10-25 NWR Railroads and agriculture

This is your Northwest Report for Tuesday, October 25, I am David Sparks and Railroads, in so many ways, can be thought of as a lifeline for agriculture between bringing in inputs and shipping out product. Ed Hamberger, President and CEO of the American Association of Railroads and had a discussion with Agri-Pulse. "Pleased to say that someone very familiar to the agriculture community, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota became chairman of our commerce committee with jurisdiction over the railroads and as you may know he was the railroad commissioner for the state of South Dakota and very familiar with the role railroads play in the agricultural arena. It has been important to us for 200 years. The railroad industry got its start helping to move agriculture products to the newly growing cities. It is incredibly important, we have a great relationship with agriculture. I have been on this job for 18 years and in the summer of 1998 I was on the job 30 days when we signed an agreement with the National Grain and Feed Association.