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Progress Continues on Getting Ports Up to Speed

It is still hard to get a handle on the impact of Hurricane Katrina on transportation, energy costs and trade. What is known is that farmers are now faced with pressures of the harvest season beginning, finding out where the 2 billion bushel carryover from the 2004 crop will go; and skyrocketing energy prices hitting growers at a time when their energy needs are the greatest.

Leon Corzine, National Corn Growers Association president, says the uncertainty of getting products to export markets is a major cause for concern right now for all growers. "We have to make sure we have a way to provide our products to our export customers. Otherwise, that market could be replaced by our foreign competitors," he says.

The USDA's Federal Grain Inspection Service is providing inspection and grain weighing as grain elevators resume operations while USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service resumes responsibility for issuing phytosanitary certificates that attest that U.S. commodities meet international standards for purity.

"After speaking with USDA officials, it is our understanding that both agencies have a sufficient number of employees to accommodate the needs of exporters," says June Silverberg, NCGA director of public policy

According to industry organizations and the USDA, restoration of full navigation and barge and vessel operations on the Mississippi River and the recovery of the New Orleans port are priorities.

NCGA Director of Public Policy Lisa Kelley says the Mississippi River is now open to two-way traffic but is limited to daylight hours because navigation aids are not yet working. However, there are positive signs that traffic into the New Orleans port is steadily improving.

"We are seeing some signs that traffic is moving on the river and through the port, which is encouraging, but there are still a lot of issues that will continue to affect the ports becoming fully functional," she says. "There are damaged barges, the port is not completely operationally, there are electricity issues, no crews are able to work the port, and tariffs are increasing on the rivers. Getting back to full working capacity and regular pricing is going to be a long-term project."

Regarding grain facilities in the New Orleans area, the 10 export elevators and three 'floating rigs' which load 30,000 to 60,000 bushels of grain per hour from barges directly on to ocean-going vessels or ocean-going barges are operating at 63% capacity. Vessel restrictions (arrivals and departures), slower barge movements and limited staffing are minimizing full utilization of loading capacity. When fully operational, the elevators have a storage capacity of approximately 53 million bushels with a capability of loading 970,000 bushels per hour.