Did you Know?

Distance and time to transport soybeans to southern China:

Source: O'Neil Commodity Consulting

Locks and Dams: Time for Fresh Thinking?

Our nation’s inland waterway system is not simply a contributing factor to the success of U.S. soybean farmers, it is a dominant one.  Other countries can produce soybeans at a lower price.  However, it has been and continues to be the ability to deliver those soybeans to our customers in a cost-effective manner that helps U.S. soybean farmers maintain a competitive advantage. 

Eleventh-hour agreement averted port strike on East, Gulf coasts

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and U.S. Maritime Alliance recently agreed to an extension of their master labor contract, averting a potential strike at East and Gulf coast ports that was slated to begin Dec. 29. The extension expires on February 6.

Mississippi River grain concerns

The 2012 drought not only stressed crops this season, it continues to stress farmers as water levels on the Mississippi River are low enough to begin disrupting barge traffic, possibly impeding the movement of grain.

Northwest Grain Shippers Claim Impasse; Dockworkers Stay on Job

The threat of a work stoppage at four U.S. Pacific Northwest ports was recently averted as the dockworkers union said its members would stay on the job despite "substandard" contract terms being imposed unilaterally by grain shippers.

Short-line tax credit extended through 2013

The "fiscal cliff" legislation approved by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama on Jan. 2 included a provision the short line industry has sought for more than a year: an extension of the Section 45G tax credit.