A collection of corn and soybean groups are offering $1 million to help kick start improvements to a key piece of the Mississippi River transportation system.

The Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, along with the United Soybean Board, Soy Transportation Coalition, Illinois Soybean Association, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, and Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, partnered on the offer to underwrite the cost of pre-engineering and design expenses of Lock and Dam #25. Located in Winfield, Missouri, Lock and Dam #25 was opened in 1939 and is the most southern lock and dam on the Mississippi River with a single, 600-foot-long lock chamber. 

“One of the reasons our inland waterways are so unique is that they are...