Locks and dams on the MIssissippi and Illinois Rivers need improvement.  The Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) has made obtaining funding for the project a legislative priority for well over 20 years, but the enomority of the required pricetag has made funding a heavy lift.  

In this recent booklet, Unlocking Potential, ICGA and the Illinois Corn Marketing Board highlight the work they have completed, what is still to come, and what strategies could be used to achieve success.

Our inland waterways system is 12,000 miles of commercially navigable waterways that move commerce to and from 38 states, serve industrial and agricultural centers, and facilitate imports and exports at gateway ports on the Gulf Coast.

For farmers, the inland waterways barge transportation moves their crops to shipping ports and the global market.  Family farmers thrive from the transportation advantage our waterways provide.  America’s agriculture exports boost the economy, benefitting all of us.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s a significant environmental benefit too.  Waterways-transported cargo is equivalent to more than 49 million truck trips annually that would have to travel on our nation’s roadways.  Diverting current waterways freight traffic to typical rural interstates would add more than 1,000 trucks to the current 875 trucks per day, per lane.

Checkout the latest booklet today!  Save it for reference and share it with your friends!