Purdue Ag News Roundup
Purdue Ag News Roundup
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December 18, 1998
Hoosier hay floating to OklahomaWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The first of seven barge loads of donated Indiana hay bound for drought- and flood-stricken Oklahoma farmers was loaded and shipped Friday (12/18) from the Southwind Maritime Centre at Mount Vernon, Ind. Indiana Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan, the state's commissioner of agriculture, was there to witness the loading of the barges. He was joined by Oklahoma government officials, representatives of the Indiana National Guard, Purdue University officials, and some of the hundreds of Indiana farmers who have donated 3,000 round bales of hay. "This Hoosier Hay Lift is an incredibly complex, generous and heartwarming effort," Kernan said. "On behalf of Governor Frank O'Bannon and myself, I commend the companies who have donated the barges, the Indiana National Guard, farmers and trucking companies for transporting the hay to the port, and most importantly the hardworking Hoosier farmers who are giving this tremendous holiday gift to our neighbors in Oklahoma." Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating,who was represented at the send-off by his deputy agriculture commissioner, Charles Freeman, said: "It has been a pleasure working with the great people of Indiana. We can't say enough about their spirit of giving. This hay will make getting through the winter a little more bearable for the majority of those farmers receiving hay. On behalf of all Oklahomans, I want to pass on our heartfelt thanks to the wonderful citizens of Indiana who have made this possible." Hay has been pledged by more than 1,200 farmers from more than 40 Indiana counties. Three-thousand round hay bales equal more than 200 semi truckloads of hay -- presenting the Hoosier Hay Lift with unique delivery challenges. Barges were chosen as the transportation source because each barge can move as many as 30 truckloads of hay at a time. The Ohio/Mississippi River system links southern Indiana to Oklahoma via the Arkansas River. "The Indiana Port Commission is proud of all the people contributing to this Christmas gift and is very glad to provide the resources of the Southwind Maritime Centre," said Indiana Port Commission Member H. C. "Bud" Farmer. Five companies donated barges to the Hoosier Hay Lift, and the first to come forward was Jeffersonville's American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL).
"ACBL is proud to join other barge companies in this wonderful effort to help Oklahoma farmers," said Jim Adams, assistant vice president of ACBL. "Using the inland waterways system, barge transportation will deliver Indiana hay in the most cost-effective manner possible. We are extremely gratified to join ADM/Countrymark and ADM/Growmark, Consolidated Grain and Barge, Cargill Services/Cargo Carriers and Peavey Barge Lines in shipping this generous gift from Indiana farmers during the holiday season." O'Bannon asked the Indiana National Guard to become involved in the relief effort through an executive order issued last week. Soldiers from the 1,438th Transportation Company and the 38th Support Battalion (main) have volunteered for state active duty to support the Hoosier Hay Lift. "The Indiana National Guard did a great job of coordinating the logistics of moving the round bales of hay from more than 30 counties in all corners of the state to the Southwind port," Kernan said. The hay will make an 18- to 20-day journey on the Inland Waterway System to the Port of Muskogee, Okla., where the hay will be offloaded and distributed to farmers. "I'm grateful to see the amount of hay that has been donated in Indiana, because farmers in our state are facing their own economic challenges," said Purdue's Dean of Agriculture Vic Lechtenberg. "A lot of people have been working hard for a long time to make the Hoosier Hay Lift a reality." More than 18,000 square bales also will be transported on trucks during the next month to both Oklahoma and Texas. Organizations and individuals interested in offering transportation for those deliveries should call the Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture at (317) 232-8770. Monetary donations for fuel and mileage, payable to Hay Lift, can be sent to the Hoosier Hay Lift, c/o the Indiana Forage Council Inc., P.O. Box 66830, Indianapolis, 46266-6830. Partners in the Hoosier Hay Lift include: AgriAmerica Radio Network; Indiana Airglows; Indiana FFA Association; Indiana Farm Bureau Inc.; Indiana National Guard; Indiana Port Commission; Indiana farmers; Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture; Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service; and the USDA Farm Service Agency. CONTACTS: Kernan, (317) 232-4789; Indiana Port Commission, (317) 232-9201; Lechtenberg, (765) 494-8391.
Compiled by Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; home (765) 497-2433; E-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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