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ethanol, fertilizer and other products.
• "It's our intention to make full use of all of it. It's a great piece of railroad, and there's a tremendous traffic base across it," said Jerry Vest, Genesee & Wyoming's vice president of government and industry affairs.
• The company has asked the Surface Transportation Board for a quick review, with the hope it can gain ownership and control of the line by mid-year, Vest said.
• Genesee & Wyoming started in 1899 with a short line in upstate New York, and it still operates that line as part of its system of 108 freight lines, Vest said.
• "We are in it for the long haul, so to speak," he said.
• In his letter, the governor said he met with Genesee & Wyoming's top executives, shippers and officials in other states before deciding not to oppose the sale.
• "I felt it was necessary to conduct this level of due diligence because the future viability of these rail lines is imperative to South Dakota's future growth. Agriculture is the backbone of South Dakota's economy and access to competitive shipping options is essential to South Dakota's agricultural economy," Daugaard wrote.
• He did say, though, that it's still unclear whether Canadian Pacific has met its obligation to invest $300 million in upgrades as part of its 2007 purchase of the line. The Surface Transportation Board has decided that Canadian Pacific must provide that information.
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Dakotas ranchers to get federal blizzard help soon
BLAKE NICHOLSON, Associated Press
HENRY C. JACKSON, Associated Press
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expediting a farm bill provision that provides relief to South Dakota ranchers devastated by an early October blizzard. The agency is responding with almost unprecedented speed after fierce lobbying and pressure from the congressional delegations in both Dakotas.
• USDA said Friday it would begin accepting applications in mid-April for a livestock disaster program that was reauthorized in a comprehensive, five-year farm bill passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama last week.
• Ranchers will be able to sign up for livestock disaster programs for losses that were incurred in 2012 through 2014. That means South Dakota ranchers who lost an estimated 43,000 cattle and other livestock in the Oct. 4-5 blizzard can begin seeking relief within 60 days of the new farm bill becoming law.
• Under the last farm bill, enacted in 2008, it took more than a year to re-establish the program and begin taking applications. This time around, Dakotas lawmakers (Continued on page 35)
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