Opinion

Congress must not derail the freight rail lifeline for America’s farmers

Congress should be careful not to impose new mandates on freight rail that would raise costs and reduce capacity

By Justin Tupper , Ian Jefferies Fox News

Published May 20, 2026 7:00am EDT

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At first glance, a railroad CEO and an agricultural industry leader might seem like an unlikely pairing. When you understand how closely America’s farm economy and freight rail depend on each other, the partnership makes sense – as do our shared concerns about proposals in Congress that could harm both.

Every year, railroads haul hundreds of millions of tons of grain, feed, fertilizer, biofuels, ethanol, and other commodities across this country. From a corn farm in Iowa to a grain elevator in the Pacific Northwest, from a feedlot in Kansas to an export terminal on the Gulf Coast, freight rail is the connective tissue of the American agricultural supply chain. There is no realistic substitute for the volume, the distance, the safety, or the cost-efficiency that rail provides.

That's why Congress should be careful not to impose new mandates........

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