The relationship between trick riding and rivers.

I’d like to tell you a story about my sister’s daredevil habit and Illinois waterways. Believe it or not, this story and Illinois waterways are related. Really, I promise.

My family has always ridden horses — a hobby that isn’t exactly risk-free. But Janell was always more of a daredevil. I liked to get horses ready for western pleasure and all-around events — you know, nice, easy riding in a round pen — but Janell liked to stand up, do flips and jump on and off galloping horses. She liked to trick ride.

And the thing about trick riding is it’s dangerous. And, you must have the right equipment to make it less dangerous.

Janell quit trick riding about 10 years ago, but last fall, she decided it would be fun to throw her trick saddle on her show horse and whip out a few tricks.

 

Her show horse, Lucky, is quite a bit bigger than her old trick riding horse, and Janell is quite a bit taller than she was when she was regularly trick riding. All of that means she had to upgrade her old equipment.

So, we spent the next hour looking for and sizing a bigger girth for her saddle, strapping on a new back cinch, fashioning a bigger breast collar and making longer reins — all so Janell could do a few tricks and be safe doing it.

How does jumping on and off horses at a gallop relate back to Illinois waterways you may ask?

Well, just like it’s hard to pull off a hippodrome stand or an indian hideaway without the proper equipment, it’s hard to use Illinois rivers — a mass transit system for Illinois — without the proper equipment, or locks and dams.

Illinois is unique in that it’s positioned on three rivers — the Illinois, Mississippi and Ohio — giving Illinois farmers a distinct advantage when it comes to exporting goods like corn, soybeans and much more. Not to mention that farmers across the state rely on these rivers to bring inputs like fertilizer up the river.

However, during this summer’s drought and subsequent river traffic crisis, which stemmed from the low levels on the Mississippi River, the dilapidated state of river locks and dams became more apparent than ever.

It seems like the solution would be an easy one to pinpoint: If there’s a problem, fix it. You can’t operate an economy like ours with shoddy, unsafe and outdated equipment. But, lock and dam upgrades have gone largely unfunded. Congress passed the Water Resources Development Act in 2007, which authorized the lock and dam upgrades to be eligible for funding. Great, right? Sure, until you realize the funding has not yet been approved.

In fact, the 70-year-old system of locks and dams on the Mississippi River can scarcely accommodate most barges. You see, unlike the locks and dams, today’s barges haven’t been locked in a 70-year time warp and have, instead, evolved with technology, getting bigger over time.

When the lock and dam system was built in the 1930s and 1940s, a 600-foot long lock was sufficient to accommodate shipping. However, barges can now extend up to 15 barges long by 3 barges wide, or 1,200 feet by 110 feet. Of the 29 locks on the upper Mississippi, only three can accommodate 15 barge tows. These larger locks allow barge traffic to leave within 30 to 45 minutes.

Photo courtesy of Illinois Corn

When barges approach the other 26 locks, they must break up the tows into two groups. The process to break up the tow, move both groups of barges through the lock and re-attach the tow can take at least 2 to 3 hours, making a trip from Minneapolis to New Orleans a one-and-a-half week endeavor.

When workers closed the Granite City, Ill., lock, one of the few large enough to accommodate modern barge traffic,  in September 2012 to repair damage to a protection cell, hundreds of barges were idled, stalling shipments of grains, coal, fertilizer and construction materials. In other words, commerce moving into and out of the state of Illinois was off-limits, trapped in a time warp of its own.

More than that, the Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers estimated that the closure of the lock cost the shipping industry $2 million to $3 million per day in lost revenue.

Illinois farmers rely on the Illinois river system to ship and receive goods, making an efficient river system absolutely vital. The Mississippi River alone moves 78 million tons of goods valued at more than $23 billion each year, making it the main shipping channel for farmers’ products and inputs.

It’s time to pony up the dough, get our act together and fix our broken river system. Failing to do so would be like trying to perform an indian hideaway or a death drag at full speed with a broken girth and worn, outdated rigging — just plain dangerous. 

 

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Maybe this isn’t such a tough question after all.

 

By David Meiss

Farmer and Illinois Farm Bureau Board Member

Gridley, Ill.

Across the state, harvest has bumped up to full throttle, with, tractors, combines and semis running overtime. Still, many consumers don’t realize that commodities like corn and soybeans stop at more than just the local elevator. Unfortunately, those stops in the commodity chain still don’t include countries like Colombia, South Korea and Panama — a move that already is hurting America’s economy and job prospects. 

For many consumers, the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) symbolize big businesses flexing their muscles and might to get what they want — and fewer American jobs in an already struggling U.S. economy. However, in reality, signed FTAs actually will help stimulate the economy, not only with export income, but also with jobs. 

In fact, every billion dollars in sales from these FTAs equals 9,000 American jobs. Between the three pending FTAs, that’s 27,000 jobs — and that doesn’t take into account growing markets and economies of the countries with which the U.S. is trading. 

