- IANR Update
- Nebraska wheat harvest underway
- Beef Checkoff Update
- CCC Rates Announced for July
- CSP Signup Expected Soon
- Extension of RFS-2 Comment Period Concerns NBB
- EPA Approves California’s Long-Requested Pollution Rule Waiver
- Michigan Legislators Pushing for Livestock Standards
- Senate Plans to Move on Climate Change with Lessons Learned from House
- Gregory Geortz new Wyoming FSA Director
- Biden announces $4 billion in rural broadband service
- 4-H Animal science event
- Free Private Well Testing
- USDA, KDA stress food safety during holiday weekend
- Branded funds available
- Interview on ACRE
- ACRE Webinar Draws More Than a Thousand
- Soy Transportation Coalition publishes Semi Weight Analysis
- Webster County Fair is near
- Kansas Wheat Harvest Report
- Environmental officials to discuss sludge probe
- 3 community colleges sue Kan. Board of Regents
- Vilsack Announces New Focus, Approach to Food Security
- Study Shows Spraying Herbicides on Invasive Weeds Not Necessarily Good Idea
- Tyson Responds to R-CALF, Not Meeting Request
- Corn-Fed Beef Trade Mission Wraps Up in Korea
- Growth Energy Says USDA Crop Report Dismisses Myths
- Governor Dave Heineman interview
- Bill Bullard interview
- Recent Reports Thrill Nation’s Corn Growers
- Jon Bruning interview on Republican River ruling
- Central Platte NRD conducts tour
- Greater Corn Supplies Could Lead to Higher Ethanol Blend Rate
- Water referee says Neb. owes Kan. $10,000
- Farm Bureau Asks USDA for Immediate Help
- Polansky moves to Kansas FSA Director
- Kansas wheat harvest moves northward
- Obama team members to fan out on summer rural tour
- Yet more waiting for Neb., Kan. in river dispute
- Rocky Mountain Pack string in Crawford for the 4th!
- Derrel Carruth named Wyoming Rural Development Director
In newly released testimony, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Bob Dickey called on Congress to act quickly to fund important waterway projects as a means for creating jobs and providing economic stimulus for the Midwest. The testimony was offered as part of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Oct. 28 hearing “Investing in Infrastructure: The Road to Recovery.”
“Each year, more than one billion bushels of grain (about 60 percent of all grain exports) are shipped for export via the Mississippi River,” Dickey said. “However, the waterways infrastructure on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers was built in the 1930s with a life expectancy of 50 years; frequent delays caused by these antiquated locks are hurting our family farmers and our ability to compete in a global marketplace.”
Specifically, NCGA is interested in seeing new construction move forward on the seven projects in the Upper Mississippi lock system that were authorized in the 2007 Water Resources Development Act: Mississippi L&D 25, 24, 22, 21, 20 and LaGrange and Peoria on the Illinois River, some of which are design-build ready.
“These lock upgrades would require a total of 48 million person hours from skilled trades throughout the Midwest,” Dickey said. “The reinvestment potential for our communities from this opportunity is enormous. It would provide for jobs and create immediate economic benefits.”
In addition to the economic benefits, positive environmental factors were also cited. For example, barges operate at 10 percent of the cost of trucks and 40 percent of the cost of trains, while releasing twenty times less nitrous oxide, nine times less carbon monoxide, seven times less hydrocarbons. Also, barges burn one-tenth the fuel of the other modes.
“At a time when the American public expects energy efficiency and reduced air emissions for public works projects, waterways navigation offers transportation with unparalleled environmental benefits,” Dickey said. “The carrying capacity of one 15-barge tow eliminates the need for 870 semi-trailer trucks to travel our nation’s highways, reducing traffic congestion.”
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