Young Leads Discussion on Transportation Issues Facing Iowa's Agricultural Community

Press Release

Iowa Congressman David Young, along with the Iowa Farm Bureau, led a roundtable discussion Monday for Iowa farmers, agricultural producers, transportation industry leaders, and other key Iowa stakeholders to talk directly with representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) about the need for a long term agriculture transportation strategy.

The Congressman organized the forum so that Iowans had the opportunity to give representatives with the federal government direct input and testimony about the transportation challenges and issues the agricultural community is facing in Iowa. The forum, held at the Iowa Farm Bureau headquarters, also included a discussion of the best practices and opportunities to efficiently and effectively get Iowa goods and products to market, and to examine efforts to overcome obstacles in these industries.

"This forum provided a unique opportunity for folks here at home to share their feedback, concerns and ideas directly with the federal agencies that can play a big role in helping and restraining our agricultural economy," Congressman Young said. "Our conversations shed light on Iowans' priorities, to enhance our current infrastructure system and ensure our farmers, producers, and other key stakeholders can efficiently take delivery of inputs so they can produce and then get their products out to market. It is important we keep the discussion going, so these issues are addressed, problems are avoided or solved, and we have a thorough and effective plan going forward that benefits all Iowans."

Attendees at the event included 40 Iowa based agricultural and transportation stakeholders; Arthur Neal, deputy administrator of the Transportation and Marketing Program (TM) at the USDA; and Larry Minor, associate administrator for policy at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) at the US DOT.

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