Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1515951
According to the State Department, Morocco was one of the first coun- tries to recognize the newly indepen- dent United States, opening its ports to American ships by decree of Sultan Mohammed III in 1777. Morocco then signed a treaty of peace and friendship with the U.S. in 1786, a document that remains the nation's longest unbroken treaty relationship. In that spirit of friendship, the Min- nesota Department of Agriculture embarked on an animal feed trade mis- sion to Morocco in January 2024 that included Kate Ferguson, director of trade and business development for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. "Morocco has a lot of ports that are the same size as Duluth," said Joe Smentek, executive director of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, who also attended the trade mission. "They want a lot of mixed loads. There are a number of products they want that Minnesota can offer, whether that's DDGs (dried distillers grains), soymeal, beet pellets or corn. They aren't a crush market, so they don't want whole soybeans; they're usually looking for mixed loads and Han- sen-Mueller in Duluth can supply that." Due to severe drought conditions, Morocco imports the vast majority its animal feed components and a large portion of its wheat, much of it the vari- eties that could sail from the Port of Duluth-Superior. "Our port has access to the wealth of commodities grown in the North Amer- ican heartland, and trade missions, such as this one to Morocco, give the growers, ranchers, and our port more visibility worldwide as a contributor of high-qual- ity grain, feed and food products," said Ferguson. "It's important to actively support that agricultural trade flowing through Duluth-Superior, and cultivate even more of it, especially when it can strengthen long-standing relationships like the one America has with Morocco." Ferguson returned from her travels with a full notebook of new contacts and optimism about expanded Moroc- can trade possibilities connecting Duluth- Superior and ports like Tangi- ers-Med and Casablanca. To borrow a line, it could be the begin- ning of a beautiful friendship. Agriculture trade mission connects Minnesota, Morocco DULUTHPORT.COM | 19 AFTER TWO TERMS leading the Duluth-Superior Maritime Club board of directors, Ms. Karis Boerner passed the gavel in December 2023 to Dr. Richard Stewart, recently retired as director of the University of Wisconsin-Superior transportation and logistics management program. Stewart, whose seafaring roots extend back to the 1960s as a merchant mariner in the Vietnam war zone, is the club's 62nd president since its founding in 1933. In addition to monthly luncheons providing a forum for the discussion of regional maritime topics, the club also hosts National Maritime Day festivities in the Twin Ports, with this year's celebration set for May 22, 2024. For more infor- mation, visit dsmaritimeclub.square.site. Stewart succeeds Boerner at Maritime Club helm Dr. Richard Stewart, left, began his first term as president of the Duluth-Superior Maritime Club in January, succeeding Karis Boerner, who served as president in 2022 and 2023. Kate Ferguson traveled to Morocco in January 2024 as part of a Minnesota Department of Agriculture trade mission. Among the sites she visited was an Alf Sahel feed mill that imports 90 percent of its animal feed components. Kate Ferguson