeake Bay.
Canton Elevator is one of
three terminals in the
Baltimore port for overseas
grain shipping. Purchased
by the Central Soya com
pany in 1971, the facility is
the corporation's only
private exporting terminal!
Through the efforts of the
Lome Detter, representative
for Spangler and Sprenkie,
Inc., York, an affiliate of the
Central Soya firm, Dover
Area Young Farmers and
their families recently
toured the export dock
during their annual Summer
bus trip.
Only outbound shipments
pass through the Central
Soya terminal; there is no
equipment for unloading or
holding incoming goods from
overseas. Long trainloads of
up to 100 railroad hopper
cars, carrying 3500 bushels
of grain each, pull into the
bayside elevator, bringing
tons of Midwest grain.
Several hoppers can be
unloaded at one time by
positioning the cars on a
track which runs directly
over the underground
receiving bins, and then
removing the bottom chute
-covers from the cars.
Dumped grain is then
augured to assorted storage
areas in the several-story
tall terminal to be reloaded
into ships arriving from
buyers all over the world.
Most of the U.S. corn,
wheat and soybeans'
departing from the Canton
dock is destined for
European ports, where it
may eventually be fed to
dairy and beef cattle within
the Common Market
countries.
World-wide consumer
demands for American grain
products are changing from
when Central Soya first
began exporting, according
to Ralph Enstead, grain
manager for the Canton
terminal.
“Soybean oil was most in
demand at one time,” noted
Enstead. “But now the
market has shifted to
soybean meal." Five million
tons of the protein-rich by
products were exported last
year, after extraction of the
oils at Central Soya’s
Decatur, 111., processing
plant.
While not the largest ex
port terminal in the country,
Canton still boasts an array
of impressive statistics
During 1976, peak volume
year to date, 84 million
bushels of grain roared
through the massive con
nections of augers, silos, and
electronic pushbutton
panels. That’s a 28-times
turnover of the total storage
capacity. A total of 217
million bushels of American
grain floated out the chan
nels of the Chesapeake from
all exporters in Baltimore.
Canton’s shipments to date
in 1977 are down a bit, with
about eight million bushels,
or 200,000 tons, departing the
facility monthly. Between 80
to 100 assorted size grain
ships, flying almost every
flag imaginable, call at the
elevator within a 12-month
span.
Stevedores, as the ship’s
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Stretching out into the Baltimore harbor, the
loading dock of Central Soya's Canton Elevator is
loading crews are called, are loaded into the bulk carriers
in charge of getting the grain and tank ships that haul the
Vacuum Spreader
Salt Flllln« —Rear Dear Opllanal
ir-Matlc S|
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readied for filling another shipload of American
grain.
grain to far-off ports. The Tub boats then gently
crew’s chief officer deter- escort the heavy-laden
mines in what order portions carriers out into the 42-foot
of the ship are to be filled and channel, where massive
how full holds are to be made diesel engines take over the
to maintain the delicate job of propelling the cargo
balance of the vessel. Only 40 over the open seas,
to 60 loading hours are “Do you know how much
needed to fill most transport iContinued on Page 111)
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