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.
