Transportation delays in 2013 and 2014 by two major railroad shippers are hurting farmers and grain shippers in west-central Minnesota and the upper Midwest.
Gov. Mark Dayton recently said the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and the Canadian Pacific railroads are not sufficiently addressing agriculture shipping concerns in Minnesota, according to published reports. The governor told federal transportation officials that a recent study shows state farmers lost nearly $109 million from March to May alone.
Federal regulators last month called up the two railroad operators to appear at a U.S. Surface Transportation hearing in Washington to discuss the continuing shipping delays. The board also specifically criticized the "sizable backlog" on the CP system.
Significant grain is languishing in elevators and bins on farms and in towns across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota just as the 2014 harvest season is about to start.
The frustration of farmers and grain shippers has grown in proportion to the growing volume of crude oil shipments on BNSF and CP tracks. The situation is also complicated by an improving economy, which is increasing the demand and, in turn, competition for railcars to ship grain, oil, coal, consumer goods and other material.
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Combine this with a projected record corn and soybean crop this fall and it likely will result in a transportation bottleneck in the Midwest.
State officials and farmers across the Midwest are not optimistic about sufficient improvement in the rail transportation as the fall harvest begins. Minnesota and other farmers are already receiving lower crop prices because of transportation delays and increased costs.
If this rail transportation bottleneck does not improve significantly soon on the BNSF and CP systems, there will be a growing political anger directed at these two railroad companies.
Editor's note: This editorial was written by the West Central Tribune (Willmar, Minn.) Editorial Board.
