Mr Fordyce says the port is critical to the future of agriculture in Northwest Missouri.
“If you look at the way the Missouri River runs, coming from the Mississippi, St. is on further past Kansas City,” Fordyce said. “To have a viable port where there’s activity, and things coming in and going out, it’s critical to the success of agriculture in Northwest Missouri.”
Director Fordyce joined the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce at a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the additional of new equipment needed to unload bulk product from barges onto trucks at the St. Joseph Regional Port Authority’s intermodal transportation facility along the Missouri River Thursday.
The Authority was formed in 1987 and has had a long road of redevelopment efforts in the Stockyards Industrial Park to become a functioning river port. The facility currently serves primarily to bring fertilizer into the region and to ship out grain products.
In an interview he noted that improvements at the St Joseph port tie directly into the expansion of the Panama Canal, which will make it much cheaper to ship commodoties to Asian markets.
“What’s so important about the development, and the continued progress of the St Joseph port, is how that plays into the expansion of the Panama Canal. With the expansion and larger vessels going through the new locks, it significantly reduces the freight costs, to get those U.S. products, and Missouri-specific products to our Asian markets.”
Fordyce also urged Missouri voters to get acquainted with an upcoming ballot issue to renew the state’s dedicated sales tax for parks and soil conservation. The ten-year renewal of the 1/10 cent sales tax will be on the ballot later this year.
“My advice is vote for it. It’s one-tenth of a cent and we’ve been paying it for 30 years. The return from that investment have paid big dividends for Missouri agriculture, and paid big dividends for Missouri taxpayers.”
Director Fordyce tells us he is optimistic for the future of agriculture nationally, in Missouri and here in Northwest Missouri.
“I would say that the future is bright for agriculture,” he said. “All of us that farm understand that we’re in a little bit of a time of depressed commodity prices. But if you look at the industry in general, you know that we’re very strong in technology, we’re very strong in new advances in the industry, whether it’s crop or livestock technology.
“We’re going to have to absorb, and hunker down, and get through this time with depressed prices, but the industry in general is very strong.”