Farmers attending Dakota fest this week are very concerned about the large harvest and lack of rail service with car shortages. South Dakota Senator John Thune has been working on the issue and has met with the Surface Transportation Board. He says the S-T-B has gotten the railroads to report on car availability and back logs.
Thune is concerned that freight costs have risen to over $ 1400 a car in many cases which he says is ridiculous and must be addressed.
Thune says it is a longer term structural problem especially with South Dakota anticipating a record harvest of 1.1 billion bushels of grain, up 28 percent over the three year average. He says the railroads are busier, the economy is stronger and South Dakota farmers are producing more commodities which is contributing to the problem.
