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Warm weather improves ag transportation after winter slowdowns

The executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition says recent mild weather has help improve conditions for moving agricultural commodities.

Mike Steenhoek tells Brownfield extreme cold and winter weather events can be problematic for rail and barge equipment.

“Ice and snow accumulation on railroad tracks have to be cleared,” he said. “And of course frigid temperatures make more safety considerations for workers who are outside whether you are at a railroad switch yard, a trucker, or you are loading a barge.”

He says transportation officials often face winter issues that go unnoticed by the general public.

“Things like a train’s air breaking system. For it to work, you have to have a certain PSI throughout the whole system for it to operate. Well, when you have colder temperatures you have more leaks that go through the system, gaskets and tubes become more brittle.”

Steenhoek says some railroads have had to limit the length of trains and reduce speeds, which decreases the efficiency of the rail network. However, he says as regions begin to warm up, operations should return to normal capacity.