IARN — Several farm groups are teaming up with the soybean checkoff to propose funding for the pre-engineering and design work needed to enhance Lock & Dam 25 on the Upper Mississippi River.
Lock & Dam 25 is roughly 45 minutes north of St. Louis. Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, says this is the first project as part of the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program.
“Because this project and other lock and dam projects have been lingering for so many years, a group of soybean organizations and corn organizations, including the United Soybean Board, have pulled some funding to offer $1 million to help underwrite some of the pre-engineering and design costs of this project moving forward. It’s an important part of our supply chain and we really want to see it move forward. And this is just a way for farmers to really convey the message that they want to remain the most competitive in the international marketplace.”
Beyond United Soybean Board funding, additional organizations at the table include the Soy Transportation Coalition, Illinois Soybean Association, Iowa Soybean Association, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council and Iowa Corn Promotion Board.
Steenhoek says if federal funding is approved, the improvements will better serve U.S. exports for soybeans, corn and other grains.
“You would be creating a new longer lock chamber that’s 1,200 feet in length, and that can accommodate the larger barge flotillas or tows that are quite common on the Upper Mississippi River. Because you’re creating a second, longer lock, that means you still have the original shorter lock. So, if something were to go awry at one of those two lock chambers, you have redundancy and resiliency that you can still allow transit to occur.”
For more information, visit soytransportation.org.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
Photo source: Wikimedia Commons
