Independent of varying soybean crop yields each year, the inland waterways remain the stalwart transportation option and smart supply chain link to soybean farmers and agriculture producers across the Midwest, particularly in Illinois. Ranked 8th in the nation with 1,100 river miles running through and along the state, Illinois houses 26 lock-and-dam locations within or along its borders.

Barges offer the most cost-effective, fuel-efficient, environmentally sound and safest mode to move soybeans and other bulk commodities via the many rivers that comprise the Illinois Waterway, as well as Mississippi, Ohio and Kaskaskia rivers, eventually reaching export terminals in the Gulf of Mexico. The inland waterways ensure food security, promote energy security, lower the transportation carbon footprint and reduce congestion on our roadways. Our plan to recapitalize the lock-and-dam infrastructure will create tens of millions of work-hours for the skilled jobs in America’s building trades.

But key to Illinois soybean farmers, transport on the inland waterways facilitates competitiveness in global markets, particularly against South American producers. Agricultural exports are responsible for 25.5% of U.S. farm income that drives rural economic activity and supports more than 1 million American jobs on and off the farm. The linchpin to maintaining this critical conduit to the world market is modernization of the waterways’ lock-and-dam infrastructure.

The bad news is that according to 2024 data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — the agency that maintains the inland waterways system — more than 80% of locks on the inland system are operating beyond their 50-year expected design life. The good news is that overall funding for the Corps of Engineers has risen 64% over the past 10 fiscal years, from Fiscal Year (FY) 2017’s $6.04 billion to FY2026’s $9.88 billion.

The President’s FY2026 budget recommended no ($0) funding for ongoing and new inland construction and major rehabilitation projects. But in FY2026’s Energy & Water Development (E&WD) appropriations bill that passed out of the House Appropriations Committee on July 18 and awaits Senate action, inland waterways construction projects received funding of $396.8 million. And with the return of limited earmarks (now called Community Project Funding), inland waterways construction received 68% of the $583.8 million requested in earmarks. This is a testament to the strong advocacy efforts of the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA), Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) and our other members on Capitol Hill.

Among the construction projects funded in the FY2026 E&WD appropriations bill were $2 million for the Navigation & Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP), the integrated, multi-purpose, long‑term program authorized by Congress in 2007 to modernize navigation and restore ecosystems along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The Community Project Funding request was made by waterway champions Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., 13th District, and Congressman Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., 17th District.

The low level of funding ($2 million) for NESP was allocated for ecosystem projects, but next fiscal year (FY2027), Lock & Dam 25 (Upper Mississippi River, near Winfield, Mo.) will need at least $250 million to maintain its current construction schedule. If such a budget is successfully approved, it would significantly increase the overall amount of funding NESP receives.

In Illinois, nearly 262,000 jobs are connected to the inland waterways. Fully 70.3 million tons of freight valued at $17.9 billion, with agricultural products as the top commodity by value ($5 billion), are moved on Illinois’ inland waterways per 2021 statistics, underscoring this system’s importance to the state’s agriculture shippers and producers.

And while constructing modern NESP locks is important to Illinois, a U.S. Department of Agriculture study in 2019 indicates rebuilding the NESP locks could inject $72 billion into the national economy through increased Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Education about the importance of the inland waterways system and investment in its modernization and improved efficiency remains vital. WCI is grateful to ISA for its significant funding provided for our public education efforts that highlight the many benefits our nation’s inland waterways bring.

That education can lead to advocacy. We’ve partnered with ISA to create a petition anyone can sign to show support for upgrading the locks on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers. It takes less than a minute and goes a long way in telling Congress this is a priority they should get behind. You can access it at https://www.advocacy-waterwayscouncil.com/lock-25.

Improving our nation’s lock infrastructure, the backbone of the transportation logistics system, is why the strong partnership between WCI and ISA is invaluable and enduring.

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) is the national public policy organization whose mission is to advocate for reliable, efficient, and modern lock-and-dam infrastructure.