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Motor carriers that haul livestock will be exempted from the federal electronic logging device mandate until Sept. 30 under language included in a $1.3 trillion omnibus funding measure the U.S. House of Representatives advanced March 22.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced an additional 90-day temporary waiver from the electronic logging device rule for agriculture-related transportation.

WASHINGTON— The fate of American agriculture hinges upon the strength of the nation’s infrastructure, according to Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that farm exports to China, Mexico and Canada have been strong over the past 12 months, although some transportation and logistics providers told Transport Topics that their volumes weren’t as strong as the federal data would suggest.

Several hundred thousand bales of cotton likely were lost in Texas due to Hurricane Harvey, delivering a blow not only to those who grow and sell the state’s main agricultural crop but also to the motor carriers that haul it.

California’s drought of 2011 through 2015 didn’t just dry up the state’s harvests of crops such as almonds, grapes and oranges — it also dried up business for motor carriers.

WASHINGTON — Congested and deteriorating roadways and inland ports as well as insufficient access to wireless communication in rural communities continues to impede commerce for freight and agricultural industries in farming areas, representatives from rural firms told lawmakers July 19.