Ocean Shipping Reform Act and Release of Strategic Oil Reserves
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.**The California Department of Water Resources allocated nearly $30 million in March to repair segments of the Friant-Kern Canal.
The 152-mile-long canal delivers water to 1 million acres of farmland from Fresno to Bakersfield.
A critical 33-mile stretch in eastern Tulare County has been damaged by land subsistence, threatening its carrying capacity.
Repairs are expected at nearly $300 million, with completion in 2024.
**In response to port congestion, the Senate passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, making it more difficult for ocean carriers to refuse to load American goods ready to get shipped from U.S. ports.
Some shipping lines find it more profitable to haul empty shipping containers back to Asia than carry loaded containers.
The Senate bill would require carriers to prove they’re being reasonable when they levy late fees for cargo and be prohibited form unreasonably refusing to load cargo.
**Farm and renewable fuel supporters weren’t happy the Biden administration is allowing the release of petroleum from strategic oil reserves.
The Hagstrom Report says the White House is making the move in response to high gas prices.
Ken Colombini, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, says it’s baffling that the president continues to bypass ethanol. “it’s the most readily-available, lowest-cost, and lowest-carbon option for extending the nation’s fuel supply.”