12-13 IAN Waterways

Farmers and ranchers - along with most of the rest of the population - are hard-pressed to find much to be thankful to Congress for this year. But American Farm Bureau Transportation Specialist Andrew Walmsley says there is one reason - both the House and the Senate managed to pass water resources legislation - which would update outdated locks and dams and port facilities. "They understand the importance of having this waterways infrastructure and how it fits into a national network of moving goods across country, these are goods that everyone needs. A lot of things move through our waterways and a lot more things move through our ports so I think most folks recognize it is time to update these types of critical infrastructure." 41 states utilize inland waterways infrastructure, add the impact of the ports and you have the whole nation benefiting greatly from the legislation." You're talking about jobs, you're talking about utilizing one of the most efficient and cost effective modes of transportation when you look at one 16 tow barge it is the equivalent of 215 railroad cars or a little over 1000 semi's. It makes us very competitive for say, a farmer in Iowa competing with farmers in Brazil, we beat them by 7 to 8%. It's cheaper because of our infrastructure, not having to truck it, we have our inland waterways system." Now a conference committee is trying to iron out the differences between some bills.