Columbia River Closure
Advance warning that the Columbia River will be closed to wheat shipments. Even though it’s nearly a year from now, actually starting in December 2010 and continuing through March 2011, north Idaho wheat growers have to be forewarned that the Columbia River system will be closed to all barge traffic for 16 weeks. What does that mean to wheat producers? 56.6 million bushels of wheat will have to find their way to Portland and beyond through a different mode of transportation. Here’s The Idaho Wheat Commission’s Executive Director, Blaine Jacobson: “Army Corps of Engineers is going to close the Columbia to dome work on the dams and on the locks. This is maintenance that needs to be done in order to keep the river shipping. We will be encouraging our overseas customers to take wheat in advance of the shutdown. During the shutdown, the Portland exporters will be sourcing their soft white wheat mainly by rail. Before the shutdown we’re also going to be shipping as much as we can down and holding it in storage.
