Ribbon Cut on New Grain Elevator on Mississippi River

By CnAgri2012-10-22 19:57:45 Print

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon helped cut the ribbon at a new grain elevator on the riverfront in Canton on Friday, a facility that will help area farmers move grain and other goods to market in a way that is quicker, cheaper and safer. A grant from the state of Missouri assisted local officials in acquiring and clearing several blighted properties along the Mississippi River in Canton, where the new grain elevator now stands.

The Governor was joined at today's ceremony by members of the Ursa Farmers' Cooperative, which owns the facility, as well as by officials from the city of Canton and from the Lewis County Industrial Development Authority, the lead local entity on the project.

"Today marks a great day for agriculture in northeast Missouri, and for the city of Canton," Gov. Nixon said. "Farmers on the Missouri side of the river now will have easier access to a port facility that will load their products to be taken downriver to the Gulf, and to reach the global marketplace. This will strengthen agriculture as the backbone of Missouri's economy, especially our agricultural exports. Our unemployment rate has reached the lowest level since December 2008, and last year, our exports set an all-time record. We are moving Missouri in the right direction."

With the opening of the new grain elevator, farmers in Lewis County and other northeast Missouri counties no longer will have to transport their grain by ferry to an elevator located across the Mississippi River from Canton, or have to drive more than 20 miles to the nearest bridge across the river.

"Delivering Missouri agricultural goods to market in this part of the state just became cheaper, quicker and safer for northeast Missouri farmers," Gov. Nixon said. "That is a tremendous boost for these men and women who feed, fuel and clothe the world."

In October 2010, Gov. Nixon went to Canton to announce the awarding of a Community Development Block Grant of $1,990,000 by the state to assist in acquiring and clearing 10 blighted properties at the site of the new grain elevator. The site was formerly the location of Tri-State Fertilizer, an agricultural chemical company.

As part of this developmental process, the property was cleared and environmental violations and contamination on the property were remediated. After the site was prepared, Ursa Farmers' Cooperative invested $6 million to construct the facility.

"This was a partnership effort to make this grain elevator a reality," the Governor said. "It could not have happened without local officials with the city of Canton, Lewis County, and the Industrial Development Authority working closely with the 400 farm families who belong to this cooperative and with the state of Missouri. I am delighted that my administration could be part of this success story."

Earlier this week, the Missouri Department of Economic Development released the September jobs report, showing that Missouri's unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent - its lowest rate since December 2008. The state's unemployment rate has remained below the national rate for 37 consecutive months. Missouri added 2,500 jobs during September, bringing the year to-date total of new jobs to 24,700. Combined, the number of new jobs for 2012 to-date and all of 2011 comes to more than 46,000.