(The Associated Press circulated the following article on October 25.)
HAVRE, Mont. — The vice chairman of the Federal Surface Transportation Board is scheduled to attend two meetings with state officials and farmers in Montana to discuss rail shipping in the state.
W. Douglas Buttrey will join Gov. Brian Schweitzer, state Agriculture Department Director Nancy Peterson and state Transportation Department Director Jim Lynch at meetings in Big Sandy and Scobey on Friday.
“Rail transportation of raw commodities is of the utmost importance, and those decisions (made by the board) affect the people in our rural communities,” Peterson said. “The governor has requested that the Surface Transportation Board send a representative to Montana to meet with folks in our rural communities that are affected by the decisions they make.”
The officials will discuss a variety of rail issues, including rates and the abandonment of lines, she added, but the meeting will largely be an opportunity for officials to listen to farmers concerns.
Buttrey on Monday told the Havre Daily News that he is looking forward to the opportunity to hear from producers who ship commodities by rail.
“The idea is that we need to hear directly from shippers,” he said. “I look at it as an opportunity to hear from shippers themselves as to what they believe is going on.”
Certain to be on the list of topics are rates charged by BNSF Railway to ship grain from Montana. In September, the railway agreed to significantly cut its grain-shipping rates for 52-car trains in Montana and three other states beginning Oct. 1, a move hailed as a victory for farmers and small grain elevators.
BNSF had increased grain shipping rates to the Pacific Northwest in August, despite protests from Schweitzer, congressional leaders and several farm groups over their potential to bankrupt dozens of 52-car loading terminals in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
The meetings are scheduled for 10 a.m. at Big Sandy High School auditorium and 3 p.m. at the Scobey High School music room.