John Long, a soybean producer from Newberry, South Carolina, and President of the American Soybean Association has expressed the concerns of ASA's 29,000 producer members to Congressman Pat Roberts (R-KS) regarding a proposed merger of Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroad lines.

"The impact of this merger will be felt across the entire soybean producing region. Soybean producers are concerned the merger will result in a lack of competitive rail service for moving grain and possible total loss of service in some rural communities," stated Long.

The rail issue is of vital importance to U.S. soybean producers who rely on the rail system to transport crops to domestic processing plants as well as barge facilities and seaports for shipment to international markets. One-half of the 2.2 billion bushel U.S. soybean crop is exported to foreign customers.

This year's U.S. agriculture crop is projected to contribute over $60 billion to the U.S. balance of trade. Not only will the international marketing of soybeans be affected if the merger occurs, there will also be an impact on domestic marketing practices.

"We have learned discussions between Union Pacific and Southern Pacific suggest even more line closures, which could result in the loss of competitive pricing for all markets along existing routes," concluded Long. Long's comments included a request for Congressman Roberts to contact the Surface Transportation Board regarding the merger.