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Michigan soybean outlines infrastructure shortfalls

The head of the Michigan Soybean Association says transportation is key to enabling profitably for farmers.

“Whether it be locks and dams on the Mississippi, the Illinois, the Ohio; three phase extension; natural gas; short line railroads—those are a lot of the things important to soybean producers.”

President Brian McKenzie raises corn, soybeans and hogs in Cass County.  He recently testified before the Michigan legislature which he tells Brownfield was meant to bring greater awareness to infrastructure shortfalls in the state.

“There are some dead-end roads like the Thumb of Michigan which had a natural gas shortage and didn’t have the infrastructure to be able to run a lot of these big grain driers and co-ops.”

He says agriculture needs access to natural gas, roads and bridges, and broadband to support a growing industry.