The NGFA also cited the impacts that changes in rail practices are having on agricultural shippers. It noted that only about one-third of domestic commercial grain shipments now move by rail, down from more than 50 percent in 1980 when the landmark Staggers Rail Act was enacted by Congress. By comparison, nearly half of domestic grain shipments are transported by truck and 20 percent by barge.
Further, the NGFA said, physical access to rail service has become more limited in rural areas, reflecting rail carriers’ preference for large unit-train loading facilities. This, in turn, has led to an increasing concentration of grain handling at fewer loading points, causing the average farm-to-market distance to be longer. “So, the efficiency gains accruing to rail carriers by moving to larger unit trains has had the effect of putting added traffic on highways and local roads, whose repairs are borne by taxpayers,” Keith said.
The NGFA’s membership encompasses all sectors of the industry, including country, terminal and export elevators; feed mills; cash grain and feed merchants; end users of grain and grain products, including processors, flour millers, and livestock and poultry integrators; commodity futures brokers and commission merchants; and allied industries, such as railroads, barge lines, banks, grain exchanges, insurance companies, computer software firms, and engineering and design/construct companies. In addition, the NGFA consists of 35 affiliated state and regional U.S. grain and feed associations, as well as two international affiliated associations. The NGFA also has strategic alliances with the Grain Elevator and Processing Society and Pet Food Institute, and is co-located and jointly operates with the North American Export Grain Association.
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For further information or to conduct an interview, contact:
Randy Gordon, NGFA vice president, communications and government relations, at 202-289-0873, or
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