BLENCOE, Iowa -- After a lengthy absence, barges are returning to the upper stretch of the Missouri River, providing western Iowa farmers with a lower-cost option to access fertilizer and export grain.

Joined by Gov. Kim Reynolds, NEW Cooperative officials on Tuesday celebrated the start of work on a $11 million barge port that will be built about two miles west of the small Monona County town of Blencoe.

The NEW Cooperative Port of Blencoe will become the northernmost port on the nearly 760-mile span of the Missouri from St. Louis to Sioux City.

The co-op hopes to send its first barges loaded with soybeans down the river by late fall, weather permitting, general manager Dan Dix said. 

By the next spring, six to nine barges will arrive at the port, delivering fertilizers, aggregates and other products.

Read the full article on the Sioux City Journal website.