MINNEAPOLIS — On Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives struck a deal to avert a major rail strike.
It came after a grave warning from President Joe Biden about its economic danger.
The tentative deal includes more paid sick days for rail workers.
Now, lawmakers in the Senate have to act fast and pass it through before Dec. 9. If they don't, the ripple effect would be felt in everything from supply chain distribution to jobs right here in Minnesota.
One industry that would be especially hit hard is the corn and ethanol industry.
Minnesota ranks fifth in the nation for ethanol production. According to the University of Minnesota Extension, the industry creates $6.1 billion in economic activity and supports 22,810 jobs.
"We're watching it very closely,” Minnesota Corn Growers Association President Richard Syverson says.
“The rail system is absolutely vital.”
Syverson says even a short strike would have a catastrophic impact on farmers and ethanol producers.
"An ethanol plant can only run typically five to seven days or so, depending on how much they can store on the site. Without being able to get their product out of the plant and out the door, those plants would be shutting down with an extended rail stoppage,” Syverson explains.
And those possible plant shutdowns could affect thousands of workers.
“Some of those people would probably be furloughed as well. It would be a real blow to the ethanol industry,” Syverson says.
There really isn’t a plan B when it comes to transporting ethanol long distances.
Syverson says there aren’t enough semi-trucks and drivers to handle the large quantities of ethanol that are produced by the industry on a daily basis.
“So much of what we do in agriculture involves volume and tonnage and those kinds of things are not efficiently moved by trucks,” Syverson says.
According to the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association, there are 18 ethanol plants in Minnesota.
Most of these plants are scattered across the southwest corner of the state, in small towns where the ethanol plant is a big part of the local economy.
"It would have a pretty significant impact,” association executive director Brian Werner says.
Consumers could also feel the impact at the gas pump if a strike goes on for weeks and wipes out the national supply of ethanol.
"This is really coming at the worst possible time and I think we're just we're really encouraging cooperation between all parties so that common sense can prevail and we can avert some of these catastrophic impacts,” Werner says.
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