The Port of Baltimore has opened for commercial ships on a case-by-case basis as crews continue to remove debris from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The port only handles a small portion of ag imports, but American Farm Bureau Federation Economist Betty Resnick said its closure still has a broad impact. Farm equipment likely has the biggest impact from the port issue. “North Dakota in 2021 had about $135 million in exports going through the Port of Baltimore; Minnesota was at $169 million and South Dakota was at $6.8 million,” said Resnick. “It’s a really important port in terms of equipment; they had about 1.3 million tons of non-automotive roll-on-roll-off equipment, things like farm equipment and tractors.” About ten percent of the USA’s UAN fertilizer moves through this port so that may have also localized impacts.
News Categories
Latest RRFN Podcasts
Subscribe to RRFN
Get a weekly digest from RRFN to stay up-to-date on all the latest news in agriculture.