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Statement of the
National Corn Growers Association
Submitted to the
Energy and Water Development Subcommittee
House Appropriations Committee
March 28, 2000
The National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) appreciates the opportunity to provide the
subcommittee with corn growers’ recommendations regarding fiscal year
2001 appropriations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. NCGA represents
more than 30,000 corn growers in 48 states and the association’s mission
is to create and increase opportunities for corn growers in a changing
world and to enhance corn utilization and profitability.
The inland waterways
of the U.S. are of vital importance in the transportation of more than
60 percent of our agricultural exports and nearly one fifth of our agricultural
inputs. Barge transportation is the most efficient and economical mode
to move bulk agricultural commodities and input supplies. However, the
lock and dam system developed nearly sixty years ago is outdated to
satisfy today’s increased demand to transport goods.
Improvements in
the U.S. waterways system are urgently needed. These aging structures
no longer can accommodate the volume of traffic or the current size
of the typical 1100-foot tows now employed on the Upper Mississippi
River. This results in long delays at each of these facilities, averaging
three to four hours. It has been estimated that the delay due to outdated,
inefficient locks on the Upper Mississippi River costs approximately
$900 per barge. If we are unable to move agricultural products in an
efficient manner, the United States will become less and less competitive
in export markets and we will lose domestic markets as well.
The future financial
success of corn growers throughout the nation is tied to the Mississippi
and Illinois Rivers system. For this reason, infrastructure improvements
are a top priority for the National Corn Growers Association. We are
seeking the increased capacity of the 600-foot lock to 1200-foot chambers
at Lock and Dam 25, 24, 22, 20, 21 on the Mississippi River and the
LaGrange and Peoria locks on the Illinois River. To further improve
the river’s efficiency, guidewalls at Mississippi Lock &Dam 18-14
also need to be extended.
Specifically, NCGA
supports President’s proposed budget funding level for the Upper Mississippi
Illinois Waterway System Navigation Study at $2.105 million. NCGA supports
an increase of $9.3 million in Upper Mississippi Illinois Waterway System
Pre-construction Design and Engineering funding to allow for the continued
design work on five locks on the Mississippi River and two locks on
the Illinois River. We also support the Administration’s funding level
of $888,000 for the Upper Mississippi Flow Frequency Study. We support
the addition of a Flood Control Study and Comprehensive Plan funded
at $2 million. This funding would begin a basin-wide approach to developing
appropriate integrated flood control protection.
NCGA also supports
the continued funding of the Environmental Management Program at $25
million -- $7 million above the President’s proposed level.
Unless we make improvements
along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, U.S. agriculture will pay
the price. We face higher transportation costs as delays on the rivers
increase. We also face the potential loss of domestic and export markets
if our transportation costs do not allow us to remain competitive in
these markets. The state of transportation infrastructure in the United
States is a major concern for our nation’s corn growers and for U.S.
agriculture as a whole.
Changes in agricultural
policy have made farmers more aware of international competitiveness
and the need to maintain and expand foreign markets for U.S. agricultural
products. Without continued investments in our transportation infrastructure,
U.S. farmers are placed at a severe disadvantage as foreign countries
increase their commitment to developing their agricultural export markets.
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