Colombia is a perfect example of a country with exceptional trade potential, something I saw firsthand when I visited the country in March of this year. As a developing country, Colombians are continually moving up from lower to middle class status. Colombia is building homes and offices, developing infrastructure and increasing its need of grains and meat for its growing population. As a top grain producing state and home to Caterpillar, John Deere, Navistar and many other companies, Illinois can help supply Colombia with the trucks, earth moving equipment, livestock feed and foods it needs to continue to grow. 

What’s more, the products that Colombia produces are complimentary to the U.S. In other words, Colombia regularly exports flowers, tropical fruits and coffee — all products the U.S. does not produce. 

Even with the potential for added jobs and an economic boost, the FTAs have been in a holding pattern for the last four years, costing the U.S. export money daily. In fact, not having signed FTAs with Panama and Colombia already is damaging agricultural and other exports from the U.S. — and costing thousands of jobs. In 2008 alone, U.S. exports to Colombia fell 50 percent. In the same year, the U.S. sold $600 million worth of corn to Colombia, but by 2010, U.S. exports fell to $200 million, as Argentine and Brazilian corn received more favorable tariff treatment than the U.S. 

The U.S. also is losing export dollars to its neighbors to the north, with Canada supplying wheat, beef and other manufactured products to Colombia, despite the fact that Colombian officials told us during our trip they prefer U.S. products to Canadian products. 

Much also has been said regarding dangerous union and working conditions in Colombia — and the fact that a U.S.-Colombia FTA would further hurt labor relations. Some have gone so far as to say it wouldn’t be morally right for the U.S. to even consider entering into a trade agreement with Colombia. The fact is, the U.S.-Colombia FTA is a “WTO-plus” agreement, requiring Colombia to meet higher labor, environment and sanitary and phytosanitary standards than are currently in place. 

Additionally, President Santos has cracked down on union violence in recent years. Today, Colombians enjoy safer streets than in years past. During my visit to Colombia earlier this year, I witnessed families walking dogs, riding bikes and taking walks, where, just a few years ago, sidewalks would have been bare. 

FTAs with Colombia, South Korea and Panama are important to the U.S., both economically and strategically, helping to solidify relationships with our allies. And, with the potential to garner additional U.S. jobs, safer work conditions for Colombians and increased trade dollars for the U.S., the question of whether the FTAs are the right thing for the U.S. isn’t such a tough question after all.

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A Proclamation

There’s been a lot going on in the news lately.  With the killing of Osama bin Laden, the flooding of the Mississippi and the Governator’s troubles in California, you might understandably have missed a proclamation that came out of the White House last week.

In it, President Obama declared this week to be World Trade Week.

But for folks in agriculture, every week recently has been World Trade Week, as we wait for the final i to be dotted on a deal that would send three long-pending Free Trade Agreements to Congress for approval.

These FTAs, with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, have been languishing since 2006 and 2007.  We’ve lost a billion dollars in market share in South America, much of it in corn exports, as our friends and allies there make pacts with other countries because they’re tired of—and insulted by having to—wait for us to enact the agreements.

Colon Container Terminal, Panama (Photo courtesy Julie Root, RFD Radio)

Very few trades and even fewer political issues are considered win-win.  This, however, is one of them.  These countries are clamoring for our goods.  We’re clamoring for their markets.  Passing the FTAs would support 9,000 in America for every billion dollars in new exports.  The Korea FTA alone is expected to create about 70,000 jobs, according to the Obama Administration.  More than 22,000 of those jobs would be in agriculture. 

You can see why every week is World Trade Week for farmers and ranchers.  We’ve been working hard to get these FTAs passed.  As Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson recently wrote in an opinion piece to newspapers around the state, it’s like we’re in first place with 100 yards left in a marathon, and we’ve stopped to re-tie our shoes as our competition comes up from behind.  If we don’t get up and finish, we’re going to be overtaken and lose out.

And so, we have a proclamation of our own, since President Obama’s didn’t mention passage of the FTAs:

Whereas

• Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia were negotiated in 2006 and 2007, and have not yet been sent to Capitol Hill for approval;
• The U.S. has lost more than $400 million in corn exports to Colombia alone in the past two years;
• American heavy equipment manufacturers would finally be able to ship their products without excessive tariffs;
• And, whereas unemployment claims rose in three of four weeks from April to May;
• Now, therefore, the Illinois Farm Bureau, representing two out of every three Illinois farmers, does hereby proclaim that President Obama should immediately send, and that Congress should immediately pass, the Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia.  Doing so would benefit our economy and create jobs.  Doing so would be the perfect way to celebrate “World Trade Week.”

Dated the eighteenth of May, of the year two thousand eleven.

