From Fields To Freight: Illinois Farmers Count On River Routes 

When Illinois farmers want to know why barge transportation is important to them, Rodney Weinzierl points to corn export figures.

“Exports are a big deal for farmers in Illinois,” he said. “Illinois is the largest export state in the nation and probably has been for the last 30 years. The Missouri, Illinois and Ohio rivers all leading into the Mississippi River are the reason why.”

Weinzierl, a third-generation farmer based in Stanton, Ill., is the president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association. His session, “The Importance of Mississippi River Transportation to Illinois Farmers,” was part of a webinar series that America’s Watershed Initiative hosted May 15.

Weinzierl said it’s the export market that sets the nation’s price for corn, crediting the efficiency of the river transportation system. Corn yields typically go up 1 to 1.5 percent yearly, Weinzierl said.

“Illinois has some of the most productive ground in the nation,” he said.

Last year, he said, the state’s average corn yield was 217 bushels per acre.

He credits better hybrids and genetics as part of the reason for the increase, along with better equipment, such as precision planters.

Soybean yields are also improving, he said, with an expected 64 bushels per acre in Illinois this year. While farming practices for corn changed beginning about a decade ago, soybean management practices, including the use of cover crops, changed much more recently.

While farmers consider how much corn is to be planted and the effect of weather on their crops, they might not always consider how weather affects conditions for transporting those crops at harvest, Weinzierl said. He noted that barge freight rates tend to rise during low-water conditions. However, even though low-water conditions have persisted for the past three seasons, he said that price impacts have been somewhat moderated as the Corps of Engineers has worked closely with the Coast Guard and the navigation industry.

Farmers might have an idea of changing conditions as much as 60 days out in some cases, possibly less so with a drought.

Weinzierl said it is also important for farmers to understand the importance of river-related infrastructure, including the size and age of locks.

“Freight is a big cost in moving bulk commodity products like corn and beans, and so time is money,” he said.