11/13/06 Rail problems for barley producers

Barley acreage in the US has dropped to historic lows and there are many reasons for that. Idaho grain producer Evan Hayes, who is president of the National Barley Growers Association, says railroads play a big roll in that decline. Hayes told the Surface Transportation Board hearing that the railroad industry has dictated the marketplace by favoring one commodity over another. While there may be plenty of rail cars for corn shipments that's not necessarily true for grain shipments. Hayes says not only are growers hurt by a lack of transportation options so is Mexican brewer Groupo Modelo which is operating a new malting plant near Idaho Falls. HAYES "It's an eight million bushel malt plant right now with the capability of expanding to 16 million. The chances of that happening are almost slim to none because of the relationship they have with the carrier to move malt from their malt house to the brewer in Mexico City." He claims that a Modelo official told him the company would have never come to Idaho had it been aware of the transportation issues it would face. The barley growers concerns with rail car availability aren't the first to be voiced and other commodity groups have had the same frustrations in the past several years. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott