 |
| Ron Fitchhorn,
chair of NCGA’s Production and Stewardship
Action Team, urged lawmakers to support lock modernization
at a hearing today before the House Mississippi River Caucus. |
NCGA’s
Fitchhorn Testifies on Need for Modern Locks (7-8-04)
Testifying today before
the U.S. House of Representatives’ Mississippi River Caucus,
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) member Ron Fitchhorn expressed
the immediate need for an efficient and competitive transportation
network to ship crops to international and domestic markets.
“Efficient waterways
transportation systems increase U.S. exports,” said Fitchhorn,
an Illinois farmer and chair of NCGA’s Production and Stewardship
Action Team. “The lower the cost of transportation, the lower
the cost of grain on the world market. Competition at home keeps
transportation costs low.”
Noting more than 1billion
bushels of grain (about 60 percent of all U.S. grain exports) move
to export markets via the Mississippi River, Fitchhorn said waterways
transportation systems must be modernized in order to keep U.S.
farmers competitive.
“Corn farmers are
enjoying the benefits of a commodity boom after several years of
just making it,” said Fitchhorn, noting that 2003 corn exports
totaled 51 million metric tons with a value of $4.7 billion. Exports
are expected to be up 50 million bushels this year, he said. “Yet,
when we talk of infrastructure investments, we need to look at the
trends that will drive use of the investment.”
Citing a 2002 economic
study conducted for NCGA, Fitchhorn noted that increased congestion
on the waterways would increase river transportation costs by 17
cents per bushel and export prices by 13 cents per bushel. The study
also concluded farm gate earnings would decrease 3.6 cents per bushel
and transportation margins would decrease by 4 cents per bushel.
Fitchhorn said all of these factors translate into a potential $562
million loss in farm income and 30,000 jobs.
Fitchhorn voiced NCGA’s
support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers preferred alternative,
stating the plan provides for an efficient and modern national transportation
system, while meeting environmental needs of the Mississippi River
system. Fitchhorn also said NCGA strongly believes management and
funding for the navigation system must be separated from resource
allocations for the ecosystem restoration component.
In closing, Fitchhorn
restated the importance of lock modernization. “If we fail
to move forward, the world will eventually look elsewhere for basic
food commodities,” he said. “That’s something
corn growers across the country cannot accept.”
To read the
written testimony in its entirety, click
here.