Agriculture Secretary Perdue Highlights Importance of Inland Waterways

This article has been reprinted from the Sept. 5 USDA Grain Transportation Report.

On August 28, Secretary Sonny Perdue toured the Melvin Price Locks and Dam (north of St. Louis) with Assistant Secretary for the Army for Civil Works, Rickey Dale “R.D.” James, to discuss the importance of waterways to the competitiveness of agriculture and the economy.

He presented a summary of an AMS-sponsored report modeling the economic impacts under three scenarios of investment in the country’s waterways system: one with maintenance and construction funding kept at the current budget level; one with increased investment in construction and maintenance; and one with a reduced budget.

The report’s findings suggest that increased investment is necessary for U.S. exports to remain globally competitive.

Year-to-date (YTD) grain shipments for 2019 are only 68 percent of the 2018 YTD total, due in large part to navigational challenges.

See the press release and the full report for more information.