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Letters Locked and dammed
Sara Muri wrote a good article on the subject of Upper Mississippi River navigation (Today’s Farmer June/July 2007). As a tow boater, river writer and giver of river programs about the towing industry, lock and dam system, economics, etc., I want to put in my 2 cents worth.
The 1,200-foot locks (Keokuk No. 19, Alton No. 26, and Granite City No. 27) are great. You can push in the whole tow and push out. Not only is time saved from having to make a double locking, but the safety factor is higher with a 1,200-foot lock. The danger to the crew out on the tow is higher if they must break it for a double locking.
And, over on the Ohio River, all the locks are 1,200-foot. Plus, they are currently building a new dam and locks near Paducah, KY.
Yes, there are 29 locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi, but the ones above St. Paul are not built for heavy mainline tow traffic like the rest. Tows are fleeted in St. Paul and then harbor tugs transfer barges as needed up to Minneapolis and up the Minnesota River.
Our boat, the Audrey Fouts, held the record for a double lockage at 48 minutes. Our crew worked together for years and had the routine down pat.
Tow traffic hasn’t decreased over the years like some would like to claim. As a rule, I see seven tows on the average go past my house every day. And with 15 barges each, that’s 105 barges.
Not only do we haul grain from the farmer to export, we also bring them dry fertilizers and anhydrous ammonia. We also tow coal to power plants, salt for highway departments, [etc.].
It would be impossible to schedule locking [as mentioned by the lock construction opponent]. With tows stopping here and there along the way to drop barges or pick them up, requiring that barge to be at a lock at a certain time wouldn’t work. Also, one has to take into consideration the time spent passing bridges and, if you are unbound, having to wait in certain places for down bound traffic as you can’t pass just everywhere.
It never fails to amaze me how many people are experts about the towing industry and have never worked on a towboat.
Kathy Flippo
Clinton, Iowa
Scholarship thanks
I will repeat something here that was well said, “Farming is an act of faith, and a calling that is seldom extinguished.” I would like to say thank you to the man who said this; his thoughts have caused me to think.
My name is Lindsi Ellis. I am a member of the Norwood Chapter of the Missouri FFA. I have had many opportunities to read the various writings of Steve Fairchild, editor of Today’s Farmer. Mr. Fairchild’s work relates well to the many issues that face youth in agriculture today. More importantly, so does the wisdom and opportunity offered to us by the other fine folks that are associated with MFA Incorporated.
I was awarded a scholarship sponsored by MFA Agri Services at Mountain Grove. I want you to know about all the wonderful people who work at my hometown MFA. They are always kind and greet you with a smile. They will go to what would be called a lot of trouble by some just to help you find what you need. They know about the importance of the young people in our community and go to great efforts to show it. I want to say I am proud to be a part of a community with people like them.
I want to do something to express my gratitude to the MFA Foundation. With my scholarship I hope to share all of the wonderful things that I have learned and all that there is to learn. To each and every single person at MFA, from my own hometown to all over Missouri, we say thank you.
Lindsi Ellis
Mountain Grove, Mo.
Thank you for awarding me a scholarship. I appreciate your support for youth in agriculture. In the fall I plan to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia to major in agricultural journalism. I hope to continue to serve the agriculture industry.
Katie Maupin
Lonedell, Mo.
Please accept my appreciation for sponsoring me for an MFA Foundation scholarship. What an awesome feeling it was when this scholarship was announced under my name at the awards ceremony at my high school. I’m especially grateful for this scholarship because it is one more benefit I’ve received that I can attribute to my dad. He is a third-generation dairy farmer and, although I’m not majoring in agriculture, I am still very proud of him, his hard work and his dedication to our family and our farm.
I will attend Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., this fall. I intend to major in psychology with an emphasis in counseling.
Thanks to everyone involved in choosing me for this scholarship.
Emily Buschjost
Jefferson City
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