Over 100 Congressmen have sent a letter to the Federal Maritime Commission Chairman outlining concerns of certain vessel operating common carriers declining to ship U.S ag commodities to export markets. Nebraska’s Adrian Smith and South Dakota’s Dusty Johnson are among those included in the correspondence. Nebraska cattle producer Mark Jagels past US Meat Export Federation Chairman says solving that shipping problem needs to be done because of the importance of being able to export to overseas customers.
He says shipping and backlog problems can be difficult to solve.
Jagels says it’s positive that the Representatives and groups like MEF have been involved in these issues and hopefully will lead to a positive resolution.
Congressman Johnson notes that market access is only as good as the access to shipping infrastructure. Representative Adrian Smith says that U.S. agriculture feeds the world which is why ag exports are so critical to not only getting food on the dinner table but also to producer’s livelihoods.
