Rail officials should have anticipated the large grain harvest farmers are dealing with and should have been ready with adequate rail cars for delivery. That’s according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack who says his agency has already weighed in with the Surface Transportation Board on the problem.
Vilsack says the S-T-B needs to not reward railroads for bad service and they shouldn’t be allowed to increase their freight rates when there’s a backlog and a bumper harvest.
He says another possible solution includes the use of arbitration.
Vilsack says Senators have already introduced legislation to try and address the problem. Meanwhile, Senators John Thune of South Dakota and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have written Secretary Vilsack calling on USDA to conduct an economic analysis of rail service challenges facing agricultural shippers.