Posted from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
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From: Mark Muller [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 18, 1999 - The American Farm
Bureau Federation told a congressional panel today that significant
funding must be provided soon to finance major renovations of the
inland waterway system as a means for U.S. farmers to remain
competitive.
"We cannot afford to wait. We cannot afford to fall behind and lose
markets that we have worked so hard to gain," said AFBF board
member and Minnesota Farm Bureau President Al Christopherson.
"One of the most important things Congress can do to help farmers
is to provide a low-cost, efficient transportation infrastructure."
Appearing before congressmen from the 10 states which make up
the Mississippi River Caucus, the Farm Bureau leader said the
Army Corps of Engineers has spent eight years on a six-year study
that is still not complete.
"Six years ago, the Corps began a comprehensive study of
economic conditions in the Midwest, and the economic and
environmental impacts of lock and dam improvements,"
Christopherson said. "We were promised this study would be
completed in six years. Later, the release date was pushed back
until June 2000, and then again until December 2000. This six-year
study has expanded into an eight-year study, and no concrete has
been poured for new locks."
Despite those problems, Farm Bureau wants Congress to increase
funding so the Corps can begin waterway improvements, in
particular pre-engineering and design studies for lock chamber
extensions for certain locks and dams along the Mississippi and
Illinois Rivers.
Legislation is also being sought for construction of 1,200-foot lock
chambers since barge tows presently must be split and moved
through the older locks in two sections before resuming their trip up
or down the river system.
"It is clear that American soybean farmers have already been
squeezed out of international markets to some degree due to
infrastructure improvements in Brazil and Argentina that have
allowed them to move their grain more cheaply," Christopherson
said.
River congestion on the Mississippi results in lost income to farmers
who can't afford to forgo any income with commodity prices so low,
he said. Inefficient water transportation will result in further lost
export market share for U.S.-grown grains and less income for
farmers. Preliminary results from a Texas A&M study indicate that
producers could lose between $100 million and $150 million a year if
bottlenecks on the Mississippi continue to reduce the efficiency of
the inland waterway system.
The inland waterway system is absolutely critical to American
agriculture. About one-third of American agricultural production is
exported and nearly 60 percent of those exports move down the
Mississippi River system to ports on the Gulf of Mexico. Barge traffic
has been estimated to support between 300,000 and 450,000 jobs in
the 10-state region of the Mississippi River Valley, generating about
$4 billion in income.
-30-
__________________________________________
Ms. Renske van Staveren, Coordinator
International Forum on Food & Agriculture (IFA)
c/o Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
2105 First Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN, USA 55404-2505
ph: 612-870-3423 fax: 612-870-4846
[log in to unmask]>
http://www.iffah.org
__________________________________________
"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.
When I ask why the poor have no food,
they call me a communist." - Dom Helder Camara
James Patrick Falvey
Programs Manager
Mississippi River Basin Alliance
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