Efforts are underway to boost waterways for corn growers in the Midwest.
Growers in Wisconsin and Minnesota have submitted a letter of intent to form the Northern Grain Belt Port Statistical Area. The region would encompass eleven riverfront counties in the two states. A port statistical area is a way for the Army Corps of Engineers to keep track of cargo, then rank it normally. It is a federal designation and could greatly increase funding for agriculture exports.
According to Shane Goplin, “What we’re asking is for the counties to recognize the importance of the river system and the locks and dams and recognize each of their counties as a port statistical area, and once all eleven counties between Minnesota and Wisconsin, then we will take it to the next level and we will apply to become a port statistical area named the Northern Grain Belt.”
He says that he has always been an advocate for infrastructure and an increase in funding would have a dramatic effect on the transportation and export market.
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