Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Sunday, August 22, 2004
SUNDAY DEBATE: Farmers need to get their grain to market faster
Imagine driving your family car on roads built in the 1930s, which have not been upgraded in the past six decades. Highways that proved sufficient for vehicles of this bygone era could no longer support the needs of today's transportation system.
Failure to change our transportation infrastructure erodes the economic competitiveness of the state's agricultural industry, which depends on the timely and efficient movement of raw commodities and farm supplies.
That's what farmers in Wisconsin face with the outdated lock and dam system on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.
Built in the 1930s, the current locks are too small to accommodate a typical barge tow of 15 barges. This means the barge tow must be "double-locked" or split into two segments and then retied before continuing downriver.
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation strongly supports the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to ask Congress to provide the necessary funds to make improvements to the lock and dam systems on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.
We are encouraging our Congressional delegation to join other representatives from the Midwest to support this plan that balances transportation and environmental concerns.
Most of the initial improvements on the locks will be north of St. Louis to the Quad Cities area.
Delays and double-locking cost producers, who ship corn through La Crosse, up to $1.5 million a year in lost income. Wisconsin farmers, who export 20 percent of the corn they produce, receive 10 to 20 cents less per bushel because of these higher transportation costs. State farmers also pay more for fertilizer produced in southern states and transported by barges for the same reason.
Right now, Wisconsin farmers bear the brunt of delays from the double locking. Farmers in the La Crosse area feel the effects of delays on the river when the local elevator price for corn drops and shipments down the river are halted until traffic resumes.
To suggest that improving our lock systems is "pouring cement down the river" ignores how important the river is to communities like La Crosse and farmers of Wisconsin.
It ignores the economic efficiencies and environmental benefits of using this system.
We cannot ignore the need to make our locks more efficient because many businesses and local communities have invested in and rely on the river transportation system.
The farm community is not blindly supporting this plan while ignoring environmental concerns. In fact, the plan to lengthen the locks could have positive environmental effects.
By eliminating double locking barges will run their engines less, resulting in less water stirring, and lower fuel use.
Barge traffic is a better economic and environmental alternative than thousands of more trucks on our highways.
We understand the skepticism sporting and conservation interests have about the project.
Agriculture faces funding shortfalls for farm and conservation programs each year, but that never stops us from moving forward, and should not stop Congress from authorizing this investment in our river transportation system and our river environmental programs.
(Bill Bruins is a farmer and president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.)
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