They seemingly had nothing in common – soybean farmers from the fields of the Midwest, executives from
seaports on the East Coast, and railroad officials trying to build a $800 million "National
Gateway." But they were brought together by the rail hub being built near North Baltimore that will
speed the bushels of beans to seaports in New York and Virginia, as they make their way to ports around
the world.
The farmers, seaport managers and railroad officials packed a room in Bowling Green Thursday to figure
out how the rail system can be used most efficiently to get farm goods to markets around the world. They
came from New York City, New Jersey, Chicago, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Indianapolis – and right here in
Wood County.
"This is putting Wood County and Northwest Ohio at the center of the global marketplace," Tom
Blaha, executive director of the Wood County Economic Development Commission, said about the $80 million
rail hub being built just west of North Baltimore.
And Ohio farmers don’t want to be left behind when the trains pull out of the station on their way to
international ports.
"Economic development is not an adversary of agriculture," Blaha assured. "In fact it’s an
ally of the agri-business community."
With 26,000 soybean farmers, Ohio is the sixth largest exporter of the crop in the U.S., according to
John Lumpe, executive director of the Ohio Soybean Council. In fact, more than half of Ohio’s soybeans
are exported, primarily to China, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia.
"We are in the heart of soybean, corn and wheat country," Lumpe said. In fact, 31 percent of
the soybeans from Ohio are grown within a 50-mile radius of the North Baltimore rail hub.
"A lot of our crop is up here, so this is very important to our industry," he said of the rail
site.
The North Baltimore intermodal site will allow for freight to be more efficiently moved between trains,
with large cranes shifting the containers to the appropriate trains as they head to different
destinations. As part of the "National Gateway" project, old overpasses and tunnels are being
rebuilt to allow for double stacked trains to make it all the way from North Baltimore to the East
Coast.
"This will be a world-class hub attached to a world-class network," said Carl Warren, director
of strategic infrastructure for the CSX intermodal site. "This speeds up the whole network."

That means less truck traffic on highways, fewer fuel emissions, more jobs, more efficient routing of
rail cargo, and more freight moving faster.
To soybean farmers that means more bushels moving more quickly to seaports.
"From a farmer’s perspective, this couldn’t be coming at a better time," said a member of the
Ohio Soybean Council. The need to move beans faster is greater now since new seed technology is expected
to greatly increase yields. "We’re going to have a lot more product that’s going to need to be
moved, and moved efficiently to our export partners."
The greater railroad access will allow farmers who can’t fill huge ocean freighters the opportunity to
sell by the rail container, according to Scott Boulis, an agriculture representative.
"We want to see that container business increase to expand our ability to move more Ohio soybeans
out to the world. It opens up a world market to us."
Since the rail hub is expected to bring in truck traffic as well, Warren noted that a different access to
the site may be needed other than the current route through the village of North Baltimore.
"We don’t want to damage the community of North Baltimore. We want to be a helpful partner,"
Warren said.
The intermodal rail hub is nearly six miles long, covers 500 acres, and will have 23 miles of track. Five
cranes will be constructed to lift containers from one train to another.
According to Warren, 60 percent of the earthwork has been completed, with the project is expected to be
ready for operation in the second quarter of 2011.
An estimated 400 people will be employed during the construction, with 200 to be hired full-time to
operate the site. It has been predicted that over 10 years, spinoff employment at warehouse and
distribution sites will generate about 2,500 jobs, Warren said.
File photo. A farmer combines a field of soybeans. (Aaron Carpenter/ Sentinel-Tribune)