Infrastructure keeps America connected, but it’s more than highways and subway systems, electrical grids and broadband access. Infrastructure is ports, bridges, railways and waterways. It’s the connector between rural America and the foods consumers enjoy around the world. It’s the vehicle for global commerce.

In short, infrastructure matters, and in many cases is in need of an update.

Last week the Ohio River closed after the failure of hydraulics that open and close the lower gate at Lock 53 near Brookport, Illinois. This closure was preceded by an obstruction found in the main chamber at the lock that did not allow the gates to close properly. Nearby, an early September failure of the wooden wickets at nearby Lock & Dam 52 highlighted critical and aging lock and dam infrastructure problems, according to the Waterways Council, Inc.

The results of these interruptions and closures was a 46 mile long queue of commodity shipping vessels.

This is the same Ohio River that President Trump visited months ago, noting that “these critical corridors of commerce depend on a dilapidated system of locks and dams that are more than half a century old. And their condition, as you know better than anybody, is in bad shape. It continues to decay.”

America’s heartland, and soybean farmers in particular, depend on these outdated and decaying waterways and ASA continues to support President Trump’s pledge to provide a $1 trillion infrastructure initiative.

America’s farmers grow world class food, and need waterways to match.