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Corn Congress attendees call for WRDA reauthorization

Commodity groups want Congress to help U.S. ag exports remain competitive by maintaining investments in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).

Iowa Corn Growers Association president Jolene Riessen says there are issues with locks and dams within the inland waterway system that need to be addressed.

“I compare this to the Panama Canal, the water level was down and then all of a sudden we couldn’t get boats through there. If one of these locks goes down on the Mississippi or wherever, it’s going to make a huge bottleneck for us, and really hamper us as far as competition.”

She tells Brownfield the U.S. has been a top global exporter of grain for a long time, but South America is catching up.

“The Waterways Trust Fund is at 65 percent for general and then a cost share of 35 percent, so we’re asking for an increase of a 75 to 25 percent just to try and get ahead of the inflation part of it.”

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently advanced the WRDA Act of 2024, which Congress has reauthorized every two years since 2014.