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I’ll Trade Ya

Back in school, when somebody else had something good for lunch, you might find yourself offering to swap something in your lunch for the good stuff in theirs.  “I’ll trade ya!” was a common refrain at the lunch table.  Of course, most times it was kids trying to trade carrots for cupcakes, but that didn’t stop them from trying.

The same principles apply in agriculture today.  The U.S. grows an abundance of good stuff that other countries want.  We ship corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and other commodities overseas.  Agriculture, in fact, is the lone sector of the U.S. economy enjoying a trade surplus.

President Obama is currently visiting Latin America. He has indicated one of the goals of his trip is to increase trade. This is a positive step since analysis indicates 9,000 jobs are created or saved in the U.S. for every $1 billion dollars in trade. A delegation from Illinois Farm Bureau just returned from Panama and Colombia, and it came back with a simple recommendation: the President needs to send the Free Trade Agreements, already negotiated with these countries in 2006, to Congress for approval.

Illinois Farm Bureau Director Terry Pope at the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal

There are strong economic, geo-political and labor benefits resulting from the FTA’s. The U.S. has a transportation advantage to Panama and Colombia because of our extensive river network leading to the Mississippi and out into the Gulf of Mexico. They want our grain and heavy equipment. Illinois stands to gain significantly because corn is the largest ag import into Colombia and because of our heavy equipment manufacturers, such as Caterpillar, John Deere, CASE IH and Navistar. The trade is complimentary. Coffee, sugar, seafood and cut flowers are exported to the U.S.

However, Colombia has grown tired of waiting for the U.S. to approve the FTA. They have entered into trade agreements with other South American countries and as a result our corn market has fallen from $600 million in 2008 to $200 million in 2009. Colombian Ag Ministry advisor Andres Espinosa told the group “you are losing market share fast and will lose almost everything if you don’t approve the FTA.”

Making matters worse, Colombia and Panama have long been allies of the U.S. and officials feel betrayed by the fact the U.S. has not signed the agreement after five years.  Espinosa  said “the U.S. has been our most important friend and ally. I can’t believe this is happening.”

With an enemy dictator in neighboring Venezuela it is hard to understand why our government would not want to expand trade and business with our allies.  

In Bogota, citizens now feel safe to move about the city. The growth and development taking place in both countries is amazing. The FTA provides provisions to improve labor and human rights. Can we risk disappointing nations that consider us friends and turn down the jobs that will come with the expanded trade?

The President deserves accolades if he returns from Latin American with a serious intent to move these agreements forward. If not, it would appear his spring break trip was for pleasure and not business.

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To Trade or Not To Trade

International trade, in particular with South Korea and India, has been in the news as of late, in the wake of President Obama’s trip overseas.  It might leave some wondering why the issue is so important to the future of the U.S. economy.  After all, we keep hearing that the problem lies in domestic job creation, not international trade agreements.

Why are international trade agreements important?

It’s really a matter of math.  Only 5% of the world’s population lives in the U.S.—that means 95% of global consumers live outside our borders, and possess 75% of global purchasing power.  By 2025, population growth of 60 million is expected in the U.S. and 1.6 billion in the world.  That means even more consumers will be outside the U.S. in the future.

Why is this critical for agriculture?

Because agricultural production is already plentiful and efficient and we have the delivery system in place, and most of the world’s consumers are outside the U.S., it stands to reason that the ag sector is in prime position for exponential growth as world population grows.  Agriculture is the only sector of the American economy in which there is already a trade surplus.

The more we grow here and sell overseas, the more people we need to hire to do all of the growing, marketing, selling and shipping, and to work in all the associated support industries.  The Economic Research Service (ERS) says agricultural exports alone were responsible for 810,000 jobs in the U.S.  When you take into account the entire agri-food chain, 17% of the American workforce is already involved.

Why is it critical for the entire economy?

Can you imagine if agriculture—and the rest of the U.S. economy—had better and fairer access to foreign markets?  The pending Free Trade Agreement with South Korea alone could increase exports to South Korea by $1.6 billion, which, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, translates into 200,000 new American jobs

Agriculture wouldn’t be the only beneficiary of increased trade.  Exports already support more than 10 million U.S. jobs.  27% of all manufacturing sector jobs are related to exports.  And U.S. jobs supported by exports pay 13-18% more than the national average.  All told, in 2009, the U.S. exported nearly $1.6 trillion-with-a-T in goods and services.  Illinois is the 6th largest merchandise exporter in the U.S—nearly 16,000 Illinois companies exported goods in 2007.

What could all those numbers look like with better access to overseas markets?  How many more jobs could we create?  How much more quickly would our economy be restored to full health?

There’s a lot of hard work ahead.  It will require leadership, responsiveness and accountability.  We in agriculture will do our part to help grow the job base, in addition to the crops in our fields.  But our elected officials need to help as well, by letting a little sunlight get through to foster some of that growth.

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