As the summer of 2025 has wound down, the refrain from the Turnpike Troubadours song “Long Hot Summer Day” comes to mind. For every day I’m workin’ on the Illinois… Read More
agriculture
Ten river ports in southern Illinois are the latest grouping to apply to be formally recognized by the Corps of Engineers as a port statistical district. The grouping would… Read More
In our last issue, economist Ken Eriksen showed how record corn yields and exports boosted U.S. barge volumes and rates (See Horizons, August 18, 2025). The big surprise for ag… Read More
At this year’s Inland Marine Expo in Nashville, hosted by The Waterways Journal, an attendee asked about surplus barges in the covered fleet. With barge demand in 2022 and 2023… Read More
Superior Ag, an Indiana-based, farmer-owned cooperative, broke ground July 21 on its new Ohio River fertilizer terminal near Rockport, Ind. The new, 32,000-ton dry fertilizer distribution facility is… Read More
Looking out over the Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul, Minn., it’s hard to miss the trademark No. 2 pencil and ruler spuds and custom steel rebar railings… Read More
Ken Eriksen The Upper Mississippi River (UMR) extends 854 navigable river miles through the heart of the Corn Belt from Minneapolis past St. Louis to the mouth of… Read More
Back in the days when students read books, there was a famous line from the opening paragraph of Charles Dickens’ novel about the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities,… Read More
Farmers have always been among the most important supporters of the U.S. inland waterway system. The ability to use water transportation to export their crops can mean the difference… Read More
An article in this week’s issue highlights how the St. Louis region has become a grain and fertilizer logistics “super-center,” known as “America’s Ag Coast,” boasting an array of… Read More
