BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Drought conditions in Illinois lasting most of the summer that limited full usage of the river system shone a spotlight on the conclusions of two recent soybean checkoff-funded studies: That a significant lock and dam failure could have a serious impact on the state’s agricultural export industry.

This is according to Mark Sprague, director of the Illinois Soybean Assoc. and a farmer from New Canton. “(This summer’s) severe drought conditions help illustrate what could happen with lock or dam failures,” he said.

“Well-maintained infrastructure is vital to ensure Illinois soybeans reach their destinations efficiently and remain competitive in domestic and international markets. We can’t stop Mother Nature, but we can stop locks and dams from crumbling into rivers.”

A study released in August, prepared by Informa Economics for the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) and the United Soybean Board (USB), Farm to Market – A Soybean’s Journey, concluded that underinvestment in the U.S. transportation infrastructure, including inland waterways, could seriously erode farmers’ competitive advantage in the world marketplace.

The report followed on the heels of another USB-supported study, Locks and Dams: A Ticking Time Bomb for Agriculture? which found more than half of locks and dams on the upper Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio rivers are more than 50 years old. Five percent of them are more than 100 years old, according to the study, which was conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) at Texas A&M University.

Both studies found that failures anywhere in the system would result in increased time and costs passed on to farmers through losses in efficiency and productivity. A region located near the LaGrange Lock on the Illinois River – encompassing Joliet, Bloomington, Kankakee and Streator – would suffer a $4.3 million economic loss during a three-month period and see a reduction in the local price of soybeans of $2.45 per ton, or 7.4 cents per bushel, according to the STC study.

Paul Rohde, vice president of the St. Louis-based Waterways Council, Inc., said the drought has challenged water levels and hindered the operation of locks and dams.

“Low-water conditions create significant operational challenges for towing vessels throughout the system,” Rohde said. “Locks and dams help maintain water levels on the upper Mississippi. Whether challenges arise from low water or from 80-year-old infrastructure, reliable river transport requires ongoing management and investment to gain the benefits.”

Since 89 percent of U.S. soybean exports travel through the ports at New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico via inland waterways, any long-term failure in the system would have tremendous ramifications. Fertilizer and coal products would also be affected, according to the TTI study.

The STC report noted in addition to investment in inland waterway infrastructure, funding must be allotted for significant dredging of ports and shipping channels in order to maintain shippers’ ability to export.

On the demand side, farm commodity volumes moved on the inland waterways during 2010 totaled 555.4 million tons, an increase of 9 percent from 2009, according to Informa. Though the economic recession led to a dramatic drop in commodity flows during 2009, movements in 2010 showed a “decent rebound,” that study’s authors reported.

“Only farm products displayed a positive annual increase in movements, led by higher corn and soybean moves. Farm products were up 7.5 million tons, or 11 percent, to 74.7 million tons,” the report stated. “Movements of soybeans were record high in 2009 at 21.8 million tons.”

Relatively less grain has been transported on the Illinois and upper Mississippi rivers in the past decade, according to Informa’s study. “About 60 percent of annual grain barge loadings (had) originated on the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers, (but) has trended lower to about 40 percent in 2010,” it stated.

“This trend is particularly evident for soybean loadings, with increased loadings on the lower Ohio and lower Mississippi rivers. This shift in loadings has occurred during the time of the ethanol build out across the Corn Belt and within proximity of the navigable river system, especially in Iowa where corn became deficit. Once the corn ethanol mandate is achieved, corn surpluses are expected to return along the Mississippi River.

“But with issues of crumbling lock infrastructure, increased crop production lower along the Mississippi River, deeper draft barge equipment being used and a widening barge freight spread, will the upper Mississippi River gain a competitive edge with the lower Mississippi River, during a time when the Panama Canal expansion effort will be completed and will likely expand the draw area for river navigation?” the study asked.