A ‘fresh take’ on using the Missouri River as an avenue for farmers to transport grain

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A ‘fresh take’ on using the Missouri River as an avenue for farmers to transport grain

The head of the Soy Transportation Coalition says more investment is needed in the Missouri River as an alternative for farmers to transport grain and supplies.

Mike Steenhoek tells Brownfield producers who live in its bordering states need a better inland waterway system for shipping and receiving. “It’s never going to compare to the Mississippi River in terms of freight handled but we think it it’s a very efficient option that farmers should be able to avail themselves more of.”

He says they want to see more investment, but it leads to endless cycle. “Federal officials will say ‘we’re not going to invest in the Missouri River until we see more utilization of the Missouri River’ and then the potential utilizers will say ‘we’re not going to use the Missouri River until we see a financial investment from the federal government in the Missouri River.”

But, he says there has been progress recently with a new port opening at Glencoe, Iowa. “That starts to really challenge that assumption and that underscores that it is possible and that it is working and maybe we need to look at things through a fresh lens.”

Brownfield interviewed Steenhoek at the Nebraska Corn Growers Association’s annual meeting.

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