Yesterday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on reauthorization of the Water Resources and Development Act.  Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) expressed support for moving a WRDA bill to the Senate floor during the lame duck session of Congress.  Members of the Committee expressed support for passing a bill as it authorizes a variety projects nationwide.  The hearing could not have been more timely given the events unfolding in the nation's heartland.

Earlier in the week, barge traffic on the Mississippi River ground to a halt as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed Lock 27, located near Granite City, Ill., for emergency repairs. The closure, which affected one of the busiest locks on the Mississippi, caused U.S. grain exports to grind to a halt. The National Corn Growers Association, who has conducted sustained efforts to restore the outdated locks and dams systems on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, urges Congress to consider the potential impact such closures will have upon the U.S. economy in the coming years and to take action to repair the crumbling infrastructure essential to our nation's inland navigation system. 

For the full story, click here.

By Garry Niemeyer, NCGA President

A few weeks ago, a longtime neighbor of ours here in central Illinois died in a farming accident. His death was a reminder to all of us of how careful we need to be on the farm, or around farm equipment on the roads. With harvest underway, and as we observe National Farm Safety and Health Week, we all need to remember how easy it can be to get hurt, or even killed, at the farm.

Last year, working with the National Grain and Feed Foundation, NCGA released a video about grain bin safety. You can view it here. 

To read the letter in full, click here.