Dam Removal

A big problem facing the wheat industry today is the push for removing dams to help the decreasing fish populations. Farmers have begun to push back against the dam removals because it would most likely cause the price of wheat transportation to spike tremendously. The price of transportation would spike because barges would no longer be able to travel through the untamed rivers. Barges are responsible for around 50,000 bushels of wheat each, which is the equivalent of approximately 60 truckloads of wheat.

Transportation wouldn’t be the only thing affected by the removal of dams, crop irrigation would also take a hit by the removal of dams. People in dry areas that irrigate from the rivers like in the Redmond area would likely not be able to grow anything because there would be no water. Dams divert water and prevent major floods. The water held in dams is used to water specialty crops and bring water to animals.

U.S Wheat Associates have a chart that shows the major decrease in rail cart transportation of wheat over the last 3 years. The reason is that barges are just simply easier to use. They are faster and carry so much grain. Along with being the most efficient, they are also the safest option causing fewer injuries and fatalities than any of the other transportation methods. If dams were to be removed on a mass scale it would mean we would have to revert back to the old technology for transportation of grain. Going back to hauling grain solely on roads and railways would cause so much traffic, along with road and rail companies would have to hire more workers to keep up with the constant usage of the roads and rails.

The removal of dams would cause issues and price jumps not only for the producers but also the consumers because if the transport prices jump the prices of goods will also go up to compensate. Dams have become a big part of the way things are done today and if they were removed it would affect society as a whole and not only the producers. If the people decide it is the right thing to remove dams it is possible that they will realize they were mistaken very quickly.