Annual conference returns to Minneapolis March 12-13 

The agenda for the 2025 Transportation Go! conference has taken shape and features a who’s who of transportation and agricultural luminaries.  

Hosted by the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) March 12-13 in Minneapolis, the annual event assembles boots-on-the-ground commodity growers, organizations, traders and shippers of specialty crops, offering in-depth discussions on the global supply chain and how it affects the critical movement of agricultural products domestically and around the world. 

“I am thrilled to welcome Transportation Go! back to the Midwest. This important conference is bringing together key players in agricultural transportation and trade,” said Randy Duckworth, SSGA executive director. “Transportation Go! provides a great opportunity to be part of conversations addressing crucial issues in the global logistics supply chains for agricultural products such as container availability and positioning, intermodal transportation and the latest developments in Great Lakes shipping.”  

As the premier conference for soybean and grain transportation and trade issues in the Midwest, Transportation Go! is putting the industry’s top stakeholders at the forefront with a diverse roster of distinguished speakers, panel discussions and more, offering attendees a panoramic look at challenges and opportunities along the value chain. 

“Transportation Go! is uniquely oriented to the transportation opportunities and issues of the value-added specialty grains and oilseeds industry,” said Gary Williams, SSGA director of transportation and regulatory affairs. “While other transportation conferences provide a value in emphasizing imports by container, a wide-angle lens on ag products, or bulk commodity perspectives, this conference carves out what is relevant for these shippers and buyers.” 

The conference is also known for pulling the entire transportation supply chain into the conversation. To help navigate what’s on the horizon, this year’s agenda includes:  

• Gene Seroka, Port of Los Angeles executive director 

• Daniel Maffei, Federal Maritime Commission commissioner and former U.S. congressman 

• Robert Primus, Surface Transportation Board 

• Hardy Pearson, Hapag Lloyd senior vice president regional commercial 

• Anthony Fisher, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.  

• Thom Petersen, Minnesota Department of Agriculture commissioner 

• John Wolfe, Northwest Seaport Alliance CEO 

“Our conference presents today’s cross-section in transportation in identity preserved products, while always asking the question of what we can expect or change for what lies ahead,” Williams said.   

Additional speakers include Sten Könst with Spliethoff, Dr. Sal Mercogliano with Campbell University and Joe Jobe with SABR.   

“The ability to interact with extremely high approachability, and have your questions responded to is a major selling point of this conference in March each year,” said Gary Williams, who is also slated to participate in panel discussions. “We rotate the conference purposefully to highlight where issues and opportunities are, and to foster new ideas, and participation by different minds in the country, while ensuring we deliver on providing very rich content from the top subject matter experts we can find.”  

Registration is open at transportationgo.com/register-now/. Sponsorship information is available at transportationgo.com/sponsors/. 

“I look forward to networking, learning and participating as we shape the future of global supply chains at Transportation Go!,” Duckworth said. 

SSGA’s annual meeting will be held in the same location on March 11. The annual meeting will reflect on the successes over the past year and look ahead to the future. Board of Directors elections will be held, and the annual SSGA Alliance Honors will be presented at the meeting. The annual meeting is free for members, but pre-registration is requested. Non-members can register for $55.