2.12.19 The Snake/Columbia River System is an important conduit for shipping Eastern Washington wheat to market, but so is the BNSF rail system which was purchased by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway in 2011 for $44 billion. In episode 112 of Wheat All About It! entitled: All Aboard the Greg Guthrie Express, BNSF’s Director of Ag Products, Guthrie talks about the evolution of the rail giant as it has moved from shipping single boxcars of grain, to 26 car hoppers units, then 52, then 110 grain hoppers in a single haul, with even more hoppers per train coming! Although the rail giant’s agricultural products division only makes up 10 to 12 percent of total BNSF traffic, it remains a critical piece of the business portfolio. Subscribe to Wheat All About It on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Cast, Player FM and other podcast apps and never miss an episode. For those with iPhones: touch the purple podcast icon, and type “Wheat All About It” in the finder to listen quickly! Don’t have a smart phone? Listen on your computer at wagrains.org.
