News
Farmer hopes Illinois River repairs stay on schedule
A northwest Illinois farmer says staying on schedule with the lock and dam repairs on the Illinois River is key this year.
Corn and soybean farmer David Erickson tells Brownfield while there was concern if repairs would be done in a timely manner, the closures on the Illinois River are scheduled to be lifted at the end of the month.
“It looks like that schedule is holding pretty true which will be very important as we move what I think will be a pretty good size crop this late fall and early winter.”
He says he was concerned the summer closures would impact pricing.
“Fortunately, river levels stayed low on the Mississippi River. Companies were pretty well in position to handle a crop earlier in the summer than they traditionally would. I think fall being a little bit delayed in this area is going to help get crop to the marketplace and use that lock and dam system pretty effectively this fall.”
Erickson says the repairs are a good testament of industries working together toward a common goal.
Erickson is a past president of the American Soybean Association and past vice president of Illinois Farm Bureau.
