Report: Rail Delays Cost Minnesota Farmers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A new report estimates that delays in railroad shipping have cost Minnesota corn, soybean and wheat farmers nearly $100 million.

The report was released Thursday at a conference in Alexandria organized by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Edward Usset of the University of Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management estimates rail delays cost Minnesota corn growers $72 million from March to May. He puts the losses at $18.8 million for soybean growers and $8.5 million for wheat growers.

The report also estimates the corn remaining in on-farm storage across Minnesota is worth $122 million less and the remaining hard red spring wheat is worth $1.7 million less because of rail bottlenecks.

Railroad delays across the region have been blamed on a combination of increased oil shipments and the hard winter.