OGDENSBURG — Nearly 60 local business leaders attended the second annual Port Commerce Day on Wednesday.

The purpose of the event was to offer farmers and local businesses "a chance to come together in a semi-formal setting, and to show just how relevant the Port of Ogdensburg is," said Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority Executive Director Wade A. Davis.

The event was held in a storage facility off the dock, featured several speakers and a tour of the entire port. Booths were set up with displays from the port and railroad agencies as well, and a small networking session was held after the speeches.

Those who attended ranged from farmers in Potsdam to representatives of large companies as far away as Montreal.

For Kenneth Friedel Jr., associate broker with Sandstone Realty in Potsdam, it was his first time at the event. Mr. Friedel, who deals mainly in farm property, came to learn more about his clients.

In contrast, Bill McDonald came for his second time representing GreenField Ethanol, a biofuels company with a new plant in Prescott, Ontario, just across the St. Lawrence River from Ogdensburg. He came to network as well. The Prescott plant, which is set to begin "grinding corn" in December, is looking to sell the byproduct, distillers grain, which is used as feed for livestock. Mr. McDonald, commodity manager, said the company also will buy corn from local farmers.

"You have local agriculture, local industry, economic development interests, and transport all coming together to network," Mr. Davis said.

The speakers discussed topics from shipping and sales to wind turbines and the foreign trade zone.

All five speakers represented larger companies, and most sought to provide services to the smaller businesses in attendance.

For example: John Shearer explained the foreign trade zone and offered Customs brokerage services to deal with the paperwork of U.S. Customs; and Jerry Hebda, vice president of Vermont Rail Systems, Burlington, spoke about the possibilities of expanding market reach by using the railroad.

"The port of Ogdensburg has something to be proud of," Mr. McDonald said. "I have seen a lot of growth."

Roughly 40 farmers and business leaders attended the event last year, which was the first Port Commerce Day held since the 1980s.

The event was sponsored and organized by the City of Ogdensburg, the New York and Ogdensburg Railway Co., the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency and the St. Lawrence and Ogdensburg Chambers of Commerce. "It was a good joint effort of the sponsors," Mr. Davis said.

He said he plans to run a similar event next year and hopes for a similar success.