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American farmers continue to see slimmer margins after three years of pandemic-induced shipping delays and supply chain disruptions. And high fuel prices caused in part by the war in Ukraine have only squeezed margins tighter.
During a July trip to Savannah, Georgia, the Illinois Farm Bureau Board of Directors toured shipping terminals in the third busiest port in the country to learn more about major barriers affecting the transportation sector. We also visited with area farmers about challenges they’re facing.
Transportation costs, labor shortages
The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) operates the country’s largest single-terminal container facility of its kind in Savannah. Merchandise containers from China and other parts of Asia travel through the port’s deep-water terminals, where shipments are distributed by rail and truck to the south, Midwest and northeastern parts of the country.
It’s estimated that nearly 45% of the U.S. population can be served by rail from the port at Savannah but that requires area facilities to work at full capacity.
We met with GPA staff to tour the Garden City Terminal and Ocean Terminal to find out how a backlog of materials has impacted transportation coming and going from the port.
Like many American ports, shortages of truck drivers and chassis (the base frame of a motor vehicle), along with general workforce and warehouse shortages, have stunted growth opportunities for the Savannah location.
To alleviate some of the mounting pressures on the transportation sector, GPA is investing $4.5 billion to increase port capacity by a third. New warehouses are also being built within 30 miles of the shipping center to create a resting spot for materials waiting to be trucked to other locations.
Urban sprawl impacts on rural life
Of the 10.7 million people who live in Georgia, nearly 60% live in the Atlanta metro area. To support urban communities, new warehouse developments continue to take farmland out of production.
Pete Waller, owner and operator of Ottawa Farms in Bloomingdale, invites visitors to his agritourism operation to pick blueberries, strawberries and blackberries each year. He told the IFB Board his farm looks different today than it did when it started in 1870, largely due to area development.
Waller has already sold acreage for one warehouse and has committed to sell more for additional warehouses in the future. His farm is one of only two remaining farms in Chatham County, near Savannah.
Just like in Georgia, we see an urban-rural divide in Illinois.
While infrastructure investment is important, and supported by IFB policy, our organization also aims to protect landowner rights and the preservation of farmland for future generations. This trip offered an opportunity for IFB Board members to see both sides of the issues surrounding ag trade in the United States.
No one solution will work to solve the many obstacles Illinois farmers face, but there is value in having these conversations with people across state lines. Growth creates new challenges, but the hope is that a balanced approach can move the farming and transportation industries forward.
• Richard Guebert Jr. is president of the Illinois Farm Bureau. This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.