FOOD FOR PEACE GRAIN FLOWS OUT OF SEMO REGIONAL PORT

Gary Haskell president of Riverport Terminals Inc. talked with U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson after she visited the grain-bagging operation at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson watched Wednesday as wheat was unloaded from a rail car onto a towering conveyor belt at Riverport Terminals Inc. at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port.

The wheat was then dumped into large hoppers of the company's grain-bagging plant. With the flick of a switch, the grain poured into 110-pound bags, which were then loaded onto a flat-bed trailer for transportation to a waiting barge.

Emerson was watching U.S. Department of Agriculture funds at work as grain was being prepared for shipment and distribution to Ethiopia under the Food for Peace program.

"The program is a good one," said Emerson. "It helps feed people in other countries, it helps our farmers get rid of their surplus grain, and it provides employment on the local level."

Overall, it is a "win-win" program, said Emerson.

The Republican congresswoman said her actions in Congress helped keep funding intact for the program after President Clinton cut the budget for the USDA's LP 480 funding.

Food For Peace works in two ways, both designed to build export markets: USDA purchases grain from U.S. producers and donates it to foreign countries, and USDA purchases grain and sells it to foreign nations under long-term low-interest arrangements.

Emerson, port officials, and Riverport Terminals Inc. representatives toured the bagging plant, warehouse and barge-loading facilities Wednesday.

Riverport Terminals' new $2 million plant is bagging a 6,000-ton shipment of wheat in pre-printed bags with large "USA" letters and logo in red, white and blue.

"Our goal it to load a barge a day," said Gary Haskell, president of Riverport Terminals. "We're not quite there yet, but we'll get there."

The grain is loaded into LASH barges by Girardeau Stevedores, which has operated the general cargo dock at the port for 10 years.

LASH, said Haskell, stands for lighter aboard ships"

The barges are smaller than regular Mississippi River barges, which measure about 135-by-35 feet and can haul 1,200 to 1,500 tons. The LASH barges are 30-by-60 feet and carry about 390 tons, explained Haskell.

"These barges are sent to New Orleans, and the entire barge, with loads intact, are placed aboard ocean-going craft."

When the ship reaches its foreign port, the smaller barges are removed to make their way on inland waterways to final destinations. The barges are then emptied and readied to return to their original ports.

Each of the LASH barges carries 7,762 of the 110-pound bags of wheat.

Riverport Terminals Inc. opened at the port late last year. It does bagging for food and agriculture products, serving both commercial businesses and government programs.