When the Port of Blencoe in Monona County opened its docks as the northern-most barge port on the Missouri River last spring, new access to world markets opened up for western Iowa farmers. 

The facility, owned and operated by Fort Dodge-based NEW Cooperative, is located about halfway between Sioux City and Omaha, just outside the city of Blencoe. It's strategically located to offer river access to a long underserved region of the state.

“While western Iowa agriculture is located in close proximity to the efficiencies of the inland waterway system, it currently enjoys little to no access to it,” said Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition. “The port facility provides western Iowa farmers a new and more economical marketing option to Mississippi and Gulf export...